Your favorite country wine?

It seems that alot of the fun with wine making comes from exploring country wine recipes. Many of these wines are rarely sold in stores and (I've heard) are just as good or better than grape wines. But because they aren't often sold in stores, I don't know which country wine I'd like. What is your favorite kind of country wine?

My favorite (that I've not yet made myself) is my friend's chokecherry wine. Best wine I've ever had!

My favorite of the ones I make is rhubarb, believe it ot not. It tastes like a fruitier pinot grigio. I ferment it to dry, and serve it chilled. It is a clear crisp white wine. And the funny thing is, I usually prefer big bold reds! My husband's favorite is dandelion or blackberry.

Rhubarb and dandelion sound intriguing! I've got so many things I want to try.

I know, I know! It's gotten to the point that I'm in the grocery store and farmer's markets, eyeing up anything that I think might ferment! Some ideas: mangos, pumpkin, sour cherries.

Some other winners: banana wine (made with overripe bananas on sale for .19/pound); blueberry wine (but takes way too many blueberries!); strawberry wine.

One thing on the "ick" list, at least so far: tomato wine. I heard it was good, but when I bottled it, I thought it tasted like pizza. Very gaggy at that point, but I'll open it in about 6 months and see if it improved. My husband like it, but I think it was pretty awful.

Yooper Chick said:

One thing on the "ick" list, at least so far: tomato wine. I heard it was good, but when I bottled it, I thought it tasted like pizza. Very gaggy at that point, but I'll open it in about 6 months and see if it improved. My husband like it, but I think it was pretty awful.

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I wonder if it might be good to cook with?

RichBrewer said:

I wonder if it might be good to cook with?

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I'm sure it would be, especially for Italian dishes. It's a beautiful golden color and smells great. I'm going to reserve judgement until one year in the bottle, though- then if it is still "ick", it will be a cooking wine.

Yooper Chick said:

My favorite (that I've not yet made myself) is my friend's chokecherry wine. Best wine I've ever had!

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Hi Yooper Chick...

I don't suppose you have access to your friend's recipe for chokecherry wine, do you?

I have lots of chokecherry trees near my new house and I'd love to try some!

Thanks!

-Rich

i'm making elderflower wine at the moment but i managed to find an elderflower cordial in a local farm shop to get an idea of the taste before i started. and also i went to a local real ale festival and there was a table with country wines for you to try, thats where i got my inspiration to start brewing from.

Yooper Chick said:

Some other winners: banana wine (made with overripe bananas on sale for .19/pound); blueberry wine (but takes way too many blueberries!); strawberry wine.

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Can you share your banana wine recipe?

Thanks,
-S

i love strawberry wine and have my first attempt in my primary now. blackberry is also very good im intrigued by the sound of banana and will def have to try that

N3WWN said:

Hi Yooper Chick...

I don't suppose you have access to your friend's recipe for chokecherry wine, do you?

I have lots of chokecherry trees near my new house and I'd love to try some!

Thanks!

-Rich

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I don't have access to it. But I see there are some on Jack Keller's site: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/chokech.asp

I'm going to try the first one. My banana wine recipe is now in the recipe database!

yooper j/w what do you use for your primary I see that most of your wine recipes are one gallon. I have been wanting to try your rubarb wine.

I use a smaller bucket usually- about a three gallon size for a one gallon batch. I got several of them at the grocery store bakery. Frosting and peanut butter come in them- complete with lids, they were free! Don't get the pickle ones- that smell never comes out!

Often, though, I make a three gallon batch (just triple the recipe, except for yeast) and use my regular "ale pail" and then secondary in a three gallon carboy.

Thanks, Did they just have them siting out or did you ask for some? Ill probably just end up using my ale pail , and buy a 3 gallon carboy.

I asked for them. Then they saved a few for me, all nice and clean, too!

Yooper Chick said:

I don't have access to it. But I see there are some on Jack Keller's site: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/chokech.asp

I'm going to try the first one. My banana wine recipe is now in the recipe database!

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Thanks!

Yooper Chick said:

One thing on the "ick" list, at least so far: tomato wine. I heard it was good, but when I bottled it, I thought it tasted like pizza. Very gaggy at that point, but I'll open it in about 6 months and see if it improved. My husband like it, but I think it was pretty awful.

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Just to throw this out at you, there are some varieties (like Great White) that produce huge, mild and sweet Tomatoes. We made Tomato preserve with them and it stacks up with regular fruit preserves easy. They are low in the unami taste (earthy) I am guessing they are lower in Glutamate than say some of the top favorites for slicing on a sandwhich. It sounds to me like that 'earthiness' can easily carry into the fermented product.

Yooper Chick said:

My banana wine recipe is now in the recipe database!

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Thanks! I've got to try that! Do you have a recommended yeast for it? I'm a wine newbie.

Thanks again!

-S

A friend of mine makes a black raspberry wine, fortified with a bit of vodka, and with a touch of some kind of chocolate liquer. Simply amazing flavor. He's pretty secretive with the recipe for some reason. Not really secretive, I guess, but rather, kind of vague, I guess. I'm gonna try to duplicate it on my own.

lustreking said:

Thanks! I've got to try that! Do you have a recommended yeast for it? I'm a wine newbie.

Thanks again!

-S

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I used premier cuvee yeast on this batch (recipe in the database). I don't think it really matters- any neutral yeast will do. Maybe champagne yeast if you have it. You don't need to bring out any fruitiness or anything like that, so a neutral wine yeast would be best.