Beste drue

Har i det siste vært litt sløv på innlegging av druer, men her er listen over favoritter slik som den står i dag.

Drue	Snitt karakter	Antall eksempler
SEMILLON	9.5	6
CORVINA	9.2	14
MERLOT	8.8	8
SYRAH	8.7	6
SAUVIGNON	8.7	9
PINOT	8.6	8
SYRAH	8.6	11
CHARDONNAY	8.5	27
TEMPRANILLO	8.4	18
RIESLING	8.4	32

Deservin, mest for pengene.

Desertvin ranking basert på karakter^5/liter pris. Prisene i tabellen under er per liter.

Strub Niersteiner Bildstock Huxelrebe Beerenauslese	178 NOK	11	TYSKLAND
Bosca Anniversary Dolce	160 NOK	10	ITALIA
Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Spätlese *	213 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Fresita	116 NOK	8.5	CHILE
Gran Feudo Moscatel	212 NOK	9.5	SPANIA
Nederburg Noble Late Harvest	279 NOK	10	SØR-AFRIKA
Churchill's 10 Y. Tawny	293 NOK	10	PORTUGAL
Warre's Quinta da Cavadina Vintage Port	295 NOK	10	PORTUGAL
Jos. Christoffel jr. Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese	299 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Smith Woodhouse Late Bottled Vintage	306 NOK	10	PORTUGAL

Sprudlevin ranking, mest for pengene

Sprudlevin ranking basert på karakter^5/liter pris. Prisene i tabellen under er per liter.

Gratien & Meyer, cuvee Demi Sec	173 NOK	10	FRANKRIKE
Marques de Monistrol Rosé, brut	117 NOK	9	SPANIA
Marques de Monistrol Cava Gran Reserva Rosé	133 NOK	9	SPANIA
Colet Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut	186 NOK	9.5	SPANIA
Cartizze Prosecco Superiore Dry	252 NOK	10	ITALIA
"r" de Ruinart Brut	479 NOK	11	FRANKRIKE
Delane Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs	186 NOK	9	FRANKRIKE
Valpolicella Classico Superiore Acinatico Ripasso	266 NOK	9.7	ITALIA
Chapel Hill Chardonnay Brut	119 NOK	8	UNGARN
Vergeat-Besnard Brut Reserve	373 NOK	10	FRANKRIKE

Hvitvin, mest for pengene

Hvitvin ranking basert på karakter^5/liter pris. Prisene i tabellen under er per liter.

Casablanca Chardonnay	150 NOK	10	CHILE
Leitz Rüdesheimer Kirchenpfad Riesling Kabinett Feinherb	173 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Viña la Rosa Don Reca Chardonnay	179 NOK	10	CHILE
Vernaccia di San Gimignano	199 NOK	10	ITALIA
Markus Molitor Niedermenninger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese	206 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Strub Niersteiner Pettenthal Riesling Spätlese Trocken	178 NOK	9.7	TYSKLAND
J.L. wolf Wachenheimer Riesling Kabinett	131 NOK	9	TYSKLAND
Strub Niersteiner Silvaner Kabinett Trocken	132 NOK	9	TYSKLAND
Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spätlese	173 NOK	9.5	TYSKLAND
San Michele Appiano Südtiroler Gewürztraminer	225 NOK	10	ITALIA

Rødvin, mest for pengene

Rødvin ranking basert på karakter^5/liter pris. Prisene i tabellen under er per liter.

Rosemount Shiraz	180 NOK	10.5	AUSTRALIA
Baron la Rose Vieilles Vignes	153 NOK	10	FRANKRIKE
Faustino Slectión de Familia	173 NOK	10	SPANIA
Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon	106 NOK	9	CHILE
Canopia Malbec Syrah	106 NOK	9	ARGENTINA
Saint Pierre	198 NOK	10	Frankrike
Eleganta Vinum Merlot	119 NOK	9	FRANKRIKE
Castelgreve Chianti Classico Riserva	222 NOK	10	ITALIA
Armador Cabernet Sauvignon	133 NOK	9	CHILE
Zuazo Gaston Tempranillo	133 NOK	9	SPANIA

Amarone Ranking

Amarone ranking basert på karakter^5/liter pris. Prisene i tabellen under er per liter.

Corte Giara Amarone della Valpolicella	332 NOK	10	ITALIA
Santi Amarone della Valpolicella	319 NOK	9.5	ITALIA
Capitel de Roari Amarone della Valpolicella Classico	283 NOK	9	ITALIA
Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico	424 NOK	9.5	ITALIA
Antiche Terre Amarone della Valpolicella	325 NOK	9	ITALIA
Villa Monteleone Amarone	625 NOK	10	ITALIA
Sant' Antonio Amarone Castagnedi	370 NOK	9	ITALIA
Valpantena Amarone della Valpolicella	266 NOK	8.3	ITALIA
Cecilia Beretta Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Terre di Cariano	446 NOK	9	ITALIA
Masi Costasera Amarone Classico Riserva	518 NOK	8.5	ITALIA

Bordeaux

St. Emilion

Last weekend my wine club, Tabula Rasa, traveled to St. Emilion in Bordeaux. The plan was to drink good wine, obviously. We were going to visit three different wine producers and our guide had made reservation in advance.

Grapes one week before harvest.

I harbored a silent worry that we wouldn't learn much interesting after the first visit, imagining that each of the Chateau would want to give the same introduction level speech about how to make wine. In some respect this was what happened, but they all managed to include some very interesting pieces of knowledge. So each and every visit was a learning opportunity.  The three producers were very different, and the presentations were also quite varied.

St. Emilion is a very small town, only about 2.500 people live there permanently. It's a beautiful town with old traditional houses surrounded by vineyards. I gather that from any location in the town you can walk less than five minute and find yourself standing next to a field of grape wines. The town have more wine shops than any other town I have seen - every street has at least two wine shops. I guess there are only three kinds of jobs in town, wine farmer/producer, restaurant worker, or wine seller.

Ch. Quercy

First on our list of wine producers were Chateau Quercy, a small 6 hektar producer. It's located 30 minutes by car outside of St. Emilion. The presentation was done by a very enthusiastic woman, who brought us out among the wines talking about many aspects of wine making.

Afterward, we were shown some of the machinery used in the harvesting process. Even though the grapes are picked by hand, they use some conveyor belts and such to get them where they need to be. At the moment, the big talking point on the farm was when to start the harvest. The cellar master wanted to wait a bit to let the grapes mature more, while the person in charge of the fields wanted to harvest before frost or rain could damage them. On the other hand they had already sent some grapes off to be analyzed. So making the decision of when to harvest is half science and half gut feeling. When harvesting they use 16 pickers, 4 people to carry the grapes,  6 people to sort the good ones from the bad ones, and 2 tractors. A crew like this could harvest one hectar per day.

Their wine was good, but a bit on the expensive side. 35€ for a bottle of 2007.

Saint Pierre Cellar

Later the same day we went to Tour Saint Pierre, located just a few minutes outside of St. Emilion. They have about 12 hectar. Here the presentation was less enthusiastic, but no less informative. They seem to have a somewhat different attitude towards the production than Ch. Quercy. At Saint Pierre the harvesting started a 100 days after the first flowering.

After tasting the 2003 vintage we wondered what it cost. We were told 13€ a bottle. I was sure that our French "speaking" wine-club-member had misinterpreted 30 for 13, but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. She brought the price list which listed 1998 vintage at 14€ a bottle. Seeing this, we promptly bought one and opened it on the spot. It was very good. Which in turn resulted in some worries about getting the bottles back home. Shipping from France was very expensive, and would easily double the price of the wine, and that is before we calculate in Norwegian taxes. I ended up buying 10 bottles, which I'm very happy to report all made it back safely with out any added shipping cost or overweight on the flight.

Ch. Kiwan

The next day we drove for a while, well actually quite a long bit but that was mostly caused by a closed bridge in Bordeaux city, and the lack of good GPS to get us around the closed bridge. The trip should have taken about an hour and a half. Because of the delay, we missed our appointment, but was able to reschedule for a couple of hours later.

Chateau Kiwan is a larger chateau in the Margeaux district. It has 35 hectar, placed on a old sump area that was drained due to some canals built by the Dutch. This was the first chateau where we were actually invited to taste the grapes. The representative from the chateau was a very skilled person presenter, and did a wonderful job of explaining the history of the Chateau as well as explaining about the terroir, and the production method. Unfortunately for the chateau and future visitors he is quitting to start working at a different chateau.

Kiwan, being a more known Chateau than the others, is also a bit more pricey. Their first wine was 46€ a bottle, and their second wine about half that. The first wine is made from wines that are 15 to 70 years of age, while the second wine is made of the younger wines.

View of Ch. Kiwan vinyard.

Strawberry melome

Even though, I had no success with my last melome (wine of  fruit and honey) I gave it another go. I made this one entirely from strawberry, honey and sugar. I bottled them this weekend. At that time the color was very pleasing. Red, clear with a hint of brownish color. Very similar to what you would see in old red wines.

Before bottling it I added a tincture coriander and juniper berries (einebær). Only four bottles escaped this treatment, for comparison. I also wanted to experiement with fortifying the wine. I have never done this before so I have no experience to draw upon. I used four different spirits in order to learn what effect they have on the finished product. 60% spirits, dry gin, SO XO cognac, and finaly a tincture made by soaking oak chips in vodka for a month. All four were mixed with the melome to produce a wine of 18%.

The melome was rather promising before bottling, so i have high hopes for it. Maybe it will be ready for Christmas.

Primeur 2009

Seems like the Bordeaux primeur  tasting in Oslo Operahouse is going to be a annual event. This was my second year. I tasted a lot less wines this year than the year before. However it is interesting to see that my preference has not changed. These are the most interesting wines form this years tasting:

Château Angélus
Château Coutet
Château Guiraud
Château Grand Puy Lacoste
Château  Montrose
Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Château Sudiuraut

When comparing them to last years tasting I gave them 9, 10 and 11s. Last year I did not buy any wine, I'm not going to do that mistake twice. I will post the price for the wines later as they become available.

Château  Montrose was the tastings most expensive wine. When I came they only had the 2009 vintage left. According to the rumors on-site it is going to cost 150€ per bottle. 2009 looks to be the best vintage since 2005, so it might be a good investment for those so inclined.

Import

Since the summer of 2009 it has in theory been possible for private persons to import alcohol to Norway by mail. Before that you had to make the producer send it to Vinmonopolet, and it was a lot of hassle.

The news papers have written alot about how this new legislation is working, or rather not working. How the customs are having trouble handling it and such. I haven't heard of a single person actually importing wine by mail under the new rules.

When I finally found someone selling Doux Champagne I had to figure out if this would actually work. I checked the customs web page, according to them there was no trick to it actually. Just have someone mail it to you, and write the volume and the percentage of alcohol and the rest would take care of it self. So that's what I did. I got a tracking number from Champagne Fleury and could see how the parcel progressed. I was not so please when the tracking read:

Sendingen er under importbehandling og er midlertidig lagret Årsak: Importrestriksjoner, lisens kreves

Translated: Package is beeing temporary stored because Import license is require.

That stage passed quickly and it went in to waiting to clear customs. Nothing happened for a week, then I called mail service. They could not explain why nothing had happened to the parcel for a week, but promised to expedite it. A few days later I could pick up my 8 bottles at the post office for a sizable charge (value added tax, alcohol tax, tax fee).

The conclusion is that it really works to have people send you alcohol, just be prepared to pay a lot as it passes through the customs.

The Quest for Doux-Champagne

Champagne is one of my absolute favourite wines, along with Amarone and Port. If I were to only drink three types wine for the rest of my life those would be it.

In May 2008 Tabula Rasa (my wine club) held a Champagne tasting. Before this I didn't know that much about Champagne, but I learned alot that evening. Since than I have been taken with Champagne. One of the things we learned that evening in May was that in the past Champagne used to be much sweeter than it is today. Loving sweet wines like Port, Reciotto and Eiswein I figured that I aught to taste the sweeter Champagnes. Two Demi-Sec Champagne was available through Vinmonopolet. Each of them better than their dryer version in my humble opinion. There was not a single Doux-Champagne at Vinmonopolet.

Whenever I'm travelling I'm always on the lookout for new Demi-Sec or Doux Champagne, but there is seldom any good selection. So far I haven't found a single Doux Champagne.

Even Harrods, famous for having everything, did not have Doux-Champagne. When I was going to Oslos only resturant with two stars in the Michelin Guide, I figured this would be my chance. The probably have a large wine cellar, and one of those bottles would have to be a Doux-Champagne, but no.

During one of my trips abroad I decided to ask the wine shop on Heathrow is they had any. They didn't, but instead of leaving it at "No we do not." The guy went on to tell me that I should by Port in stead. Don't get me wrong I love port, but I wouldn't be asking for Champagne if I wanted to buy Port.

In cellartracker.com database I found some Doux-Champagne. Though wine-searcher.com I looked for someone selling these wines. I found only one seller that had any of them for sale: K&L Wine in USA. The one they had was even inside the price range that I could afford. After all other ways of getting hold of a Doux-Champagne had failed I decided I was going to order from K&L Wines. The import rules have just changed in Norway to allow for private import, so it aught to be possible. Again I was disappointed, the would not ship to Norway and a lot of other countries. So I was back at square one.

When K&L Wine failed, I decided to contact the producer directly, but them beeing French I'm not very optimistic that my e-mail in English is going to get me any where. It might be time to revisit the list from cellartracker and contact the producers of all the Doux-Champagne in the list...

Before I could complete this post, and before I could contact more produces the first one got back to me. My doubts were put to shame. They are able to ship to Norway and they have two different Doux-Champagne available.

Blanc de blancs doux 2000
Fleury 1995 doux

It's almost time to celebrate. Just need the check up on the import rules for wines in Norway. The short of it is that you can just have the wine shipped, and it will automatically be declared on entry as long as it is properly marked. The alcohol tax and VAT will amount to approximately the same as the wine and shipping cost. So on entry the price is doubled. Never mind that it is time to order Doux-Champagne!

Wine Ranking, Value for Money

Red Wine

Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon	79 NOK	9	CHILE
Canopia Malbec Syrah	79 NOK	9	ARGENTINA
Baron la Rose Vieilles Vignes	115 NOK	10	FRANKRIKE
Rosemount Shiraz	135 NOK	10.5	AUSTRALIA
Eleganta Vinum Merlot	89 NOK	9	FRANKRIKE
Faustino Slectión de Familia	129 NOK	10	SPANIA
Armador Cabernet Sauvignon	100 NOK	9	CHILE
Zuazo Gaston Tempranillo	99 NOK	9	SPANIA
Rosemount Shiraz Cabernet	104 NOK	9	AUSTRALIA
Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet	106 NOK	9	AUSTRALIA

White Wine

Casablanca Chardonnay	112 NOK	10	CHILE
Viña la Rosa la Capitana Chardonnay	129 NOK	10	CHILE
Leitz Rüdesheimer Kirchenpfad Riesling Kabinett Feinherb	129 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Toso Moscato d'asti	67 NOK	8	ITALIA
Strub Niersteiner Pettenthal Riesling Spätlese Trocken	134 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Viña la Rosa Don Reca Chardonnay	134 NOK	10	CHILE
J.L. wolf Wachenheimer Riesling Kabinett	99 NOK	9	TYSKLAND
Strub Niersteiner Silvaner Kabinett Trocken	132 NOK	9	TYSKLAND
Leitz Rheingau Riesling Trocken	106 NOK	9	TYSKLAND
Vernaccia di San Gimignano	149 NOK	10	ITALIA

Sweet Wine

Strub Niersteiner Bildstock Huxelrebe Beerenauslese	134 NOK	11	TYSKLAND
Fresita	87 NOK	8.5	CHILE
Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Spätlese *	159 NOK	10	TYSKLAND
Righetti Recioto della Valpolicella Classico	115 NOK	11	ITALIA
Gran Feudo Moscatel	106 NOK	9.5	SPANIA
San Pedro Late Harvest Riesling	99 NOK	9	CHILE
Churchill's 10 Y. Tawny	219 NOK	10	PORTUGAL
Warre's Quinta da Cavadina Vintage Port	221 NOK	10	PORTUGAL

Melome v1.0

After making a few successful meads I wanted to expand to melome. Today I botteled my first melome. It is a clear red color with out using any artificial clearing. There is approximately 11,3% alcohole in the melome. It is extremely dry.

Recipe:

• 80g Saaz hops pelets, 60 min in 10l
• 30g Saaz hops pelets, 30 min in 10l
• 30g Saaz hops pelets, 15 min in 10l
• 3 sticks of cinamon
• 4ts ginger
• 4,2 kg Brazilian honey.
• 2,8 kg Swedish honey.
• 443g blue berry
• 737g blue grapes
• 668g plums
• 427g cherries
• Wyeast Mead Activator
• Total of 26l, OE 1.75

Primeaur

Introduction
Primeaur is to buy wine when it is still on the cask, not yet finished. It is very important to be able to taste the wine before buying as there are few or no reviews of that vintage. The Bordaux Chateau sells to primeaur in order to liquidate some of the money they have in the unfinished cask. This is a very old tradition. The wine is delivered one or two years after you bought it.

My ranking of the wines from Bordeaux Primeaur tasting in Oslo

Château	Year	Score
Château Angelus	2006	9
Château Beychevelle	2008	7
Château Beychevelle	2006	10
Château Beychevelle	2002	10
Château Camensac	2001	7
Château la Clemence	1999	8
Château Clerc Milon	2001	10
Château Coutet (Sauternes)	2008	9
Château Coutet (Sauternes)	1998	11
Château Destieux	2004	8
Château Gazin	2007	6
Château Guiarud (Sauternes)	2008	10
Château Guiarud (Sauternes)	2007	10
Château Giscours	2006	9
Château Grand Puy Lacoste	2006	9
Château Labegorce	2001	10
Château Lagrange 1. vin	2004	8
Château Lagrange Fiefs de Lagrange 2. vin	2004	8
Château Lagrange Arums de lagrange (White)	2008	8
Château Leoville Poyferre	2008	9
Château Leoville Poyferre	2007	9
Château Phelan Segur	2008	10
Château Phelan Segur	2004	9
Château Pont Canet	2008	7
Château Pont Canet	2001	9
Château Smith Haut Lafitte	2007	9
Château Smith Haut Lafitte (white)	2007	10
Château du Tertre	2006	10

Producers at the Bordeaux Primeaur in Oslo 31st of August 2009:
Ch. Angélus (St Emilion), Ch. Beychevelle (St Julien), Ch. Branaire-Ducru (St. Julien), Ch. Canon-la-Gaffelière (St. Emilion), Ch. Camensac (Haut-Médoc), Ch. Cantermerle (Haut-Médoc), Ch. Chasse Spleen (Moulis en-Médoc), Domaine de Chevalier (Pessac-Léognan), Clos Fourtet (St. Emilion), Ch. Durfort-Vivens (Margaux), Destieux (Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé), Ch la Clemence (Pomerol)) Ch. Gazin (Pomerol), Ch. Giscours (Margaux), Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste (Pauillac), Ch. Haut-Bailly (Pessac-Léognan), Ch. Labégorce (Margaux), Ch. Labégorce Zede (Margaux), Ch. Lagrange (St. Julien), Ch. Léoville Poyferré (St. Julien), Ch. Les Carmes Haut-Brion (Pessac-Léognan), Ch. Petit Village (Pomerol), Ch. Phélan Ségur (St. Estephe), Ch. Pichon Longueville (Pauillac), Ch. Poujeaux (Moulis en-Médoc), Ch. Suduiraut (Sauternes), Ch. Pontet Canet (Pauillac), Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte (Pessac-Léognan) og Ch. du Tertre (Margaux)

Red wine for pork

My ranking of wines that are good with pork.

Wine	Score	Price
Tommasi Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso	10	185
Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon	9	79
Rosemount Shiraz Cabernet	9	104
Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet	9	106
Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet	9	106
Antinori Santa Cristina	9	114
Angove's Long Row Shiraz	9	127
Allesverloren Shiraz	9	129
Serego Alighieri Poderi del Bello Ovile	9	129

Port

My ranking of Ports. Ordered by average score and price per liter.

Name	Score	NOK per l
Ramos Pinto 30 Y.O. Twany	11	808
Niepoort Vintage 1980	11	1233
Krohn Vintage 1970	11	1450
Hutcheson Feuerheerd Colheita	11	1817
Churchill's 10 Y. Tawny	10	293
Warre's Quinta da Cavadina Vintage Port	10	295
Smith Woodhouse Late Bottled Vintage	10	306
Barão de Vilar Colheita	10	319
Graham's 20 YO Twany	10	340
Quinta da Foz Vintage	10	398
Quinta da Romaneira Vintage 1987	10	427
Ramos Pinto Quinta de Bom	10	646
Niepoort Colheita	9.8	560
Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny	9.5	385
Ramos Pinto 10 y.O. tawny Quinta Ervamoria	9.5	385
Niepoort Tawny 10 Years Old	9.5	440
Sandeman Fine Tawny	9	221
Ferreira Ruby Reserve	9	240
Niepoort Senior Tawny	9	265
Churchill's Crusted Port	9	306
Rozès Reserve	9	306
Cálem Colheita	9	396
Rozès Vintage	9	399
Porto Old Ruby Quinta Santa E???	9	467
Ferreira Duque de Braganca Tawny	9	505
Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage	9	513
Cálem 20 Years Old Tawny	9	532
Viseu Carvalho Special Reserve White	9	545
Niepoort 20 y.O. tawny	9	625
Niepoort Vintage 2005	9	749
Taylor's Vintage Port	9	785
Graham's Vintage	9	799
Graham's Six Grapes Reserve	8.5	246
Rozès Late Bottled Vintage	8.5	279
Fonseca	8.5	380
Quinta da Ventozelo Vintage	8.5	571
Sandeman Founders Reserve	8	239
Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage	8	239
Graham's Late Bottled Vintage	8	246
Barbeito Boal 10 year	8	265
Quinta de la Rosa Finest Reserve	8	273
Fonseca Bin No	8	279
Ramos Pinto Reserva Collector	8	280
Cálem Lvb	8	280
Niepoort Late Bottled Vintage	8	287
Nieport LBV	8	292
Fonseca Terra Prima Reserve Port	8	305
Quinta do Tedo Late Bottled Vintage	8	323
Cálem 10 Years Old Tawny	8	359
Quinta do Pego Vintage	8	466
Noval 20 YO Twany	8	552
Quinta de la Rosa Vale do Inferno Vintage Port	8	580
Barbeito Verdelho	8	944
Offley Proto 30 Year old Twany	8
Churchill's Late Bottled Vintage	7.5	225
Oporto Ruby	7	145
Royal Oporto Ruby	7	189
Noval Special Reserve	7	212
Silver White	7	226
Noval Tawny Reserve	7	239
Sandman White Port	7	252
Niepoort Morgadio da Calcada, lbv	7	263
Smith woods?	7	293
Quinta de Santa Julia Lbv	7	304
Quinta de la Rosa Late Bottled Vintage	7	332
Noval 10YO Twany	7	332
Santa Eufêmia Old Reserve White	7	467
Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage	7	519
Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas	7	532
Kopke Colheita	7	589
Quinta do Noval Colheita	7	799
Cálem Vintage	7	929
Barbeito Malvasia	7	2770
Quinta do Noval Unfiltered Lbv	6.7	266
Royal Oporto White	6.5	200
Quinta de Maritávora Tinto	6	240
Niepoort Ruby Reseva	6	245
Churchill's White Port	6	252
Quinta do Estanho Lbv	6	333
Quinta do Estanho Porto Vintage	5	467
Santa Eufêmia Vintage Port	4	505
Quinta do Noval Vintage	4	865
Kopke Bridge	3	145

Mead v1.0

A decade ago I was really into making my own wine, beer and mead. I was never able to create a good wine, but I made good beer and mead. I quit the doing it a few years ago.
A few months back, when I was talking to my boss who is making mead, I was suddenly struck with the urge to try to make mead again. The first mead-must has fermented to completion as I write this. The must taste surprisingly good, prior to the fermentation, which gives me high hope for the end result. I'm not creating mead in the strictest version as I have added an assortment of spices and hops.

The recipe:

• 6kg honey
• 100g Saaz hops
• 2ts ginger-powder
• 3ts cinnamon-powder
• 0.5ts carnation-powder (nellik)
• lemon rind from two lemons

I added some water, hops, spice and honey to a kettle and boiled it for about 10 minutes. Then I strained the worth through a cloth to remove particles. After which I transferred the must to a fermentation tank and added water for a total volume of 25 liter. The oechsle weight was 1,060.I had problem getting the fermentation to start and had to use to packs of yeast. After three weeks of fermentation the weight was reduced to 1,000. Which results in (1,060 - 1,000) /8 = 7,5% of alcohol.

When racking the wine after three weeks of fermentation the wine was surprisingly clear. Even though I had bought win clearer I opted against using it. I moved the wine into a cooler room, where I left it for a week before bottling it. (The image on the right shows the mead after 5 weeks of bottle storage.)

The labels were printed on a regular laser printer, on regular printer-paper. For adherence I used a thin coating of milk. Which makes the label stick very good, but still easy to remove with water.

Now it's resting comfortably in the cellar. Where I expect it to stay between three and six months.

During this process I found this page very usefull:

• A nice faq for home-brew.

Mead v3.0

Mead v2.0 looked too dark and tasted too much of hops as must, therefore one week after v2.0 was made I made another one. It is mostly done the same way. Except that the hops is boiled less and I droped the anise. Because I did not have the same honey I had to use sweedish honey.

The recipe:

• 13kg honey from Brasil added in 7.7kg and 5kg batches.
  
• lemon rind from two lemons, 10 min in 10l
  
• 150g Saaz hops pelets, 15 min in 10l
• 4ts ginger-powder, 3 weeks
  
• One stick cinnamon, 3 weeks
  
• 32 carnation (nellik), 3 weeks
  

With the yeast I'm using I get aproximately a reduction of 1.010 OE a week.

Mead v2.0

Mead v1.0 looks promising, but unfortunately it tasted better as must than after the fermentation. I hope that storage will improve it. Inspired by the fact that the (1.040 oechsle) must tasted great I'm making a sweeter mead this time. I read a very interesting and well written book about Mead making called The Complete Meadmaker.

I used the no-heat method described in The Complete Meadmaker, in which the honey is not heated at all. According to the book this will preserve the flavor and aroma of the honey. Also instead of boiling spices with the hops I used whole spice (cinnamon, carnation, and anise + ground ginger) and only ground them lightly in the mortar. Then I left them in the must for three weeks.

I boiled 10l of water for one hour. I left 80g of Saaz hops in the water for the entire duration, 30g was added after 30 minutes, and another 30g after 45 minute. Lemon rind from two lemons were also left in the entire time. The resulting must was very dark. It was undrinkable sweet and had a overpowering taste of hops.

I only had Dry Mead yeast which in theory can survive unto 18% alcohol. So I added only 8kg honey, giving me a total volume of 25l with OE 1.100. Which in turn will give 13,75% alcohol. After the fermentation I will kill off the yeast by adding sulfate and moving the must to a cold room. After which I will added more honey to give me OE of 1.040 in the finished mead.

The recipe:

• 13kg honey from Brasil added in 8kg and 5kg batches.
  
• lemon rind from two lemons, 60 min in 10l
  
• 80g Saaz hops pelets, 60 min in 10l
• 30g Saaz hops pelets, 30 min in 10l
• 30g Saaz hops pelets, 15 min in 10l
  
• 4ts ginger-powder, 3 weeks
  
• One stick cinnamon, 3 weeks
  
• 32 carnation (nellik), 3 weeks
  
• 1ts anise

Champagne, value for your money

The ranking is done based on score^3/price. Listing is Name - Product nr at Vinmonopolet, Price, Score.

Veuve Cliquot Demi-Sec - 30569, 344, 10
Pierre Peters Cuvée de Reserve Grand Cru, brut - 40049, 269, 9
Claude Cazals Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvée Vive, extra Brut - 44477, 275, 9
Jacquart Brut Mosaique - 50488, 289, 9
Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature - 40366, 299, 9
Jacquesson Cuvée No - 43739, 337, 9
Veuve Clicquot, sec - 882, 359, 9
Bollinger Spécial Cuvée, brut - 879, 389, 9
Charlemagne Mesnillèsime Grand Cru - 40434, 458, 9
Billecart-Salmon Réserve, brut - 7311, 319, 8
Lanson Rosé Label Brut Rosé - 6407, 349, 8
Dom Perignon - 2321, 969, 11
Deutz Brut Classic - 11609, 299, 7
Dom Ruinart Brut - 3567, 900, 10
Devaux Blanc de Noirs - 56104, 299, 5
Deutz Rosé - 10109, 389, 5