On the garden web fig forum Herman got me thinking about what variety would be best for making wine.  He said marseilles vs would probably be a good choice, and I thank him.  Anybody have any experience in this area and what would be a good choice for wine making?

Ed what kind of wine do you want to make? You would need something with a high enough sugar content that your yeast won't die but would leave you enough to bottle. I have added figs to my mash but have never made a full fig wine thinking maybe a celest or like Herman said for a deep rich flavored wine. Maybe your latarola for a vino verde type. That could be good put me down for a bottle

Ed, maybe Sue can chime in on this topic I believe she made some fig wine using Chris's Purple fig a while back.

During my fig hunts I have met a couple of old timers that made fig wine.  Both had used their excess Celeste figs to make their wine. One was a rather sweet wine.....because that is how he liked it. The other fortified his figs by adding dried raisins too.....this is to increase the alcohol content of his wine and give a flavor too. His wine was a rather dry wine.....and how he liked it to be.

If I were to make a fig wine which had more of a fig flavor......I would choose a variety that the "skin" had the ability to actually stain the fig's meat. And I would choose a fig that the "skin" actually tasted very good too. That said, IMO.......VdB would make an excellent tasting wine. Again.....any fig which has the ability to "stain the fig's meat" either from the interior pulp or from the skin itself.

This is my opinion only.....and you should know that I have NEVER tried to make fig wine. Beer homebrew yes.....wine no!!

Dan
Semper Fi-cus    

How about some fig moonshine? Very popular in Portugal and easy to make now you would need a moonshine kit not sure if its legal or not.

No its not- They make it under legal authority in Virginia- I believe. Plus if its over 50% ( 100 proof) they have to get back down by adding water.

My father used to make homemade  wine, and then turn that into moonshine.
The kind you could light with a match. Very illegal, in Canada anyway.

As far as fig wine goes, I would think start with a fig that has a lot of flavour, and if more sugar is needed, do a blend with another high sugar less flavour fig.
grant
z5b

My buddy ran his bike on moonshine a couple times.

HAHA........I love it...not necessarily the moonshine....Or the bike for that matter.

Drank moonshine once.  Knock me and my buddy on our butts- Buddy is 6'5"-says something!

In college I had a roommate who was a big drinker.  We were playing poker one time with some other guys and one guy had some homemade moonshine.  My roommate wanted to try it.  He thought it would be nothing, so he took a big gulp.  He turned bright red and started feeling dizzy.  All that college drinking couldn't prepare him for that white lightning!

The alcohol content of Moonshine is so high (nearly 100% ethanol or 200 proof) that it will actually draw the moisture out of your mouth. Regular wiskey already has water blended into it ......so it doesn't suck the moisture out of your mouth, throat, and stomach. Mooshine can knock you on your butt........if you drink it too fast.....in more ways than one. Take too big a swig and it will leave you breathless. Ask me how I know......... I was once dumb, young, and breathless.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

My choice for a white fig (for a ligther colored wine) would be Gene's Cajun Gold fig. IMO, it would be a great one for making fig wine. That is one juicy sweet tasting fig guys.........and I know sweet figs.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus 

Right now I'm working on some figcello...made like limoncello but I replaced the lemon peel with cut up mission figs. I've had it steeping in a mason jar in my basement for about four weeks. It's taken on a nice, deep brown color. Should be tasty.

No, the flavor is not at all like a regular Celeste. Celeste has a degree of richness to it. Gene's fig is pretty close to the officialy realeased LSU Gold cultivar. But his  "LSU sibling fig or, IMO, a brand new bud sport of the LSU Gold fig" is much better in terms of its overalll sweetness and its productivity. Cajun Gold is one "super productive" fig........it truly is a great find.  And to think that this  fig could have easily been lost in the fig shuffle were it not for we fignuts who pay very close attention to our figs.  Gene's fig is a real winner.......

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

Well:Ed needs a fig that will grow large and healthy without any frost protection,in NY.
I am sure there are better figs in the deep south for making fig wine,but they will not make it outside in NY without Winter protection.
If Ed doesn't choose Marseilles black vs ,he can try Sal Gene,just as hardy and sweet and precocious too,and also Tacoma Violett,would be a good choice.

I know limoncello from Italy is made with Everclear (BevMo) grain alcohol (you can substitute with Vodka) and lemon rinds, sugar. I was thinking of trying this using figs if the Mockingbirds will let me have any. :-)

I did make 3-gal of wine a couple years ago using 10lbs of the unk Port fig from Chris. It's similar to Mission; dark skin, red pulp, good flavor. I used montrachet wine yeast. It came out as a dry rose and was not bad for my first try.

Sue

There's no moonshine in TN!

I went to Benevento Italy as a kid and visited where Limoncello was made in that area. Beautiful area and the smell was intoxicating.  There is another drink from Italy made with grain alcohol, espresso, sugar and green walnuts. Every time we had a cold in my house, we would drink some and the cold was gone in a day or two- Sore throats included.

Matt, have you been watching too much Giada?  Anyways, that figcello sounds interesting - can't wait to hear how it ends up.  At one time in my life, I made a number of wines from a number of fruits.  I always buy books about the subjects I dabble in.  I remember a couple of books published in England that had recipes for fig wine in them.   That was 25 years ago - no telling where the books are.  But if I find them, I'll post the recipes.  I think there was a recipe for a fig sherry and a port using dried figs also.  In fact, all the brewing/winemaking stuff is still in the attic - if anybody wants it, I'd be glad to pass it on to somebody.  Its been in a hot attic for 25 years - some of it may be dry rotted by now! 

I have every intention of making some fig wine next season, that is actually ONE of the reasons I started growing figs...access to the fruit for winemaking. If you have a basic recipe, and know the principles for wine making, and own a hydrometer, and a few other supplies...you can make a really good wine.  And as a commercial winemaker's apprentice, it honestly takes 10 months MINIMUM before you can even start to bottle MOST wines, not counting those that need to age.  Winepress US has a great winemaking forum for those who are interested.    Ed, I will be most interested in hearing which variety you decide on using.  You may want to invest in a refractometer---it will measure the sugar content in your fruit, and may help you determine which fruit is the sweetest.   I have made many batches of wine that I did not have to add any additional sugar to the recipe as the natural sugar content was enough to ferment the wine.

Here are some recipes for something similar to figcello:

Infused Fig Rum or Bourbon

1 liter bottle white rum or bourbon  (thinking of using Evan Williams Honey Bourbon)

1 vanilla bean, sliced open. 2/3 of a stick of cinnamon. 10-12 fresh figs, cut in half.

Remove cinnamon on day 5.

Allow figs and vanilla to soak for total of 3 weeks, then strain and bottle.

OR

cheap Caribbean rum with dried figs, raisins and dried apricots.

Ok, Those recipes are way too cool.  Never heard of the walnut liqueur.  Sage in rum.  The wheels are turning.  Incorporate in BBQ!   Hmmmmmm

H, of the 3 you mention takoma violette, sals and marseilles vs blk I will probably go with marseilles vs since its the largest of the 3.  I knew this was the best forum to ask this question.  Thanks to all for the input

Ed....please keep me posted as to what recipe you use and how this turns out. Have you ever made wine before??

I made red wine once a long time ago as an experiment.  it didn't go well but now I am doing the research that I didn't do before.