OMG - bulk aging for 2 years prior to bottling! thanks for the advice, I
guess I could wait that long, but wow.

DAve

pp wrote:
On Aug 12, 12:03 pm, Dave Allison wrote:
It is very clear, very dark red, but needs aging to get the harshness
and "nose" mellowed out.


Just a note of caution on bottling this early. I've done several port-
style wines from fruit (raspberry, elderberry, blueberry, mixed berry)
and in my experience, it takes at least 2 years for the wines to stop
throwing sediment. Raspberry seems particularly bad this way - I
bottled some batches that looked crystaL clear after 1 year but ended
up cloudy in the bottle with a very fine sediment. So these days I
look at 2 years aging minimum - this has the advantage of letting the
alcohol and sugar meld together and do any finetuning on those if
needed - the balance can change significantly from the early stages.

Pp

mapquest tells me it's a four hour drive to Sparanburg, SC. But remove
the x's from the above email and if you are in that area this fall, let
me know. Sometimes I am in Charlotte, which is real close. Maybe a swap
of a couple bottles. :*)

Thanks for the info about the brandy - it was a great taste test that my
wife and I hoovered over for a while - deciding what everclear or brandy
brought to the port.

If you ever do make a port, I highly recommend cherry, as it cleared so
much nicer than my blueberry or elderberry.

DAve

Joe Sallustio wrote:
Dave,
I never made a port but did do some sherry; I used everclear too. The
brandy I keep around is EJ VSOP (Gallo). It's cheap and I think it
tastes fine.

Keep in the back of your mind when a winemaking text tells you they
add 'brandy' it's usually closer to everclear than brandy from a
store. They distill marc or junk wines to make a concentrated alcohol
which probably tastes closer to moonshine or real grappa than brandy.
They don't age it in oak; it's just used to fortify the wine. Sounds
like it was a nice experiment.

I get to Spartanburg SC once in a while if you are close to there.

Joe

Pp:

What interests me is the last statement, " the balance can change
significantly from the early stages".

Are there any consistent changes in flavors, nose, whatever in ports
over time? Less sweet, less alcohol burn over timeor more what?

Steve
Oregon




pp wrote:

On Aug 12, 12:03 pm, Dave Allison wrote:

It is very clear, very dark red, but needs aging to get the harshness
and "nose" mellowed out.


Just a note of caution on bottling this early. I've done several port-
style wines from fruit (raspberry, elderberry, blueberry, mixed berry)
and in my experience, it takes at least 2 years for the wines to stop
throwing sediment. Raspberry seems particularly bad this way - I
bottled some batches that looked crystaL clear after 1 year but ended
up cloudy in the bottle with a very fine sediment. So these days I
look at 2 years aging minimum - this has the advantage of letting the
alcohol and sugar meld together and do any finetuning on those if
needed - the balance can change significantly from the early stages.

Pp

The overall impact is the flavours become more integrated and the nose
will develop as for regular wines. Especially if you use high proof
alcohol like Everclear, it can take a year or more before the alcohol
blends with the rest of the wine. A good port will last years so it is
a great wine to age and observe how it develops and figure out at
which stage one likes it best.

Pp

On Aug 19, 8:43 pm, spud wrote:
Pp:

What interests me is the last statement, " the balance can change
significantly from the early stages".

Are there any consistent changes in flavors, nose, whatever in ports
over time? Less sweet, less alcohol burn over timeor more what?

Steve
Oregon

.. Especially if you use high proof
alcohol like Everclear, it can take a year or more before the alcohol
blends with the rest of the wine.

Funny you should mention that. I noticed some Limoncello I made last
year is less 'sharp' now. I did not expect that. I only noticed
because I just made more and was comparing them.

Joe

Joe Sallustio wrote:
someone wrote

. Especially if you use high proof
alcohol like Everclear, it can take a year or more before the alcohol
blends with the rest of the wine.

Funny you should mention that. I noticed some Limoncello
I made last year is less 'sharp' now. I did not expect
that. I only noticed because I just made more and was
comparing them.

My Limoncellos are not sharp at all. My recipe is
- Soak the zests of 16 thick-skinned lemons in 1.75
liters of Vodka for six weeks.
- Stir 5 lbs of table sugar into 3 qts of boiling water.
- Add sugar water and another 1.75 liters of Vodka
- Wait another six weeks and bottle.

After Quality Assurance Testing, you should have about
9 750 ml bottles.

But don't trash the zests. Add them to the secondary
of homemade beer. Mead, or wine.

I've also have an Orangecello in the works.

Admittedly Everclear give you a higher ABV, but I
suspect more sugar water might help.

Dick

On Aug 20, 7:05 pm, (Dick Adams) wrote:
Joe Sallustio wrote:

someone wrote
. Especially if you use high proof
alcohol like Everclear, it can take a year or more before the alcohol
blends with the rest of the wine.
Funny you should mention that. I noticed some Limoncello
I made last year is less 'sharp' now. I did not expect
that. I only noticed because I just made more and was
comparing them.

My Limoncellos are not sharp at all. My recipe is
- Soak the zests of 16 thick-skinned lemons in 1.75
liters of Vodka for six weeks.
- Stir 5 lbs of table sugar into 3 qts of boiling water.
- Add sugar water and another 1.75 liters of Vodka
- Wait another six weeks and bottle.

After Quality Assurance Testing, you should have about
9 750 ml bottles.

But don't trash the zests. Add them to the secondary
of homemade beer. Mead, or wine.

I've also have an Orangecello in the works.

Admittedly Everclear give you a higher ABV, but I
suspect more sugar water might help.

Dick

Dick,
You are right, I actually switched to vodka after trading a few posts
with Bill Frazier. It does give a smoother end product. We are going
to make another batch soon so we will give yours a shot.

Let us know how the Orangecello works out. I just did some limes with
Everclear and water and I really don't think it's worth the effort.
It tastes fine but drinking something that green seems a little
weird. It looks like something Scotty would drink on Star Trek.

Joe

Joe Sallustio wrote:
(Dick Adams) wrote:
Joe Sallustio wrote:
someone wrote

Especially if you use high proof
alcohol like Everclear, it can take a year or more before the alcohol
blends with the rest of the wine.

Funny you should mention that. I noticed some Limoncello
I made last year is less 'sharp' now. I did not expect
that. I only noticed because I just made more and was
comparing them.

My Limoncellos are not sharp at all. My recipe is
- Soak the zests of 16 thick-skinned lemons in 1.75
liters of Vodka for six weeks.
- Stir 5 lbs of table sugar into 3 qts of boiling water.
- Add sugar water and another 1.75 liters of Vodka
- Wait another six weeks and bottle.

After Quality Assurance Testing, you should have about
9 750 ml bottles.

But don't trash the zests. Add them to the secondary
of homemade beer. Mead, or wine.

I've also have an Orangecello in the works.

Admittedly Everclear give you a higher ABV, but I
suspect more sugar water might help.

You are right, I actually switched to vodka after trading
a few posts with Bill Frazier. It does give a smoother
end product. We are going to make another batch soon so
we will give yours a shot.

Only if you are a married man, can you fully appreciate
someone acknowledging that you are right.

Let us know how the Orangecello works out.

You can make book on my reporting the results.

I just did some limes with Everclear and water and I really
don't think it's worth the effort. It tastes fine but
drinking something that green seems a little weird.

I declined to try limes even though someone else was
paying for the fruit because the ones I have seen
are not thick skinned, i.e., possibly too much junk
comes off with the zests.

It looks like something Scotty would drink on Star Trek.

Whoa! The actor wo portrays him may or may not be a good
actor, but no reason to besmearch either he or his
character. Maybe it was something the character of the
infamous Harry Mudd would have relished!

An update and question:
The Cherry Port has remained clear. when someone says 2 years of bulk
aging - do I rack it every 3-120 days or just let it sit for 2 years?

DAve
p.s. hope this isn't a dumb question - just learning.

Dave Allison wrote:
OMG - bulk aging for 2 years prior to bottling! thanks for the advice, I
guess I could wait that long, but wow.

DAve

pp wrote:
On Aug 12, 12:03 pm, Dave Allison wrote:
It is very clear, very dark red, but needs aging to get the harshness
and "nose" mellowed out.


Just a note of caution on bottling this early. I've done several port-
style wines from fruit (raspberry, elderberry, blueberry, mixed berry)
and in my experience, it takes at least 2 years for the wines to stop
throwing sediment. Raspberry seems particularly bad this way - I
bottled some batches that looked crystaL clear after 1 year but ended
up cloudy in the bottle with a very fine sediment. So these days I
look at 2 years aging minimum - this has the advantage of letting the
alcohol and sugar meld together and do any finetuning on those if
needed - the balance can change significantly from the early stages.

Pp

Hi Dave:

You know as much as I do, but if it's clear right now then I'd let it
just sit. If there was lots of build up in 6 months or a year then I
might be inclined to rack.

What's a lot? 1/4" to 3/8" of some yuck I don't know where it came
from, maybe...

:-)

Take Care
Steve

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:28:50 -0400, Dave Allison
wrote:

An update and question:
The Cherry Port has remained clear. when someone says 2 years of bulk
aging - do I rack it every 3-120 days or just let it sit for 2 years?

DAve
p.s. hope this isn't a dumb question - just learning.

Dave Allison wrote:
OMG - bulk aging for 2 years prior to bottling! thanks for the advice, I
guess I could wait that long, but wow.

DAve

pp wrote:
On Aug 12, 12:03 pm, Dave Allison wrote:
It is very clear, very dark red, but needs aging to get the harshness
and "nose" mellowed out.


Just a note of caution on bottling this early. I've done several port-
style wines from fruit (raspberry, elderberry, blueberry, mixed berry)
and in my experience, it takes at least 2 years for the wines to stop
throwing sediment. Raspberry seems particularly bad this way - I
bottled some batches that looked crystaL clear after 1 year but ended
up cloudy in the bottle with a very fine sediment. So these days I
look at 2 years aging minimum - this has the advantage of letting the
alcohol and sugar meld together and do any finetuning on those if
needed - the balance can change significantly from the early stages.

Pp

Hey, Steve, that sounds like good advice. I was thinking about the same
plan. So that is nice to have it stated by someone else also.

thanks, DAve

spud wrote:
Hi Dave:

You know as much as I do, but if it's clear right now then I'd let it
just sit. If there was lots of build up in 6 months or a year then I
might be inclined to rack.

What's a lot? 1/4" to 3/8" of some yuck I don't know where it came
from, maybe...

:-)

Take Care
Steve

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:28:50 -0400, Dave Allison
wrote:

An update and question:
The Cherry Port has remained clear. when someone says 2 years of bulk
aging - do I rack it every 3-120 days or just let it sit for 2 years?

DAve
p.s. hope this isn't a dumb question - just learning.

Dave Allison wrote:
OMG - bulk aging for 2 years prior to bottling! thanks for the advice, I
guess I could wait that long, but wow.

DAve

pp wrote:
On Aug 12, 12:03 pm, Dave Allison wrote:
It is very clear, very dark red, but needs aging to get the harshness
and "nose" mellowed out.

Just a note of caution on bottling this early. I've done several port-
style wines from fruit (raspberry, elderberry, blueberry, mixed berry)
and in my experience, it takes at least 2 years for the wines to stop
throwing sediment. Raspberry seems particularly bad this way - I
bottled some batches that looked crystaL clear after 1 year but ended
up cloudy in the bottle with a very fine sediment. So these days I
look at 2 years aging minimum - this has the advantage of letting the
alcohol and sugar meld together and do any finetuning on those if
needed - the balance can change significantly from the early stages.

Pp