Wine!

[Wyldewode]

Oh cool!

If you can find out what type of yeast is included now that you have instructions, I hope you will consider sharing the process of how it is done. I love mead, but have never seen a fermenting kit for it.

Hunh. Just says "yeast".

Here's a link to the people who made the kit I bought.

Ali, did you have to have any special equipment to make this? My husband is wondering about fermenting buckets and one-way valves that let the gasses out. If we bought a kit would we have to have anything that wouldn't be in our well-stocked kitchen?

[Vader]

My mate makes his own. He uses old big wine carboys/demojohns with one-way valve rubber stop thingymabobs.

I see him on Sunday so I could ask him for his recipe.

[aliantha]

Nope, no special equipment required. That's the beauty of this kit. The whole kit consists of a packet of herbs, a little packet of yeast, a small square of muslin and a rubber band, and the directions. All you need to supply is a gallon of spring water, 2 lbs of honey, and a pot to heat stuff in. You use the plastic jug that the spring water comes in for your fermenter. When everything's in the bottle, you put the muslin over the opening and rubber-band it in place.

I used a funnel to get the hot flavoring tea into the spring water bottle, and the funnel with a wire mesh strainer when I poured the finished mead into the bottles. Oh yeah, you also need 4 clean wine bottles or mason jars or something, plus a way to seal the bottles (I just re-used the wine corks).

[Wyldewode]

Well that's easy enough, Ali!

[aliantha]

Yup, easier than making cheese.

[stonemaybe]

I found that Sensas I posted about a while back, for £5.99 a bottle.

Unfortunately the shop have a minimum buy of six bottles.

Did I really say 'unfortunately' there?????????

[Vader]

I know summer is over when the heavy red wines from Tuscany, Piemont or Bordeaux start to taste again.

[ussusimiel]

*bump*

for Sorus!

[Sorus]

Thanks!

I'm more likely to lurk in the beer thread for recommendations if I feel my day would benefit from an alcohol content, but it never hurts to pick up some knowledge.

[SoulBiter]

Wow what an old thread!!!

I typically lean toward dry red wines like a good peppery Cabernet. However I also like Merlot, Pinot, and some dryer whites. Reislings surprise me now but if too sweet I will just pour it out. Blech!!!

Heading to Sonoma in August with my brother in law for a week of Wine Country.

[Avatar]

What? 3 years isn't old.

I'm almost exclusively a Cabernet guy myself. Most other stuff just tastes too thin.

Since we have such a great local supply, there's plenty of options too.

--A

[SoulBiter]

I have to say for 90% of my wine drinking its Cab for me as well. I went to the local mountains this weekend and hit up some wineries. There are some very good local wines here, although they are not all inexpensive.

[Avatar]

Yeah, it's all relative anyway. Some that are not too expensive in the grand scheme of things are still more than I want to pay for casual "glass of wine with dinner" drinking.

Unless I feel like treating myself (the GF doesn't drink alcohol at all these days), I rarely spend more than the equivalent of $10 on a bottle, and usually a bit less.

Of course, with the exchange rate and the local production, that still gives me some pretty good options.

--A

[Cord Hurn]

I sometimes like to relax on evenings after I've hiked an afternoon into the nearby mountains by drinking Provisioner, a decent Arizona red wine that's only one-third as bitter as shiraz, and digests well. Sounds like a commercial, I know, but lately it's been a weekly habit for me.

[Avatar]

If I don't have to chew it, it doesn't have enough body. And reds should be a bit bitter, and a bit sour, it's the tannin's and acids at work.

--A

[Cord Hurn]

If I don't have to chew it, it doesn't have enough body. And reds should be a bit bitter, and a bit sour, it's the tannin's and acids at work.

--A

This wine I described certainly fits that profile, Avatar! Cheers!

[Avatar]

Doesn't look like we import any US wine at all here, not for general commercial consumption anyway. (I suspect we don't import much wine at all in fact, but guess that's generally a good thing.)

--A