Last week we took a trip to Erie to do some wine tasting. We stopped at 3 of the winery’s this time. They were South Shore Winery, Heritage Winery, and Mazza Winery. As a wine maker, I am always trying to learn more about the art of wine making. One way to do that is to sample other wines. There is no better place to sample wines than at a winery.

At most winery’s you pay a small fee for a number of tastings. In Erie, it was $2 for 6 tastings. We split the tasting between us, so we each tried 3 wines. I usually try wines I am familiar with, but I also ask if there is one wine I should try while I am here, which one would that be? I get some strange looks with that question and then they usually ask me what kinds of wine I like. After that I get to try something unique to that winery. And it is something I probably would not have picked myself.

One winery did not charge a tasting fee and that was Heritage. They also had the largest selection of wines for sampling. Heritage has an “open” tasting bar and you have to pour the samples yourself, but if you want to try a large variety of wines, this is the one winery to visit.

South Shore Winery was by far the most unique. It has a beautiful stone cellar that is over 150 year old. You have to see this winery in order to appreciate the stone cellar. It is unlike any other winery I have seen. It is like you are walking into a cavern to taste wine. They are also part of the Mazza Winery.

Winery’s offer the wine maker an opportunity to sample different styles and types of wine. Most of these winery’s also offer different kinds of fruit wine. If you are trying to learn to be a better wine maker, sampling other wines will help you learn more about the art of wine making. By tasting other artist’s work, you can learn what is different from your wine and what is the same. Maybe they will give you new ideas for you wine. Maybe you can offer them some ideas. And as always,

Enjoy!

August 15th, 2010 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off

I received an email from Luva Bella Winery recently, they are now taking orders for Californian and Italian Wine Grape Juice. If you are looking for a source of Californian grape juice, check out their web site. They have a nice selection of varieties this year, so you should be able to find something you like. I’ve bought juice from them in the past and have been happy with their service. If you have time, try some of their wood oven baked Pizza and sample some of their wine.

Enjoy

August 2nd, 2010 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off

When you think wine grapes, most people think of California, France, or Erie here in Pennsylvania, but there is another region that produces fine wine grapes. That region is the South American Country of Chile.

This past spring, I ordered some wine grape juice from Chile. Luva Bella Winery buys wine grape juice from Chile each spring. They sell it in 6 gallon buckets for $43 – $48 depending on the variety. The wine juice has already been adjusted, the only thing the wine maker needs to do is let the bucket warm to room temperature and stir the must. (They keep the wine juice in coolers to keep it from starting on its own.)

I bought 4 different varieties this year, Pinot Grigio, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and White Zinfandel. They are in various stages of completion and should be ready to bottle by fall when Luva Bella orders juice from California.

Chile may not come to mind as a source for good wine grapes, but I have been impressed with the quality I have purchased this year. If you want to make wine from fresh grapes in the spring, Chilian wine grapes are the solution.

Enjoy!

July 19th, 2010 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off

I recently made a batch of Peach Berry wine. I had some frozen peaches left over from a prior batch of wine. I bought some berries to add to it. Here is the recipe for a 5 gallon batch.

9 lbs of frozen peaches
2 lbs of blue berries
1.5 lbs of blackberries
1.5 lbs of strawberries
8lbs of sugar boiled in 2 gal of water
14 tsp of acid blend
5 tsp of yeast nutrient
1 1/4 tsp of tannin
5 campden tablets

PA was 13 %
TA was .60%

I boiled the water and sugar and poured it over the fruit, added 8 tsp of acid blend and tested acid. It was low so I added 6 more tsp of acid blend for a total of 14 tsp to get acid to .60% TA. Next I added the yeast nutrient, tannin. When the must was cool, I added the campden tablets. 24 hrs later I added pectin enzyme, 24 hrs after that I added Lavin D47 yeast.

July 15th, 2010 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off

I know it has be a while since I have last posted. I’ve been making lots of wine and experimenting with different recipes and I will be sharing that with you over the next few weeks. Some things that I have been doing include, oaking wine, flavoring wine, blending fruits among other things. I still teach classes at Porter House Brew shop and the next class is scheduled for September 11. I hope to see you there.

July 15th, 2010 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off

Last spring, I started two patches of Dandelion wine. They are just now getting ready to bottle. I was sampling the first batch prior to bottling, when I discovered it was pretty weak. I top up my wine with water, and this wine was pretty light to begin with, so by bottling time I was not happy with the body.

All is not lost when this situation occurs. Blending is always and option with a weak wine. I didn’t really have anything I wanted to blend this with, so I chose a different. route. One suggestions from Winepress was to add a can of grape concentrate juice to the wine. I choose to add a can of frozen apple juice to the 5 gallon carboy.

After adding juice, I gave the wine some time to adjust. It had already been stabilized, so it did not start fermenting again. However, I did have to wait for it to clear again. I took about 1 month for the wine to clear after adding the apple juice. After it was clear, I tasted it, and it was pretty good, far better than before. After just 1 month in the bottle, it has become respectable enough to be given away. I think it will age well.

Not every problem with wine making turns into disaster. Sometimes what you think is a problem, is really a blessing in disguise.This is not the first time I had some kind of issue with Dandelion Wine. A couple of years ago, I had a batch of Dandelion Wine that had cleared but started fermenting again. I could not get it to stop, the sugar level was below 2%PA, I needed the carboy, so I made sparkling wine out of it. That was some of the best Dandelion wine I have ever made!

Sadly, that sparkling wine is long gone, but my point is to not give up. Wine making is part art as well as science. A little creativity can help turn what otherwise might be a problem, into a success. Do some research, read everything you can about wine making, and don’t be afraid to experiment. You just might be surprised by the results.

Enjoy!

November 23rd, 2009 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off

We were racking wine this weekend. Some we bottled, some needed racked. One of the last ones we racked was Apple Wine. The carboy we racked from had a ring around the neck on the inside. This is normal, and of course, needs cleaned.

Now we could have just scrubbed the carboy with a brush. I’ve done that plenty of times. but I was pressed for time, so I used an alternate method. I mixed 2 tablespoons of B-Brite with two gallons of water. I put this in the carboy. I got an old coffee can and filled it with water and placed it in my wash tub. I then placed the carboy with the B-Brite into the coffee can upside down. The water in the coffee can will keep the B-Brite solution from draining from the carboy. The B-Brite solution, will attack any residue in the neck of the carboy.

I left the carboy upside down in the coffee can in the wash tub over night. The next day, the neck of was clean and I didn’t have to scrub the carboy! This is a nice trick to use if you don’t have the time to clean the carboy. It is also good if you can’t get some stubborn residue cleaned. Just make sure what ever you are trying to get cleaned is covered in B-Brite solution.

Enjoy!

November 2nd, 2009 | Category: Wine Making | Comments Off