The First Bottling (with mention of lychees)

We bottled our first batches of wine this weekend. We made a lot of wine. Now comes the difficult part: waiting.

We made two batches: a German Gewurztraminer and an apple wine, made from fresh cider from a nearby Jersey farm. Though I know good wine comes from great patience, I’m planning to break out a few bottles for Memorial Day weekend. Apple wine, spiked with sweet, citrusy pineapple, in a big glass next to the pool – really, what could make for a better holiday?

Gewurztraminer, for those of you who are not familiar with this chunkily named wine, is a white wine grape famous in Germany and in Alsace, France. It can range from a dry, full-bodied wine to a very sweet dessert drink. I love it for its spicy aromas and full feel in my mouth. When I tried the first glass this weekend, I was struck by its pungent scent of lychee. Lychee is a tropical (and subtropical) fruit with sweet white flesh and a distinct, heady aroma.*

I’m excited to see how our wines progress over time. Now they are in our cellar, stored upright in boxes (this position made possible by their synthetic corks) next to the bundle of root vegetables from the local co-op. Maybe we’ll open a bottle next week, to taste the fresh flavors; then in a month, then in two months, and so on. These wines are good quality, but not meant for extreme aging, so I hope that we can enjoy a big batch of mulled apple wine this Christmas, made deeper and more intense with cinnamon and orange (and maybe a splash of brandy). The prospect of mulled homemade wine will certainly make the passing of Memorial Day weekend so much easier to bear.

Who has made wine already, and can talk about the waiting game? I’d love to hear how you enjoyed your batch (or two, or three). Also, I’m calling for any tried-and-true, family recipes for mulled wine. Please share yours!

*Lychee also presents something of a conundrum: when trying to describe a wine that someone is not familiar with, how can I use a fruit that may be equally unfamiliar? Lychees, lucky for us, are becoming more and more common in restaurants and in the international aisle of supermarkets. You may also come across them in swank lounges: my first experience with the fruit was a lychee martini, with the small white cylinder taking the place of a classic olive. (I like it more in Gewurztraminer.)

Tags: apple wine, bottling, Gewurztraminer, personalized wine making