Wine Blog: Apple Cider, Strawberry and Saskatoon
Hey everyone. Been a while. More on that soon I hope - boy, have I been busy.
But first - wine! Just this past weekend I skimmed off a few ounces of each wine to taste, and decide what to do with it.
Strawberry Wine
So, this is coming along REALLY nicely, and I have some big hopes now!
It's quite strong, alcohol-wise - and quite strawberry, which is excellent. The colour is also really phenomenal, red-orange with some amber-gold in it... lovely. Upon tasting it, I have decided to aim for a port-styled strawberry wine! I will add brandy to bring the alcohol level above where the yeast can survive, then sweeten, starting with the reserved juice - which should add an infusion of strawberry - and then let age with toasted oak chips until I am satisfied with the flavour; I will have to be careful not to overpower it with oak.
I am really excited about this one, I think it is going to kick ass in a year or so!
Apple Cider
The apple cider is quite sharp and acidic, but with a definite apple character. It's quite dry, which means it's probably about 8-9% alcohol - though it didn't taste that strong, actually. It might be hard to tell without it being carbonated, that being how I'm used to having it - right now it's like a weak apple wine.
But, fear not - I have been buying and drinking Grolsch beer, so I have a fair number of the swing-top resealable bottles squirreled away - and they are just perfect for bottling cider, because they can take the pressure and are easily resealed! So, I am prepared to do some initial trials to see if I can make sparkling cider - assuming that the yeast in the cider is just dormant, and not dead! Tonight I have done a bunch of research, and made even more calculations, and here is my plan:
Bottle 1L of cider in a plastic coke bottle, with 2t of sugar: This should give an idea of what a standard sparkling cider will be like from this wine. The plastic bottle will allow me to judge carbonation level.
Bottle 450mL of cider in a Grolsch bottle with 1T of sugar: This is 3 times the calculated required amount to prime the secondary fermentation and make bubbles - it should give me an idea of whether I can add extra sugar, and sweeten at the same time, expecting that the pressure will eventually halt the fermentation - without blowing up the bottle. (I will wrap the bottle in an old towel and leave it in a bucket, in case it can't handle the pressure and explodes.)
Bottle 450mL of cider in a Grolsch bottle with 6mL of Ontario maple syrup: I don't know if this will be enough to impart a maple flavour or not... but I will find out. :)
Bottle 450mL of cider in a Grolsch bottle with 10mL of sweetened strawberry juice (which was leftover from making the strawberry wine): again, I don't know if this will impart enough strawberry flavour to make it worth it, but I will find out.
I may try oaking some of it with a few toasted oak chips I'll be getting for the strawberry... we'll see!
Saskatoon Wine
I am the least thrilled with this one. The saskatoon character is there, though mostly the "woody" elements from the seeds. But the wine so far is very empty other than that. I'm not sure how I can add more "body" at this point... I'm going to have to do some searching to see what can be done. Sweetening may help a bit, I should try that. I think with more body it could actually be a good "with food" wine, it's got the tannins and the woody elements (though not from oaking) but... it's just so thin right now.
It is possible that it might make a good "saskatoon cider" if I prime it with sugar and bottle it like the apple cider. Maybe I oughta do a half-n-half trial with the apple cider, see if I can make a sparkling saskatoon cider? Hmm.
B.
But first - wine! Just this past weekend I skimmed off a few ounces of each wine to taste, and decide what to do with it.
Strawberry Wine
So, this is coming along REALLY nicely, and I have some big hopes now!
It's quite strong, alcohol-wise - and quite strawberry, which is excellent. The colour is also really phenomenal, red-orange with some amber-gold in it... lovely. Upon tasting it, I have decided to aim for a port-styled strawberry wine! I will add brandy to bring the alcohol level above where the yeast can survive, then sweeten, starting with the reserved juice - which should add an infusion of strawberry - and then let age with toasted oak chips until I am satisfied with the flavour; I will have to be careful not to overpower it with oak.
I am really excited about this one, I think it is going to kick ass in a year or so!
Apple Cider
The apple cider is quite sharp and acidic, but with a definite apple character. It's quite dry, which means it's probably about 8-9% alcohol - though it didn't taste that strong, actually. It might be hard to tell without it being carbonated, that being how I'm used to having it - right now it's like a weak apple wine.
But, fear not - I have been buying and drinking Grolsch beer, so I have a fair number of the swing-top resealable bottles squirreled away - and they are just perfect for bottling cider, because they can take the pressure and are easily resealed! So, I am prepared to do some initial trials to see if I can make sparkling cider - assuming that the yeast in the cider is just dormant, and not dead! Tonight I have done a bunch of research, and made even more calculations, and here is my plan:
Bottle 1L of cider in a plastic coke bottle, with 2t of sugar: This should give an idea of what a standard sparkling cider will be like from this wine. The plastic bottle will allow me to judge carbonation level.
Bottle 450mL of cider in a Grolsch bottle with 1T of sugar: This is 3 times the calculated required amount to prime the secondary fermentation and make bubbles - it should give me an idea of whether I can add extra sugar, and sweeten at the same time, expecting that the pressure will eventually halt the fermentation - without blowing up the bottle. (I will wrap the bottle in an old towel and leave it in a bucket, in case it can't handle the pressure and explodes.)
Bottle 450mL of cider in a Grolsch bottle with 6mL of Ontario maple syrup: I don't know if this will be enough to impart a maple flavour or not... but I will find out. :)
Bottle 450mL of cider in a Grolsch bottle with 10mL of sweetened strawberry juice (which was leftover from making the strawberry wine): again, I don't know if this will impart enough strawberry flavour to make it worth it, but I will find out.
I may try oaking some of it with a few toasted oak chips I'll be getting for the strawberry... we'll see!
Saskatoon Wine
I am the least thrilled with this one. The saskatoon character is there, though mostly the "woody" elements from the seeds. But the wine so far is very empty other than that. I'm not sure how I can add more "body" at this point... I'm going to have to do some searching to see what can be done. Sweetening may help a bit, I should try that. I think with more body it could actually be a good "with food" wine, it's got the tannins and the woody elements (though not from oaking) but... it's just so thin right now.
It is possible that it might make a good "saskatoon cider" if I prime it with sugar and bottle it like the apple cider. Maybe I oughta do a half-n-half trial with the apple cider, see if I can make a sparkling saskatoon cider? Hmm.
B.