Chocolate Covered Cherry Wine
A reader wrote to me: " I<=
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was on your site looking for a chocolate covered cherry wine recipe that
someone told me you had a recipe for but I did not see it. Is there one?."
Most assuredly there is. I received the basic instr=
uctions
for this wine from Tommy Wilson of Tyler, Texas several years ago at Robert=
Cowie's big wine competition in Paris, Arkansas. Tomm=
y had
entered the wine and won a medal with it, and when I tasted it I went strai=
ght
to heaven. I didn't really expect him to tell me every thing about
making it, but I think he did. From distant memory, the recipe goes somethi=
ng
like this:
Bring the water to a rolling boil. While it is gett=
ing
there, dump the chocolate covered cherries into the primary. Pour the boili=
ng
water over the chocolate covered cherries. The heat will melt the chocolate=
and
expose the creamy filling and cherries. Stir well to get everything dissolv=
ed
that will dissolve. Cover the primary and let it cool to room temperature. =
Add
the acid blend, crushed Campden tablet, tannin,=
and
yeast nutrient. Stir well and recover the primary. Wait 10-12 hours and add=
the
activated yeast. After a vigorous fermentation builds and subsides, transfer
the liquid to a 1-gallon glass jug, top up if
necessary, and attach an airlock. Toss out the residue in the primary. Ferm=
ent
to completion, rack, wait a month and rack again, and stabilize. Sweeten to
taste (this wine should be moderately sweet, but don't overdo it), wait ano=
ther
month, and bottle it. Set aside 3 months before tasting.