Hello all,
I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of my
wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get some
good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on. I've
been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
this.... Happy times!
Darlene
;o)

Hello all,
I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of my
wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get some
good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on. I've
been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
this.... Happy times!
Darlene
;o)

Hey The

Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.

Steve
Oregon


> "Dar V" > wrote:
>Hello all,
>I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of my
>wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
>maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
>Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get some
>good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
>Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on. I've
>been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
>this.... Happy times!
>Darlene

Hey The

Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.

Steve
Oregon


> "Dar V" > wrote:
>Hello all,
>I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of my
>wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
>maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
>Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get some
>good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
>Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on. I've
>been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
>this.... Happy times!
>Darlene

Yes, please share the results of the party. Interested in the
assessment of the dandelion wine especially. I have a batch
aging/clearing in the basement and I've heard mixed opinions of this
wine.

Paul

spud > wrote in message >. ..
> Hey The
>
> Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.
>
> Steve
> Oregon
>
>
> > "Dar V" > wrote:
> >Hello all,
> >I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of my
> >wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
> >maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
> >Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get some
> >good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
> >Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on. I've
> >been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
> >this.... Happy times!
> >Darlene

Yes, please share the results of the party. Interested in the
assessment of the dandelion wine especially. I have a batch
aging/clearing in the basement and I've heard mixed opinions of this
wine.

Paul

spud > wrote in message >. ..
> Hey The
>
> Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.
>
> Steve
> Oregon
>
>
> > "Dar V" > wrote:
> >Hello all,
> >I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of my
> >wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
> >maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
> >Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get some
> >good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
> >Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on. I've
> >been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
> >this.... Happy times!
> >Darlene

Hello,
I started our tasting party with a favorite of mine - an almost 2 year
old Apple Cherry wine (made from Old Orchard Frozen concentrate). Everyone
liked that wine - it is a 13% alcohol by volume, semi-dry, light bodied
wine, that tastes like apples and cherries. It has smoothed out since I
bottled it at 7 months old.
The Watermelon-rhubarb wine was next. This is a 2 year old wine made
with real fruit. This was my only bottle from that batch (the other 4
turned out to be bottle bombs) - this was before I used wine stabilizer.
This wine was okay - it is an 11% alcohol by volume, dry, very light-bodied
wine, which my friends said tasted like a non-descript white wine to go with
fish.
Next we tried the Dandelion wine. This is over 2 years old - my first
flower wine. This wine no one really liked. It is a 12% alcohol by volume,
dry, yellow wine which my friends said was very strange tasting. Since I
have taste tested this wine before, my impressions were that it had smoothed
out a lot, but maybe would be better a bit sweeter. My second batch is
still maturing and I tried to make it sweeter. Anyway, we tried adding
making a wine-cooler out of this wine, by adding 7-up to it & ice - and it
improved considerably. That's what I will do with the other bottles.
The last bottle we tried was a 2+ year old cherry wine made out of Door
County pie cherries. It is a 12% alcohol by volume, dry, light-bodied red
wine which everyone seemed to like (except my one friend who likes sweeter
wines). This wine has smoothed out considerably since I bottled it, and I
sent the leftovers home with one of my friends.
The ranking of these wines (from best to worst) was Apple-Cherry,
Cherry, Watermelon-rhubarb, Dandelion. With the exception of the
Apple-Cherry wine, these were all my first attempts at making them. I have
since made second batches, based on my own observations, which are still
maturing. It will be interesting to see what my friends think of my second
batches, now that they have tried the first - an if I have improved those
wine - if not, I may not make those again.
Darlene
Wisconsin USA
"Paul" > wrote in message
om...
> Yes, please share the results of the party. Interested in the
> assessment of the dandelion wine especially. I have a batch
> aging/clearing in the basement and I've heard mixed opinions of this
> wine.
>
> Paul
>
> spud > wrote in message
> >. ..
>> Hey The
>>
>> Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.
>>
>> Steve
>> Oregon
>>
>>
>> > "Dar V" > wrote:
>> >Hello all,
>> >I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of
>> >my
>> >wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
>> >maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
>> >Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get
>> >some
>> >good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
>> >Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on.
>> >I've
>> >been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
>> >this.... Happy times!
>> >Darlene

Hello,
I started our tasting party with a favorite of mine - an almost 2 year
old Apple Cherry wine (made from Old Orchard Frozen concentrate). Everyone
liked that wine - it is a 13% alcohol by volume, semi-dry, light bodied
wine, that tastes like apples and cherries. It has smoothed out since I
bottled it at 7 months old.
The Watermelon-rhubarb wine was next. This is a 2 year old wine made
with real fruit. This was my only bottle from that batch (the other 4
turned out to be bottle bombs) - this was before I used wine stabilizer.
This wine was okay - it is an 11% alcohol by volume, dry, very light-bodied
wine, which my friends said tasted like a non-descript white wine to go with
fish.
Next we tried the Dandelion wine. This is over 2 years old - my first
flower wine. This wine no one really liked. It is a 12% alcohol by volume,
dry, yellow wine which my friends said was very strange tasting. Since I
have taste tested this wine before, my impressions were that it had smoothed
out a lot, but maybe would be better a bit sweeter. My second batch is
still maturing and I tried to make it sweeter. Anyway, we tried adding
making a wine-cooler out of this wine, by adding 7-up to it & ice - and it
improved considerably. That's what I will do with the other bottles.
The last bottle we tried was a 2+ year old cherry wine made out of Door
County pie cherries. It is a 12% alcohol by volume, dry, light-bodied red
wine which everyone seemed to like (except my one friend who likes sweeter
wines). This wine has smoothed out considerably since I bottled it, and I
sent the leftovers home with one of my friends.
The ranking of these wines (from best to worst) was Apple-Cherry,
Cherry, Watermelon-rhubarb, Dandelion. With the exception of the
Apple-Cherry wine, these were all my first attempts at making them. I have
since made second batches, based on my own observations, which are still
maturing. It will be interesting to see what my friends think of my second
batches, now that they have tried the first - an if I have improved those
wine - if not, I may not make those again.
Darlene
Wisconsin USA
"Paul" > wrote in message
om...
> Yes, please share the results of the party. Interested in the
> assessment of the dandelion wine especially. I have a batch
> aging/clearing in the basement and I've heard mixed opinions of this
> wine.
>
> Paul
>
> spud > wrote in message
> >. ..
>> Hey The
>>
>> Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.
>>
>> Steve
>> Oregon
>>
>>
>> > "Dar V" > wrote:
>> >Hello all,
>> >I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of
>> >my
>> >wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
>> >maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
>> >Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get
>> >some
>> >good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
>> >Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on.
>> >I've
>> >been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
>> >this.... Happy times!
>> >Darlene

Hello,
I started our tasting party with a favorite of mine - an almost 2 year
old Apple Cherry wine (made from Old Orchard Frozen concentrate). Everyone
liked that wine - it is a 13% alcohol by volume, semi-dry, light bodied
wine, that tastes like apples and cherries. It has smoothed out since I
bottled it at 7 months old.
The Watermelon-rhubarb wine was next. This is a 2 year old wine made
with real fruit. This was my only bottle from that batch (the other 4
turned out to be bottle bombs) - this was before I used wine stabilizer.
This wine was okay - it is an 11% alcohol by volume, dry, very light-bodied
wine, which my friends said tasted like a non-descript white wine to go with
fish.
Next we tried the Dandelion wine. This is over 2 years old - my first
flower wine. This wine no one really liked. It is a 12% alcohol by volume,
dry, yellow wine which my friends said was very strange tasting. Since I
have taste tested this wine before, my impressions were that it had smoothed
out a lot, but maybe would be better a bit sweeter. My second batch is
still maturing and I tried to make it sweeter. Anyway, we tried adding
making a wine-cooler out of this wine, by adding 7-up to it & ice - and it
improved considerably. That's what I will do with the other bottles.
The last bottle we tried was a 2+ year old cherry wine made out of Door
County pie cherries. It is a 12% alcohol by volume, dry, light-bodied red
wine which everyone seemed to like (except my one friend who likes sweeter
wines). This wine has smoothed out considerably since I bottled it, and I
sent the leftovers home with one of my friends.
The ranking of these wines (from best to worst) was Apple-Cherry,
Cherry, Watermelon-rhubarb, Dandelion. With the exception of the
Apple-Cherry wine, these were all my first attempts at making them. I have
since made second batches, based on my own observations, which are still
maturing. It will be interesting to see what my friends think of my second
batches, now that they have tried the first - an if I have improved those
wine - if not, I may not make those again.
Darlene
Wisconsin USA
"Paul" > wrote in message
om...
> Yes, please share the results of the party. Interested in the
> assessment of the dandelion wine especially. I have a batch
> aging/clearing in the basement and I've heard mixed opinions of this
> wine.
>
> Paul
>
> spud > wrote in message
> >. ..
>> Hey The
>>
>> Would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after the event.
>>
>> Steve
>> Oregon
>>
>>
>> > "Dar V" > wrote:
>> >Hello all,
>> >I've got some girlfriends coming over this evening to taste-test some of
>> >my
>> >wines. We're going to try some of my wines which have been sitting and
>> >maturing like dandelion, watermelon, and maybe some cherry or raspberry.
>> >Since, I'm not sure what they are going to taste like, I hope to get
>> >some
>> >good feedback in order to make them better the next time. I have my
>> >Welch's/Old Orchard frozen concentrate wines in reserve for later on.
>> >I've
>> >been looking forward to having enough wine in stock to be able to do
>> >this.... Happy times!
>> >Darlene

Thanks Darlene. Appreciate the recap a bunch!!

Did this wonderful feedback event influence or cause any revisions in
your future recipes? If so what are they?

What a great idea this is! Your post caused me to go hunting for a
business that uses splits. Found one today, and they will save
tonights empties for me to pick up tomorow!

Thanks again,
Steve
Oregon



snip
> The ranking of these wines (from best to worst) was Apple-Cherry,
>Cherry, Watermelon-rhubarb, Dandelion. With the exception of the
>Apple-Cherry wine, these were all my first attempts at making them. I have
>since made second batches, based on my own observations, which are still
>maturing. It will be interesting to see what my friends think of my second
>batches, now that they have tried the first - an if I have improved those
>wine - if not, I may not make those again.
>Darlene

I would say the feedback reinforced most of my own observations. For
example, I will always make my Apple-cherry wine (from Old Orchard frozen
concentrate) - I have received so many compliments on that wine, that I will
continue to make it. The Apple-cherry is a beginner recipe, but it tastes
better at 1 1/2 yrs and even better at 2 years old. Gotta wait. I tried to
make my 2nd batch of dandelion sweeter, so if that tastes better then I will
try Dandelion wine in the spring of 2005. If not, then I won't make it. I
did make watermelon again, and I think that will be a better wine just
because I learned a lot from the first time. But that wine would probably
taste a bit better if it were a bit sweeter too. I have already decided to
make my cherry wine out of sweet cherries, not Door County tart cherries.
I'm also going to go out to a thrift store and pick up some smaller wine
glasses (3-4 oz size) for my next tasting party. The big wine glasses I had
were just to big to taste, especially if someone didn't like the wine.
During my latest trip to my wine-making shop, I found these tasting corks
for my next get-together. Should work really well when I'm opening a number
of bottles.
Yep, it was fun.
Darlene


"spud" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks Darlene. Appreciate the recap a bunch!!
>
> Did this wonderful feedback event influence or cause any revisions in
> your future recipes? If so what are they?
>
> What a great idea this is! Your post caused me to go hunting for a
> business that uses splits. Found one today, and they will save
> tonights empties for me to pick up tomorow!
>
> Thanks again,
> Steve
> Oregon
>
>
>
> snip
>> The ranking of these wines (from best to worst) was Apple-Cherry,
>>Cherry, Watermelon-rhubarb, Dandelion. With the exception of the
>>Apple-Cherry wine, these were all my first attempts at making them. I
>>have
>>since made second batches, based on my own observations, which are still
>>maturing. It will be interesting to see what my friends think of my
>>second
>>batches, now that they have tried the first - an if I have improved those
>>wine - if not, I may not make those again.
>>Darlene