Have you ever tried this? How did it go? I have thought of making my own wine, because it just seems easy to do, and would probably save money. I know a lot of people craft their own wine or beer at home. Do you have any adventures, misadventures to share?
Brewing is alien to us although I know of someone who made wine from pineapple. He is a chemist who experimented with the leftover pineapple that he fermented in a big jar. After sometime, he invited the neighbors for the sampling session of his liquor. I don't know what it's called but I think I heard them say rum or and the guys seemed to have a grand time sampling the brew. By the way, we live in Brewer Street, if there's any relevance to the topic.
lol Corrie, I guess that means you have to get into the brewing business. Well I am not sure if it was rum, but I am sure it tasted good! It sounds like it may have been more like a pineapple wine, but anyway, it is a cute story. I was just curious if anyone here had any experience making it, or tips to share. I like wine, and if I could do it cheaply, I would be happy. Bottles of wine are not that expensive, but grape juice is cheaper!
@K E Gordon Gosh bang me, I thought no one cared! I thought everybody knew this long-time fancier of home-brewing was ever-ready to share. Hope you don't regret asking! A retired Military guy, Jack Keller, conossieur of wines, has a website on which he lists home made wines. The recipe list has over 100 varieties, including, for example, Artichoke Wine, Onion Wine, Coffee Wine, etc. Here is the list I refer to. Scroll down below the initial recipe. http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp At the very bottom of that list is a compendium of topics addressed within his site; how to start, what to know, etc. He is strictly wine, however. Now, I like my beer, too, so will have to pipe up with some info there, too. In any event, important things to know are: COMMERCIAL WINES: Contain added ingredients not really necessary, or desirable, such as sulfites. Are rarely what they seem to be, since "truth in labeling" seems to apply only to non-alcoholic products. May say "Raspberry Wine", but contain only Grape Wine and "Raspberry flavorings". Make your own wine from real fruit, add no chemicals, use only the 4 natural ingredients: Water Sugar Fruit' Yeast. Commercial beers produced in the U.S. are allowed by FDA to use at least 52 chemicals, other than the natural ingredients needed. Some create "head", some enhance flavor, some accent appearance, etc. Bottom line: Only FOUR ingredients ought to be used in making beer! Water Yeast Hops Malt. The German Purity Law of 1516(!) required that only those 4 ingredients be used in making domestic beer. 500 years ago! Here are some carboys of Raspberry and Blueberry wine gathering momentum. Preparing to make up a batch of Cranberry Wine. Yum! How I "crush" Cranberries to make wine. This is the step after crushing them up in the blender. 5 gallon food-grade bucket, they will reside here along with sugar. water, and yeast, about 7 days, to establish the fermentation process, then be filtered through a pillowcase, to remove the seeds, skins, and pulp, to be placed in those big glass carboys to "finish" their creation into wine. I should emphasize that expensive modern equipment is NOT needed to make beer and wine. Only fruit, or malt (available as extract from home brewing suppliers), sugar, and yeast. The yeast should be purchased from a reputable supplier, as wine yeasts differ from beer yeasts. Frank
Great post @Frank Sanoica! Now I know how my grandparents made their wine with the concord grapes minus those that us grandkids ate. I don't know if any of the others got to taste the wine but I did and it was delicious.
Wow Frank, that is a very indepth look at home brewing. So what is your favorite to make? I have been intrigued with the idea for awhile, but Mr. Murphy and I are well acquainted and if there is a way for something to go wrong I will find it. Plus, I tend to be rather impatient and might insist it is ready when it is not. I guess practice makes perfect though. IS that raspberry concoction one of yours or simply a pic from another site? I would like to experiment.
@K E Gordon Fresh raspberries were used, on sale for one rare occasion, they are too expensive generally for our budget. But, Raspberry Wine has a wonderful "bouquet" I guess the connoseurs would say, fragrance to me, along with that unique Raspberry taste! What is shown in the big carboys is the result after straining out the seeds and skins, if any, which can be seen in the view looking down into the 5-gallon bucket, that actually being Cranberries, but same process applies to all. The crushed fruit, along with it's juice and skins, seeds, is placed in a 5-gallon food-quality bucket, about 2 lbs. of fruit per gallon of wine, plain old table sugar, about 2 lbs. per gallon, and sufficient water added to make up the batch, the amount depending on how much fruit was used. Wine yeast is first dissolved in a tiny bit of warm water, one packet being plenty to make 5 gallons of wine, and stirred in. Bucket is lightly covered with a standard lid, sitting loosely on top, not sealed! Within a day or two, stirring the batch to mix back in the thick stuff, skins usually to get all the natural color out of them, an aroma of alcohol can be detected. On the 7th. day, the entire batch is strained through a household strainer, then poured into a pillowcase for final filtering. The yeast spores contained pass through the cloth, to continue fermenting in the big bottle, sealed from the outside air by the little "airlock" thingies, which have a "trap" filled with water, just like under our sinks. The gas (carbon dioxide) produced by fermentation bubbles it's way out, the water preventing entry of outside air, which can spoil the batch, producing fruit vinegar! When finished fermenting, after several weeks, or longer, the carboy contents are carefully removed, as the sediment at bottom is remaining yeast not wanted in the wine. That process is called "racking". I place the wine at that stage in gallon glass jugs, sitting quietly for weeks, as final settling and clearing take place. Once nice and clear, it is racked again, it being then drinkable, if desired, but generally the wine connoseurs recommend aging for many months. At 74, the uncertainty of how many months are prudent to wait, I drink it early! Frank
There is a winery near here @Frank Sanoica that has a variety of fruity wines, and I must say they are excellent. I do try them if I happen to be out that way. One thing they make that is really super in the summer is a Raspberry Slush. It is a wine slush, I made the same basic thing here though, by adding red wine to some kind of Raspberry drink mix I had. I had to say, it was delicious, and almost as good as what the winery had to offer...for much less money!
We made Cherry Bounce. When the bing cherries were ready to be picked we were all set to make one of our favorite drinks. Cherry Bounce has a history. Martha Washington had the recipe written on her husband's stationary. This is about the right time to make it. It takes 3 months in a cool dark place to ferment, and a hit during the holidays. We served it as a cordial for special occasions. But the grandmas always had it on their nightstand for "medicinal purposes."
I love Cherries, I bet Cherry Bounce is awesome. I have an old timey cookbook that supposedly has some of Martha Washington's recipies in it. I doubt Martha spent much time in the kitchen though. I am sure she had her slaves make any of the recipes that she had. Somehow, I can't imagine her working in front of a cauldron, but maybe she was sitting on the porch enjoying her Cherry Bounce lol.
I'm sure she did have the slaves make it. It was funny to read the recipe was on Ol'e George's stationary. It sort of humanized our first president. The Bounce is good year around, and makes a nice summer drink. It's very easy to make. This is exactly the way we made it, and found the recipe on line. imbibmagazine.com/cherry-bounce-recipe/
A time-honored Polish tradition is the making of, let me try to reason out the spelling, "Jezinovka". Jeziny are cherries. Our neighbor when I was a kid took big Bing cherries, and soaked them in either vodka or Everclear alcohol for several months, not sure which. The juice leached out into the liquor; they did not crush the cherries. Upon opening for consumption, they ate the cherries as they drank this stuff! Whew!
Our Polish friends in Ohio made it the way you described. We put in a large saucepan the cherries, sugar, and lemon juice, bringing to a simmer over medium heat, Then to low heat continue to simmer 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool. Add Rye Whiskey, in large glass jar and secure lid. Shake to combine and let rest in cool dark place for 3 months. We use the cherries to eat or garnish. You can use different kinds of liquor depending what taste you want. Rum, sweetness, bourbon, Vodka