onion/jalapeno wine (cooking)

Onion Jalapeno Wine - (1 gallon recipe)
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10 jalapeno's (diced, only de-stemmed) *re-tains more heat than 15 without seeds
2 onions (diced)
1 lbs sugar
water to 1 gallon
1 packet montrachet yeast

- mix all but yeast in primary, add 1 crushed campden tablet, then pitch yeast after 24 hours
- let ferment - after 2 weeks rack to secondary
- let sit until clear (racking off lees when/if necessary)
- bottle when clear/no more lees after 30 days (no carb - keep dry/still)

Concerns:
1. Enough onion/jalapeno flavor resides after initial racking, since it won't be in a bag to squeeze the juices out?
2. Are seeds small enough to clog the siphon? Will all the seeds drop out after enough time?

Planning on pitching tonight/tomorrow, and will use this thread as a log for the recipe.

So I made this tonight, prob a little less than a gallon because all the solids in the gallon container.

I ended up using 1.5 vidalia onions instead of 2 though. I did use 1 crushed campden, so I only have to pitch the yeast tomorrow. Oh fyi: my eyes burn caused I accidentally touched them... ouch!!!

don't pick your nose after chopping jalapeños! learnt the hard way hahahah

Just pitched the 1 packet of montrachet yeast and covering with aluminum foil for a couple days. Now the waiting game . Smells strong of onions more than anything right now.

A few months ago I had a sweet jalapeno wine a home vintner made. I couldn't stomach more than a sip.

Might have been good to cook with, wish I would have thought of that before pouring it out.

Fermentation is going, I can see all the little bubbles coming up through the liquid. I think its the yeast that doesn't give a lot of visual activity but its sure going. It really smells of sweet onions and nothing of jalapenos. I hope the heat comes through though.

Any thoughts about racking it after a week or 2? Is one time better than the other?

I started a gallon of Vidalia Onion / Jalapeno about a month ago. I only used 2 jalapenos! I tasted it once and it was hot to me. I just wanted the peppers for a kick.

Was it a gallon batch or more? I have 10 basically shredded up seeds and all lol. Might take a looong time to mellow out. Gonna try it in a week or less when racking!

About 3 days ago, I racked this into a secondary 1 gallon jug. However, it was about 3/4's of a gallon since I lost a good bit. I know the headspace is bad for the wine and will introduce oxygen. I forgot to campden it to reduce the oxygen that can mix with it... I didn't taste it yet either, as I racked a good bit of onion/jal. sediment from the primary with it. Only been a couple days in the secondary, and I can see a good bit of sediment at the bottom already, although it's really hazy and might take a while to clear. It sure smells really really sweet from the onions, but too bad swmbo almost through it out from the onion stench

You should taste it and report back! It sounds pretty good to me. I bet it'd be great in BBQ sauce.

Also, top it up with some white wine and keep it there for about 45 days before racking or anything.

You should taste it and report back! It sounds pretty good to me. I bet it'd be great in BBQ sauce.

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I actually just made a vinegar + barely any ketchup bbq sauce with a tiny bit of paprika and cayenne (first time ever to try a bbq sauce) and the result was a really vinegar-y taste up front for like 1/2 a second, then came some wierd kick in heat, but it wasn't spicy or peppery. After about 2-3 seconds of that, I was like damn, that was good. Got it marinating pulled chicken right now to grill tomorrow :drool:.

On to the wine...
Would it hurt to take a tiny sample in a couple days (so it's been in secondary for a week) and after hit it with a crushed campden, or will the oxygen already had devestating effects? I don't have anything to top with and probably won't be on the verge of buying anything within the coming weeks...

detlion1643 said:

I actually just made a vinegar + barely any ketchup bbq sauce with a tiny bit of paprika and cayenne (first time ever to try a bbq sauce) and the result was a really vinegar-y taste up front for like 1/2 a second, then came some wierd kick in heat, but it wasn't spicy or peppery. After about 2-3 seconds of that, I was like damn, that was good. Got it marinating pulled chicken right now to grill tomorrow :drool:.

On to the wine...
Would it hurt to take a tiny sample in a couple days (so it's been in secondary for a week) and after hit it with a crushed campden, or will the oxygen already had devestating effects? I don't have anything to top with and probably won't be on the verge of buying anything within the coming weeks...

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I wouldn't say that it would be very oxidized at this point- but I'd still top it up with a cheap commercial white wine. Or you could try adding sanitized marbles (no splashing, though!) or racking to a smaller container ASAP. Depending on how much headspace you have you could add water, if not too much.

I wouldn't say that it would be very oxidized at this point- but I'd still top it up with a cheap commercial white wine. Or you could try adding sanitized marbles (no splashing, though!) or racking to a smaller container ASAP. Depending on how much headspace you have you could add water, if not too much.

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Might take a cup to a cup and a half of water to get it topped off. Doesn't sound like much, but I might just do it and let it sit on the sediment it has left to not water down too much. Thanks for the suggestion! Although, I'll test it before to see the difference!

I ended up racking this again tonight, only got a 2 litre right to the brim out of it. I don't think there was 1/4" of lees, but I didn't notice anything floating anymore, so I figured I'll rack and give a test.

OMG, the heat right up front was shocking, since I couldn't smell the heat at all in it. I'm a guy who loves franks red hot (put it on almost everything) and enjoys a fair amount of sriracha (sp?). The minute after I was sweating (although ambient temps inside were around 76ish), but it left a sweet aftertaste. About 5 minutes after the taste in my mouth wasn't hot or dry or sweet, it was an awesome mixture. I hope it all mellows out in time.

I did find 1 seed floating in my new racked container and I'm sure it will fall with time lol... Well, this is the last update on this until it clears and I bottle. I'll update then again!

I haven't checked on this at all since the last time I posted. I checked it last night though and it's starting to clear some. Still "blurry" when looking through it, but it is clearing up since the last time.

I did notice some things floating in it, stuff that hasn't fallen to the bottom. I found a seed floating near the top, and some "stringy" looking stuff floating near the bottom. I have not de-gassed nor splashed this yet, so I might splash rack it through a coffee filter soon just to capture the sediment that won't settle and de-gas at the same time.

The smell is still very sweet and onion like, with a hint of heat afterwards. I doubt I'm going to test it when racking, as last time it was too hot and it's only been a month or so. I'm planning to bottle this within a month or 2 and age in bottle for at least 6 months before testing. Might be hard, but no matter what I do, I'll keep tabs here and let everyone know.

detlion1643 said:

I have not de-gassed nor splashed this yet, so I might splash rack it through a coffee filter soon just to capture the sediment that won't settle and de-gas at the same time.

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Boy, I sure wouldn't do that. Why would you splash rack it and oxidize it through a coffee filter, if you want a decent product in the end? I just don't understand why you'd ruin it at this point, after all the time and effort.

Didn't know a coffee filter would oxidize it, I just wanted to find a way to not get the couple seeds floating around in bottles. It seems like they just won't settle...

I haven't done anything with it yet, just gotta find time. I did pull a little sample though to test on some chicken, and I got a little sweet up front on the chicken from the onion, followed by a mild heat (not as bad as it was sipping). Overall, very worthwhile experiment so far. Will keep it updated when I bottle.

Almost been a month since I've updated this thread. On 8/29 I bottled (not filtering) and took a sip. Heat was still too much up front to drink. It's been sitting in a bottle since then.

I opened it on Saturday night and marinated some chicken overnight with some of the wine and salt and pepper. I then cooked it on the stove top instead of the grill so I could add splashes of the wine while it cooked. The whole aroma in the house was awesome, sweet from the onion with a mild hint of 'kick' in the air. The chicken, absolutely amazing. It remained moist throughout (instead of dry that I normally get with grilling). The flavor, sweet with a slight spice on the aftertaste.

This is one I will make again for cooking (but more of it). I'm still not fond of the drinkability of it though, but I love the flavors it imparts...