brewing 2ne1

Quince Wine

I made four gallons of this wine a couple years ago. I remember it was a nightmare because it took forever to ferment and was stubborn to clear. Finally, after many months and racks, I bottled it but then the wine fermented a bit more in the bottles. I wanted to throw it away, but instead persisted and poured it back out of the bottles. It finally cleared properly and I bottled a second time. The worst thing of all, I didn’t think much of the wine, it was a bit too sweet and bland, not at all one of my favourites.

In the months that followed, I used several bottles to blend with other wines, mostly to get rid of this one that had given me so much trouble. I saved the last six bottles, and only just recently we opened one to see how it’s doing.

Well, I should have saved all the other bottles this long. It’s turned out so nice, very similar in appearance and taste to a Sauternes style dessert wine. Thus, I want to try it again.

6 kg of quinces, washed and fuzz removed, were grated (down to - but not including the core), put in a large straining bag in a primary fermenting bucket with 3 gallons of hot water, and left overnight. I added 4 kg sugar (and made up to four gallons total) to reach a starting SG = 1.10. Bentonite, pectolase, yeast nutrient, citric acid, and yeast were added.

I aim to keep the wine warmer this time (brew belt) to help speed up fermentation, also yeast nutrient might make a difference as I didn’t use any last time around.