Another day of rain and cold temperatures; Paul and I decided that bottling the apple wine would be a good rainy day project.
We poured some into a glass prior to the bottling process and discovered that it was unpleasantly dry. A few weeks ago it tasted like a dry Chardonnay and now it tastes like rocket fuel. Paul and I were puzzled at first and then we realised our mistake. We had added more sugar to sweeten it up slightly but had not put in a stabiliser so a secondary fermentation had taken place. The extra sugar has just increased the alcoholic content and made the wine even drier. Duh!
We will try and rescue the wine by back sweetening it again, making sure that we add potassium sorbate as a stabiliser before putting any sugar into the mix. Trial and error.
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| pouring with rain but the azalea makes a beautiful splash of colour on the terrace. |
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| forget the stupid wine and just throw Mr Bunny for me |
Who could resist those eyes?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't, that's why we adopted him!
DeleteHope your cure all improves the wine. I'm happy just to get the cork out in one piece!
ReplyDeleteIt's beginning to seem like a lot of hassle for a glass of home made wine.
DeleteWow, wine making involves some complex chemistry. It seems you know what steps are required to get this right. Making recipe adjustments and documenting them seems important for future wine making. Eventually you get a winning recipe. The taste test seems key.
ReplyDeleteIt all seems a bit hit and miss to me. Very hard to get the desired level of sweetness.
DeleteLady M once made Apple Wine, and it was superb. When I said she should make more, she said she couldn't remember what she'd done. A recipe lost forever.
ReplyDeleteI asked Paul if he had written down the recipe he used. He said he couldn't remember whether he had or not, or where he might have written it!
DeletePoor Rick, coming second to the wine bottling! Bet you weren't allowed to ignore him for long.
ReplyDeleteHe is really not happy if he can't be the centre of attention.
DeleteI used to make pretty good home brew beer, but was always hopeless with wine. my friends in France make a lot of (illegal)gin - and rum too - which Jane tells me is very nice. I do miss booze every now and again...
ReplyDeleteOur French neighbour used to keep us supplied with eau de vie - that was wicked stuff.
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