WINE, CHEESE AND SILAS WOOD
Silas Wood said that the reason he started making wine was the necessity of having something to drink while he watched TV. He also said that he needed to use up the surplus from his fruit trees. Silas said the (US) Government now allows the home wine maker 200 gallons a year without paying tax. Wines can be made from any non-poisonous vegetable matter that has a little flavor.
Tropical fruit make excellent wines and his own favorite antidesma wine was, in his opinion, better than that of the grape, (Vitis vinifera) . Grape wine, however, has the advantage that it is cheaper and easier to make. The whole grape is crushed and resultant juice needs little in the way of dilution or sugar.
Silas said that if you liked the fruit you would mostly like the wine. Silas then took us step by step through the process of making a lychee wine.
1. Lychee fruit are picked. Fruit should always be ripe but not over-ripe. Blemished skins etc. are of no concern to the winemaker. 20 lbs of lychees are cleaned, peeled and pitted (this is pretty labor-intensive; passion fruit or mangos would be much easier).
2. Prepare primary fermenter. In this case a 7-gallon open-top container of good grade plastic. The fermenter should be clean and sterilized (use sterilizer solution or Campden tablets).
3. Pour lychee mixture into container and add water to bring level up to 5 gallons. Into this container will be added all the ingredients EXCEPT THE YEAST.
4. ADD sugar. Corn sugar is best because it dissolves right away. Cane sugar first needs to be heated and melted. Stir thoroughly.
5. Sugar Test. For this we need a hydrometer. This is essential winemaker's equipment and Silas suggests a spare one in case the other breaks. The hydrometer has two sides to it. One measures the specific gravity and hence the sugar content. The other scale measures potential alcohol. The amount of sugar in the mixture is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol that will be in the wine. At this point it might be necessary to add some more sugar.
6. Acid Test. Most tropical fruits are so strongly flavored that they need to be greatly diluted. This dilution lowers the amount of acid. The color scale of litmus paper will indicate how much acid (ascorbic acid) to add.
7. Add pectin. Most fruit except papaya have pectin which is good for jellies but will make wine cloudy. A pectic enzyme (made from papaya) will dissolve the pectin.
8. Add yeast nutrient. Yeast is a living organism that needs to eat. This is its sustenance.
9. Add Tannin. This will help make a better flavored wine.
10. Add sterilizer solution (Sodium metabisulfite 5 teaspoons of solution, or one Campden tablet per gallon. This kills unwanted bacteria etc. It would also kill the yeast if you had made the mistake of adding it. Wait 24 hours until sterilizing agent has dissipated, stir during the while. During this wait, the top of the container should be protected by a nylon net.
11. Now it is time to add the Yeast. Make sure it is a yeast specified for winemaking. In this case use a champagne variety of yeast. The yeast causes the fermentation which is the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The yeast, in a manner of speaking, pollute their own environment and die with the increasing level of alcohol. In wine, yeast is all killed at a level of 14% alcohol, though sherry or Port yeasts will survive up to 18% alcohol. The yeast hopefully uses up all the sugar and gives a dry wine which can then be sweetened if so desired.
A packet of yeast is sprinkled into the mixture that is called a 'must' by winemakers. The next day the 'must' will start to ferment. The following day the fermenting will be in earnest, bubbling and foaming.
12. Four days later, the liquid must be siphoned into a 5-gallon carboy (a glass jug) and another gallon jug. Silas likes to have the extra jug to avoid overflowing in the 5-gallon jug. A plastic container is not suitable at this stage, as it is porous enough to allow air to seep through, causing oxidation. The remaining fruit pulp should be squeezed out in a nylon bag. Discard pulp and attach air locks to jugs.
13. 'Must' will continue to ferment for 3 or more weeks depending on the outside temperature.
Silas said that a comfortable temperature for you would also be comfortable for the wine. He said that a garage in the summer would be too hot and in the winter it would be too cold. The wine will be finished fermenting when there is no sign of bubbles, etc. Leave another week and then check with the hydrometer - it should read at approximately the specific gravity of water (0.991- 1.000).
14. Rack Time. At the bottom of the jugs there will be a sediment or 'lees'. Wine should be siphoned off, leaving this sediment behind. The wine should be siphoned through filter or polishing paper. Filter three times for a clear, uncloudy wine. Silas generally uses 5 filter pads.
One can also use a clay called bentonite to clarify the wine. Bentonite ionizes the suspended particles, which then form a sediment. Bentonite takes 10-14 days to work.
15. Taste Test. Once wine looks clean and clear, it is time to try it out. If it is too dry for your taste, now's the time to add a little sugar. Add stabilizer to prevent any further fermentation (unless your wine is bone dry). Silas also mentioned two methods of increasing the alcohol content. The wine can be frozen, the ice removed, with the remaining having a higher percentage of alcohol ( this is how to make cider 'hard' ). The other method is distillation. All 'spirits' are wines that have been distilled; vodka for instance, is distilled potato wine. Distilling is definitely illegal for the home winemaker.
16. It is easier to cork a wine bottle than for a drunkard to obtain public office. Actually it is much harder to cork a bottle. First the corks must be soaked in a jar of water and then you will need a device called a corker. For 5 gallons of wine you will need 25 bottles, 25 corks and 25 labels. This can be a bit costly. It is important to label the wine so you will know what and how old the wine is. Screw top bottles will be good enough if you plan to drink the wine within two months.
Note. To make champagne you will need to continue fermentation in a stronger Champagne-type wine bottle.
The best home wine, and for that matter best of any kind of wine, was a sparkling elder flower wine the editor once tasted. Perhaps for a future newsletter, Silas can be persuaded to give details on Champagne making.
17. Storing. The first day, the bottle should stand upright (in case cork explodes). Then keep tilted on side so that cork is kept wet by the wine. Clear wine bottles should probably not be stored in bright light.
Some parting words from Silas Woods. As one progresses in wine making, one can learn how to make wine on a make-it-as-you-taste-it basis without the necessity of recipes. The general aim is to produce a dry wine with an insipid or slight flavor. Tropical fruit are usually too flavorful or full bodied, and need to be greatly diluted. The wine can be sweetened after it achieves the dryness (it is less satisfactory to try and make a sweet wine dryer).
Learn all the steps in their correct procedure.
Everyone has a favorite wine. Some like mango wine, some passion fruit wine. Try them out and make the one you like.
A warning. For people who have a problem with drink, wine-making is not a good idea. As Silas pointed out, it's not what you drink that is important but how much alcohol is consumed.
4 oz. of wine is the same as 1 oz. of whiskey. There are a lot of alcoholics that "never touch the hard stuff" but are chronic abusers of wine or beer.
The way Silas tells it, wine making looks easy and fun.
MAKING THE WINE
LYCHEE WINE
BEGINNING INGREDIENTS
LYCHEE FRUIT 3-4 lbs. of fruit per gallon (15-20 lbs. for 5 gallons). This is fruit weight before peeling and pitting. (OR use 5 lbs. canned fruit.)
ACID BLEND 5 tablespoons. Check level with test kit.
SUGAR 8 lbs at the beginning. Check with your hydrometer.
GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE Optional. But nice.
NUTRIENT 2½ teaspoons
PECTIC ENZYME 2½ teaspoons
TANNIN 1¼ teaspoons
STERILIZER SOLUTION or CAMPDEN TABLETS 5 teaspoons of 'stock solution' or 5 Campden Tablets
WINE YEAST 1 packet of Champagne variety yeast
WATER enough to bring volume to 5 gallons.
PASSION FRUIT WINE
BEGINNING INGREDIENTS
PASSIONFRUIT About 50 average fruit, peeled.
Seeds and pulp fermented. Do not crush seeds!
SUGAR 10 lbs sugar at beginning. Check level with hydrometer.
GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE Optional. But nice.
PECTIC ENZYME 2½ teaspoons
NUTRIENT 2½ teaspoons
TANNIN 1¼ teaspoons
STERILIZER SOLUTION or CAMPDEN TABLETS 5 teaspoons of 'stock solution' or 5 Campden Tablets
WINE YEAST 1 packet Champagne variety yeast
WATER enough to bring volume to 5 gallons
ANTIDESMA WINE
BEGINNING INGREDIENTS
ANTIDESMA (BIGNAY) FRUIT 20 to 25 lbs of fruit. Ripe, sound fruit, no bad fruit, no green fruit, no sticks or leaves.
SUGAR 11¼ lbs. Check level with hydrometer.
ACID BLEND 5 teaspoons
GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE Optional, but nice.
PECTIC ENZYME 2½ teaspoons
NUTRIENT 2½ teaspoons
TANNIN 1¼ teaspoons
STERILIZER SOLUTION or CAMPDEN TABLETS 5 teaspoons of 'stock solution' or 5 Campden Tablets
WINE YEAST 1 packet Montrachet variety yeast
WATER enough to bring volume to five gallons.
PAPAYA WINE
BEGINNING INGREDIENTS
PAPAYA FRUIT 15 lbs of fruit. Whole, fresh, ripe, sound.
PECTIC ENZYME NONE! Papaya is the source for pectic enzyme.
SUGAR 8 lbs. at beginning. Check level with hydrometer.
GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE Optional. But nice.
ACID BLEND 5 tablespoons
NUTRIENT 2½ teaspoons
TANNIN 1¼ teaspoons
STERILIZER SOLUTION or CAMPDEN TABLETS 5 teaspoons of 'stock solution' or 5 Campden tablets
WINE YEAST 1 packet Champagne variety yeast
WATER enough to bring volume to 5 gallons.
GENERAL BOTTLING INGREDIENTS
ASCORBIC ACID 1 teaspoon each time you rack your wine.
BENTONITE 1 tablespoon of mixed solution at end.
STABILIZER 2½ teaspoons when bottling.
SWEETENER Optional.
DATE: January 1987
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