Rhubarb Wine

started 8/19/2000
bottled 1/21/2001

Alcohol 12%
Initial SG 1.090
Final SG 0.990
pH 3.64 TA 0.74-0.76

Tasting Notes

5/7/2001 Gold straw color. Wonderful nose reminiscent of a white vinifera wine. Taste subtly rhubarb but with full body and bold lingering finish. Crisp and tart. A little too acidic, but a winner! Getting better every day.

5/16/2003 Light amber color. The nose is somewhat tropical with a citrus tang. Rhubarb is subdued. The wine is full bodied on the tongue. Hard to recognize the rhubarb. Reminiscent of a rhone-style dry white wine.

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8/19/2000 Approx 18 pounds rhubarb and 1.5 pounds raisins were chopped in a food processor. Added juice of one lime (note - may need more citric acid) and 5.5 gal water. Also, added some sodium metabisulfite. Let to steep for 3 days.

8/21/2000 1 cup of must + sugar to sg 1.090, add 1/2 cup water, pinch of citric acid, and yeast. Let proof 24 hours

8/22/2000 Strained must. Added 1/2 tsp tannin powder. Added about 12.5 pounds sugar. Add 2 oz chalk. Added sprinkling of citric acid. Let sit for 1 hour. SG measured at 1.090. Added proofed yeast and covered.

8/23/2000 Fermenting well. Transferred to a 6 gal carboy + 1.75L bottle + 1/2 gal bottle. 0.75L bottle put in fridge for starting another batch of wine. SG measured at 1.088.

8/26/2000 SG measured at 1.052. Tasted sweet, some body. Color is light. Remember to check acid. Didn't taste much. May need to adjust.

9/1/2000 Racked. Added all the wine together, including that stored in the fridge into a 6.5 gallon carboy. SG 1.028 8.4% alcohol. Tasted - nice body - somewhat bitter. Moved into the basement.

9/6/2000 Fermentation still going strong.

9/8/2000Sample tasted - becoming quite dry. Nice rhubarb flavor - still a little bit of a harsh taste. Lisa likes it.

9/14/2000 Fermentation has slowed quite a bit, but still bubbling a little.

9/20/2000 Fermentation seems to have essentially stopped. Racked into 6 gal carboy. 6 crushed campden tablets added. SG measured at 0.988. Tasted - smooth - some aftertaste. Needs more acid. 4 tsp acid blend was added. Note: tasted with some sugar - slightly off dry with some added acid tastes pretty good. Alcohol calculated at 1.090 - 0.988 / 7.36 13.85% WRONG. Should be 1.090-1.000 12.2% alcohol.

9/29/2000 Tasted - good. Checked pH with pH paper - about 3.9. Will adjust with citric acid later. Clearing nicely.

10/22/2000 Racked into another 6-gal carboy. SG measures at 0.988 and the TA was measured 7.2 g/L. Becoming very clear. Tastes pleasant. Some astringency. Note, added a pinch of sugar to my glass - not sweet, but bitterness gone. Flavors more subdued though.

12/24/2000 Becoming very clear. Has been sitting in the cold root cellar for about a month. Crystals have deposited on the bottom.

12/31/2000 Racked into a clean 6 gallon carboy. Taste is very nice and smooth but I think it needs some more acid. Also, it is quite clear. 1.2 g sulfite was added to the carboy. SG 0.992. pH 3.90. TA 0.63. 6 tsp of tartaric acid dissolved in a minimum amount of water was added to try to raise the TA some and improve taste. Note, wine became cloudy so placed back in the cold room. Looks like more bitartrate precipitating. Lesson - don't fool with what is good.

1/21/2001 Lots of bitartrate precipitated. The wine was bottled. First it was racked into a clean 6 gallon carboy with 1 g sulfite. SG 0.990. pH 3.64. TA 0.74-0.76. Better acid numbers. However, it tastes a little tart. We'll see how it ages. Bottled 30 bottles.