Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 29th, 2009 | No Comments
I posted a tweet last night that I was drinking my last bottle of 2006 Cranberry-Raspberry Wine (with a tiny splash of Elderberry added for color), and noted it was a very good wine. In response I received two messages almost immediately requesting the recipe....I have previously posted two recipes for cranberry-raspberry wines. The first was made with a commercial, frozen "cranraspberry" concentrate and the second, a social wine, was made with cranberry juice and raspberry mix syrup (see recipe links following this entry). This recipe mimics neither of those recipes, but rather uses whole raspberries and whole cranberries. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 29th, 2009 | No Comments
In an 8-year post incident study of 1169 non-diabetic heart attack patients, Swedish doctors have found that survivors who eat chocolate two or more times per week reduce their risk of dying from heart disease about threefold compared to those who never eat chocolate. Consuming chocolate less frequently confers less protection, but less is better than none. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 23rd, 2009 | No Comments
When a kind neighbor gave us several Hubbard squashes we were at first stymied. These suckers can be huge and a couple of them were. My wife made two pies when I told her they would be indistinguishable from pumpkin if she spiced them accordingly. She did and our guests thought they were pumpkin pies. She also baked some with brown sugar and spices like you would sweet potatoes, with marshmallows on top. Tasted close to sweet potatoes, but buttercup squash is a closer substitute. I have never seen a recipe specifically for Hubbard squash wine, but we had too many squashes and so I thought I should try it. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 23rd, 2009 | No Comments
I've received some really strange communications regarding the Green Tomato Wine in my last "WineBlog" entry. Lisa, unless you have tasted it, "Yuck!" is an entirely tasteless (pun intended) response. To those who asked why even make it, I have two very good answers. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 21st, 2009 | No Comments
I mentioned earlier I was asked for two mead recipes — one for a pyment made with native grapes and the other for a pyment using more conventional wine grapes. I am sharing below the recipes I provided. Each recipe can serve as a guide for each kind of pyment, but different grapes will require different treatments. No other native grape compares exactly with the species profiled — the mustang — but several are every bit as high in acid. Similarly, the "conventional" grape I used is the Blanc du Bois, popular in the South but little known elsewhere. Pity. The recipe might work as is with a Muscat or even a Riesling. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 21st, 2009 | No Comments
I am asked this question all the time, although it really baffles me sometimes. I mean, some recipes say to use a specific herb or flower, add sugar and other dry ingredients, and then add from 7-1/2 pints to a gallon of water. Since the herbs contain no juice or other liquid, it shouldn't be difficult to conclude that the recipe makes about a gallon of wine. I say about because sugar has a volume, some liquid is lost as sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide (a gas), and different yeast's lees compact differently -- meaning that you lose more wine with some lees than others when you rack. However, if you top up as instructed, you should always end up with a gallon. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 21st, 2009 | No Comments
>An emailer wrote, "I got started making wine by discovering an old recipe for Green Tomato Wine from my great uncle Paul...and I was wondering if you could help me adjust uncle Paul's recipe so I can make it safely but keep its great flavor." Here is the old recipe verbatim: Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 18th, 2009 | No Comments
I have received several emails from Sweden, Finland, Minnesota, and Idaho over the past three
months about wild strawberries. I really should have posted something before now, as their season
is past everywhere that I know of. Still, I feel compelled to write about them. They simply make
the best strawberry wine imaginable and maybe you can plan a batch for next year. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 18th, 2009 | No Comments
I received an email from a cousin who had appended a file which looked like a Word document but wouldn't open. After numerous attempts employing various strategies, I finally threw in the towel and sent an email asking what kind of file it was. Three minutes later the phone rang. It was a Word 2007 file and I am still using Word 2000. No problem, as my cousin opened the file, saved it as a Word 2000 document and resent it. Problem solved – sort of. The document copied the April 16, 2009 entry of Barbara Keck's blog, "WineBizNews". In it was a critique of my blog's artistic layout and design. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 18th, 2009 | No Comments
I mentioned on Twitter that my antique red roses bloomed again and then got pretty well deflowered by rain and wind. I didn't have nearly enough petals left for a batch of rose petal wine, but did have enough for two bowls of rose petal soup. That resulted in several request for the recipe. Okay, here it is. Read more....
