I've just bottled a WOW variation that I feel strangely compelled to share with anyone bored enough to read about; well, it's not really a WOW, because there's no orange in it, but as my sullen teenage son would say, 'Whatever'. The ingredients were:-
1 L Apple and Raspberry (discovered while browsing in Tesco).
1 L White Grape Juice (6 years, yes, 6 YEARS past it's best before date).
850 g white sugar (Tesco again).
GP yeast
Yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp tannin
1 tsp pectolase
This was started in October, in a demi john, filled to just below the shoulder to allow for the vigorous initial fermentation, and then strained to another DJ after a week, because the raspberry was a puree. After five weeks, this had fermented down to 1.004 – I would have preferred a little lower, so next time I'll allow for this. Now, I'm no wine buff – I would never take a wine tasting course, in case I turn into a snob that doesn't like what he makes – but to my uneducated palate, it's very nice; the raspberry is there, but not overpoweringly so, and raspberry can be. Now, I know it's late, but I'm going to consume a drop of it, purely for Quality Control purposes, you understand, and look at the Ashes – I know, it's a tough, thankless task, this winemaking, but someone has to do it.
P.S. If anyone from Tesco is reading this and noted the product endorsement, please forward any cheques to The Ballybrew Brewery, The Butt of Mount Leinster, in the County of the Four Lakes.
If only you'd added some yeast to that grape juice 6 years ago... ;D
Not at all - leave the juice to mature, and then you don't have to mature the wine... ;)
Isn't there something about alcohol preserving the beverage?