Strawberry (October 19, 2011)

[jeskremer]

Day 1
12c frozen strawberries
7 pts boiled water
4 1/4 c sugar (slightly less than the 5 4/5c called for in the recipe so alcohol content is a bit lower)
1 tsp acid blend
1/4 tsp tannin
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp nutrient
1 campden crushed

[jeskremer]

24 Hours

Added 1/2 package Champagne yeast.

[jeskremer]

Day Four
Specific Gravity is still 1.070. Acid was tested and is showing 0.6% - exactly where it should be. House temperature has remained at approximately 66-69 degrees.

[jeskremer]

Day 6
Specific gravity finally reached 1.030. Moved into the secondary. Because of excess foaming, it was not capped for another 12 hours.

[jeskremer]

6 Days After Transferring to Secondary
Racked off of the lees. Hoping that more regular initial racking will prevent the wine from picking up a rubbery/yeasty flavor.

[jeskremer]

10 Days After 1st Racking
Racked again and topped with 3/4 cup cold tap water. Excellent flavor. I have now racked twice within the first 16 days of transferring to the secondary.

[jeskremer]

15 Days After 2nd Racking
Racked for a third time. Added 1 cup cold water. Excellent flavor - very strong strawberry taste. After this, I will let it sit for two months before racking again.

[jeskremer]

3 1/2 Months After Starting
Degassed with the plastic drill beater. Wine tastes a little flat/watery.

After further review, I added just 1/4 tsp of acid blend and 1T wine conditioner and stirred with the plastic drill beater again. Much better flavor now!

Added 3/4 c cold tap water (non-softened, city water) to top off.

[jeskremer]

Seven Months After Starting
Tastes good - very full strawberry flavor...a slight fizz/bite. Degassed extremely well. There was quite a bit of CO2 in the wine. Added 3/4 cup cold tap water. Airlocked.

[jeskremer]

Seven and a Half Months After Starting
Bottled.