Limoncello update update
We have become addicted to this stuff. I take a little bottle with me whenever we visit anyone. My buddy Mike is always running dry, but it’s ok since I’m usually one of the people drinking it. When you make it, err towards sweet.
Mike made a batch of LimeCello and OrangeCello. I’m not a fan of the lime, it had an aftertaste I didn’t care for. The orange version was ok, but not sweet enough. The lemon – it’s just a winner. I’ve got another batch brewing under the counter. This time we squeezed the lemons and put the juice in the fridge. My wife made lemon squares and a few other treats with the juice.
I just talked myself into a shot. See ya.
Not Audio… VIDEO Podcast Science Fiction
WOW!! Yes WOW – all caps, that’s “Stranger Things.” Earl Newton and his crew have put together quality, HD video movie shorts of some outstanding short fiction. Words just do not do this justice. Think Entourage and Battlestar Galactica, it’s something Showtime or HBO would be proud to broadcast.
There’s a lot of update feeds, mostly Earl keeping us up to date. There are only a few episodes so far, Earl and his crew are obviously busy, the projects must be coming out of the woodwork after their first three episodes debuted.
I was trying to get the promo to preview here, but I just can’t seem to find the video on YouTube. Honestly, the preview doesn’t do it justice. StrangerThings.TV
And that haunting soundtrack is cello by Zoe Keating, it’s perfect.
It’s Fruit Time
Stupid title… sorry. However, it is the time of year where I start visiting my local fruit stands. We have a place around Philadelphia called Produce Junction. I have no idea if they are a chain or just local. In this place, you get in line, tell them what you want and they toss the fruit on the counter. Everything is prepackaged. If the fruit is in season, it’s good stuff and it’s cheap. I purchased my black plums there a couple years ago, I think I paid $2 for three pounds. Since each three-pound back is good for a gallon, it was easy to get what I needed for a batch of wine. I probably bought seven bags to have a little extra, then pitted them and threw them in the freezer.
The down-side to this place is the seasonality of the fruit. There were a few short weeks when the plums were really good and really cheap. A few weeks later they weren’t even available. The trick is to be a regular, I often walk out empty handed.
I want to make my plum wine again, it is just magnificent. Check out the recipe and watch your local fruit stands.
Wine on Hold
I’ve been insanely busy again. Too many kid sports and stuff at work. The wine patiently waits. I still haven’t been able to find bottles for my limoncello, but I’ll keep looking. It’s done, I need to add the sugar syrup so I can enjoy it. I also need to rack my blueberry wine.
Keep your questions and comments coming.
Quick Tip – Cloudy Wine
Cloudy wine? Give it time. I know, I’m a regular Dr. Seuss. But really, there are ways to clear wine. You can filter using a filter pad. You can use different fining methods where you add an agent like bentonite or isinglass, that the particles bind themselves to. Even better, be patient. Put the carboy of wine in a quiet and dark corner and forget about it. Every week or so make sure the trap has liquid in it and look at a flashlight through the wine. When you clearly see the bulb, the wine is ready to be bottled. Still cloudy, wait another month and check again.
So why not just filter or add chemicals. You can, lots of people do. I try very hard not to. Most particulates will settle out given enough time. I’m of the opinion that filtering will remove some of the good with the bad. My friend at the winery says filtering strips the color from the wine. I don’t want to filter, I’m lazy.
Audio Science Fiction – Starship Sofa
I found this on iTunes a while back. A fellow by the name of Tony C. Smith did a well researched fan conversation with his buddies on a chosen author each show. He’s interesting (and British), but it wasn’t what I wanted to listen to. Then his buddy moved away and he started having stories read. He still does an author bio once or twice a week, but more importantly, he has really good stories read by really good readers once a week.
I’m getting to be fond of Tony. He is really into his science fiction. He often gets too deep into the authors for me, but I still listen. What impresses me is that he gets well known author’s permission to podcast their stories.
Tony recently broadcast the five short story nominees from a British SF writers award. The one that should have won and didn’t is absolutely fantastic, called “The Merchant and the Alchemist ’s Gate.” This is probably one of the finest short stories have heard. Check out Starship Sofa on iTunes.
I’m Not a Lush
For some reason, I feel like I have to defend my winemaking tonight. I probably have no more than a glass or two a week. Sometimes it’s more like a glass or two a month. Of course there have been nights where I’ve had too much, but I’m getting to old for that. I absolutely hate feeling hung over.
This is a hobby for me, just like woodworking and golf. I enjoy digging in and learning as much as I can about my hobbies. It’s not to be a know-it-all, it’s because I get joy in feeling accomplished. I like to learn, I expect to pursue knowledge for the rest of my life. It’s who I am, it’s what I do.
I think winemaking is loaded with hocus-pocus, and that doesn’t work for me. The real winemakers are very scientific in their work, but not everybody works that way. My off-the-boat Italian friend has lots of old wives tales about making wine. I wish I could remember one right now.
It’s hard to experiment. For the home winemaker, making five batches of wine from the same juice, but with five different yeasts is not at all practical. Not to mention the fact that it will take at least six months before you can start evaluating the results. My scientific training makes me want to try, but it ain’t happening. So we learn as much as possible and make the best choices.
It comes down to control. I get to make wine the way I like it. I make big enough batches to I have what I like available in plenty. I already have more wine in my basement than I can drink in five years.
It’s okay, I’ll share.
Island Mist Kiwi Pear Sauvignon Blanc
I didn’t do a blow by blow on this wine. I made it for my friend’s wife, and it’s just another kit. Tonight I bottled the wine and there was half a bottle left over. Good wine never goes to waste, and I was quick to taste the leftovers.
Wow was it sweet, very sweet, too sweet for my likes, but what great flavors.
I also had a new experience with this kit. Just before adding the “F” pack, you are instructed to remove two cups of wine and put it aside to top up later. I did as instructed, added the “F” pack syrup and ran out of space. I had to remove at least one more cup of wine. The “F” pack is obviously full of more than two cups of flavoring. The result was a bottle in the fridge with around two cups of unsweetened Sauvignon Blanc.
Fast forward ahead to the leftovers from bottling. As I mentioned, I tasted it and it was way too sweet, so I poured it into the unsweetened bottle from the fridge. The resulting half sweetened wine was still sweet, but much more to my liking and it only lasted through the next night.
I would consider making a double batch of this and half sweetening, or making just pouring in half the “F” pack. I’m curious if anyone else has tried this wine.
By the way, my friend’s wife and father absolutely love the fully sweetened wine. I think they’ve gone through a couple of bottles and it’s only been a week.
Help – I Can’t Find Bottles for my Limoncello
I’ve been searching everywhere and I haven’t been able to find appropriate bottles for storing my limoncello. The bottles in the liquor store are square with a screw cap and hold about 1/2 a liter. Of course I have the vodka bottles I used to make the liqueur, but they are not attractive and they are a bit too large to store in the freezer.
I’ve checked in the home stores (Linen & Things, etc), the dollar stores, Target, Pier 1, and on eBay. I live on the east coast, just outside Philadelphia. Ikea had some bottles with the flip lids like a Grolsch beer, but they are very difficult to open at room temperature, I can’t imagine what it would be like coming out of the freezer.
Does anyone have a suggestion?
Audio Book – MOREVI
This is my first exposure to Tee Morris and I’m impressed. MOREVI (pronounced more-ay-vee) isn’t science fiction, it’s fantasy, not my usual cup of tea. Tee avoids the endless made-up names and constant hocus-pocus that seems to rule fantasy stories. Instead, this is a great story – full of action, adventure, and great characters.
Think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Time Bandits. There is a riff in the ocean that allows Rafe and his crew to travel between our world in the days of profiteering pirates and this other world. The pirates travel the riff and perform their pirating duties on the other side. No more spoilers, just fun and adventure. Tee’s reading, the guest voice actors, sound, and effects are all top notch.
On the down side, I’m once again stuck listening to a story that isn’t complete yet. Many people seem to like the idea of waiting for a new chapter each week. Not me, I prefer to listen to the whole thing over the course of a week. So far, Tee has published seven chapters (many are in two or three 50 minute sections). I have no idea how many are left.
Get yourself over to iTunes and subscribe to MOREVI.
