Well, I bottled my lavender wine today.

[tuvor]

Holy shit, is it ever boozy! And the lavender aftertaste reminds me of gin.

I'll have to cut it with equal parts soda water and report back later.

Not bad for 35 cents a bottle. If you're not in a wine-connoiseur state of mind, of course.

[Suich]

1. Did you make it with a kit?

:hi:

[tuvor]

2. Nope. Just sugar, water, and lavender.

And tiny amounts of tannin, yeast, etc., but those were the main ingredients.

That's not to say I don't have a couple of (grape) kits percolating right now, though. :)

[Suich]

4. I've seen lavender growing outside. What form is it in

to use for wine? My nephew makes really good wine with the kit and saskatoons...yum!

[tuvor]

6. I just used the flowers.

I guess the leaves are useable in recipes for other things, but the few lavender wine recipes I found on the Web called for flowers, so I was patient and waited for them to bloom. It took less than a quart of dried flowers for a 5-gallon batch. In fact, that might have been a little too much.

The recipe I used can be found on this page: http://quitobee.paetzel.info/9.htm

(If your nephew hasn't made strawberry wine from scratch before, tell him to give it a shot. OMG, it's delicious!)

[enigmatic]

3. ahem

What will it take to get a bottle, my friend? :)

[tuvor]

5. Oh, geeze.

All it'll take is my pride not being shot to hell.

I don't know if you really want this. It was a ten-dollar experiment, since we've got lavender out the yin-yang in our yard. (The sugar was the only real expense, since I already had the other ingredients and they tend to go a long way.)

Give me a day or two to see if it's salvageable with club soda and I'll let you know.

:)

[enigmatic]

8. thanks bro

You know I've got a homemade wine monkey on my back!

[tuvor]

10. No problem!

Keep an eye on your PMs!

[badgerpup]

7. I'm a vintner too! I made lavender wine too!! (jumps up and down)

I made a batch last year as an experiment...holeee chit was it ever dry! I had to adjust it with a 2:1 syrup.
I made it mostly to add to my mint wine...now THERE'S a friendly combination.
You get the mint right away, but there's a lavender aftertaste.
My brew guru says that chilling improves the flavor...
:toast: :beer:

[tuvor]

9. Ooh, I don't know if I could handle mint.

(Bad Peppermint Schnapps experience, won't go there!)

What kind of sugar did you use? This was the first time I tried regular table sugar in a scratch wine, instead of dextrose (corn sugar). Maybe that's why the alcohol content's so high...?

Did you find that your wine improved with age? Or did it last that long? ;)

Glad to bump into you, badgerpup! :toast:

[badgerpup]

15. Nice to meet another winemaker who uses 'different' ingredients!

:hi:
What did your alcohol content titer out at?
I usually end up with an alcohol content anywhere between 15%-18%.
Once I got 22%...but that was with a mead, using honey and a champagne yeast.

Mostly I use white cane sugar when I'm making wines.
I have one pineapple-based one that calls for brown sugar...and it's downright luscious;
but I still use cane as opposed to beet.
Recipes available on request...;)

I usually age the mint for about a year before bottling. The mint flavor is fairly evanescent, so it's a wine that can be drunk while young. There's four kinds of mint in it, so the flavor is pretty intense. Good as a spritzer or over ice...it's best chilled.
Lotsa people like it...so it doesn't last long. :beer:

[tuvor]

19. I figure it must be around 15%, but it's hard to tell

My hydrometer started off at 1.090 like it should, and after fermenting was finished, it was below the lowest notch--I figure about 0.984, so from what I understand that should work out to about 14%, but like I said, it tastes like there's a lot more alcohol than that.

Until this batch, I've always used corn sugar (dextrose, probably the same as beet?) because that's what the recipes called for. Then I read that dextrose is critical only if you're making beer. And since regular table/cane sugar is 1/4 the price, well...

I'd love to have your pineapple wine recipe, badgerpup. (Actually, my wife was wondering out loud about such a vino a few weeks ago.) Some friends brought some back from Hawaii once, and it was very tasty. Tasted so much like pineapple, though, I wondered if some flavouring had been added.

How long have you been doing this, anyway? I've only been at it for a couple of years.

[badgerpup]

20. I think about ten years now...and you're right about the pineapple...

...flavoring.
My brew guru says about the only way you can get a pineapple wine to taste like pineapple is to sweeten it with fresh pineapple juice after the fermentation cycle is finished.
THE RECIPE:
1 6 lb (#10) can pineapple chunks with juice* (unsweetened)
3 tsp pectic acid**
10 lbs brown sugar
2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 can orange juice concentrate
1 pkg Lalvin K1-V1116 wine yeast
2 cups dark raisins
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp clove***
2 oz peeled fresh ginger
water to make 4 gallons

Boil 2 gallons water and add the sugar to dissolve to syrup and pour into fermenter.
Puree pineapple, orange juice, raisins, spices and pectic acid and add mixture to syrup in fermenter. Stir well, adding water to bring product up to 4 gallons. Pitch (add yeast) when temp reaches 80 degrees F.

This made a five gallon batch, and I got about 3.5 gallons of usuable product after the final racking. The alcohol level was about 20% and I let it age about a year before I bottled it.
Nice blend of fruit and spice, but the pineapple isn't dominant...just 'fruit'.
It cleared pretty well on its own, without having to use a precipitant.


* I added the extra juice from 2 #10 cans of unsweetened pineapple in its own juice before fermenting...not sure how much this adds up to. I suppose you could either use canned or concentrate, but try to get unsweetened. Otherwise you may have to adjust the sugar by cutting down on the sugar added...and that's a pain in the butt.

**Don't skip this! You need it to break up pineapple enzymes properly and for a nice clear wine.

*** when using cloves, go very sparingly! They are 'dragons' among the spices and have a very strong, bitter aftertaste...takes a loooong time to smooth out.

[tuvor]

21. Sounds great, badgerpup.

I haven't used concentrates before. Maybe I'll start it after the fresh fruits are no longer available, since I'm planning to do some fresh blueberry wine in a week or two, and I've got a source for a bunch of free plums.

And thanks for the footnotes!

[badgerpup]

22. Do you use Campden tablets when you are using fresh fruits...

...or foliage?
This kills off all the wild yeast and levels the playing field so that the only yeast working is the one you put in. Gives you a bit more quality control and prevents some really bad flavors from taking over your wine, depending on what the wild yeast may have been.
I've found out the hard way that you need to wait at least 24 hours after adding the Campden tablets before using your own yeast...otherwise it gets 'leveled' too!

Mmmmm...blueberry...plumsssss....
we mussssst find the preciousssssss....:beer:

[tuvor]

23. Usually I do what the recipe calls for.

But, yes, when I do add potassium metabisulfite (as opposed to the campden tabs), I wait a full day before adding the yeast.

I was lucky enough to read it online. Sorry you had to find out the hard way!

[badgerpup]

24. You might enjoy this book...got me started.

Folk wines, cordials, and brandies
by Jagendorf, M. A. (Moritz Adolph)
This guy was an Austrian dentist whose heart was really into making wine and collecting folklore.
He'd make wine out of just about anything that wasn't downright toxic...and he includes stories, lore and fables with just about every recipe.
The book is out of print, but I found a copy at my local library.
:thumbsup:

[gkdmaths]

11. 35 cents?

I'll pay you much more and shipping for a bottle!

I like wine ;)

ever had lavendar ice cream? its nearly orgasmic.

[laheina]

12. I know this is off thread...

...but I have to hear about the ice-cream.

I have several pounds of culinary grade lavender flowers that I need to use.

[zanne]

13. My aunt used to make dandelion wine.

We'd go for rides in the country and pick dandelions. It's one of my favorite childhood memories.

[laheina]

14. I've also heard

that dandelions make a good salad.

Haven't tried it yet, but it's on my culinary to-do list. ;)

[gkdmaths]

16. we used to get 5 gallons of locally

made honey/lavendar ice cream from the olympia coop. Im not sure who makes it or if its even being made anymore, but you certainly could make yourself ill by eating too much of it in no time!

quite yummy.
:thumbsup:

[Lisa]

18. a small company in my town used to make it

They steeped the lavender flowers in the cream they used. (They folded the business earlier this year due to the need for more family time ... I have one pint left which I'm hoarding in the freezer.)

This isn't the same recipe, but close -- lavender is a big thing in my area.

http://www.happyvalleylavender.com/lavender_recipes.html


I have a book of Victorian-era dessert recipes, and they have a sorbet that uses lavender and grape juice ... PM me if you'd like me to send it to you.

[AlienGirl]

17. That sounds incredibly yummy