Rkatsitel Wine Jelly

Earlier this week we opened our small qvevri here in Maryland. After retrieving the Rkatsiteli wine, as Terry detailed in earlier blogs, we had the chacha left. The chacha is what the Georgians call the grape skins, seeds, stems and lees that is left at the bottom of the qvevri. In the country Georgia, the winemakers know exactly what they will do with it. It is customary to distill the chacha for what can be a delicious spirit. This wasn’t an option for us as we do not have a still.

It seemed a shame to waste the chacha, so I pointed out that we should make a jelly with it. We allowed the chacha to drain for 24 hours and then pressed the chacha for the 5 1/2 cups of juice needed for the recipe. For the pectin that is required, I used a box of SURE JELL Premium Fruit Pectin for less or no sugar needed. The recipes for jelly and jam included cooked and freezer  jellies and jams. For the Rkatsiteli chacha, I used the Grape (Concord) cooked jelly recipe. The only ingredients included prepared juice, sugar and Sure Jell pectin. To prevent too much foaming as the jelly boils, I added a 1/2 teaspoon of butter as recommended.

The resulting Rkatsiteli was sweet but I noticed some of the same notes of the Rkatsiteli grape variety also in the jelly.

If you have ever canned fruit or made jelly or jam, you will find it easy to make wine jelly. If this is your first time making wine jelly, read the directions and follow them carefully.

If you really like making your own homemade jelly, just think what great gifts you can give your family and friends for Christmas or other holidays.

Note: The Wine Trail Traveler website also has a recipe for making your own mulled wine jelly.

Cheers!
Kathy