Starting Wines

It’s been a long time since I started any wines.  We usually do this in the fall, but it’s been crazy busy and we didn’t have a good apple harvest around here.  I’m out of my two favorite wines, though, so my mom dug the last of the apple juice from the freezer.

I dug deep into my freezer and found some cherries that I froze in 2010.  It’s good to get these older frozen fruits and juices used up.  We’re making a double batch of Chapel, a dessert wine made from the apple juice and cherries.

I heated them up enough to thaw things out.

We are doing just a single (gallon) batch of this apple wine called Mirth.

Then we added some acid and tannins and sugar

and lemon juice and put it all in the super fancy primary fermentation vessels.

Of course we add a Campden tablet to keep any natural yeasts floating around from incubating in our wine.  Besides, it’s fun to use the mortar and pestle.

Then I covered the buckets and put them in a nice warm area.

After the two juices sat overnight to prepare a good environment, I added the yeast.

This is why I won’t even apply for a permit to make wine until I have a nice building put up where no animals are allowed.  Bob is so helpful!

Tonight we are transferring the two wines from the bucket to glass carboys.  Then I’ll only have to rack it a couple of times and wait for about six months to have more of my favorite wines.

Linking to Farmgirl Friday.

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