12
March - 2010
Friday
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWS
SUBSCRIBE TO COMMENTS

Ben Evert.com

A Plethora of Info for the 21st Century

Archive for January, 2007

Wine Grapes – Part 1

Posted by ben On January - 31 - 2007ADD COMMENTS

Part 1 of the Series

Aah, Spring is just around the corner (in my neck of the woods) and the grapevines will soon be sprouting. Being that I have a considerable amount of time on my hands (not allowed to go back to work unit next week), I can take the time to put together a mini-series about the different types of grapes that are used in making wine. I’ll try and cover a large variety and try to include some from each region of the world. Let’s get started with some of the red grape varieties.

Barbera is a wine grape that is most used in Italy. It has some of the flavor characteristics you would find in a Cabernet Sauvignon but with higher acid levels. The higher acid levels make it an especially good match for full flavored foods with tomato sauces involved. Other characteristics of wines from this variety include light tannin levels, deep garnet colors and medium to full body.

Barbera is grown in many places around the world but is at it’s best in northern Italy. In Italy, it makes Barbera d’Asti, Barbera di Alba and Barbera di Monferato, among others. In warmer growing areas it develops high sugar levels and because of this, the alcohol levels in the wine can be too high. It’s primary use around the world is as a blending agent to bring increased acidity to the final wine.

Cabernet Franc is a wine grape that is often used in Bordeaux blends to add acidity and aroma. Cabernet Franc is usually used as a minor (10%-15%) component in a blend with other varieties. The only notable exception is at Chateau Cheval Blanc in Saint Emilion. Genetic research indicates that it is the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. It makes wines that are lighter and fruitier than Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the premier wine grape in the world. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape in the Bordeaux region of France and has spread to every other major growing region. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape produces distinctive wines that are tannic and can have long aging potential. Average aging potential for Cabernet is 5 to 10 years in order to achieve peak flavor. It is usually blended with other varieties to make wines with increased complexity.

When you think of the finest red wines in the world, you often are thinking of wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is known in some parts of the world by other names including: Petit Cabernet, Sauvignon Rouge, and Vidure.

The Gamay grape variety makes its best wines in the Beaujolais region of France. Because its wines tend to be light, low in alcohol, high in acidity and very fruity, there is small margin for error before it becomes too thin, too light or too acidic. The wines are generally meant to be consumed within two years of bottling. Only the Crus of Beaujolais show much aging potential and none of them extend beyond 10 years. Cherry flavors dominate the nose and taste of young Beaujolais.

A wine named Passe-Tout-Grains is produced in Burgundy and is a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Wine Making

Red Wine Grapes

Posted by ben On January - 30 - 2007ADD COMMENTS

Photo by:Zest-pk

Part 1 of the Series

Aah, Spring is just around the corner (in my neck of the woods) and the grapevines will soon be sprouting. Being that I have a considerable amount of time on my hands (not allowed to go back to work unit next week), I can take the time to put together a mini-series about the different types of grapes that are used in making wine. I’ll try and cover a large variety and try to include some from each region of the world. Let’s get started with some of the red grape varieties.
Barbera is a wine grape that is most used in Italy. It has some of the flavor characteristics you would find in a Cabernet Sauvignon but with higher acid levels. The higher acid levels make it an especially good match for full flavored foods with tomato sauces involved. Other characteristics of wines from this variety include light tannin levels, deep garnet colors and medium to full body.
Barbera is grown in many places around the world but is at it’s best in northern Italy. In Italy, it makes Barbera d’Asti, Barbera di Alba and Barbera di Monferato, among others. In warmer growing areas it develops high sugar levels and because of this, the alcohol levels in the wine can be too high. It’s primary use around the world is as a blending agent to bring increased acidity to the final wine.Cabernet Franc is a wine grape that is often used in Bordeaux blends to add acidity and aroma. Cabernet Franc is usually used as a minor (10%-15%) component in a blend with other varieties. The only notable exception is at Chateau Cheval Blanc in Saint Emilion. Genetic research indicates that it is the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. It makes wines that are lighter and fruitier than Cabernet Sauvignon.Cabernet Sauvignon is the premier wine grape in the world. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape in the Bordeaux region of France and has spread to every other major growing region. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape produces distinctive wines that are tannic and can have long aging potential. Average aging potential for Cabernet is 5 to 10 years in order to achieve peak flavor. It is usually blended with other varieties to make wines with increased complexity.

When you think of the finest red wines in the world, you often are thinking of wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is known in some parts of the world by other names including: Petit Cabernet, Sauvignon Rouge, and Vidure.

The Gamay grape variety makes its best wines in the Beaujolais region of France. Because its wines tend to be light, low in alcohol, high in acidity and very fruity, there is small margin for error before it becomes too thin, too light or too acidic. The wines are generally meant to be consumed within two years of bottling. Only the Crus of Beaujolais show much aging potential and none of them extend beyond 10 years. Cherry flavors dominate the nose and taste of young Beaujolais.

A wine named Passe-Tout-Grains is produced in Burgundy and is a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Wine Making

Cranberry Wine Recipe

Posted by ben On January - 30 - 2007ADD COMMENTS


Crushin’ the net yesterday afternoon and stumbled on this recipe for Cranberry wine. Even though it is too late to enjoy it for this past holiday season, the cranberries are plentiful in the stores and now is the time to buy them. You can replace the Sultanas with golden raisins.

 

Cranberry Wine

 


 

  • Cranberries 1 lb
  • Water 1 Gallon
  • Sultanas (minced) 1.5 lb
  • Sugar 2 lb
  • Yeast
  • Yeast Nutrient
  • Citric Acid 0.5 tsp

Place the minced sultanas in a fermenting bin and cover in 2 liters of boiling water. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the acid and allow to cool. Cover the cranberries with boiling water and crush all of the berries. Pour into the fermenting bin and allow to cool. Once cooled, add the pectic enzyme and stir well. Cover and leave to stand for 24 hours. Add the yeast and nutrient and stir well and then cover and move to a warm place to ferment. After 10 days, strain off into a carboy and fit a bung and airlock and then leave in a warm place to ferment out. Clear and bottle the wine as usual once fermentation has completed.

If you happen to have a bottle of cranberry wine, you might want to pair it with this recipe:

Herbs & Goat Cheese

Popularity: 1% [?]

Wine Recipes

Orange Juice Concentrate Wine

Posted by ben On January - 29 - 2007ADD COMMENTS

his is another recipe that uses store bought juice. Personally, I use 2 cans to a gallon and adjust the sugar by using a hydrometer.

Orange Concentrate Wine

Makes 1 gallon

  • one 12 oz. can 100% pure orange juice concentrate
  • 1 1/2 lb sugar
  • 1 tsp tartic acid
  • 1 tsp pectic enzyme
  • 1/4 tsp tannin
  • 1 gallon water
  • wine yeast and nutrient
Add orange juice,sugar and nutrient to 4 pints of water.
Stir to dissolve.
Dissolve tannin in a small amount of boiling water and add.
Top up with 7 pints of water,leaving lots of space in your fermenting jar.
Add pectic enzyme and yeast.
Let ferment 1 week.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Wine Recipes

Bitburger

Posted by Ben On January - 29 - 2007ADD COMMENTS

I like to use different resources whenever I’m looking for beer recipes. This recipe is from Brew Your Own magazine and was orginally published in November 2000.


Bitburger Pils Clone
by Scott Russell
Ahh, Bitburger. It’s a long-time favorite of U.S. servicemen stationed in Germany. This beer is made in the town of Bitburg in the Eifel Lake region of Germany’s Rhineland. Bright gold in color, with a flashy carbonation and lasting pearly-white head, “Bit” is a classic northern German and Scandinavian style pilsner. All-malt Bitburger uses a proprietary yeast strain that gives the beer a super-clean finish.

I also had difficulty getting information from the brewery. They would only tell me that they use deep well water, their own yeast, summer barley, Hallertau and local hops. We can guess at Bitburger’s recipe and brewing process. Some German pilsners use a decoction mash procedure. I include a simple step-mash procedure for all-grain brewers who aren’t ready to tackle decoction mashing. For those who are, see “Starter Guide to Decoction Mashing” (BYO, October 1997) or “New Brewing Lager Beer” by Greg Noonan (Brewers’ Publications, 1996) for the best general explanation of this procedure.

Fermentation takes place at cold temperatures (45° to 50° F). The beer is then lagered at near-freezing temperatures (33° to 35° F) for three months or so.

Bitburger Premium

(5 gallons, extract and steeping grains)

OG = 1.045 FG = 1.008 IBU = 38

Ingredients

1 lb. carapils malt
6 lbs. Muntons extra-light malt extract syrup
6 AAU Perle hops (0.75 oz. at 8% alpha acid)
6 AAU Hallertau hops (1.5 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
German lager or pilsner yeast (Wyeast 2007 or White Labs WLP830)
7/8 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step

Steep the carapils (cracked) in a grain bag in 3 gallons of water at 150° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains, add malt extract and stir well. Bring to a boil, add Perle hops, boil 45 minutes. Add 4 AAU Hallertau hops, boil 40 minutes. Add remaining 2 AAU Hallertau, boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, remove hops.

Cool and top up to 5.25 gallons with pre-boiled, chilled water. At 68° F, pitch yeast. Ferment at 68° F for two days, or until bubbling is sustained. Move fermenter to cooler location, near 50° F, and continue primary fermentation for seven days. Rack to secondary and lager at 35° to 38° F, for six weeks. Warm up to room temperature for a day, prime with corn sugar and bottle. Bottle condition warm for two days, then lager in bottles at 38° to 40° F for four to six weeks.

All-grain option

Crack 1 lb. carapils and 7 lbs. lager malt. Heat 8 quarts water to 136° F, mix in grains and hold at 127° F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 5 more quarts to 165° F, add after the 30 minutes are up and hold mash at 150° F for 60 minutes longer.

Sparge with 16 quarts at 168° F and proceed from boiling, timing your boil to reduce volume to 5.25 gallons (add more water to the kettle during the boil, if necessary).

Partial-mash option

Mash 1 lb. carapils and 3.5 lbs. lager malt in 6 quarts at 127° F (heat to 136° F) for 30 minutes. Raise temperature to 150° F by adding 3 quarts at 165° F, hold 60 minutes. Sparge with 12 quarts at 168° F. Add 3 lbs. malt extract, proceed as above from boiling.

Tech Tags:

My Blogs

Beer Recipes – Making Homemade Wine and Beer – Wine Recipes – Diabetic Eats

Popularity: 1% [?]

General

Orange Juice Concentrate Wine

Posted by ben On January - 29 - 2007Comments Off

his is another recipe that uses store bought juice. Personally, I use 2 cans to a gallon and adjust the sugar by using a hydrometer.

Orange Concentrate Wine

Makes 1 gallon


  • one 12 oz. can 100% pure orange juice concentrate
  • 1 1/2 lb sugar
  • 1 tsp tartic acid
  • 1 tsp pectic enzyme
  • 1/4 tsp tannin
  • 1 gallon water
  • wine yeast and nutrient

Add orange juice,sugar and nutrient to 4 pints of water.
Stir to dissolve.
Dissolve tannin in a small amount of boiling water and add.
Top up with 7 pints of water,leaving lots of space in your fermenting jar.
Add pectic enzyme and yeast.
Let ferment 1 week.
Top up to full gallon.
Let ferment until finished.
You can drink this wine right away, but it improves with age.
Serve chilled.
Technorati Tags : , , , ,





My Blogs

Beer Recipes – Making Homemade Wine and Beer – Wine Recipes - BenEvert.com - A Plethora of Info for the 21st Century
Store Bought Juice Wines, Wine Recipes

Hydrometer Correction Chart

Posted by ben On January - 25 - 2007ADD COMMENTS

Did I ever tell you I hate winter. Cold weather really sucks. Having a cold sucks. Having a cold in the cold weather really, really sucks.

Well enough bitchin’. One thing that I always find handy when making beer or wine is a hydrometer correction chart. I usually pitch beer yeast at higher temperatures than the 70 degrees that most people recommend. So for me, this little chart is an essential.



Popularity: 1% [?]

Beer Making

Subscribe via Rss

Subscribe Via Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Follow Me On Twitter
Join Me On Facebook