“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”
― W.C. Fields
This year I will make twelve country wines. Each wine is loosely based on the wine calendar in the classic British book, First Steps in Winemaking by C.J.J. Berry. I do, however, plan to freely substitute ingredients based on the principle that most should be available either on the farm or from a neighbor. Next year I will gather friends and taste each one and share the results with you. 
Cheers, Brian
The road to hell is paved with good intentions and my 12 wines of 2021 is off schedule. Then again, as Mr. Emmerson said, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds….”
Pears are one of the fruits, typically, that we grow in abundance. Big and russetted, hard as a baseball, our Kelly pears are made to make perry.
The recipe:
Pear juice 2.5 pounds
Honey 1 lb.
Yeast Red Star premier cuvee
Yeast nutrient 1 tsp
The process:
Put the pear juice and honey in a large pot and bring to a boil, stir, turn off heat. Take off stove, add to primary fermenter. Add yeast nutrient. When cool, add yeast. Stir daily.
After 14 days rack the wine into a glass carboy. In 3-6 months, transfer to ½ gallon jugs.
Next August we taste. What could be simpler?
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Reading this weekend: Southern Spirits: four hundred years of drinking in the American South, with recipes (R. Moss) and Honey From a Weed (P. Gray).
