Time to set your wines for Christmas

Time to set your wines for Christmas

By SEETA PERSAD Wednesday, November 23 2011

With just over 30 days to go before Christmas, many have begun preparations for the season. It is just about the right time to try “setting” or making wines from local fruits such as pommecythere, pomerac, mangoes, paw paw, or even the hibiscus flower.

Among all the drinks you serve for Christmas, consider a few bottles of homemade wine. It is also a great gift to give to foreign guests who are here to enjoy a Trini Christmas. Apart from the local fruits, you can also use grapes, apples and plums to make home- made wine.

Both pommecythere and pomerac can be found in abundance these days, however finding ripe pommecytheres can prove to be a challenge as many people use the green ones for amchar, chutneys and chows.

Making wine entails flavour extraction, fermentation, bottling and aging. According to wine seller, Roger Rampersad from Debe, some wines can be made from pure undiluted juice with little to no sugar added. “Fruits that have stronger flavours may need to be diluted with water so that it will have a more agreeable concentration”. In this process, he said, the juice (or flavour) is extracted and the liquid obtained is watered down or diluted, this is called the “must”. He outlined that sugar may be dissolved in the must, and yeast is then added so that the fermentation process can begin.

Rampersad explained, “In wine fermentation, the yeast uses the sugar as food; it consumes the sugar that you have added to the must and then it produces alcohol.” The actual fermentation process, he noted, involves two stages, the first stage is the aerobic stage in which the yeast builds up a colony and the second stage is the production of alcohol in the must. Many times, he said, the first stage occurs in your primary fermentation bucket which contains the must and the pulp of the ingredients.

After waiting a few minutes, strain the liquid (raking) and then pour the liquid into bottles with fermentation lock to block the air out.

While the yeast is using the remaining oxygen you may see some bubbling, this will stop when the oxygen is gone and a slower fermentation will occur. When the yeast has completed its work the yeast will drop to the bottom of the vessel and the wine will start to clear.

When your fermentation process is done, allow it to age some as new wines will not taste good when the fermentation process is over.

This is the easiest part of the process but it is very important that it be done properly. When the fermentation process is done, it will be time to bottle the wine and allow it to continue to age.

The equipment you need to make wine includes, a plastic bucket (about two gallons) with a lid that fits securely on top; a plastic or wooden spoon; a large enamel or aluminum pan that can be used if you must boil the ingredients; a mesh sheet or a pair of ladies’ nylons for straining the must; a fermenting vessel with a rubber bung and airlock funnel.

Here are some recipes for homemade wines using local ingredients:

Pommecythere Wine

3-4 lbs ripened Pommecythere

2 1/2 lbs finely granulated

sugar

7 1/4 pts water

1 1/2 tsp acid blend

1 tsp yeast nutrient

Method:

Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, peel the pommecythere, cut the flesh away from the seeds, and slice and dice the flesh. Pour diced flesh in nylon straining bag, tie bag and put into the bucket.

Mash the flesh with your hands or a sterilised potato masher or piece of hardwood. Dissolve sugar in boiling water and pour over mashed fruit. Add acid blend, and yeast nutrient.

Cover and allow to cool to room temperature. Allow wine to settle overnight.

Rack (strain) into fermenting vessel. Stabilise by placing in a cool place where it will not be disturbed. Rack again after 30 days and again every two months for six months. Stabilise, sweeten to taste, wait ten days, and rack into bottles.

Age this wine for as long as you like before drinking. Serve chilled or over ice.Hibiscus Flower Wine
Ingredients:
1-2 oz dried hibiscus flowers
2 1/2 lbs sugar
7 pt water
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 pkg yeast

Method:
Combine water and sugar and put on to boil, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Tie flowers in nylon straining bag and put into bucket. Pour boiling sugar water over flowers and stir in all ingredients except yeast. Cover until water cools to room temperature. Squeeze flowers to extract maximum flavour and then discard flowers or use for tea. Add activated yeast, and stir. Rack (strain) into fermenting vessel, top up with water and fit airlock. Stabilise by placing in a cool place where it will not be disturbed. Ferment 30 days then rack into clean fermenting vessel. Refit airlock and rack again after additional 30 days.

Mango Wine
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs fresh mango
2 1/2 lbs finely granulated
sugar
7 1/4 pts water
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp tannin
Wine yeast

Method:
Put water to boil. Meanwhile, peel the mangoes, cut the flesh away from the large seed, and slice and dice the flesh. Pour diced flesh in nylon straining bag, tie bag and put in bucket. Mash the flesh with your hands or a sterilised potato masher or piece of hardwood. Dissolve sugar in boiling water and pour over mashed fruit. Add acid blend, tannin and yeast nutrient.
Cover and allow to cool to room temperature. Add pectic enzyme, cover bucket and set aside for 12 hours.
Add yeast and recover the primary. Squeeze bag two to three times daily for ten days. Drip drain bag, squeeze gently to extract extra juice and discard pulp (or use to make a “second wine”).
Allow wine to settle overnight, then rack (strain) into fermenting vessel. Top up and fit airlock. Stabilise by placing in a cool place where it will not be disturbed. Rack again after 30 days and again every two months for six months. Stabilise, sweeten to taste, wait ten days, and rack into bottles. Age this wine a year before drinking. Serve chilled or over ice.