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Kirkland Signature Sauvignon Blanc

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Kirkland Signature Sauvignon BlancFor those of you who don’t know, Costco is a chain of warehouse stores, mainly in the US and Canada, that allows you to buy in bulk from a limited selection at terrific prices. It can be a good place to buy wine, but I hadn’t seen them sell it under there own label – Kirkland Signature – until now. I was curious, and picked up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

I thought it was fruity, with the strong flavor and acidity that I know and love about Sauvignon Blanc. It was dry and acidic, but in a way that wont put off sweet wine lovers. The Lady of the House, her sweet tooth is known far and wide, liked it too calling it “grapefruit-y” and “summer-y.”

There are cheaper wines that are overpriced. This one is a bargain at $10.

Titratable Acidity: A Better Way!

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A better way to measure titratable acidity?


So what’s that contraption pictured above? I wrote about it back in February, and I think it’s a better way to measure titratable acidity (TA). It works by adding a measured sample of wine to sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The baking soda reacts with acid in the sample, giving off carbon dioxide gas (CO2) in direct proportion to the amount of acid. This device measures that CO2, and you can use that to determine the TA of the sample.

Pinot and Me

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Potted Pinot Noir and Me


I photograph my grape vines as closeups, so the leaves and clusters are clearly visible. Here I took in the entire vine, with a devilishly handsome model to provide a sense of size and proportion 🙂 The vines in my bonsai vineyard look like this except that most of them are in 5-gallon plastic buckets. I think the terracotta pot makes the Pinot Noir more photogenic.

I took the photo on August 9, 2008, and you can see the grape clusters are still green. Now on September 1, the Siegerrebe and Leon Millot are beginning to change color, but the Pinot remains stubbornly green.

Rhubarb Wine: A Good First Harvest

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Rhubarb Harvest

This time last year, I was trying to make up for lost time, “better late than never!” I thought as I belatedly weeded, watered, and fertilized. I didn’t want spindly plants this year, so I tended my rhubarb in March. The payoff came in May when I harvested 1 lb 14.5 oz (865 g), putting me further along than I was in June of last year. I’ve got high hopes for a good season this year!

Shipping Homemade Wine: So Far So Good

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Shipping Wine


As I said in my previous post on shipping homemade wine, one of my readers and I are experimenting by shipping our wines to each other. He shipped two bottles of tomato wine, and they arrived in great shape – no breaks, no leaks. I sent back two bottles of mead. I hope they arrive intact and that he likes them as much I like his. My tomato wine isn’t far enough along yet to compare with his, in fact the last time I checked it was pretty harsh.

Don’t ask, don’t tell?

Both of us had a similar experience when we shipped our wines. We packaged up the wine at home and presented the sealed box to a shipping clerk, who never asked what we were shipping. I made up my mind before hand that I wouldn’t lie, and if asked, I was ready to tell him that I was shipping some of my homemade wine to a friend. He was only interested in two things, however, my credit card and whether or not the value exceeded $100.

I did have to fill out and sign a “shipping order” form, which had a space for me to list the contents of the package and some other details. The clerk handed it to me and said he just needed my name, phone number, and signature. Its possible that a different clerk would have required an accounting of the package contents, but our experience is that they don’t care what’s in a plain, ordinary package.

I expect the package to arrive in about a week, and I’ll post an update when I hear about it.

Update 5/18/2008: Success!

The two meads I shipped arrived safe and sound.

Oak Staves, Chips, and Powder – Free Samples!

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Oak Samples


I just received this very impressive sample kit from the Oak Solutions Group. There’s a lot to experiment with: different types of oak, in different forms, with different levels of toast. I hope to be trying it all out, and writing about it, over the next year. To get one for yourself, follow this link, fill out the form, and select which samples you would like. They ask what company you work for and your title, but I just wrote in “Home Wine Maker.”

Time to experiment!

A White Spring?

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It's Spring!


This is not what I expect my backyard to look like in Spring! I start paying close attention to the weather this time of year, because I’m starting my garden and a lot of what I grow will end up in a primary fermenter. How’s the weather looking thus far? It felt cold to me in March, and a quick check of temperature data confirmed that we’re off to a cold start. The average high temperature was 3.48°F (1.93°C) below normal and the average low 0.58°F (0.32°C) cooler. Most of my fruit trees are beginning to stir, and I’m worried about a late frost.

Lord Rhys Chocolate Mead Recipe

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I mentioned this one yesterday, when I was commenting on existing wine and mead recipes that used chocolate. Here it is in its entirety:

Chocolate Mead aka Liquid Sex Mead
Lord Rhys, Capten gen y Arian Lloer, Barony of Andelcrag, Midrealm

This recipe may be quoted, borrowed, copied, or stolen by anyone under three conditions.
1. As the originator of this recipe please offer me credit as such.
2. No money may change hands specifically for this recipe. Give it freely to any who ask in the spirit in which I give it to you.
3. It may be put into any SCA newsletter, SCA publication, or website, paid subscription or public domain only after due notification to the originator.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

The originator of the recipe is not responsible for hordes of chocolate-crazed women attacking your encampment in search of chocolate mead, or Foreign Royalty sending knights to drag you into their court at Pennsic to demand bottles and recipes. All local women must now see my lady, Angelline la Petita, for a sample if you can talk her out of it. I am not allowed to carry around an open bottle anymore.

Basic Procedure

The basics of mead brewing should be mastered before performing any advanced projects. This recipe assumes a standard 5 gallon batch of mead using a 4 parts water to 1 part honey mixture (Must). – editor’s note: take a look at my Simple Mead Recipe for an introduction to mead making basics.

If you prefer your mead boiled, do so before adding any cocoa from this recipe as the foaming will remove the chocolate from the mix. Boiling is optional in mead and if you would like the pro’s and con’s, please ask. I personally boil nothing in mead making.

To your standard must, before adding the yeast, add 16 oz of Cocoa Powder (Nestles works great). Mix well before adding yeast. You will notice a lag in the start of the yeast; however this is common and due to the oils in cocoa. It will start bubbling madly in a few days, but never as much as normal mead.

Finishing and Aging

THIS STEP IS VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT!

Cocoa contains a number of different very bitter oils that must be given time to break down. After the bubbling slows down put your fermenter/carboy away for one full year. Keeping the airlock on and checking the water level in it on occasion. Any other method of removing the oils will result in the loss of that little enzyme that the ladies are so fond of.

At the end of that year, rack the mead once to remove sediment and sweeten to approx. 1.030 on a hydrometer (semi-sweet) or to taste. I use Camden to kill the yeast at this point. Put the mead away for a second year. After the second year bottle normally. It will be clear, but very dark.

Some production notes: This mead leaves a very light aftertaste of chocolate that many people will not be able to identify readily. However the other effects of chocolate, i.e. orgasmic like pleasure is there. In the original test one of the samplers didn’t care for it, only one identified the flavor and tried to steal the bottle, and the other 28 thought it good with comments ranging from “very good” to “OH MY GOD!”. I make five gallons each year to share with friends, and that is all due to space from brewing. I used an apple flower honey, but any light honey should work. Just avoid heavy flavored honeys that might overpower the chocolate. In addition brew down only once, a heroic (high alcohol) mead would likewise overpower the delicate flavor.

Additional Note: The current batch now aged over two years has increased in chocolate flavor and smoothed very very very well. I no longer serve chocolate mead at less then two years of age. The Ladies of the Barony deserve nothing less then the best.

Final Note: If you let the mead age a third year some lovely Lady will force you to marry her in order to hoard the supply. My Lady Angelline has even received copies of this recipe in email, telling her she just has to try this out.

This mead is best served to the one you love ice cold, in candlelight, with a bowl of fresh strawberries for dipping. And privacy would be recommended.

Comments back to me are most welcome and maybe sent to LordRhys@gmail.com

Rhubarb Wine In A New Light

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Lynfred Rhubarb Wine


The Lady of the House has a sweet tooth, so we don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to wine. This sweet rhubarb wine from Lynfred Winery was a big hit with her, but it was also one of the rare sweet wines that was well balanced enough for me – we both loved it!

This wine is different from the dry, aged rhubarb wine that I normally make. Not better or worse, but a very different style. We both liked it, so I’m thinking about making some of my own rhubarb wine in this style. It’s also made me want to make rhubarb wine with no added water.

So the folks at Lynfred made a wine we both like and showed me a new way to make rhubarb wine – great job guys (and gals)! Lynfred is an Illinois winery, so their wines are not widely available here in Washington State. But if it’s available where you live, I highly recommend it.

Peapod Burgundy?

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This blog is about making wine, so I don’t talk about my vegetable garden very much. My gardening and winemaking overlap in some ways like rhubarb wine, oregano wine, tomato wine, and the one-pint (500 ml) batch of wine from my own grapes. Well there’s going to be some more overlap this year, because I’m growing four new things (and fermenting one of them). This will be my first time growing peas, and as a fan of Good Neighbors, I have to make wine from the pea pods – Peapod Burgundy as they called it on the show. As of now, I’ve just ordered the seeds, but I’ll have more to say about it as the season progresses.

Here’s what the Lady of the House has to say about our gardening plans this year.