porcupine73
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- Aug 21, 2012
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There are some grape vines growing where I live that were taken over by weeds maybe 25 years ago. They don't seem to produce grapes, but they sure grow a lot of nice looking leaves. So in a few places I've seen some notes about making a wine out of grape leaves so I am giving it a try.
I took a six gallon stainless steel pot, and put in about eight pounds of evaporated cane juice. I added maybe a cup of honey, a cup of sucanat, and half a cup of molasses. I added some azomite. I added a few gallons of warm water and stirred it until the sweeteners were dissolved. I added a few cups of black tea.
Then I made a few trips outside with a paperbag and gathered the grape leaves. I chewed a piece of grape leaf to check it, and it tasted good, very grape like, though not sweet.
So I gathered maybe three paper-sack-fuls of the leaves and put them in the pot, then added cool water to fill the pot. Then I used a pack of Danstar Cuvee yeast I think it said.
I put a bedsheet over the pot and secured it with a string of rubberbands.
This morning when I checked it, most of the grape leaves had risen up out of the pot. So I filled a glass dish with some water and sat it on top of the leaves as a weight and then covered it back up.
I am guessing after a week or so I should then rack off the liquid into a carboy and airlock it?
I didn't sterilize anything so hopefully it will come out resembling something drinkable.
I wonder if this would be anything like what is that Italian liquor called, grapa or grappa? Though I think that must be distilled to make it as strong as it is.
I took a six gallon stainless steel pot, and put in about eight pounds of evaporated cane juice. I added maybe a cup of honey, a cup of sucanat, and half a cup of molasses. I added some azomite. I added a few gallons of warm water and stirred it until the sweeteners were dissolved. I added a few cups of black tea.
Then I made a few trips outside with a paperbag and gathered the grape leaves. I chewed a piece of grape leaf to check it, and it tasted good, very grape like, though not sweet.
So I gathered maybe three paper-sack-fuls of the leaves and put them in the pot, then added cool water to fill the pot. Then I used a pack of Danstar Cuvee yeast I think it said.
I put a bedsheet over the pot and secured it with a string of rubberbands.
This morning when I checked it, most of the grape leaves had risen up out of the pot. So I filled a glass dish with some water and sat it on top of the leaves as a weight and then covered it back up.
I am guessing after a week or so I should then rack off the liquid into a carboy and airlock it?
I didn't sterilize anything so hopefully it will come out resembling something drinkable.
I wonder if this would be anything like what is that Italian liquor called, grapa or grappa? Though I think that must be distilled to make it as strong as it is.