I made some Syrah last year. Everything went great until near the end of fermentation when it stopped short. I tried everything for restarting a stuck fermentation, talked to experts, and no luck. It’s only slightly sweet, not like a dessert wine (the Brix is about 0.5, so probably around 1% residual sugar). But it’s enough to make it a not-great wine.
So what do I do with it now? I need to move it out of the carboy soon so I’m ready for harvest this year. Do I simply readjust my expectations? Anything good/interesting I can make with it?
Sangria! Mulled wine! Great uses for slightly-sweet wine IMO.
Also probably good for desserts, like pears poached in wine.
You can also make wine jelly. All sorts of jellies, really. I’ve seen cherry/wine jelly, for example.
I’d also think about pairings with it. It’s not like a semi-sweet red wine is some sort of horrible thing; Amarones and other reds are supposed to be sweet. Maybe it would go great with some desserts, or chocolates, or cheeses.
Saute mushrooms in butter, then add some wine and reduce over med-low heat until you have a nicely thickened mushroom sauce. Flatten a chicken breast, dip in egg and bread crumbs, fry in some olive oil/butter mixture. Serve with orzo; top with the mushrooms.
I have about 6 gallons, so this is going to be a hell of a lot of mushroom sauce.
Thanks for the suggestions. It pains me a bit to think of it as a cooking wine after all the effort I put in, but it beats pouring it down the drain. Sangria is also a good suggestion.
You could always bottle and save it until you make another batch of the same style and blend them together. Assuming you don’t screw the next one up too Who knows, while you are waiting, the wine is bottle conditioning and may improve all on its own.
I have considered that, but if my next batch is good I probably don’t want to mess it up by blending. Maybe I should be keeping my fingers crossed for an overly dry batch.
