Woohoo Country Wines Again

Seems like an eternity since I last started a "proper" country wine. That is to say one made with ingredients that I have to process. I do like it and today I went at it with an old-time brew, Tanglefoot - Parsnip wine.

I followed pretty much the recipe that I used when I made this brew last year. But here is a full recipe and method cos I have some new piccies.

Ingredients for 3 gallons

3.7 Kg Parsnips
3 Kg (approx) Sugar (OG 1080 -1090)
2 Lemons, juice and zest
1.25 Oz Root Ginger (bit less than last year so ...
0.75 Oz Crystallised Ginger (to make up the shortage in root ginger)
3 Teaspoons Citric Acid
1 Teaspoon Tartaric Acid
3 Teaspoons Pectolase
3 Campden Tablets
Yeast Nutrient
Sauternes Yeast
Water to 3 Gallons

Method

Wash and thoroughly scrub the parsnips but don't peel them, you'll be thankful of the save effort cos there's plenty of them ...

 Top and tail them then slice 1 inch thick. Bring 1.5 gallons of water to the boil then add parsnip slices and simmer until they are tender but not mushy. The skins keep the slices together well, and also have heaps more flavour and nutrients than the insides.

This picture is only half of them and that's a gallon pan. If you put to many in one pan they're much more prone to mush up. About half way through cooking very gently stir them, just enough to flip some of the top ones or bring some from lower down up to the surface.


Simmering took 30 mins but check them frequently, they are done just before they start to split in the middle, so if they split quickly proceed to the next step. You should have a clear, almost colourless, liquid and intact parsnip slices so pour the juice through a colander into your fermenting bin.

You now have lots of un-needed cooked parsnips that you can mash or roast. Boil up 2 Kg of sugar in plenty of water and add that the fermenting bin too.

Bruise and coarsely chop the ginger, zest the lemons (no pith), put in a muslin bag and tie it up. Add to the fermenting bin and allow to cool (covered) for a few hours then add citric acid, tartaric acid and enzyme and crushed campden tablets.

Here's the lot. Just to the left of the lemons is a little pile of pith. This was on the inside of the skin when I zested with a potato peeler. You really don't want pith in your wine, it'll make the wine too bitter. A sharp knife deals with it easily, a blunt knife will likely make it a painful chore. Cover and leave overnight then add yeast, nutrient and top up to 3 gallons with sugar solution to get your desired gravity. Stir daily for 7-10 days, remove the zest and ginger, then transfer to DJ's and thereafter rack, top-up, degas, stabilise etc when appropriate.

This should clear with no problems in a couple of months or less, but if not then chitin based finings work well. Gelatin finings don't seem to do it. I've never needed to use a starch enzyme, but if you want to then I'm sure it won't do any harm ... I don't know whether pectolase is needed but I keep using it anyway!

Some Thoughts

My last batch of this had an OG of 1086, and ended up being about 12.5% ABV. It's dry, a little zesty and gingery, the parsnip seems to lend a very slight earthy, grassy and maybe even radish notes! Make it well and this will be ready to drink after only 4-5 months, but will seriously improve if you give it 8-12.

Many wine-makers are seriously scornful of parsnip wine, and wine made from other root vegetables. But if you are interested in keeping old traditions going, even with a modern twist, then pay no attention. Go for it. Their suggestions to leave out the parsnips and use grape juice/concentrate instead may make a wine they prefer, but they are not you, and they don't know why you make it. They may say that using parsnips came from a time when good quality sugar was scarce or too expensive, and that now there is no point in making it. But then again brewing is simply an old way of preserving juices and having a safe drink when water quality is suspect. Now we have ways to preserve juice and plentiful safe water .... but we still brew.

Then, just as it is now, people cared about the quality of their brews. It was much harder to get good quality back then so paying attention to detail was important. The combination and concentration of flavours isn't a coincidence, neither is stuff like leaving the skins on. These old time brews are great if made wellI make it cos I like this tradition, and because it makes a cracking wine if done well. Of course my recipe is a little tweaked thanks to many of the advances that passed decades have brought. It's also a great seasonal (winter) wine. You will be able to knock people down with a feather when you tell them what it's made from - even the ponces who are scornful!