Bottling Time!

What I did:
     Bottled Aurore, Blueberry, Sour Cherry and Black Raspberry

Comments:
     Though working with the vineyard is a lot of fun, the fruits of all that labor are what it's all about.  Or at least much of what it's about--I do enjoy working with the vines.  I bottled 4 gallons, 5 bottles of each type.  I'll give a little description of each.

Our Grumpy Bee label

      Aurore:  Our harvest was pretty slight last year, as one vine was in decline and disease had hurt the grapes, as well as bird attacks.  So I was probably fortunate to even get a good gallon.  And a pretty good gallon it turned out to be.  Nice and smooth, though a bit quick on the finish.  Very drinkable, but probably won't have a long shelf life.  Good clarity.

     Sour Cherry:  We had a good cherry crop last year, so this was the first cherry wine made in the last couple years.  Tangy, just on the edge of being a bit biting, I decided to add just a half cup of sugar to the gallon which smoothed it out nicely.  It will be a tasty treat in the months to come.

Here are the four varieties we bottled.

     Blueberry:  This was our first attempt at blueberry wine.  We have 6 fantastic blueberry bushes that are terrific producers, but I've never cared much for the thought of blueberry wine until I tried some recently and found it surprisingly good.  I did not add any sugar--it has enough sweetness on its own without having to add anything. It has a nice, mellow taste, nice aftertaste. The color is very similar to the cherry, as you can see in the photo above.   I'll see how a couple bottles go before I decide if I'll use any of my precious blueberries on wine next year.

     Black Raspberry: We had a great raspberry crop last year, between our own domestic berries and the wild ones, which had a banner year as well.  This one is much better than the last I made, which had a bitter aftertaste.  This one leaves you with a pronounced but not overwhelming black raspberry taste.  Kathy thinks it tastes like blueberries.  I did not add any sugar, so finishes dry as well though still has a natural sweet flavor.

Of course, tasting it as it is bottled is mandatory, not only to make sure it hasn't "gone bad" or needs adjustment, but also because it's fun!  Cheers!