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In some folklore, it is said that when a couple were married, they were sent away together for a month along with copious amounts of mead – a fermented beverage made with honey. From that, we have the word “honeymoon” today. Although honeymoons are very popular with newlyweds, today mead is not drunk as often as it used to be.

Meads can be a delicious alcoholic beverage to be enjoyed on any occasion. Making it is not any different than making wine at home. It requires the same equipment as winemaking. The same fermentation process that is used to make grape and fruit wines is used in meadmaking. It can be fermented dry or sweet depending on your preference. When sweet, a mead is referred to as a “sack mead.” A basic recipe only requires honey, water, yeast and time. Grape tannin may be added for additional “mouth feel” when drinking.

When making mead, one thing to keep in mind is that it the flavors definitely improve with aging. I like to bulk age my meads in the carboy for two years before bottling them. Six weeks after bottling, it can then be consumed and enjoyed.

For dry meads, I have had success with Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. For sweeter ones, I’ve had good experiences with a liquid yeast made by White Labs (Sweet Mead Yeast # WLP720).

As well as making basic mead, other ingredients can be added for additional flavors. Technically speaking, these types of drinks have different names. If you add herbs and/or spices to the honey and water you are going to ferment, you are making a “Methoglin.” Spices that you might want to consider include rosemary, clove, vanilla, ginger and thyme. Of course, any herb or spice might be worthwhile experimenting with.

When you add the juices of fruit, you are making a “Melomel.” Some of my favorites include those made with kiwi, strawberry and blueberry. Like methoglins, you can try any type of fruit that you might enjoy. Other suggestions to think about include apple, peach, cranberry and cherry.

When making melomels, you will need to think about the amount of pectin in the fruit and like making fruit wines, need to consider the addition of pectic enzyme to prevent a haze occurring.

Making meads gives you an opportunity to offer your guests something delicious that they probably have never had before. If you already make wine, you won’t need any extra equipment to try making delicious fermented beverages with honey as the base.

You are invited to learn more about how to make wine and mead at Ian’s website.

Why not also follow along with Ian’s daily blog of home winemaking activities.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/already-make-wine-why-not-try-meads-too-1398329.html

When doing research one home winemaking, some may come across websites, books and articles where the making of meads is also discussed. Although there is some debate about whether a mead is technically a wine, it is made with the same process – that of using yeast to ferment honey and water mixed together.

Some mead makers may refer to something called “meth.” Now, chemistry is often used when making meads, but this type of “meth” has nothing to do with what is being sold on the streets these days.

Instead, it is a short form for “metheglin,” a mead based beverage. The term metheglin specifically refers to meads that have herbs and spices added during the fermentation and aging process. allowing them to develop complex flavors. In the Middle Ages, recipes for such beverages (which were also sometimes called gruits), were guarded by monks in a very jealous manner. Such was the esteem that metheglins held in those days.

Adding herbs to brewed and fermented beverages was thought to provide an antiseptic quality to the finished product which would retard bacterial growth. In some cases, herbs can have a bacterial inhibiting quality but today it’s still best to also use sulfite for this purpose and let the herbs main purpose be to add complex flavor and aroma.

Originally, the most common herbs that would be added to honey meads were yarrow, rosemary, and myrica (also known as bayberry or sweet gale).

Today, mead makers experiment with a wide range of herbs and spices and often use various combinations. Some of the more common herbs and spices include cinnamon, fennel, sage, spearmint, thyme and vanilla. A good rule of thumb when making metheglins is to use 2 to 3 cups of fresh herbs or 2 to 3 ounces of dried herbs per gallon. Stronger spices such as cinnamon should be used in smaller quantities – about half an ounce per gallon of metheglin.

Juniper berries are a flavoring used in gin and have also been successfully used to make metheglin.

If you’ve got a herb garden and access to some honey, why not consider making your own mead based beverage flavored with your fresh herbs? Perhaps you’ll be jealously guarding some of your own secret recipes!

You are invited to learn more about how to make wine and mead at Ian’s website.

Why not also follow along with Ian’s daily blog of home winemaking activities.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/what-is-a-metheglin-1398345.html

Often a home winemaker that makes wine from fruit will discover a haze in their wine. Often, this is caused by the presence of pectin which can hold flavors. The haze are actually the presence of gelatin solutions. Those who make jams and jellies are probably familiar with pectin as an addition as it does help to gel the ingredients together.

In wine making, pectin is not a desirable ingredient but it is present in just about all fruit that might be used to make wine. It’s presence helps to hold the cellular walls together.

So what can you do to prevent pectic hazes occurring in your wine? Pectic enzyme, sometimes also called pectolase, is the answer. The use of pectic enzyme has another benefit as well: It will help to extract flavors from the fruit you are using, as it breaks down the cellular structure and “eats” the pectin that is present. While it is working to break down pectin, it can also increase the yield of the available juice in the fruit.

Because different fruits have different amounts of pectin, it is best to follow a good recipe when making wine at home. Use the amount of pectic enzyme called for. For example, fruit such as gooseberries, blackcurrants, and cranberries have a high amount of pectin compared to pears, melons, grapes, raspberries and strawberries. Therefore, you will need more pectic enzyme when making wine from fruit with more pectin present.

Pectic enzyme or pectolase should be available at most retailers that offer home wine making supplies and is inexpensive at about ten dollars a pound. When making 3 gallons of gooseberry wine, I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of pectic enzyme. For many home winemakers, a pound of pectolase may be an amount that would never be used, so it is also available in smaller sizes such as 1 ounce and 5 ounce containers.

A couple of things when considering the use of pectic enzyme are in order:

1. Never use pectic enzyme in home wine making kits. These kits have already had it added to the fruit juice concentrate.

2. Add pectic enzyme before using bentonite. Often, home winemakers will use bentonite to help clarify wine at the beginning of the wine making process while the initial vigorous fermentation is occurring. However, bentonite will neutralize enzymes causing them to be ineffective. Instead, add the pectic enzyme 2 to 3 days before the bentonite addition. This will give the enzyme enough time to do its work.

You are invited to learn more about how to make wine and mead at Ian’s website.

Why not also follow along with Ian’s daily blog of home wine making activities.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/a-haze-in-your-wine-maybe-you-need-pectic-enzyme-1398407.html

Wines that are enjoyable to drink are those that are in balance with acidity, tannin and sweetness. Professional grape winemakers often have to make adjustments to their juices before and during the fermenting process in order to attain the balance they are desiring for the wine they are making.

Home winemakers that ferment the juice of low acid fruit such as pears, apricots and blueberries might end up with a wine that may taste good but lacks something to be wonderful. If the wine you’ve made has no or not enough tartness, acid blend might be the answer to improving it the next time. Often, juices that are low in acid do not ferment well, and the resulting wine may have a medicinal taste to it.

Most home winemaking supply shops will carry acid blend. Usually, these blends contain about 1 part citric acid, 2 parts malic acid, and 3 parts tartaric acid. Let’s have a closer look at each one of these:

Tartaric Acid

Tartaric acid is included in many sour tasting sweets and candies, and is found in fruit such as grapes and bananas. Along with malic acid, it is one of the major acids in grape wines and helps to lower the pH level which inhibits bacterial growth.

Malic Acid

Malic acid is found in apples, apricots, grapes, dark cherries and rhubarb. It provides the tart “green apple” type of sensation. In 1785, it was isolated from apple juice and a name proposed for it was acide malique – malique being derived from the Latin word malum which means ‘apple’. In some wines where there is too much malic acid present, winemakers will start a “malolactic fermentation” by adding lactic acid bacteria to the wine. This bacteria convert the malic acid to lactic acid.

Citric Acid

Citric acid is found in primarily in citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, but is also in currants and raspberries. It helps to add fruitiness to the wine’s flavors. Because of this quality, some winemakers will routinely add citric acid to most of their wines, and often this acid is the only type used by them.

As you become more experienced in your home winemaking and more acquainted with the use of acids and their effects on fermentation and flavor, you may want to experiment with the different acids and vary the amounts you use. For now however, consider a general rule of thumb to add about 2 teaspoons (about 10 grams) of acid blend per gallon of wine you are making. Add a little more to wines using fruit that are especially low in acid content.

At the time of this writing, 1 pound (454 grams) of acid blend costs between five and seven dollars at home winemaking supply shops – so it is an inexpensive way of making your fruit wines just that much better!

You are invited to learn more about how to make wine at The Home Winery.

Why not also follow along with Ian’s daily blog of home winemaking activities.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/why-you-might-need-acid-blend-when-making-fruit-wines-1398428.html

Most of you who are familiar with wine know that a wine given a point score of 90 or higher means it is a wine of excellent quality. The good news is that a high point score doesn’t necessarily mean a higher price. There are some excellent 90+ point wines that sell for under $20. The really good news is that all these wines aren’t hard to find. Most liquor stores with a fair to decent selection are bound to have at least a couple of the wines listed below.

1. Monte Montepulciano D’abruzzo 2005 – 90 points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate – Full bodied, deep purple color (5% sangiovese in the blend). $15.99-$17.99.

2. 2004 Cicchitti Gran Reserva – 92 points Jay Miller The Wine Advocate – Another purple colored wine, thick and sweet. Fermented 12 months in French and American oak. $14.98-$19.99.

3. 2005 Les Verrieres De Montagnac Clos Des Soutyeres Coteaux Du – 90 points Wine Spectator – A very nice after dinner wine. Subtle hint of dark chocolate and espresso. $16.98-$19.99.

4. Bernhard Eifel Max E Riesling 2007 – A crisp, fruity riesling with just a pinch of sugar. Outstanding flavor. $12.98-$17.99

5. Chateau Pesquie Les Terrasses 2007 – 91 points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate – The last one on the list is an incredible bargain. This custom cuvee was made for importer Eric Solomon. It combines a 60 year- old Grenache with a 30 year-old Syrah, part aged in small barrels and in foudre and tank. The result is a wine reddish purple in color that delivers tremendous flavor and body. Combine with its low price this makes for an exceptional value. $9.98-$14.99.

Five great wines at a great price. Please give them a try and let me know what you think.

I’m Matt Kurtz and I enjoy writing about a variety of topics. Wine is one of my favorite topics. Please check out my blog Wonderful World of Wine for more great wine values and interesting wine facts.
I hope you enjoy my articles and find them informative. I welcome your comments and feedback. Thanks and have a great day!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/5-great-90-wines-under-20-1392454.html

There is controversy about whether degassing your homemade wine is necessary. On one side, there are those that say that it is very important to making wines that you’ll enjoy and be proud of in the months and years to follow.  On the other side, there are those that suggest that degassing is not that important, that the amount of carbon dioxide that remains when you bottle your wine is negligible. But this assumes that you will be bulk aging your wine for several months in the carboy before bottling, which will supposedly allow the carbon dioxide gases to dissipate.

I’m with the first camp and it is my experience that degassing wine is important. I’m not worried about pressure building up in the bottle due to the presence of carbon dioxide. I’m concerned about taste and visual appearance. Who wants to pour wine for guests that foams up in the glass?

Degassing is also an important consideration for winemakers that are planning to enter their wines into competitions. Wines are not judged only on taste. Odor and appearance are also important factors. If the wine is meant to be a still wine but has carbon dioxide bubbles, it will not score well on appearance.

Most people who make wine these days use commercial wine kits. These kits are made so that the winemaker can bottle their wine in 4 to 8 weeks.  Of course, bulk aging the wine will offer benefits, but many don’t care about the characteristics that might develop in the wine in a year or two – they want to enjoy their wine now!  For those winemakers, degassing the wine is vital.  For winemakers that plan on bulk aging their wines under an air lock, degassing may not be as important as most of the gas will dissipate during the bulk aging process.  However, there are times when simply bulk aging the wine will not be enough to rid it of excess carbon dioxide. Cool temperatures and high barometric air pressure may result in wine with excess carbon dioxide if not manually degassed.

Although it is not likely the winemaker will completely remove carbon dioxide from their wine, having too much of it can affect the taste of the wine negatively. In water, carbon dioxide is noticeable to our taste buds when it is present in a ratio as low as 200 mg per liter. In small amounts, it can enhance the tannins in wine but too much carbon dioxide can produce unwanted tastes.

There are several ways to degas wines, including manual vigorous stirring, using a device attached to an electrical drill and using a vacuum pump.  I’ve covered some of these methods here that will be especially helpful to you if you make wine from wine kits.

Ian Hugh Scott has been making his own wine for years. As well as wines from commercially available kits, he has discovered the pleasures of experimenting with other ingredients such as black currants, strawberries, blueberries, and even ginger and parsnip!

Follow along with Ian’s regular home winemaking activities at his blog

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/home-winemaking-is-degassing-wine-important-1393056.html

The World Cup is only a year away with the scheduled start date set in June 2010. The World Cup is similar to the Olympics in that it brings people together from all over the world for a rollicking good time. This World Cup is also a chance to experience the wines of South Africa.

Nobody is looking forward to the World Cup more than the wineries of South Africa. Wine has been produced for hundreds of years in South Africa, but it was a local business only during the years of Apartheid when international embargoes were in place. The embargoes ended with Apartheid, but South African wine has never really seemed to catch on. This is a mistake as there are many excellent vineyards in the country.

South African wine is unique because most of the grapes produced are based on cross-breading of various vines. This makes the varietal claims of the vineyards fairly humorous as it seems every grape is a mix of two or more competing vines. Regardless, the result is a bevy of unique wines that are often like nothing you’ve tasted before.

The best of the wines in South Africa are the Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinotage. Despite the names, each is the result of a cross-breading program. The Chenin Blanc can be hard to find because the name is not used in the country. Instead, ask for “Steen.” The Pinotage is uniquely South African and excellent. It is a cross breading of Pinot Noir and the Cinsault grape of France. All and all, these are wines you do not want to miss.

Should you go to South Africa just to taste the various wine offerings? Probably not. It is a long, expensive trip for most people of the world. Going for the World Cup, however, makes sense. When your team inevitably gets bounced out, you’ll have a side trip to take with the promise that you’ll experience a new vintage that will have you taking notes in your wine journal and pasting labels from bottles!

Thomas Ajava writes for Nomad Journals – where you can buy a wine journal that makes a great wine gift for wine lovers to record their experiences in.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/wine-tasting-in-south-africa-during-the-world-cup-1393784.html

When I first began learning how to make wine, I had to pour a five gallon batch down the drain. It was a nauseating feeling thinking about the time, work and effort – going down the drain. I resolved right then that I’d learn more about preventing my wines from being ruined and promised myself that always I would correctly and effectively sanitize my equipment and area.

There are a few different chemicals and solutions used in home winemaking to sanitize their equipment. One of the oldest and still probably the easiest and best use: Sulfites. There are two different types of sulfite that winemakers use. The are Potassium Metabisulfite and Sodium Metabisulfite. There is no difference in effectiveness of these chemicals, but Potassium Metabisulfite is the preferred additive to wine to prevent oxygenation.

For sanitizing purposes, mix three tablespoons of Potassium Metabisulfite into a gallon of warm water. Stir well. This will provide you with a very effective sanitizing solution. It won’t kill all bacteria, but we aren’t interested in sterilizing our equipment and work area. What we want is to control bacteria and wild yeast which is what sanitizing does.

Storage of your sulfite/water solution is important. The sulfites create a gas which can evaporate quite quickly, leaving you with very little sanitation power in your solution. I keep my solution in a one gallon jug with a tight fitting screw cap lid. For convenience in cleaning the sides of my fermentation vessels, spoons, and air locks, I keep a spray bottle filled with sulfite and water solution and use that to spray the solution onto the surfaces I want to sanitize. For best results, leave the solution on the surfaces for five minutes before rinsing with clean water.

Sometimes, you might find some recommendation (especially in older winemaking guides) to use chlorine bleach as a sanitizer. Never use chlorine around any of your home winemaking or brewing equipment! It can be very difficult to completely rinse off, and may also lead to “cork taint” of your wine if there is just enough bleach residue that comes in contact with your wine.

There are other solutions and compounds that are available for use as a sanitizer to the home winemaker, but if you’re going to make lots of wine, you’ll probably need to purchase Potassium Metabisulfite in one pound packages. You may as well just use the sulfite as both your wine protectant and sanitizer.

One precaution: Potassium Metabisulfite can lose its effectiveness over time. Replace your supply every year to assure yourself of sanitized conditions and wines that won’t spoil.

Since using sulfite exclusively as my sanitizing agent, I’ve yet to lose a batch of wine. If you consistently sanitize your equipment and work area with a sulfite solution, you’ll reduce the chances of making spoiled wine.

Ian Hugh Scott has been making wine for years. As well as wines from commercially available kits, he has discovered the pleasures of experimenting with other ingredients such as black currants, strawberries, blueberries, and even ginger and parsnip! Follow along with Ian’s home winemaking activities at his blog.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/dont-whine-over-bad-wine-1393966.html

If you’re making wine from commercially available wine kits, you’ll have everything you need to make very good wine. Even the yeast is provided for you in the kit. I’ve found that Lalvin EC-1118 strain of yeast is the one that is most often included in both premium and lower quality kits.

EC-1118 yeast is a very good all purpose wine yeast. Originating in the Champagne area of France, it is used to make a wide variety of juices because of it’s high alcohol tolerance, ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures, and it’s neutrality to flavor and aromas.

Perhaps though you are considering experimenting with other types of wines like making your own from fruit in your garden, or even frozen fruit from the grocery store, you might want to learn more about the types of yeast strains available to you. It has been shown in several studies that the strain of yeast used to make a wine can have positive affects on the flavors and aromas in the resulting wine.

There are many different characteristics in a wine yeast that you might want to know about when selecting your yeast for your next wine. For example, you might want a wine that doesn’t fully ferment to “dry” (zero or almost zero residual sugar), but instead want a wine that has a hint of sweetness to it. In that case, you’ll want a yeast with a lower alcohol tolerance. It is the yeast that turn the sugar in a juice into alcohol, and the higher a strain of yeast can tolerate alcohol, the more sugar it will consume.

Another factor is the yeast’s temperature range. Some like the aforementioned EC-1118 strain have a wide range of temperature (45° to 95°F) in which it can live, grow and reproduce while other strains such as Scott Lab’s ST strain can only tolerate a temperature between 60 and 68°F. But there are other advantages of the ST strain, as long as you can keep your fermenting wine in that temperature range.

In a recent study by the Australian Wine Research Institute, it was shown that even using two different strains of yeast (which is called “co-inoculation“) may also be beneficial to increasing the flavors and aromas in a wine. At the same time, the winemaker has to be careful that the two strains will not compete against each other, resulting in a “stuck fermentation” – where the yeast seem to become inactive. In that case, it’s good to have a packet of EC-1118 on hand as it is often used in such cases.

Yeast generally is available in the retail market in 5 gram packages. This is enough to innoculate 5 gallons of juice. Larger packages are available but are usually only used by professional winemakers. Sometimes though, you might be able to work something out with a local winery if they are using a yeast that you are finding difficult to obtain through a retail store.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with yeast! You might want to consider smaller batches of wine, ie. 1 gallon as opposed to 5 gallons when you are experimenting. If it doesn’t turn out the way you want, it’s a smaller amount you have to deal with.

More information and resources about yeast may be found here.

Follow along with Ian’s regular home winemaking activities at his blog.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/home-winemaking-yeast-selection-1394078.html

It could be your worst nightmare! You’ve picked up some excellent quality juice with a high Brix value from a vineyard, hoping to turn it into your own homemade wine.  You did what you thought was right, including adding a bit of sulfite to the juice to ward off unwanted bacteria and wild yeast. You let that do it’s thing, and then you sprinkled yeast you got from the local wine supply store on the juice.

Within a day of sprinkling the yeast, there were signs of fermentation and you were looking forward to when you could bottle your wine, let it age awhile, and then proudly serve it to guests. But today, the fermentation has become sluggish, or all but stopped. And, you know from the specific gravity reading that you took that there is still lots of sugar left to be consumed by the yeast.

You’ve got a stuck fermentation. What happened?  What went wrong?  Is there anything you can do about it?  Let’s answer the “what went wrong” with some possibilities first:

1. You used unsanitary equipment from the start.  Always, always ensure your equipment is sanitized with a sanitizing solution.

2. The yeast you picked up was beyond it’s expiry date. If not properly stored and used within its shelf life, it can weaken and might not grow and reproduce.

3. The yeast you used could not tolerate the alcohol levels it had produced in your wine.  Some yeast are not as tolerant of alcohol as others, and perhaps you used a yeast that had a lower alcohol tolerance.

4. The temperature was not ideal for the strain of yeast you were using. Different strains of yeast have different temperature ranges that they can work in efficiently. If the temperature gets too warm, yeast will die. If the temperature gets too low, they go dormant.

5. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the juice. You’ll hear and read over and over that air is the worst enemy in winemaking, however this is after the fermentation has gotten under way. Yeast do need oxygen and you can help by giving giving the contents of your pail a good stirring at least once a day for the first few days.

Now that we’ve covered some of the possibilities as to why you have a stuck fermentation, you should be able to figure out what you can do to prevent one in the future.

But if you’ve got a stuck fermentation now, or ever do have one in the future, there is a way to have hope.  If you have a “stuck fermentation” right now, hopefully you have a winemaking supply store within a short distance which likely carries EC-1118 strain of yeast. Get a packet of that and re-inoculate your pail of wine with it.

EC-1118 yeast is used by winemakers all over the world for making some very good wines and due to it’s tolerance to a wide range of temperature as well as a tolerance to alcohol up to 18%, it is the “go-to” yeast for stuck fermentations. It also helps that it has a mostly neutral effect on taste and aroma of the final wine.

If you plan on making a lot of wine, keeping a few spare packets of EC-1118 yeast in the freezer is a very wise thing to do.

I’ve also prepared for you other information and resources on winemaking yeast, here that I hope you find helpful.

Ian Hugh Scott has been making his own wine for years. As well as wines from commercially available kits, he has discovered the pleasures of experimenting with other ingredients such as black currants, strawberries, blueberries, and even ginger and parsnip!
Follow along with Ian’s regular home winemaking activities at his blog.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/dont-get-stuck-with-a-stuck-fermentation-1394255.html