SC - Re: Re: Compost variations, early wine of dried grapes

[Elaine Koogler]

Again, thanks for the information.  I'll take all of this along the next time I
visit the two higher-classed liquor stores we have down here and see if either is
available.  It may be that I may have to order it.  I know I did have to do that
with the Goya Seville Orange concentrate...I have a case on order that I should
be getting Saturday!  Oh joy...the asparagus I plan to serve weekend after next
will have the correct stuff in the dressing!!!!

I really appreciate all of the neat stuff I'm picking up from you guys...the only
problem is that it's costing me a fortune!  Every time I read about a neat book
(culinary history or cook book) I want to go off and buy it!  Same is true with
other neat stuff.

Kiri

ChannonM at aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 4/5/00 8:41:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> CBlackwill at aol.com writes:
>
> << I am not sure
>  when Vin Santo was created (though sweet dried grape wines have been around
>  for a loooong time).  Anyone?
>
>  Balthazar of Blackmoor >>
>
> I can speak for a Roman wine that is made from sweet dried grapes mentioned
> as passum:  Flower & Rosenbaum suggest using a sweet Spanish wine and
> describe passum as a specially prepared cooking wine used to sweeten
> sauces.They confer with Pliny who adds that  it is not only sweeter than
> defrutum,  but has a different flavour*. Palladius even says that one can use
> it like honey. Columella gives two elaborate recipes for the preparation of
> passum:
>
> Mago gives the following directions how to make the best passum, and I have
> made it myself like this. Gather early grapes when they are fully ripe,
> aremoving mluldy or damaged berries. Fix in the ground forks or stakes 4 feet
> apart to support reeds and join them together with poles. Then place the
> reeds on top and spread your grapes in the sun, covering tehma night so they
> do not get wet from the dew. Then, when the have dried, pick the berries off
> the stalks and put them in a cask or wine-jar and poor the best possible must
> over them so that the berries are completely covered. When sturated put them
> on the sixth day in a wicker basket and presss them in the wine press and
> extract the passum. Next tread the grape-skins, having added freshest must
> which you have made from other grapes that were lseft to dry in the sun for
> three days. Mix together and put the whole mash through the wine-press , and
> this passum of the second pressing put immediately in vessels which you seal
> so that it does not become too rough. Then, after 20 or 30 days, when it has
> ceased fermenting, strain it into other vessels, seal their lids with gypsum
> immediately, and cover with skins.
> If you wish to make passum from the “bee” grapes gather the whole grapes,
> clear away damged berries  , and throw them out. Then hang them up on poles.
> See to it that the poles are always in the sun. As soon as the berries are
> sufficiently shrivelled pick them off and put themwithout stalks in a vessel
> and tread them well with your feet. When you have made none layer of them
> sprinkle old wine on and tread another layer of grapes over it and sprinkl
> this also with woine. Do the same with a third layer and after having added
> wine, leave for five days. Then tread with your feet and press the grapes in
> a wicker basket. Some people prepare old rain-water for this boiling it down
> to a third of its volume , and then when they have made raisinns in the
> manner described above, they take the boiled-down rain-water instead of wine,
> doing everything else in a manner where there is plenty of wood, and in use
> it is even sweeter than the passum dexcribed above.
>
> I have contacted the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and began to search for
> a wine that made from raisins. What I found was a plethora of knowledge and
> information and a wine that matches. It is called a
> Amarone valpolicella DOC  Classico $20-$30 per 350 ml
> or as a substitution
> Malivalpolicella -Ripaso which can be found at $13.85 (Villa Girardi
> Valpolicella 1995)
>
> Hauviette
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