Friday - Blueberry Wine
Wine making tips one and two.
You can try for years and home made wine will never taste as good as a real wine from a Mediterranean country, or more recently the wines of the Southern hemisphere. OK, occasionally there is an exception, but the abundance of chemicals used in making wine at home frequently taints it.
My grandfather who was otherwise a pretty sane chap and fountain of knowledge, having spent a lot of time in India, started making his own wine when he retired. My first taste of homemade wine was when I was about 7 when I was allowed a few sips of his "vintage" blackberry wine. Even at that tender age I could tell that it was immensely alcoholic but tasted awful. He belonged to a wine making "Circle" who used to give out wine making tips to other keen winemakers. Because all the members used the same chemicals they did not notice them at their 'tastings'. Anyone used to real wine would rather have a G&T or a Scotch.
I must admit that later in life I dabbled in winemaking myself. I should have known better, I know, but living in the English countryside with often more produce than I needed I decided to do something with the gluts of apples, pears and other fruits in the garden, as well as picking blackberries and elderberries from the local hedgerows.
I invested in a load of gear, bottles, books, corks, demi-johns and tried to make wine without chemicals, having remembered the times I had been forced to try various friends' unpalatable brews, "Oh you must try my carrot wine, it tastes just like Frascati". (It was more like battery acid and bore no resemblance to that fine wine).
So I read loads of books, most of which told me to use lots of chemicals without which one could not make wine, and gave it a go. A few gallons of apple vinegar (which was great for cooking), several gallons of funny tasting water and a year or two later I finally made a small batch of very drinkable elderberry wine using a port yeast. It was rather like a half-decent chianti. So having invested in all the equipment, spent many, many hours picking fruit, washing it, bottling-up, siphoning-off and all the other numerous tasks necessary in home-made wine making, I ended up with some very good vinegar (around 10 years worth) and 7 bottles of drinkable wine.
Nowadays I'm very happy to go to the local shop and get a decent bottle of the real thing. One of the main problems with homemade wine is its unknown strength. Yes I know there are various gadgets for measuring that sort of thing, but that is rather throwing good money after bad, and if it doesn't really taste very nice anyway why bother?
Sitting here with a glass of chilled Frascati and a smoked salmon sandwich I really wish I had taken the two most important wine making tips before I even started. It would have saved me a lot of aggravation.
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Short Review on Blueberry Wine
Wine making tips one and two.
You can try for years and home made wine will never taste as good as a real wine from a Mediterranean country, or more recently the wines of the South...
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Blueberry Wine Items For Viewing
Lormin XO 1er Cru Cognac
The sub-regions of Cognac form concentric circles of different soil types, forming a "target" around the town of Cognac itself. In the center of this taget is the finest area, called Grande Fine Champagne. Our Lormin XO COGNAC is created from a blend of older barrels, with a minimum of 7 years of age. Although the producers have tried substitutes, the only wood that yields the classical Cognac flavors is expensive oak from Limousin. This cognac is warm, soft and rich with aromatic oak tones. Absolutely excellent. XOC XOC
Price: 97.99 USD
Headlines on Blueberry Wine
Uncorked DC: Savor the Flavor. Taste the Rainbow.
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:00:47 PDT
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Corkscrew, a chic bar accessory
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:16:56 PDT
early school project that I've decided to revisit. My objective was a clean, simple and easily manufacture wine crank /cork screw. I have been thinking about re-enforcing cut out in the top with a metal ring which would allow it to function as a bottle opener- without this i feel a resin/plastic would be too easily damaged.
Tony Newman: How Will the Economic Crisis Impact Drug Use and Drug Policy?
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:07:33 PDT
I know a lot about drugs and the drug war, both personally and professionally. Drugs have had, at alternating times, a positive and a detrimental impact on my life. I have laughed, relaxed and found inspiration while intoxicated. I have also struggled, fought and become despondent because of my addiction to drugs (think cigarettes). I have spent the last eight years working at the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization working to reform drug laws. With the economic crisis in the United States d
A Forceful Voice For Consumers
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:05:43 PDT
Michigan Consumers should be smiling. A Federal District Court Judge in that state ruled on Tuesday that the state's law that bars consumers from buying and having wine shipped to them from out-of-state retailers violated the U.S. Constitution and enjoined the State from enforcing laws that prevent such shipments. The decision was a forceful one. Judge Donna Hood made no bones about it: "the State’s argument that the Twenty First Amendment gives it the authority to regulate alcohol coming int
Kissing Tree launches single-serve wine (Publican)
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:16:37 PDT
A wine brand targeted at 18-35 year old women is to bring out a single serve bottle, designed particularly for lunch time occasions. Yorkshire-based wine company CWF is launching its Kissing Tree range in an 18.75cl format.
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