[Jacob-list] OT: Apple Wine

[Pavel]

Penelope asked:

> What sort of
> wine do you make with apples?  (Yes, I know apple wine is the obvious
> answer, but I was hoping for something more explicite than that.)


My 1997 apple wine was made with apples, sugar, water, and assorted wine
chemicals. The recipe and story are at: 

http://members.home.net/rbfarm/mwine.html

In 1998, I tried making a gallon of cyser, or apple mead. Same recipe as
in 1997, but using honey instead of sugar. Mead takes a long time to
mellow out. We tried a bottle after 18 months of aging but it was still
a bit rough. We have two bottles left that will age another year or two
before we try again. 

This year, I'm back to the standard sugar recipe for the 3-gallon batch
but plan on experimenting further in cyser. Has your husband every tried
making cyser or mead? I'd be interested in learning of his methods and
results. Please tell him that there's a great newsgroup, called
rec.crafts.winemaking, where a lot of amateur wine makers exchange
advice.

Paul Intihar
Rainbow Farm
Joppa, Maryland