The bosses wine.
This is a wine made from frozen grape concentrate and bread yeast. This is what he made in his Navy days aboard submarines. I made a two-gallon batch with this recipe.
Take ten or twelve cans of frozen 100% grape juice and mix one can juice to one can water. This will vary according to how much sugar is in the juice. Boil for 15 minutes to kill off the wild whatever. If you have a hydrometer you can adjust the amount of water/sugar ratio more closely. My initial specific gravity was 1.085. Pitch yeast when it has reached room temperature.
This is where I varied from the boss�s plan and split my batch. Half of it I used SAF Tradition bread yeast from Wal-Mart and the other half I use Lavlin #1118 champagne yeast.
The bread yeast went nuts. I didn�t leave near enough headroom (space between the top of must and fermenter opening). It went everywhere. The Lavlin was better behaved.
One week later after fermentation looked like it was done (it only bubbled once a minute) I racked the wine. The Lavlin wine tasted pretty good. The bread yeast tasted like Mad Dog 20/20. This may or may not be a problem for you. This was when my boss figured that the wine was done and he commenced to drink it. It would definitely work to get you drunk if that is what you�re after.
Having other ideas about quality wine I let it age for another 2 months and then bottled it. The Lavlin still tasted good. The bread yeast was marginally better. This was bottled on 6 June 04. I think I�ll let it sit there for the recommended minimum of a year before opening a bottle.
Update! After three years in the bottle it isn't bad. I wouldn't spend more than a couple of bucks on it but not bad
Traditional Mead
Boil 4 to 5 pounds of honey into 2 quarts of water for 15 minutes. A white scum will for on top. Skim this off with a spoon. Add water to make 1 gallon in your fermenter. Pitch yeast (Lavlin #1118 or other good wine/champagne yeast) when it has reached room temperature. Rack when fermentation slows. Bottle when it has settled and cleared (this took about four months for me, I should have added a tablespoon of lemon juice). Aging on this is anywhere from 3 months to 5 years. It depends on whom you ask. I tried it at about four months in the bottle and it was fantastic. Sorry I didn�t have a hydrometer at the time so I don�t have SG readings.
Pyment
I took 7 lb. of globe grapes, crushed and juiced them let sit in 2 qt. of water to draw out sugar while I boiled the 10 lb. of clover honey in 1 gallon of water for 20 minutes skimming off the gunk. Add grape juice to honey and water and continue to low boil. Put the remains of the grapes into a permeable bag and add to mix. Boil for 15 minutes. Add to fermenter and water for 4 gallons. Add sugar if necessary to bring SG to desired range (I had to use 4 cups, the grapes where not overly sweet.) Pitch yeast (Lavlin #1116 this time) when cool. Rack in a week. Rack again in 2 months. Bottle when clear. Bottled 5 July 04.
I opened a bottle for Christmas. It was a bit dryer than I expected, but had a very pleasing flavor. It's color was almost pinkish yellow. Very good stuff!
Blackberry Wine2Oct04
My sister-in-law dropped by and gave me 3 or 4 gallons of blackberries and asked if I could make her a couple of bottles of wine. Indeed I could. A couple of 1 gallon bottles of wine it turns out.
I squeezed these for about 1 gallon of juice. I added 7 pts of water and I boiled it for about 15 minutes to kill wild yeast and bacteria. I added around 4 lbs of sugar for to bring the specific gravity up.
I also added a 1/4-tsp. of peptic enzyme. ( I had no idea how much to add and I forgot to ask at the store thinking the recipe I was sort of following would tell me. It used liquid and I was using powder. Regardless I was guessing.)(I should have used about a tsp per gallon, for a total of 2 tsp)
I threw it all into the fermenter filling to two gallons and tossed the fruit remains in for good measure. It was in a sweater laundry bag for easy removal.
The yeast I used was Lavlin LV-1116.
OG was 1.113 plus whatever sugar was leeched from fruit.
Racked 7 days later(7 days total), removing fruit bag.
re rack 14 days later (21 days total).
re rack 21 days later (42 days total).
bottle 21 days later (62 days total). Sorry no FG reading, hydrometers don't bounce to well.
See you in 6 months.
After six months it is still pretty ruff.
After 2 1/2 years, OMG! I took a bottle of this to a party and I was everybody's friend. Well not quite, I only had one bottle. This aged incredibly well and is just delicious. Note to self, must see Sister-in-Law about blackberries.
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