Do You Like Wine? Favorite?

a reply to: Lumenari

I went to a cider place in Michigan (all their stuff is phenomenal), but my favorite was they had one of their ciders they sent off to be distilled into brandy, then they fortified another cider with it and barrel aged it.

Just spit balling over here.

Actually, I lied, that is tied for my favorite. They also had a damson cider, it was tart and not too sweet... Though it was a little acidic, so I'd cut it with a dry cider 50/50.

Speaking of, we have some killer damson moonshine round these parts. It's also about to be fall, so apple pie moonshine will be all around.

Wish I could have gotten in on this thread last night when it started. But I was too drunk on a Pinot Gris, to coherently type. 😁

I live in AZ, so it’s difficult to drink red wines this time of year. A nice cold Sauvignon Blanc, maybe an occasional Pinot Grigio, and love me some good Rose. I’ll even put ice cubes in it. Gotta be cold.

I own a wine tour company, so this is a fun topic for me.

Food for thought. Did you know that Arizona was the largest wine making region in North America for 65 years.

Meh. Most wines take like salad dressing to me. My wife likes it, but I've never really been a fan. I do like some cranberry wine around the holidays, and occasionally maybe a good port in the winter. I'll buy Livingston burgundy for cooking spaghetti sauce (killer). One thing I really like at that fermented end of the spectrum is cider.

There's a local place here called Ash & Elm that does their own cider and has it on tap. I made some mussels in their dry cider that were some of the best eating I've had in a while.

I've had my eye open for some elderberry wine, but it's not readily available at least in my area. I might not even like it, but the movie Arsenic and Old Lace has me curious. Hold the poison.

a reply to: yeahright

Meh. Most wines take like salad dressing to me.

Ummm what kind of salad dressing you eatin'

a reply to: KKLOCO

I live in AZ, so it’s difficult to drink red wines this time of year.

I'm no stranger to red wine on the beach, or on a boat, in the middle of summer. Sometimes I'll chill it, since it's easier to keep in a cooler than allowing it to raise to ambient temp or above, but not always.

a reply to: Lumenari

Well, the thing is yeast has an alcohol tolerance, above which it cannot survive. So, once you reach the tolerance point the fermentation stops, hence my surprise. Champagne yeasts have the highest tolerance at 18-19%.

Above this you can really only increase the alcohol content by an evaporative method, or a progressive ice distillation and racking process.. Then it really starts becoming a brandy.

Brandy starts at about 30%, and getting wine from 20% to 30% is really a concentration process.

I've never done it, but that's how I understand it works. Not an expert by any means.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: Lumenari

Well, the thing is yeast has an alcohol tolerance, above which it cannot survive. So, once you reach the tolerance point the fermentation stops, hence my surprise. Champagne yeasts have the highest tolerance at 18-19%.

Above this you can really only increase the alcohol content by an evaporative method, or a progressive ice distillation and racking process.. Then it really starts becoming a brandy.

Brandy starts at about 30%, and getting wine from 20% to 30% is really a concentration process.

I've never done it, but that's how I understand it works. Not an expert by any means.

I'm doing a double fermentation though, with sugar feeds, three different yeastie beasties and increasing the heat on the second fermentation. You can push a yeast past it's limits if you do it right.

My math I had thought was pretty simple for the hydrometer... check SG at beginning, check at end of first fermentation (say 14%), add other goodies, check starting SG (because it changes when adding more sugar), check final SG at end of final fermentation (say 7%)

Maybe I'm doing my math wrong.

~puzzled~

ETA... nevermind.

My final yeast is a DADY yeast from Red Star.

Ferments up to 22% before slowing. Use nutrients to obtain the highest alcohol level prior to distillation (which of course is NOT legal as a beverage!). Usually not used for wines or beers.

Midwest Supplies

Mystery solved...

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Pruno.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Pruno.

Talking of which... How are your haemorrhoids doing nowadays Aug?

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Lumenari

I don't know much about wines but I know that a better Merlot will have stronger legs when you swirl the glass.

My wines are a gentle swirl of flavors with no real alcohol flavor but yet are 22% ABV and can be used as a general anesthesia if necessary.

So they're probably not for everyone... but I prefer them to anything store bought.

But I'm just a backwoods type soOo...

That sounds a bit like a port wine ?
( Although it seems that Port wine is usually 'fortified'. )
Porto isn't for meals, but more for cheese, and 'not-too-sweet' dessert pastry pairings, it seems.

a reply to: Lumenari

From the same link...

Usually not used for wines or beers. ...

Again, only my understanding, but this is for making 'high wine' from 'low wine', or in this case, going straight for 'high wine'. This, to be used to distill into brandy. I didn't think high wine was suitable for drinking.

I could be wrong though, as I've never used this yeast. You may be onto something.

ETA - In any case...$60 per bottle???? HOLY CRAP!! Wine makers must be beating down your doors and burning down your phone!!

I just call mine, "Cowboy Hooch", "Corral CardBordeaux", "Wineaux" and "Mangria" (it's pretty good though). My upcoming vintages will be called "The Dirty Frenchman", "Chillin' like a Villain", "Nanny Boom Boom" and "Wineoceros".

Some names I'm holding in reserve for future batches..."Winegasm", "Voltaire's Angry Glove", "Trailer Park Funride", "Prison Bitch" and "Cougar Pop"

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

You are not supposed to use it for a wine because making a wine with that much alcohol content isn't legal.

Trying to make beer with it would be tragic because in my experience with beers, if you go over about 7% alcohol you start tasting the alcohol. I made a white wheat 11% beer once and it was absolutely horrible.

DADY doesn't impart any kind of flavor with whatever you are making, so it would be a crappy choice to make anything with that you are not going to distill.

However, I use two different yeasts for my first fermentation. The first is where I get my flavor.

You threw me for a bit of a loop on this thread because I learned most of my recipes from my Dad and the double fermentation process as well so I haven't read much about winemaking online.

When you said 22% was not really feasibile and I looked online and everyone there was saying it wasn't either it kinda confused me because I was pretty damn sure I was doing that... lol.

I ended up calling Dad.



I usually don't name my wines except the fruit wine I make from whatever is left in the orchard in the fall, which is of course called Frankenwine.

As for anyone getting my recipe, it's online on your thread now.

Except if course what I use for the first yeast batch. That's a family recipe.

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
Talking of which... How are your haemorrhoids doing nowadays Aug?

You and DB are fine, thanks for assking.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
Talking of which... How are your haemorrhoids doing nowadays Aug?

You and DB are fine, thanks for assking.

👍Saw what you did there...

a reply to: Nothin

I can't even hardly swallow port wine. I don't know what it is, but it's just WAY too sweet for me. It's like my throat just shuts down and I can't swallow it. I don't know how anyone can drink port. Well, wait a moment, yes I do know. After eating some of the food in the UK I imagine you can swallow about anything as long as it's wet (to counteract the scorched to a crisp food). I love the UK, but the food is not one of the reasons why! They got some of the cookies and cakes right, but for anything else you've got to go for a swim across the Channel.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: Nothin

I can't even hardly swallow port wine. I don't know what it is, but it's just WAY too sweet for me. It's like my throat just shuts down and I can't swallow it. I don't know how anyone can drink port. Well, wait a moment, yes I do know. After eating some of the food in the UK I imagine you can swallow about anything as long as it's wet (to counteract the scorched to a crisp food). I love the UK, but the food is not one of the reasons why! They got some of the cookies and cakes right, but for anything else you've got to go for a swim across the Channel.

Merci beaucoup Monsieur.

Vive l’escargot... vive la France 🇫🇷

I do miss my Yorkshire puddings though.

Ps. You have PM FCD

Lags

I started a wine collection about 30 years ago. I scavenged through the stores looking for appropriate additions. Occasionally I pop one open and enjoy it. Or try to. What I have learned over the years is that the most expensive wines I had purchased were the most insulting to my palette. Price does not always indicate quality.

Having experimented with the pricier wines (within my budget) and being disappointed I moved in the other direction. And I found some amazing wines at bargain prices.

I will give you one of the best kept secrets in the wine industry: Newmans Own.

Newmans Own brands, created as a charitable organisation, have so far donated more than half a billion dollars to charity from the sales of Newmans Own products. To celebrate this achievement, Newmans Own partnered with a popular California winery to release some of their wine under his label at Newmans Own prices. On their own label these wines can sell for $100 per bottle. Newmans Own sells them for $8.99. It is the same wine!

Newmans Own cabernet sauvignon is one of the best wines I have ever had. And I am comparing that to a $200 bottle of Barolo. There is another called Common Good which is also excellent. I was not impressed with the white however, but that doesn't mean you won't like it. For $8.99 a bottle it is well worth the effort to try it out.

Another wine I discovered recently quite by accident is a rose called Serena. It is very very lightly bubbly with a sweet rose flavor. It is an excellent after dinner wine. At my local store Serena sells for $10.95. Its worth a try.

Of course if you like champagne a bottle of Cristal is hard to beat. More budget friendly is the Moet Brut Imperial vintage. Also an excellent wine but drier than the Cristal. Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label is also a unique and excellent wine that is not outrageously priced. I would buy a vintage Brut Imperial or Veuve clicquot before wasting money on an expensive bottle of Dom any day of the week. Not that Dom is bad, just severely overpriced.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Champagne is something I really know very little about. I used to just by the cheap white stuff (Andre) by the case and put fresh fruit in it. One time my friend and I did that, but they were out of white, so we had to get cold duck. Boy were we sorry about that decision...afterwards!!

What I am trying to do is, understand the major wine types, what I like and what I don't so much, and then explore all the different derivatives and permutations of what I like.

Wine naming is a real mystery once you get beyond the known major types (i.e. Burgundy, Rose, Chardonnay, Chianti, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Savignon, Rhine, and a few others). Especially when you get into wines from other regions like Australia, South America, South Africa and beyond. I am beginning to learn the grapes, and the regions, and some of the types, but there's a lot to take in. Then, there's the whole 'blends' thing, which complicates things even further!

My mission (with wine) is to DE-SNOB-IFY wine. I want wine to be fun, and enjoyable. And, from what I see on the market, there are many wineries which are trying to do the same. In the late 80's and 90's wine was very snobber-ish, and I don't like that (at all)!

Wine is one of the oldest alcoholic fermented beverages known to man. Let's just enjoy it for what it is. Find the wine you like and enjoy it with friends!

And, F# the wine-snobs!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

If you take some cheap white like Andre or something similar, add some sugar and a bunch of cut strawberries it will make a nice champagne punch. Then let it sit for a couple days. With the extra sugar it will re-ferment making it a fortified wine- almost a brandy. Watch the kick though. With all that sugar the hangover is wicked. I don't honestly recommend the re-fermentation, but if you wanted to know, there you go.

With the exception of the uniqueness of various wineries, one glass of each type of wine is more than enough for me to know what I like and what I don't. I tend to like sweeter wines though a dry champagne is also good, and I love the tartness of a good Riesling. The one thing they all have in common is that the flavors are not overpowering. Some cabernet, some riesling, most chianti, most rose', most zinfandel or blush, and the occasional rhine wine for me.

I agree that wine was very snobbish for a long time. Some places are trying hard to change that, others are trying just as hard to keep it that way. One of my newest favorites, Serena, has a twist off cap. It wasn't that long ago that I would not have considered that just because. Now I know better.

Wine is good. Game of Thrones said so. I believe Game of Thrones.