Syra Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 75 lbs fresh Syrah grapes
• potassium metabisulfite (as needed)
• 1-1/4 tsp pectic enzyme
• 3-4 tsp yeast nutrient
• 3 tblsp oak powder
• Malo-Lactic culture
• Wyeast 3267 Bordeaux or J. Laffort Zymaflore F10 or F15 (liquid) wine yeast, or Gervin Varietal A or SB1 Bordeaux (dry) wine yeast

Grapes should be crushed, destemmed, treated with pectic enzyme in primary and stirred. Cover and set aside 4 hours, treat with Ľ teaspoon potassium metabisulfite and stir again. Re-cover and set aside overnight. Draw off sample of juice and measure sugar and acid, adjusting as necessary. Stir in yeast nutrient and oak powder, then add activated yeast. Punch down cap twice daily and on 5th day of vigorous fermentation, inoculate with malo-lactic culture. When specific gravity drops to 1.000, press grapes and return juice to primary or 6˝-gallon secondary until malo-lactic fermentation completes. Dissolve Ľ teaspoon potassium metabisulfite into juice sample and put in sanitized 5-gallon carboy. Rack wine onto sulfite sample, top up and attach airlock. Rack every 6 weeks until wine clears, adding Ľ teaspoon potassium metabisulfite every other racking. Wait 3 weeks after wine clears and rack into bottles. Age 12 months before tasting, longer if will-power permits. [Author’s own recipe]