Wine by the Gallon

Someone asked me for my Backyard Blonde recipe after sampling it.

I thought I would share a good recipe for those that want to try making their first batch of wine. I would strongly suggest that if you don't have a mentor, you at least read a good book on winemaking. With the concentrates and products at your local winemaking supplier, you don't even have to get your feet dirty...unless you want to.

Before you run down to the supply store, read the book: you will save money by not buying what you don't need, and you won't appear to be totally clueless.

Some simple rules to remember before we get you started:

1. Keep things clean...the slightest contamination can ruin your wine.

2. Keep your fermenting wine in a place that it won't be jarred or disturbed...a warmer part of the house is best to keep the yeast doing it's thing.

3. You may have some run-over, so place your carboy on newspaper or old towels.

Remember, this is only a gallon, and it is going to take six months to mature. Don't promise ALL of your friends a bottle. You will probably only get four wine bottles in the end.


a one gallon carboy



For this starter recipe, you will need some basic equipment:

1 gallon glass (or food grade plastic) jug (a carboy)

1 air lock and rubber stopper that fits your jug (you can get by on this first one with a piece of cling wrap and a rubber band...but, you have to check it morning and night and release the CO2)

A funnel to transfer from the pan to the jug.

Something to stir your must...make sure it fits in the mouth of the carboy.



You need a lot of patience as it takes six months of time to let it age properly. You will be totally frustrated and turned off by homemade wine if you don't.

You will need to pick up a racking tube while you are at the supply store, too.

Ingredients:

1 quart grape concentrate (your own or store bought 12 oz frozen. I wouldn't suggest concord)

4 1/2 cups sugar

3 T lemon juice

6 oz frozen apple juice (make sure it is real juice)

3/4 gallon of water (boiled or distilled)



The other ingredients, you will have to get from a wine making supplier:

1 tsp pectic enzyme

1 tsp yeast nutrient

1 tsp tannin (you need this since you didn't use whole grapes)
3 crushed campden tablets (add after cooling)
1 packet wine yeast (I have my favorite, Red Star Pasteur Champagne, *don't add until 24 hours after mixing ingredients or you will kill the yeast*)



Add the sugar to one quart of water and bring to a boil. This allows saturation of the sugar, creating a syrup. Allow to cool and transfer to gallon jug. Add all other ingredients, saving the remaining water to top off up to the neck of the jug. Seal with an air-lock or cling wrap and a rubber band. This mixture is your "must" and is the basis for your wine. If you have a hydrometer, take a reading (you really don't need one this time around).

After your must has set for 24 hours, add the packet of yeast...you shouldn't see an immediate reaction, but watch it carefully over the next 12-24 hours if you are using the plastic and rubber band. Soon this will start to foam and you will know that your yeast is active. Stir the must daily for the first week. This is when you have the greatest threat of run-over.

One week after you have started your wine, it will be time for the first racking. This is accomplished by placing the racking tube all the way to the bottom of your carboy and creating a syphon to move the must to a different container, leaving the sediment in the bottom 1/4 inch. If you don't have a second carboy, you can temporarily put it in a gallon glass jar or in a bucket, then clean your carboy and transfer it back to the clean carboy. Top off with water up to the neck.

Rack your wine weekly for the first month, and then monthly until the final product at six months. We will talk about bottling and corking as the time gets closer.

Taste your wine (just enough to put on your tongue) to learn the stages of fermentation.



I hope this was some help for those that want to try this fascinating hobby.

Birds: Eggs are in the nest, 18 days from the time the second one is laid, you will have pipping on the eggs and squabs in the nest. At this time, you need to have your permanent club bands ready, because the babies have to be banded at 7-10 days.

Honey: Started two batches of wine this week, I will try and keep you updated with what I am doing to my wine and mead, so you can follow along with this new recipe.

Ozone as pollution and the breeding season

L.A. Smog

Ozone: the word was coined back in 1840.  It is actually a triatomic molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms.  Ozone serves a particular purpose where it belongs in the upper atmosphere, protecting us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet light. But in the lower atmoshere, it is a pollutant that can cause respiratory problems in animals, including humans. In the lower atmoshere, we often call this heavy oxygen "smog." The link above provides some really interesting history on Wikipedia about ozone.

We have always been told, "move to the country to escape these types of emissions." An article today in the Salt Lake Tribune refutes that idea. The Uinta basin of northeastern Utah is about as rural as you can currently find. Vernal is the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument, but due to the oil and gas fields surrounding the basin, the air held unhealthy levels of ozone for 40 days last winter.

That puts it on a level with Los Angeles and the San Bernadino Valley. Hard to believe rural Utah, was ranked right up there with the highest pollution-ridden areas of the world.  And at a time of year when ozone is not normally a consideration as a pollutant. 

Bottom line, we have to reduce emissions, or we have to find another planet to live on...this one will kill us off if we keep causing her harm.

Birds: The most important part of the race season is starting all over the country in major competitive lofts.  They are preparing for the breeding season. Many will start around Thanksgiving, hoping for birds that can be banded on the first day of the new year.  Many breeders will be standing on the club secretary's porch, waiting for bands on January 1, 2011.

Now is the time to prepare for that. Healthy parents create healthy youngsters, creating a better possibility for a winning season.  Breeding lofts should be sanitized. A simple water and bleach solution will work when sprayed on to scraped surfaces and allowed to sit and air dry.  Many pigeon breeders will paint the lofts at this time too.

The birds themselves should be getting a 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 treatment.  My primarily concerns are paratyphoid; canker; coccidiosis; e. coli; and worms.  I treat the birds for 5 consecutive days, then use a probiotic for 5 days then repeat the whole process. So now is the time to start if you want the breeders ready by the end of November.  I also do this treatment on the Old Bird race team while I am at it. A reminder, it is show season, and you never know what the bird in the next pen might be sharing with your birds, so this is a good practice to prevent an outbreak in your loft.

 

Honey: Does anyone know of wineries on the Hawaiian Islands? We will be taking our honeymoon there next month, and a wine tour would be a fantastic way to find a good local wine or two for the beach, along with some cheese and crackers or fresh local bread.

How can the bids be bogus if the sale was bogus???

"If so many people are miserable and pessimistic at the wealthiest and most comfortable time in history, could it be that wealth and comfort are not the best goals for human society?" Tim DeChristopher

A Facebook post by a friend made me think of Tim DeChristopher...if you don't know his story, you probably don't follow much about the environment and local Utah news...or the feds have successfully covered the story up until it is forgotten and they can just lock him up and throw away the key. 

The short version, Tim finished taking a test during his senior year at the University of Utah, went over to a rally against the unlawful sale of mineral rights to BLM land by oil and petroleum companies and decided to wander on in to this secret sale...he was mistaken as a bidder, and given the bidder card #70.  He purchased 14 parcels worth 1.7 million during this illegal auction and then told them that he had no money to pay for his winnings.  So, for attending a secret or bogus sale and bidding for illegally sold parcels of public land without the money to cover the bids on the illegal sale, Tim is facing federal charges.

The post that got me thinking of Tim was about BLM's contracted Oil Shale research in Utah.

This past week, Tim was in attendance and addressed the Govenors Energy Task Force...Tim has found himself in the position of the head of a new environmental movement.  One that feels "a continued focus on the development of fossil fuels is a declaration of war against the living.”





I had the opportunity to meet Tim briefly at a screening of a documentary on the Green River and water use. Amazingly, the movie is playing on the local PBS channel tonight.  Tim is being regarded by some as a modern-day Edward Abbey.  I found our brief encounter to be insightful, showing an awareness beyond his young years...he is truly passionate about saving our earth from mankind.

They have moved Tim's trial date back to December 13, 2010...two years after Tim made his stand by bidding for parcels during a secret and illegal sale of rights on public land.  Maybe the feds were hoping by then the issue would fall off the radar...but you and I can keep it alive.  Check out Peaceful Uprising, and see what you can do to assist in this environmental struggle.  If you can do nothing else, plan to stand in solidarity for the environment on December 13, 2010.

Birds: After much consideration and thought, I am going to step away from the sport of racing pigeons for a few years. My partner has offered to take my best breeders that I use for one-loft races and keep the family alive for me until I return to the sport.  I will still have several breeder pairs that will need to be sold or given to novice racers to help retain the sport...and some will be donated to the annual club auction.

Honey: The first frost has sweetened the grapes...they are ready for making the best of the best, late harvest juice for wine-- dessert wines.