Port Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads
As I mentioned in the introduction, while looking back through my notes on the orange-chocolate port I discovered a second page and saw that I made two versions. As you can see on the label, it is a “Dark Orange-Chocolate Port” — the “dark” color is from red grape concentrate. I made it twice — 2007 and 2008 — and the 2007 is what Martin served us. There are two ways to make the “Dark” and I will mention both.
Back in 2007 I had a can of Zinfandel concentrate which I used in several wines to add color and a vinous quality (body) to non-grape wines. After opening the can I poured the leftover concentrate into a whiskey bottle and kept it in the refrigerator. Late, after using more of it, I moved the remainder to a smaller bottle to control the ullage. By 2008 the cup or so that remained had oxidized and I used Welch’s 100% Red Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate instead. The batch made with the Zinfandel was superior to the one made with the Welch’s, although it too was very good. The recipe below simply states, “red grape concentrate”. You can use either kind — a varietal or a frozen concentrate.
- 2 cans frozen orange juice concentrate, no pulp
- 2 pounds sugar
- 11 fluid ounces red grape concentrate
- 4 dry ounces (by weight) unsweetened Dutched cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon citric acid (or acid blend)
- 1/4 level teaspoon powdered grape tannin
- 1 1/4 teaspoons yeast nutrient
- 1 1/2 tablespoon orange extract
- water to raise volume to one gallon
- Montrachet, Champagne or any wine yeast with a 12-15% alcohol by volume range
- Napoleon (or any other) brandy (you must calculate the volume needed)
Thaw orange concentrate and pour into a primary with a 1-gallon mark. Add sugar, red grape concentrate, acid, tannin powder, yeast nutrient, and 2 quarts hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved and top up to 1-gallon mark. At this point, use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Allow to cool to 95 degrees or cooler and place 2 cups of must in a blender. Turn blender on to slowest speed and add cocoa powder 1 tablespoon at a time. When all 4 ounces are well blended, stir into primary. Pitch activated dry yeast and cover the primary with a clean towel, muslin or plastic wrap. Stir 2-4 times daily until vigorous fermentation subsides (usually in 5 to 10 days).
Rack or transfer to 4-liter secondary (1-gallon secondary if you do not have a 4-liter one), top up only to the bottom of the neck of the secondary and attach an airlock. During next day or two cocoa powder will rise with air bubbles to neck of secondary. Use a small spoon, butter knife or other instrument to remove as much as you can. Repeat as required (usually only once is sufficient).
In 3 weeks, prepare a Bentonite slurry according to the manufacturer’s instructions; this usually takes several hours. When slurry is completely liquefied and cool, rack wine into clean secondary, shake or stir Bentonite slurry to agitate, and add about 2 tablespoons to wine. Stir wine well, attach airlock, and stir again every 6-8 hours for 2 days. Let rest until wine clears and then wait 2 more days. Rack, top up and reattach airlock. In 60 days, rack again, measure the specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of orange extract. Based on starting specific gravity and finished specific gravity, calculate alcohol content (see first link immediately following this recipe). Now calculate how much brandy you will need to add to bring wine up to 20% alcohol (see second link immediately following this recipe). Add brandy (you may have to move wine to a larger container to accommodate the addition of the brandy). Stir and bottle immediately. Wait at least 6 months before tasting. [Jack Keller’s own recipe]
Some years back I gave Lesley Lunt and Martin Benke a bottle of my Orange-Chocolate Port. At a recent meeting of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild at their party house on Lake Corpus Christi, following a fantastic meal of battered shrimp, oysters and white bass with at least a dozen and a half side dishes and desserts, Martin broke out that 5-year old gift and we sat back, stuffed and satiated, and enjoyed it immensely. Having just received another supply of dark Dutched cocoa, I decided to make some more.
Originally, I did not use Dutched cocoa in this port. Even after 5 years, you can still taste a very slight bitterness from the Hershey’s unsweetened natural cocoa. As I said last week, that is one of the detractors of the natural cocoa powders. The Dutch-processed cocoas do not have this bitterness and that is why I will be using it in my new batch. Still, I have to admit, the 5-year old port was pretty darned good. You could definitely taste the orange immediately, while the chocolate caught up with you in the finish and persisted for quite some time. In a word, it was “delicious”.
I will share with you the recipe, but you will have to calculate the amount of brandy to add at the end. It is not difficult, and I will even provide you a calculator to assist, but you must keep good records so you can enter the correct numbers in the calculator.
- 2 cans frozen orange juice concentrate, no pulp
- 2 pounds sugar
- 4 dry ounces (by weight) unsweetened Dutched cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon citric acid (or acid blend)
- 1/4 level teaspoon powdered grape tannin
- 1 1/4 teaspoons yeast nutrient
- 1 tablespoon orange extract
- water to raise volume to one gallon
- Montrachet, Champagne or any wine yeast with a 12-15% alcohol by volume range
- Napoleon (or any other) brandy (you must calculate the volume needed)
Thaw orange concentrate and pour into a primary with a 1-gallon mark. If you don’t have one, before you start add a gallon of water to your primary and mark the waterline with indelible ink, paint or fingernail polish. Add sugar, acid, tannin powder, yeast nutrient, and 2 quarts warm-to-hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved and top up to 1-gallon mark. At this point, use a hydrometer to measure your specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Allow to cool to 95 degrees or cooler and place 2 cups of must in a blender. Turn blender on to slowest speed and add cocoa powder 1 tablespoon at a time. When all 4 ounces are well blended, stir into primary. Pitch activated dry yeast and cover the primary with a clean towel, muslin or plastic wrap. Stir 2-4 times daily until vigorous fermentation subsides (usually in 5 to 10 days).
Rack or transfer to 4-liter secondary (1-gallon secondary if you do not have a 4-liter one), top up only to the bottom of the neck of the secondary and attach an airlock. During next day or two cocoa powder will rise with air bubbles to neck of secondary. Use a small spoon, butter knife or other instrument to remove as much as you can. Repeat as required (usually only once is sufficient).
In 3 weeks, prepare a Bentonite slurry according to the manufacturer’s instructions; this usually takes several hours. When slurry is completely liquefied and cool, rack wine into clean secondary, shake or stir Bentonite slurry to agitate, and add about 2 tablespoons to wine. Stir wine well, attach airlock, and stir again every 6-8 hours for 2 days. Let rest until wine clears and then wait 2 more days. Rack, top up and reattach airlock. In 60 days, rack again, measure the specific gravity and WRITE IT DOWN! Add one tablespoon of orange extract (not a drop more!). Based on starting specific gravity and finished specific gravity, calculate alcohol content (see first link immediately following this recipe). Now calculate how much brandy you will need to add to bring wine up to 20% alcohol (see second link immediately following this recipe). Add brandy (you may have to move wine to a larger container to accommodate the addition of the brandy). Stir and bottle immediately. Wait at least 6 months before tasting. [Jack Keller’s own recipe]
- 6 lb. blueberries
- 6 oz. dried elderberries
- 1 cup red grape concentrate
- 1/2 cup light dry malt
- 1-1/2 lb. granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
- 1-1/2 tsp. acid blend
- 1/2 tsp. USP glycerin
- 1/2 tsp. yeast energizer
- 4 pt. water
- 63 ml brandy
- 2 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablets
- port wine yeast
Wash and crush blueberries in nylon straining bag and strain juice into primary fermentation vessel. Add dried
elderberries to bag, tie closed and place in primary. Stir in dry malt, sugar, acid blend, yeast energizer, water,
and one of the Campden tablets. Stir well to dissolve sugar and other solids. The starting s.g. should be 1.118 to
yield 16% abv. Cover the primary, set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme and cover for another 12 hours. Add
yeast, cover again, and daily stir ingredients and press pulp in nylon bag to extract flavor. When specific gravity
is 1.030 (about 5-7 days days), strain juice from bag and rack liquor off sediments into glass secondary. Fit
fermentation trap and ferment to dryness. Rack in three weeks and again in two months. When wine is clear and stable,
add red grape concentrate, brandy, the second Campden tablet, and glycerin. Let wine rest another two months, rack
again and bottle. Allow a year to mature. [Author’s own recipe]
- 1 gallon can California Red Grape Concentrate
- 12 lbs fine granulated sugar
- 5 gallons warm water
- 6 oz dried elderberries
- 16 oz dried, non-glazed, banana chips
- 2 tsp yeast energizer
- 3 oz acid blend
- 5 crushed Campden tablets
- 1 pkg Port wine yeast
Prepare yeast starter 3 days in advance according to instructions on yeast packet. Separate banana chips in primary, add elderberries, grape concentrate, water, 1/2 sugar (6 lbs), yeast energizer, acid blend, and crushed Campden tablets. Stir well to dissolve sugar, cover well, and wait 24 hours. Add yeast starter and stir gently once a day. When specific gravity is 1.040, draw off 4-6 cups of must, slowly dissolve additional 3 lbs of sugar into it, then stir it into primary. When S.G. is at 1.030, strain out elderberries and banana chips and siphon wine into secondary. Attach air lock and check S.G. daily. When S.G. is at 1.010, draw off another 4-6 cups of must and slowly dissolve remaining 3 lbs of sugar into it. Gently add this back into secondary. Rack as deposits form, but not more often that every three weeks. When no more deposits form, allow one month for wine to clear. If wine fails to clear, stabilize wine and add fining according to instructions for particular fining agent. Wait 10 days, rack wine one last time, sweeten to taste, then add 60 oz brandy and bottle wine. Age one year before tasting or using for cooking. [Adapted from Stanley F. Anderson and Raymond Hull’s The Art of Making Wine. ]
- 1 lb dried bilberries
- 8 oz dried banana chips, chopped
- 1/8 oz dried elderflowers
- 1 cup red port-type grape concentrate
- 2 lbs finely granulated sugar
- water to 1 gallon
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 tsp pectic enzyme
- Port wine yeast
Bring water to boil. Meanwhile, put dried bilberries in nylon straining bag and tie closed. Put chopped dried banana chips (unsulfited) and dried elderflowers in second nylon straining bag and tie closed. Place both bags in primary with sugar, acid blend, yeast nutrient, and grape concentrate. Pour boiling water into primary, stir well to dissolve sugar, cover with cloth, and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add pectic enzyme and recover. After 12 hours add yeast and recover. Ferment 48 hours after fermentation is obvious, gently squeezing both bags to extract flavors twice a day. Drip drain both bags, returning drained liquid to primary. Save both bags of pulp to make BILBERRY CLARET WINE (below), or dehydrate bilberries for later reuse. Wait 12 hours and siphon wine off sediment into secondar. Fit airlock and set aside. Rack, top up and refit airlock after 3 weeks and again after additional 2 months. Bulk age under airlock 4 months, stabilize, wait 10 days, and rack. Bottle dry or sweeten to taste and then bottle. Age 18-24 months in bottles. [Adapted recipe from W.H.T. Tayleur’s The Penguin Book of Home Brewing and Wine-Making ]
- 1 lb dried bilberries
- 8 oz dried banana chips, chopped
- 1/8 oz dried elderflowers
- 1 lb chopped or minced raisins
- 2 lbs finely granulated sugar
- water to 1 gallon
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 tsp pectic enzyme
- Port wine yeast
Bring water to boil. Meanwhile, put dried bilberries in nylon straining bag and tie closed. Put chopped dried banana chips (unsulfited), dried elderflowers and raisins in second nylon straining bag and tie closed. Place both bags in primary with sugar, acid blend and yeast nutrient. Pour boiling water into primary, stir well to dissolve sugar, cover with cloth, and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add pectic enzyme and recover. After 12 hours add yeast and recover. Ferment 48 hours after fermentation is obvious, gently squeezing both bags to extract flavors twice a day. Drip drain both bags, returning drained liquid to primary. Wait 12 hours and siphon wine off sediment into secondar. Fit airlock and set aside. Rack, top up and refit airlock after 3 weeks and again after additional 2 months. Bulk age under airlock 4 months, stabilize, wait 10 days, and rack. Bottle dry or sweeten to taste and then bottle. Age 18-24 months in bottles. [Adapted recipe from W.H.T. Tayleur’s The Penguin Book of Home Brewing and Wine-Making ]
- 8 lb. ripe blackberries
- 1/2 pt. red grape concentrate
- 1/2 c. light dry malt
- 1-3/4 lb. granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
- 1-1/2 tsp. acid blend
- 5 to 5-1/2 pt. water (depends of size of berries)
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- 1/2 tsp. yeast energizer
- 1 tsp. yest nutrient
- 1 pkt. Lalvin K1-V1116 (Montpellier) or a port wine yeast
Wash and crush blackberries in nylon straining bag and strain juice into primary fermentation vessel. Tie top of nylon bag and place in primary. Stir in all other ingredients except pectic enzyme, yeast and red grape concentrate. Stir well to dissolve sugar, cover well, and set aside for 8-12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, recover, and set aside additional 8-12 hours. Add yeast, cover, stir ingredients daily, and press pulp in nylon bag to extract flavor. When specific gravity is 1.030 (about 5 days), strain juice from bag and siphon liquor off sediments into secondary fermentation vessel. Fit airlock and set aside. Rack in three weeks and again in two months. When wine is clear and well past last evidence of fermentation, stabilize, add red grape concentrate, and set aside for 3 weeks. If no evidence of refermentation, rack again and bottle. Allow at least a year to mature, but will improve for several years. [Author’s own recipe]
- 1-1/2 lbs fresh black currants
- 3/4 lb black raisins
- 2 lbs ripe bananas
- 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pectic enzyme
- 1 tsp citric acid
- 1/4 tsp tannin
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- water to make 1 gallon
- 2 tsp yeast nutrient fortified with yeast hulls
- Lalvin K1V-1116 (Montpellier) wine yeast
Bring 1 quart water to boil. Meanwhile, slice the bananas crosswise, peeling and all, into 1/2-inch slices. Put bananas, raisins and black currants in pressure cooker. Pour boiling water over fruit and secure lid. Bring to 15 pounds pressure for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool naturally unitl pressure drops to zero. Remove lid and pour onto 1/2 the sugar in primary. Stir to mix sugar and add remaining water (cold) to reduce temperature even more. Stir some more to dissolve sugar thoroughly, cover and set aside to cool to room temperature. Add citric acid, tannin, crushed Campden tablet, and 1/2 the yeast nutrient. Stir well, recover and wait 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir well, recover, and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated yeast and recover primary. When fermentation is vigorous, stir twice daily for three days. Pour through nylon straining bag and allow to drip drain for about an hour; do not squeeze. Stir 1/2 remaining sugar and yeast nutrient into liquor until dissolved. Pour liquor into secondary and fit airlock. When specific gravity drops to 1.010, stir in remaining sugar and yeast nutrient until dissolved. Rack every 30 days into sanitized secondary until wine clears and no further sediments are dropped during a 30-day period. This may take a while to achieve. Stabilize and place in refrigerator for five days. Rack into sanitized secondary, sweeten to 1.030, top up, refit airlock, and store in dark, cool place for 4-6 months. Rack into bottles. This port-style wine will continue improving for up to six years, but may be enjoyed earlier. [Author’s recipe adapted from J.R. Mitchell’s Scientific Winemaking — Made Easy ]