[Growwine] Apple ice stuff...

[Vernon Speer]

Hey gang,

I can use a little help. Last year I tried to make a little apple ice  
wine...and failed miserably. I couldn't get my yeast to bloom so the  
first two trials went into the drain after souring. The third time I  
succeeded in fermenting the wine but used a strain of yeast so  
aggressive that it fermented the must dry before I realized my timing  
(or lack of timing) mistake. I bottled what I considered to be a very  
inferior cider and left it in the cellar to lose it's edge...vowing  
never again to venture into the apple ice wine arena.

Until yesterday...

I got a call from a bud of mine in Atlanta. He's one of a few friends  
I get with every year to go fly fishing in the Ozarks in Arkansas and  
I always bring down a case or two of odds and ends. He's got a pretty  
good palate, even for an old guy, and said that the mystery bottle I  
had asked him to try...was one of the best tokay aszu he'd every  
tasted. Okay, I can live with that.

So here's a few questions

Is one apple superior to another?
Does pH mean anything with apple juice or do you just work what comes  
with the must?
What brix are you looking for?
Do you chaptalize?
Which yeast would you recommend?
What residual sugar content do you cut off fermentation at...or do  
you just let the yeast die off at the higher alcohol level?
Do you fortify...with brandy or grain alcohol?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'll submit my cellar notes to  
the site as the wine progresses (if anyone is interested)

Thanks,
Vernon Speer
Four Cats and a Cellar Whinery
Missouri