Joy of Home Wine Making (32 page)

NOTE: As you can see, whatever vegetable you use, it’s best not to boil or overcook it. If you want to, you can add half a pound of raisins or some grape concentrate to these wines to give them a bit more body, but try them without, first. A half pound of light malt can also be used, and it is quite nice.

VENERABLE PARSNIP WINE

This is very traditional. It’s also delicious. Parsnips are quite expensive in the store, so the only way you are likely to make it is if you grow the vegetables yourself or find some in the farmers’ market. Parsnips are best after a heavy frost.

If you use store-bought parsnips, remove the wax coating that is sometimes applied to them—otherwise, you’ll have a waxy mess. Scrape and peel thoroughly.

6 lbs. parsnips

1 gallon water

2½ lbs. sugar or 3 lbs. honey

10 bruised peppercorns (optional)

zest and juice of 3 oranges

juice and zest of 2 large lemons or 3 tsps. acid blend

1 tsp. yeast nutrient

¼ tsp. tannin

1 Campden tablet, crushed (optional)

½ tsp. pectic enzyme

1 packet Montrachet or sherry yeast

Scrub the parsnips well, cutting off the tops and the root ends. Chop, slice or shred into the cool water, then heat. SIMMER, do not boil, for 45 minutes.

Remove the zest from the citrus fruit (no white pith), and squeeze the juice. Place the zest in a small nylon straining bag in the bottom of the primary fermenter.

Strain the parsnips (and peppercorns, if you used them) from the water. You can use the parsnips for food if you choose.

Remove about a quart of the water to add back later if you don’t have enough. It’s hard to say how much you will have lost in steam while cooking. Add the sugar or the honey, and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. If using honey, simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring, and skim any scum.

Pour the hot water into a sanitized primary fermenter over the zest. Add the fruit juices. (You can reserve a bit of the orange
juice and extra vegetable water to start the yeast later, if you like.) Check to see if you have a gallon of must. If not, make it up with the reserved water. Add yeast nutrient, tannin, and acid blend if you didn’t use lemons. Cover, and attach an air lock. Let the must cool, and add the Campden tablet, if you choose to use one. Twelve hours after the Campden tablet, add the pectic enzyme. If you don’t use the tablet, merely wait until the must cools down to add the pectic enzyme. Twenty-four hours later, check the PA and add the yeast.

Stir daily. In two weeks or so, check the PA. Lift out the bag of zest and let it drain back into the container. Do not squeeze. Discard the zest. Let the wine settle, and rack it into a secondary fermenter. Bung and fit with an air lock. Rack as necessary in the next six months or so. Check the PA. When it ferments out, bottle it. I prefer this wine dry. You can sweeten the wine if you like before bottling by adding stabilizer and 2 to 4 ounces of sugar syrup per gallon.

Keep for a year before drinking. If you add one pound of raisins, you’ll get a sherry-like wine.

MAGICIAN TURNIP WINE

To be honest, you might not like this wine, though many people do. It has a sort of peppery taste, but others say it tastes like cabbage. Either way I like it.

One of my favorite magicians, Arthur Murata, had a lemon and a turnip in his act. They were easier to care for than a rabbit. At one point during the act, the turnip would appear unexpectedly. “Oh,” he’d say innocently, “I didn’t think that would turn up.” Arthur is still notorious for his puns.

As with parsnips, store-bought turnips and rutabagas may come with a waxy coating that must be removed. Scraping and peeling is the only way to do it. Get young, fresh turnips and rutabagas for this wine.

6 lbs. turnips or rutabagas

1 gallon water

2½ lbs. sugar or 3 lbs. honey

zest and juice of 3 oranges

juice and zest of 2 large lemons or 3 tsps. acid blend

1 tsp. yeast nutrient

¼ tsp. tannin

1 Campden tablet, crushed (optional)

½ tsp. pectic enzyme

1 packet champagne or sherry yeast

Scrub the turnips well, cutting off the tops and the root ends. Chop or slice them into the cool water, then heat. SIMMER, do not boil, for 45 minutes.

Remove the zest from the citrus fruit (no white pith), and squeeze the juice. Place the zest in a small nylon straining bag in the bottom of the primary fermenter.

Strain the turnips (and peppercorns, if you used them) from the water. You can use the parsnips for food if you choose.

Remove about a quart of the water to add back later if you don’t have enough. It’s hard to say how much you will have lost in steam while cooking. Add the sugar or the honey, and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. If using honey, simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring, and skim any scum.

Pour the hot water into a sanitized primary fermenter over the zest. Add the fruit juices. (You can reserve a bit of the orange juice and extra vegetable water to start the yeast later, if you like.) Check to see if you have a gallon of must. If not, make it up with the reserved water. Add yeast nutrient, tannin, and acid blend if you didn’t use lemons. Cover, and attach an air lock. Let the must cool, and add the Campden tablet, if you choose to use one. Twelve hours after the Campden tablet, add the pectic enzyme. If you don’t use the tablet, merely wait until the must cools down to add the pectic enzyme. Twenty-four hours later, check the PA and add the yeast.

Stir daily. In two weeks or so, check the PA. Lift out the bag of zest and let it drain back into the container. Do not squeeze. Discard the zest. Let the wine settle, and rack it into a secondary fermenter. Bung and fit with an air lock. Rack as necessary in the next six months or so. Check the PA. When it ferments out, bottle it. I prefer this wine dry. You can sweeten the wine if you like before bottling by adding stabilizer and 2 to 4 ounces of sugar syrup per gallon.

You can decide if this wine is magic or not!

ONION WINE

Truth be told I have never made this. Some people say it’s interesting and good for marinating meat. Onions do have some sugar in them. I’m throwing it in for the daredevils. I am told that you can also make garlic wine. It’s a free country.

½ lb. onions

½ lb. potatoes OR carrots

½-1 lb. golden raisins

1 gallon water

2½ lbs. sugar or 3 lbs. honey

juice and zest of 2 large lemons or 3 tsps. acid blend

1 tsp. yeast nutrient