Prawn Wine Anyone? Proof That You Can Make Wine Out Of Just About Anything!

One of the things I love about helping people with their wine making is hearing about all of the crazy things people make wine out of! I guess I'm a "traditionalist" though as I typically make wine from wine kits and fresh fruit.

For example, I currently have the following wine kits from Winexperts on the go:

1. Piesporter (Vintner's Reserve)
   
2. Pinot Noir (Vintner's Reserve)
3. Napa Valley Stag's Leap District Merlot (Estate Series)
   
   (my wife and I are big fans of Stag's Leap Artemis, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon so we thought this kit would be interesting to try - cost us $150 though so BETTER be good ... ).
   
   You can view the PDF for this one by clicking here.
   
   
4. Chocolate Raspberry Port (Limited Edition)
   
   (one of my readers has made this kit as well and said it was a big hit at Christmas)

On the fruit side I currently have on the go:

1. Blueberry Wine
2. Crabapple Wine

I have also completed a batch of Canadian Wheat Ale, which is quite tasty (need to tone down the carbonation though) and have a Mexican style beer waiting for it's turn as well.

So needless to say, our house has been a perpetual "fermentation zone" for quite some time now.

In any event, I figured the wines that I make are pretty much what everyone else makes and man was I wrong!

In fact, it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I discovered that people actually make wine out of "non-grape" fruit as well. My ski patrol friend Brian, for example, loves making wine from rhubarb, choke cherries and raspberries and this is mainly because he both loves the wine he can produce and he gets his fruit for free (not a bad deal).

Then there were the wines made from fruits I've never heard of including:

1. Pomerac
2. Otaheite Apple (Pomarosa, Malacca Apple, Plum Rose)
3. Samarangense

Next, there was Rob who emailed me today and mentioned that he was making wine from Ribena. Well ... I guess all you need is sugar right?

There's Peter from the UK who loves to make wine from Beetroot (claims it went over quite nicely).

>> By the way, he sent me the recipe if you'd like it. You can contact me by going to www.AllWineMaking.com/Contactus.html

Then there's Ian (also from the UK) who I think gets the award for pushing the wine making limits with his wine made from:

1. Tomatoes
2. Coconuts (ok ... this one doesn't sound toooo bad)
3. Sycamore (maple)
4. Prawns (yes ... that's right ... prawns ... as in ... shrimp)
   

Don't believe me that you can make wine from prawns? Here's Ian's recipe and I double dare ya to try it!

"You have to cook and blend 1lb of prawns in with flour, I found that half a banana helped with them . Get it to room temperature, add 2 lbs of sugar, leave them for a few days and then add the yeast. " -> He did admit though that it took him a few tries to "get it just right"

I could go on with a bunch more entertaining wine recipes that I've heard but I'll spare you the details.

It goes to show you though that once you feel you have your wine making skills honed and under control that you shouldn't just limit yourself to just one style of wine as you never know what new and exciting flavours are waiting for you just around the corner.

It's just a matter of getting out of your comfort zone and trying something completely different.

Now get out there and make some wine damn it! :)

To your wine making,

Scott
www.AllWineMaking.com

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