Sitting in the kitchen, enjoying the gurgling noises coming from demijohns as soon-to-be rhubarb wine ferments #happysound
@alstonvicar
How marvelous! There used to be, and maybe still is, a tiny winery in Ohio, USA that specialized in wines like that. The rhubarb was ethereal and delicate. Floral, in a nicely balanced way.
I ran a small wine shop in Columbus for a while and chose the rhubarb as the main offering in a wine-of-the-month kind of thing. People were a bit surprised by that, as those were the Chardonnay Is King of All days in the late 80s. Then they tried it, and the winery sold out of that product in a week.
@AndyLowry I've also got a mixed apple/redcurrant/damson on the go - not sure how it will taste, but a way of using up oddments
@alstonvicar
Were I still doing that kind of thing, I'd have tossed all that into a mead. 😎
@AndyLowry haven't tried mead yet - maybe next time ...
@alstonvicar
It's a lot of fun! You can add all manner of flavors to it, including herbs and flowers (lavender was my favorite of those). I used to make a fizzy one using champagne yeasts and beer bottles; came out surprisingly dry though it still retained the flavor of honey. It was dense enough that the bubbles were really fine, like a top-end champagne.
@AndyLowry I'm definitely tempted to try it!
@alstonvicar
That sounds really great! Does it usually mature with a little floweriness? That was what really struck me about what I'd had; the subtle floral undertone. And its non-sourness. 😉
I'm a rhubarb nut, I think-- there's a boutique soda company here that makes a really crisp not-too-sweet rhubarb and strawberry soda that I like in the summer. I grew up on rhubarb cobbler and pie because my mother's side of the family always made sure to have it growing in the yard.
@AndyLowry Yes, that sounds about right. Quite dry too, but not astringent.
@AndyLowry sounds delicious!
@AndyLowry rhubarb tends to be my go-to as it's quick and reliable, and rhubarb is easy to get. I learnt winemaking from my father in law, an industrial chemist, so my wines tend to be a little on the powerful side!