Thursday, May 20, 2010

Lilac Wine, part 2

Its been about 24 hours, so its time for the easy part.

I had my buckets scrubbed clean and sanitized in the dishwasher, so i just have to pour.

The (what i guess you would call) must has a golden color to it. The flowers still get hints of purple/blue when they are clumped together.


The recognizable scent of lilac has gone, but there is a pleasant floral aroma with a little tang of southern sweet tea in there.

The pot is too heavy to pour direct, so a big measuring cup will work.  Sanitized of course.


This is the yeast i decided to use. I was going to try a montrachet, but for a few reasons i went with this.
This yeast should (if i know what i'm doing) be vigorous, it should not get 'stuck' as easily as some might- i had read that stuck fermentation could occur with lilac wines- ,  this yeast should ferment the wine to a very dry level and its going to be a light colored wine and this yeast is normally used for lights. It also should not foam... (in beer brewing its called 'blowing off' and it will spew foam all over if it does this)

Pitch the yeast...  (do they call it 'pitching' in winemaking?)



Close the lid and pop on the airlock...
Fill the airlock with sterile water...or water with some idophor in it.



Wait for 7 days, strain and squeeze the flowers, rack to secondary and every 30 days, siphon off sediment until clear.  Then bottle and age for about 6 months.

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