On 3/24/04 8:17 PM, in article
, "Doug Miller"
> wrote:

> In article >,
> (glad heart) wrote:
>> I've got 3-4 lbs of sanitized Concord grapes in my freezer. My idea
>> was to ameliorate the fruitiness of a merlot or a gamay must next
>> season.
>
> *Major* mistake in my opinion. You will likely be disappointed. There are
> better uses for the Concords, and better things to blend with the merlot (e.g.
> Cabernet).
>
>> I happen to love the taste of a Concord grape
>
> Me, too -- but not wine made from them. The Concord is too high in acid, and
> too low in sugar, to be well suited for winemaking. Then there's the matter of
> the taste... the same acids and esters that give the Concord its distinctive
> taste as a table grape (or in Welch's grape juice or jelly) don't mix well
> with alcohol.
>
>> but in reading
>> some of the older threads on this NG, I'm concerned that Concord does
>> not necessarily produce the best wine.
>
> I nominate that sentence for understatement of the month.
>
>> Not sure what a "foxy" wine is.
>
> Buy a bottle of commercial Concord wine.
>
> If you don't like that, don't bother making your own Concord wine.
>>
>> Is my enhancement idea on track or am I better off leaving well enough
>> alone?
>>
> Ever had a grape pie? Seriously. Those "3-4 lbs" of Concord grapes will make
> three delicious pies, maybe four. And that's a *much* more practical use for
> them, than making wine. Save the winemaking for grapes that deserve to be made
> into wine, and use the Concords for what they are best suited to: juice,
> jelly, or some of the best pies you've ever had in your life. Email me
> (alphageek at milmac dot com) if you want a recipe.

Hmm, perhaps I have a bit of a different opinion. Most commercial concord
grape wines are made sweet as hell - and I can imagine people would not find
them to their liking. I also thought concord would be a complete waste of
time. But last summer, I made a dry concord wine from grocery store juice. I
was quite pleased with it. It certainly is concordy - but not the foxy foxy
concord taste that I expected. It does have intense fruitiness in the
flavor. I think a judicial amount of concord grapes or juice may add a touch
of fruitiness to a wine without overpowering the base grape qualities. It's
all about how it's blended.

I would say -- it's one batch of wine -- go ahead and experiment. You don't
have to do it again if the experiment is not to your liking.

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine

(remove spamblocker from my email)