Fortified Apple Wine

[Dokimos]

Hey folks,

I made some fortified apple wine and I think it's good enough to share my method with you all. The result is a semi-sweet, shelf stable, and complex apple wine that everyone who has tried it enjoys.

I do my proportions of ingredients based on percentage of the total volume rather than amounts because I don't get the same amount of apple juice from my tree each year. The receipe scales fine, so make as much as you want with what you have.

There are three components to the wine:
-Hard cider (fermented apple juice)
-Brandy or eau-de-vie, made from apples or any other fruit you have available
-Apple juice concentrate (boiled down apple juice, sold frozen in the US)
-Oak (I use toasted French oak that I bought from the Maker's Mark distillery, but white oak would be fine too)

First, I juice the apples and ferment with cider yeast. I usually get about 5% ABV from it. Let it clear completely and put it in the fridge to keep it from turning sour while you make brandy.

Distill the rest of the juice twice in a pot still. I think a one-and-done distillation with a couple plates would be fine too. Make cuts according to good practice for eau-de-vie. It'll smooth out over time, but make sure it's smooth enough to drink neat and unaged. Dilute as necessary to about 65% ABV.

Mix the hard cider, brandy, and apple juice concentrate in a bucket. I use the following porportions:
60% cider
30% brandy
10% juice concentrate

The ABV should come out to 20% ABV if the brandy and cider are at the same ABV I used. It's important not to go much below this ABV in order to keep it shelf stable. You can calculate the ABV of the mixture using this formula:

((ABV of fermented cider x 0.6) + (ABV of brandy x 0.3))

5 x 0.6 = 3

65 x 0.3 = 19.5

3 + 19.5 = 22.5% ABV

This batch came out to 22.5% which will work fine.

I age this mixture on oak for a few months until the oakiness is to my liking. Alternatively, you can use already-aged brandy. But either way, the mix has to age together on or off oak for several months. I think it's great after 8 months or so, but I imagine it keeps getting better. I think it's best drank chilled. It has enough complexity to be interesting but is easy enough to drink for non-booze nerds to enjoy. Let me know your thoughts. Cheers!