making a champagne like mead

[Pinchecharlie]

would a mead made with chardonay or pinot noir juice get you closer to a champagne like mead? if so what are some good resources for fresh wine grapes or juice? ive read that meads could be made "allmost champagne like" and just wondered if this is how( iam assuming he was talking about flavor and not carbonation) thanks for any replies you may have

 

[Maylar]

It's probably carbonation. I've had ciders that people thought were champagne - lots of tiny bubbles. It won't be mead if you mix grape juice with it.

 

[bernardsmith]

You might try making a mead with elderflowers, if it is flavor you are looking for. Champagne is champagne but the fermentation of elderflowers with honey is not chopped liver... and if you prime this before bottling so the mead is suitably carbonated then this is - IMO - very champagne-like. Even more champagne-like is simply fermenting elderflowers with fermentable table sugar. About 2 oz of dried elderflowers to a gallon and about 2.5 lbs of sugar to a gallon will result in a richly flavored wine that if you bottle before degassing and so shortly after the fermentation has finished will result in a sparkling wine (and sweet, depending on when you bottle)

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Nice thanks. So with elderberry flowers could I add some to secondary. I have so many one gallon batches going all ready i was planning on racking one or two onto fruit but would that work. Or is it better to be part of fermentation? Thanks again

 

[bernardsmith]

Never tried adding the flowers to a secondary. Have always ever used them in the primary. There is a folk elderflower wine that is made in Britain and that uses fresh flowers and always as part of the primary - in part because you can then use boiling water to make a kind of tea from the flowers and after allowing it to cool add the honey (or sugar) and the yeast. Adding the flowers to the secondary means that you will use the alcohol in the wine/mead to extract the flavor...

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Mr.Smith what yeast would you recommend using with your elderflower recipe for mead? I've found some dried flowers and want to try a gallon. I have your recipe off another post but wanted to confirm 71-b as it was an old thread and many people complain about that yeast. The hbs has kv-1116 Ec-118 71-b Montrachet and pasture champagne and the one that ends in 49 can't remember it's a lavin yeast. Thanks can't wait to get it going

 

[bernardsmith]

I generally use 71B for almost all my meads, ciders and wines. 71B is low maintenance yeast. D-47 is high maintenance and is likely to produce hydrogen sulfide unless you know exactly what you are doing. I never use champagne yeasts - they are too aggressive and are likely to blow off flavor and aroma molecules - They are good for starting stalled yeasts (in my opinion) and not much else... although I guess champagne yeasts are the go to yeasts for many people on this forum, perhaps because that yeast can tolerate higher ABVs... 71B is good with elderflower.