Good Old 'DAGO RED' Wine
Recipe.
(Only Italians can get away with saying
DAGO!)
(To convert to a more modern recipe also do
or substitute items in RED.)
For every 5-6 gallons
of finished wine:
1. Take 1 bushel of Concord (blue) grapes
(approx. 45 - 50 lbs.).
2. Stomp or grind grapes just enough to break
the skins.
3. Put into a clean, open top container,
plastic is ok at this point.
3.1.Add 15 lbs of sugar to 1 to 2 gallons of warm water. Stir until
dissolved and add to crushed grapes (must).
4. Cover container to keep out contaminants.
5.
In 24 hours add one and one half packs of wine yeast,
Montrachet or Lalvin K1V-1116.
6. Stir "must" (pulp) twice a day
for 5-7 days pushing the pulp down.
7. Your mixture should start to smell like
wine after day 3 or so.
8. Siphon out the juice in 5-6 days if its hot
80-90deg and 6-7 if it's cooler or you are doing in your basement.
9.
Press the
pulp, if you can, for more juice. Although this will create more work in the
future in more racking to clear wine.
10.Stir
in 2-1/2lbs of sugar for every gallon of juice. Make sure sugar is completely
dissolved. DO
NOT ADD THIS SUGAR IF YOU ALREADY ADDED SUGAR ABOVE!
11.Put wine into a wood barrel but do not fill
to top, as it will probably bubble over while it is working.
11.1.
Put wine into a glass carboy and attach airlock.
12.Let it work for a couple weeks slowly
topping off. Keep loosely covered.
12.1.
Let it work for three weeks with airlock left on at all times
and then rack. Attach airlock again.
12.2.
Rack again in another 3 weeks.
13.When it slows down or stops fermenting,
about Thanksgiving, cap tight.
13.1.
When it stops fermenting completely, rack again, wait 7 days
then bottle.
14.Keep closed until Easter, then open and
have a taste.
14.1.
Age in bottle for a year or so.
I made wine this way for years with my grandfather. Most
the time it came out good, sometimes it came out bad. But we still drank it.
AGING does wonders.
I kept this as true
to form as I could for 'DAGO RED'.
Good luck and Salute!
