With the 5lb of parsnips that teacher Barry gave me on Saturday, yesterday I set to & started to turn them into something to drink.
Familiar with the method, I soon had them scrubbed, chopped, boiled & strained; then I added sugar & citric acid & boiled again; then once cooled, in went the amylase, yeast nutrient & finally the yeast - stirred it all up, & off it goes.
Of course somewhat after the event, I flicked through my copy of CJJ Berry & found out that I could have made something called 'Parsnip Sherry (light)' - I'll definitely give that a whirl with some of next year's parsnips.
This year's parsnip wine that I started at the end of January is already clear as a bell, so I siphoned it into a spare demijohn & I can bottle it at my leisure - as ever with the parsnip wines, it's as strong as an ox at 16% & tastes like it needs to sit somewhere quietly for 6 months or so.
The redcurrant & apple started in December is ready to bottle too - a taste reveals it to be a bit sharp (& a bit bland, if I'm honest), so decided to use this wine to have a crack at Wine Blending.
As all the apple wines have been sweet, I siphoned off some of the apple mkIII & made up 8 bottles in total, with each bottle being approx 2/3 redcurrant & apple and 1/3 apple mkIII, which I think should make something better tasting than either of them individually.
The mixture seems to taste OK, but I'll know if it's been a success when they have sat quietly for a few months too...
My best blend was a strong but bland banana with a dry - almost acidic - date.
ReplyDeleteDate and banana was a knock-out! You are right that they need a couple of months to meld.
There must be an 'optimum' length of time for a batch of wine to be stored - the trouble is that by the time you've discovered what it is, you've drunk all the wine!
ReplyDeleteHow true! The last bottle is always the best.
ReplyDelete