Happy National Drink Wine Day!

Life is too short to drink cheap wine.....or to be deprived of wine, for that matter. It's wonderful to have a day to remind people to savor life by enjoying wine! Salut!
 

Prosecco Cocktail

 

Rather than my usual extra-dry champagne cocktail, this time I made a prosecco cocktail. I used LaMarca prosecco, a dash of bitters, a pinch of sugar, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a lemon twist and maraschino cherry as garnish. 

Making homemade blackberry and blueberry wine

 On September 29th, I began fermenting two very small bottles of wine: one blackberry and one blueberry. Simple ingredients: the fruit, sugar, and water. At this point, they are still fermenting in bottles with caps loosened on them. I give each bottle a shake every other day. 

I am trying to achieve a fruit wine that is less sweet than most currently available commercially produced fruit wine. 

2013 Cakebread Chardonnay

To my delight, I recently acquired a bottle of 2013 Cakebread Chardonnay, and it is my delight to share a blog post about it. It is a rare treat for me.  I remember the very first time that I ever tasted Cakebread Chardonnay, years ago. An acquaintance of mine had taken a business trip to the Napa Valley wine region in California, and he brought me a bottle from the winery. Being a self- proclaimed Chardonnay Girl when it comes to wine. I thought it was the best Chardonnay that I had ever tasted. I did some checking at local grocery stores (not available here, in large part). Next I checked local restaurants. It was indeed available at the more upscale ones, to the tune of $75 a bottle! I had never had any wine that cost $75 a bottle in my life! I did enjoy it, but it is not a staple for me, due to my finances. All the more reason to share a blog post about the special wine that I am enjoying. Sante! 

Happy National Drink Wine Day!

It's National Drink Wine Day! Hope all my fellow winelovers out there are enjoying their favorite wine to mark the occasion! Being a Chardonnay girl myself, I am savoring a glass of chilled La Crema Chardonnay! Salut! 

Spanish Macabeo wine: My first tasting

 In the Winter Wines Advent calendar that I had gotten at Lidl, and have been enjoying my way through during this time, today's wine is a Macabeo white wine from Spain! It is just wonderful! It is very smooth, and medium-bodied. I am truly glad I have made its acquaintance. 

In looking online about this grape that I hadn't heard of before, I learned that most Macabeo is produced in Spain, with France in the number two slot. Apparently the grapes are used primarily in white wine blends. 

A huge proportion of Macabeo comes from the Rioja region of Spain, where the locals call it Viura. The nearby Navarra region calls it this, as well. 

In France, most Macabeo is from the Languedoc region. 

I promise I will be looking for more Macabeo in my local area! A delightful find, courtesy of Lidl!

Homemade Spiced Pear Wine

 I started a small batch of homemade spiced pear wine tonight. I took two very ripe Seckel pears, added white sugar and water, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, and covered it with a cloth towel to ferment.

Homemade Muscadine Ice Wine with Lemon Balm

 

I am trying to make a lower sugar muscadine ice wine with dried lemon balm. I hadn't considered an ice wine out of muscadines until I left my fermenting muscadines in a location where they froze. Voila!

Homemade Muscadine Wine

Yesterday evening, I started a very small batch of muscadine wine with some extremely overripe muscadines. I crushed the grapes with my hands ina stainless bowl, added a small amount of sugar and water, and covered the bowl with a cotton towel. I am leaving it under my carport, as it will be cooler than if I kept it inside. I am hoping to achieve a drier muscadine wine this time. 

On November 11, I added some water, and some fresh lemon balm leaves, and squeezed the hulls of the muscadines. 

Prosecco cocktail

I made mine with La Marca Italian prosecco, a pinch of sugar, a lemon twist, a maraschino cherry, and a couple dashes of Angostura bitters! 

Inspiration

 In a departure from writing about wine-related items, I am pleased to share with you a new cocktail creation of my own design: Inspiration. It has an airplane bottle of orange vodka, an airplane bottle of mango liqueur, approximately a jigger of Bacardi light rum, a heavy-handed splash of Meyer's dark rum, and some lemon-lime essence sparkling water in it. Blended and poured over crushed ice. Enjoy!

Cardamom pear wine

 I bottled a very small amount of spiced pear wine this afternoon.

I started fermenting the pears and spices around the new year.

Now for the aging.....

Mis en bouteille this afternoon

 Late this afternoon, right at sunset, I strained and rebottled  a few very small batches of homemade wine that I had started fermenting a few months ago. In each case, there is enough for one glass of wine, possibvly two at the most. There was kumquat wine, black cherry and blueberry wine, blueberry wine, blackberry wine, and raspberry wine. Once they have ripened, I am looking forward to tasting my creations. 

Homemade Spiced Pear Wine

 I had three very ripe red Anjou pears in my kitchen. In all honesty, they were past the point that they could be eaten. So.....I decided to try to make spiced pear wine out of them! I added local honey, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and a lot of cloves, and some water. 

Homemade Blackberry Wine

 I started a small new batch of blackberry wine earlier today. I am trying to learn how to make a drier blackberry wine. The reason that I decided to start more today is that I had some fresh blackberries in my refrigerator with a tiny bit of sugar on them, with a blackberry cobbler possibly in mind, but they fermented, and so I decided to use them for wine! 

Homemade wine making

Recently I started a few very small batches of homemade fruit wine. I used small amounts of overripe fruit, sugar, and water as my only ingredients. I purposely made very small amounts, as it is a chance for me to learn not only about making homemade wine, but to learn about adjusting sugar levels to make drier fruit wines, as well as adding herbs and spices to adjust and enhance flavor. 

Making Apricot Wine

Yesterday evening, I started a very small batch of apricot wine. I started with four fresh apricots, sugar, and water. Currently covered with a cotton towel to ferment in a metal bowl. 

Update on Spiced Pear Wine

I strained the small batch of spiced pear wine that I am making, and it is in a small glass bottle so that it can continue to ferment and ripen.

Making Spiced Pear Wine

I had three VERY ripe Bartlett pears. My intent is to try to make a small amount of a drier, less sweet spiced pear wine. 

To the pears, I added a small amount of white granulated sugar, a good bit of cinnamon and cloves, and a small amount of cardamom. Now fermenting in a metal bowl, covered by a cotton dishcloth. 

Update on Making Strawberry Wine

I strained the liquid and bottled my strawberry wine in progress...let's see what happens....