Ontario Fruit Explorers

["bert dunn" <helbert@idirect.com>]

Thanks Tom        Bert
Bert Dunn  Box 352 Schomberg    LOG1T0     1-905-880-4453


Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 8:36 AM
> Bert,
>
> Wanted to share this recipe with you, but thought others on the list may
> enjoy it too; (just need to find a pressure cooker)
>
> BLACK CURRANT PORT-STYLE WINE
>
> 1-1/2 lbs fresh black currants
> 3/4 lb black raisins
> 2 lbs ripe bananas
> 1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
> 1 tsp pectic enzyme
> 1 tsp citric acid
> 1/4 tsp tannin
> 1 crushed Campden tablet
> water to make 1 gallon
> 2 tsp yeast nutrient fortified with yeast hulls
> Lalvin K1V-1116 (Montpellier) wine yeast
>
> Bring 1 quart water to boil. Meanwhile, slice the bananas crosswise,
> peeling and all, into 1/2-inch slices. Put bananas, raisins and black
> currants in pressure cooker. Pour boiling water over fruit and secure lid.
> Bring to 15 pounds pressure for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to
> cool naturally unitl pressure drops to zero. Remove lid and pour onto 1/2
> the sugar in primary. Stir to mix sugar and add remaining water (cold) to
> reduce temperature even more. Stir some more to dissolve sugar thoroughly,
> cover and set aside to cool to room temperature. Add citric acid, tannin,
> crushed Campden tablet, and 1/2 the yeast nutrient. Stir well, recover and
> wait 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir well, recover, and set aside
> another 12 hours. Add activated yeast and recover primary. When
> fermentation is vigorous, stir twice daily for three days. Pour through
> nylon straining bag and allow to drip drain for about an hour; do not
> squeeze. Stir 1/2 remaining sugar and yeast nutrient into liquor until
> dissolved. Pour liquor into secondary and fit airlock. When specific
> gravity drops to 1.010, stir in remaining sugar and yeast nutrient until
> dissolved. Rack every 30 days into sanitized secondary until wine clears
> and no further sediments are dropped during a 30-day period. This may take
> a while to achieve. Stabilize and place in refrigerator for five days.
> Rack into sanitized secondary, sweeten to 1.030, top up, refit airlock,
> and store in dark, cool place for 4-6 months. Rack into bottles. This
> port-style wine will continue improving for up to six years, but may be
> enjoyed earlier. [Author's recipe adapted from J.R. Mitchell's Scientific
> Winemaking -- Made Easy]