Cinnamon Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 12 six-inch cinnamon sticks
• 2 lbs granulated sugar
• 7-1/2 pts water
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1/8 tsp tannin
• 3 tsp acid blend
• 1 crushed Campden tablet
• Champagne wine yeast

Put cinnamon sticks and one quart water in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a simmer and hold for 10 minutes with the lid on, turn off heat, and let steep for two hours. Strain the water into a secondary and discard the cinnamon sticks. Add sugar to remaining water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add all remaining ingredients to secondary except Campden and yeast and then pour in the sugar-water. Cover with a napkin held in place with a rubberband and allow to cool. Add Crushed Campden, stir, and allow to sit 24 hours covered. Add activated yeast and recover. Ferment 5-7 days, or until specific gravity falls below 1.030. Fit with airlock and continue fermentation 30 days. Rack into sanitized secondary, top up, and refit airlock. Ferment another 3 months, rack again and ferment additional 3 months. Stabilize, sweeten to taste, and let sit under airlock additional 10 days. Rack into bottles and store in dark place. [Adapted from Terry Garey’s The Joy of Home Winemaking ]

• 12 six-inch cinnamon sticks
• 2 11-oz cans of frozen white grape concentrate
• 1-1/4 lbs granulated sugar
• 6-1/2 pts water
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1/8 tsp tannin
• 1-1/2 tsp acid blend
• 1 crushed Campden tablet
• Champagne or Montrachet wine yeast

Put cinnamon sticks in a two-quart saucepan with a tight-fitting lid with one quart of water. Bring to a simmer, put on the lid, turn the heat off, and let steep for two hours. Strain the water into a secondary and discard the cinnamon sticks. Add sugar to remaining water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and stir until sugar is dissolved, then cover and set aside until cool. Meanwhile, set frozen concentrate out to thaw. When sugar water is cool, add concentrate and all remaining ingredients to it except yeast, stir to dissolve, and then pour into the secondary. Cover secondary with a napkin held in place with a rubberband and set aside 24 hours. Add activated yeast and recover. Ferment until specific gravity falls below 1.010 and rack into sanitized secondary. Fit with airlock and continue fermentation 30 days. Rack, top up, and refit airlock. Ferment another 3 months, rack again and ferment additional 3 months. Stabilize, sweeten to taste, and let sit under airlock additional 10 days. Rack into bottles and store in dark place. [Author’s own Recipe]