Monthly Archives: September 2007

Tomato Wine: Harvest update

Leave a reply

I began harvesting my Gold Nugget tomatoes a month ago. I hope to get at least 15 lb (almost 7 kg) to make a white tomato wine. The 6.5 oz (175 g) that I harvested on 8/9/07 has become 9 lb 12.5 oz (about 4.4 kg) and counting, so I’m about 2/3 of the way there. I couldn’t fit that many tomatoes in my kitchen freezer, so I bought a chest freezer to store my harvest. I may have been a little optimistic, though, when I was thinking about how much space I would need …


Chest freezer with two bags of tomatoes at the bottom

Cherry Mead Recipe: Racked

Leave a reply

Cherry Mead after racking on 9/3/07


As you can see in the photo above, I racked my cherry mead into two 1-gallon jugs, a magnum (1.5 liter) bottle, and an ordinary wine bottle. The 1-gallon jug on the left, that isn’t full and has a lighter more opaque color to it, is filled with slurry from the fermenter. I’ll let it settle so that I can recover some clear mead later. I talked about the acidity of the cherry mead last week, and I planned to add 1 tsp/Gallon (1.3 g/L) of tartaric acid. I did that, and I’ll taste it in a few months to see how it’s coming along.

Oregano Wine Recipe: First racking – at last!

Leave a reply

Oregano Wine after racking on 9/3/07


I’ve never been happier with a specific gravity measurement than this one: 0.993 on 8/31/07. After the pH crash and the stuck fermentation, after the potassium bicarbonate addition and the yeast starter, and after all that waiting my Oregano Wine has finally fermented out! I racked on 9/3/07 to a 1-gallon jug and a half-bottle. I poured the thick slurry that was left into a beer bottle to settle. I’m a little worried about oxidation because I’ve kept the wine in it’s primary fermenter since June, but there is no sign yet and I’ve treated with sulfite.

Produce Department Chablis – First racking

Leave a reply

Produce Department Chablis after racking on 9/3/07


I measured the specific gravity on 8/31/07, and at 0.991 it had fermented out and was ready to rack. So yesterday I siphoned the young wine into a 1-gallon jug and a beer bottle. There was some thick slurry left in the fermenter, and I poured that into another beer bottle to settle. I should be able to recover some clear wine from that, and every little bit helps! I’ll let the wine sit for a while. It will clear and the yeast will settle to the bottom. Then I’ll measure the pH and titratable acidity, make adjustments if necessary, and rack again. In the meantime, I’ll have to think about changing the name to “Produce Department Rose” – how about that color!

Veraison – The grapes are changing color

Leave a reply

I love watching my grape vines change over the course of a season. First they break bud, then they leaf out, later they flower, after that they set fruit. Each of these stages is exciting, and I’ve written about all of them. When the grapes change color from green black (or red or yellow), it’s sudden and dramatic and visual. So why don’t I stop writing about it and show you …


A single dark grape in a cluster of green ones heralds veraison.


That’s my Pinot Noir in the photo above. Here’s one I haven’t said much about, Price. It’s a seeded table grape. I wanted some table grapes to munch on. The grower I bought cuttings from and his son each had a favorite (Swenson Red and Price), and I got both of them.


A few grapes, in two small loose clusters of green grapes, are turning red.


The Leon Millot is putting on a great show as well.


Leon Millot veraison on 8/18/2007


The grapes will accumulate sugar as they ripen over the next month or so. Their acid profile will change, with the harsh malic acid giving way to grapes’ signature tartaric acid. Then a happy wine maker will bring in his harvest!