Green Aura wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2017 2:24 pm
I adore dandelion wine - hint of Retsina.
Well I did say my wife was going to bring a bottle of Retsina back from Greece . In the end she brought me a bottle off ouzo ...because it was cheaper
However , the other weekend we discovered Lidl are selling retsina for £3.99 a bottle so we brought a bottle and because our local pub sells Broadlands fruit wines we were able to retsina and dandelion and yes , affter all that , we have to agree you are right . The dandelion was a little sweeter but there were definite similarities.
My wife and I cracked open a bottle of the turnip wine on Friday evening and it was quite delicious. Had pleasant peppery notes (perhaps from the yeast - Belle Saison); good mouthfeel (viscosity: it coated the tongue and palate and did not wash down like water); the alcohol was not "hot" but pleasantly balanced with the flavors. There was about 12% alcohol by volume in this wine. Did not taste at all "vegetative" but bright and fruity and the wine left a fruity aftertaste in the mouth. I had added a thumb sized piece of ginger and while I don't think the ginger was itself detectable, I do think it helped focus the flavors. In my opinion one sip demanded a second and the second called for a third. That is want I want from a wine.
Bottom line - I would have absolutely no problem making this wine again and no problem bringing this as a gift to a friend.
MKG wrote: ↑Wed May 16, 2018 8:54 pm
It's what I've always wanted too, Bernard. It sounds well worthwhile so, despite my earlier misgivings, I think I may give this one a go.
Go for it, MKG. If you select Belle Saison Yeast think about fermenting at a slightly higher temperature than you might usually do. BS is the yeast extracted from "farmhouse" brews made towards the end of the harvest and those farmhouse fermentations were typically very warm. The one yeast I would not use is any champagne yeast. They tend to be sledge hammers and are not cultivated to highlight or add character to any wine. Their main function was to add to a wine with a dose of sugar -after aging has ended - to create a "sparkle" in the bottle - hence the name "champagne yeast". They are never used - to the best of my limited knowledge - to ferment the grapes themselves.