Honey Wine

Backyard Blonde and Raving Mead

I wanted to share the latest on my wine making...I only made a gallon batch of mead in February, primarily because my 5 gallon Carboy (used for holding mead or wine) was being used for my Backyard Blonde...

I had to try the white grapes in my backyard and see what type of wine they would make.  One of the really interesting parts about making your own wine is you can experiment with all types of grapes and all kinds of fruit...and if it doesn't turn out, then you just don't tell anyone. 

Mead by the gallon was a real success...just ask those friends that helped me polish it off...oops, I meant to save a bottle for the rack and let it age a year.  Don't worry, I'll share the recipe before I am done...simple, and anyone can do it...you just have to have patience to wait 6 months before bottling it.  Another reason I like mead, is the various tastes it has while developing into a real honey of a wine.  This year, I used Clover Honey...local...and it was some really good stuff. 

Here is the recipe, but I would suggest that you visit your local wine/beer making supply store and get a book on wine making, read it and understand the sanitary precautions and make sure you have the supplies you will need before venturing further.  This recipe should make 4 or 5 bottles of wine in six months...depending on how much tasting you do as it ferments.  The real key to success with winemaking, is patience.  So, once you have all the basics understood try this recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
4 pounds Clover Honey
3 quarts distilled water or spring water...or worst case, you can boil tap water (make sure it cools before adding yeast, or you will just kill it)

Heat and blend until disolved, place in your gallon carboy, fill to neck of gallon jar with additional water if needed and allow to cool...once cooled, add

3 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient (not mandatory, but you can tell a difference in the long run)
2 crushed Campden Tablets

When solution is at room temprature, take your hydrometer reading and write it down...this will let you know how much alcohol you can expect to have in your mead at the end of 6 months.  Place airlock on neck of bottle and allow to stand for 24 hours.  After 24 hours add one packet champagne yeast. I used Lalvin EC1118 on this last batch.

Carboy Airlock

Stir daily for the next week. After a week, if you have never tasted a yeasty mead, this is your chance...there is really no alcohol present at this point, but you will get a feel for the flavor if you taste it monthly and see how it develops. 

Now, it is all a matter of waiting.

Wine Thief

Daily, tell your wine good morning and good night...not literally, but check on it.  Weekly, taste it (a drinking straw capped with your finger makes a good wine thief for this) and record your experience, it will help with later batches.  Monthly, "rack" your wine to another clean bottle (you will need two bottles and two air locks) and top off your wine with sterile water.

At 6 months, bottle it...if possible, try and keep a bottle to taste after a year...Mead actually ages better up to 5 years in the bottle...or so they tell me. I can't keep it around that long.

Disclaimer: these are the basic steps to making mead...if you don't understand basic winemaking and sanitary precautions, you may not have a good experience...visit your local wine/beer making supply store...ask questions and make sure you keep good notes for the next batch.