# Cranberry Wine from Juices



## ASR (Nov 5, 2018)

There may be a thread for this, but it is too difficult to searach the forums so here goes.

Put together a one gallon batch of cranberry juice as follows:
64 oz 100% cranberry juice (nothing added)
60 oz 100% cranberry-pineapple juice (all juices but also vit c and fumaric acid)
8 oz water to bring it just past one gallon to account for some loss in racking
4 cups sugar
1.5 tsp acid blend
.5 tsp pectic acid
 .5 tsp energizer

the chemicals were base don a generic cranberry recipe. Mixed it and was to have a intial sg of 1.09-1.095 but had initial SG of 1.12. Currently debating to go with the higher SG or dilute down to 1.09 More to follow as it develops.


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## BernardSmith (Nov 5, 2018)

Your experience may be very different ASR but I find when I use more than 1 pint of cranberry juice in a gallon with the sugar content coming from honey - so a cranberry mead the cranberries are just too sour for the drink to be pleasant.. but I see you are also intending to add acid blend... You like your wines sour.


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## ASR (Nov 6, 2018)

Just started it yesterday, so will have to see hwo it turns out.


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## ASR (Nov 12, 2018)

On the 5th I wrote i had a SG of 1.12 which seemed high. I stirred the heck out of it, thinking i might have not dissolved the sugar well and was reading from the bottom where sugar was sitting. After some really heavy stirring I got a reading of 1.096 It was a slow starting fermentation as on the 8th the reading was 1.092 but on the 12th it had gone down to 1.034 My target to move to secondary is 1.030, so likely tomorrow the 13th it goes to secondary.


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## cmason1957 (Nov 12, 2018)

ASR said:


> On the 5th I wrote i had a SG of 1.12 which seemed high. I stirred the heck out of it, thinking i might have not dissolved the sugar well and was reading from the bottom where sugar was sitting. After some really heavy stirring I got a reading of 1.096 It was a slow starting fermentation as on the 8th the reading was 1.092 but on the 12th it had gone down to 1.034 My target to move to secondary is 1.030, so likely tomorrow the 13th it goes to secondary.



I might let a cranberry go drier than 1.030 before disturbing it and moving to glass. It has a tendency to get stuck. I would probably wait until 1.010 or even lower before racking it.


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## ASR (Nov 13, 2018)

Yesterday the SG hit 1.028. Usually I would transfer it to secondary and let it sit for a few weeks to get down to < 1.000 Then I rack it again and let it settle out - usually about three months, though if it is still cloudy I will rack it again. I don't specifically degass it, as the time sitting tends to do that. Though for a bit quicker clearing I was thinking of fining agents when i rack it when it hits <1.000. Anyone use fining agents with fruit wines before?


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## ASR (Nov 16, 2018)

Moved the crranberry to secondary when it hit 1.018. Did a quick taste and based on that exect to do some back-sweetening down the road. It is bubbling away as it degasses on its own. Will check again in a few weeks then rack again and let it clear. Am still thinking if I want to add fining agents but I dont think there is any rule on when adding agents is too late to be useful.


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## cmason1957 (Nov 16, 2018)

ASR said:


> Yesterday the SG hit 1.028. Usually I would transfer it to secondary and let it sit for a few weeks to get down to < 1.000 Then I rack it again and let it settle out - usually about three months, though if it is still cloudy I will rack it again. I don't specifically degass it, as the time sitting tends to do that. Though for a bit quicker clearing I was thinking of fining agents when i rack it when it hits <1.000. Anyone use fining agents with fruit wines before?



I hae added fining agents to a fruit wine, but not at the stage you are thinking of doing it. I generally let them sit for six to nine months before I even think about fining. Let those flavors meld, the time take care of most of the floaties. Wine kits have you add them way to soon and people learn bad habits trying to produce a wine in 8 weeks or less.


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## ASR (Nov 16, 2018)

cmason1957 said:


> I hae added fining agents to a fruit wine, but not at the stage you are thinking of doing it. I generally let them sit for six to nine months before I even think about fining. Let those flavors meld, the time take care of most of the floaties. Wine kits have you add them way to soon and people learn bad habits trying to produce a wine in 8 weeks or less.


Thanks! I tend to go for the long haul with fruit wines.


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## Vinobeau (Nov 18, 2018)

If you make Cranberry wine again, try it with the canned cranberries. Look for them at a closeout grocer, where they sell out of date goods. Our's has them for 75 cents. Aldi has fresh berries right now for 99 cents for a pound. Both canned and fresh will make a better wine than just the juice.


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## ASR (Nov 20, 2018)

We are trying this from juice as an experiement. We had just hand crushed 20 pounds of apples for hard cider, 6 pounds of pears for a pear wine, and when faced with crushing cranberries we opted out. As an aside, I am using this experiement, combined with hand crushing to justify buying a fruit crusher going into next season


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## Scooter68 (Nov 20, 2018)

I see what you are up to...

Good planning


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## Cellar Vader (Jan 8, 2019)

I've been wondering how a cranberry wine would taste. Can anyone give me an idea? I have not attempted one of these 1-gallon batches yet, and would like to give it a go. I do like cranberry, but it may taste different when it's converted to a wine, lol! Thx!


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## BernardSmith (Jan 8, 2019)

Cellar Vader said:


> I've been wondering how a cranberry wine would taste. Can anyone give me an idea? I have not attempted one of these 1-gallon batches yet, and would like to give it a go. I do like cranberry, but it may taste different when it's converted to a wine, lol! Thx!



I am sure that there will be many different opinions but straight cranberry wine - IMO - tastes too tart to be enjoyable. I have found (and I am speaking only in light of my own experiences) that I need to dilute cranberry juice and so use 1 pint of the juice to about 6-6.5 pints of water with the added volume coming from honey to make up a heavy gallon (I want to rack a gallon from my bucket into the carboy so I begin with more must than 1 gallon)


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## Cellar Vader (Jan 8, 2019)

BernardSmith said:


> I am sure that there will be many different opinions but straight cranberry wine - IMO - tastes too tart to be enjoyable. I have found (and I am speaking only in light of my own experiences) that I need to dilute cranberry juice and so use 1 pint of the juice to about 6-6.5 pints of water with the added volume coming from honey to make up a heavy gallon (I want to rack a gallon from my bucket into the carboy so I begin with more must than 1 gallon)


Interesting, and thank you. Would back sweetening help with the tartness?


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## ASR (Jan 8, 2019)

It really varies in how its made. I have seen cranberry juice cut with apple juice, but don't know the porportions. There are some variations where it is 10% cranberry and some other white variety (though i am not sure you can call that cranberry wine). The version I made is definitely on the tart side. I will back sweeten it some, but it will still be a strong pure cranberry flavor.


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## Cellar Vader (Jan 8, 2019)

ASR said:


> It really varies in how its made. I have seen cranberry juice cut with apple juice, but don't know the porportions. There are some variations where it is 10% cranberry and some other white variety (though i am not sure you can call that cranberry wine). The version I made is definitely on the tart side. I will back sweeten it some, but it will still be a strong pure cranberry flavor.


Ok, thanks ASR. Definitely gonna give this one a shot, but going to make my "first" batch of Dragons Blood this month!


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## BernardSmith (Jan 8, 2019)

It might. Trouble is that when I used the juice straight, it was so tart that it would have had to have been sweetened to the level of a dessert wine and that was not anything I was prepared to do. It was "knock your teeth out tart...


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## Cellar Vader (Jan 8, 2019)

BernardSmith said:


> It might. Trouble is that when I used the juice straight, it was so tart that it would have had to have been sweetened to the level of a dessert wine and that was not anything I was prepared to do. It was "knock your teeth out tart...


YIKES!


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## wpt-me (Jan 8, 2019)

I did one using 100% juice cocktail / premier curve yeast. Back sweetened s.g. 1.012 for a 1 1/2 gal batch.
Came out pretty good !!

Bill


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## Vinobeau (Jan 9, 2019)

I've been making Cranberry wine since 1976, usually with fresh cranberries. I've occasionally added some Cranberry juice cocktail and every so often I've made it with canned cranberries. I'm not sure, but I don't believe that a pure Cranberry juice exists. It seems like you would need 50 pounds of berries for a gallon of juice....
I use between 3 to 5 pounds of berries / gallon, start with a sg of about 1.1, and always back sweeten. I've tasted some locally made dry Cranberry wine and it is atrocious. IMHO there are VERY few good dry fruit wines. If you've never made cranberry wine, start out with a Jack Keller recipe. After you've made it and critiqued it, try changing it. Use more fruit and add some cranberry cocktail, and try pure juice; but don't try straight juice on your first batch.


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## Cellar Vader (Jan 9, 2019)

wpt-me said:


> I did one using 100% juice cocktail / premier curve yeast. Back sweetened s.g. 1.012 for a 1 1/2 gal batch.
> Came out pretty good !!
> 
> Bill


So you did not use berries? Only the Juice cocktail? Also, was that SG 1.012 your final AFTER you back sweetened? I imagine that I will slowly add sugar, taste, and repeat until it's right where I'd like it. Is that what you did?


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## Cellar Vader (Jan 9, 2019)

Vinobeau said:


> I've been making Cranberry wine since 1976, usually with fresh cranberries. I've occasionally added some Cranberry juice cocktail and every so often I've made it with canned cranberries. I'm not sure, but I don't believe that a pure Cranberry juice exists. It seems like you would need 50 pounds of berries for a gallon of juice....
> I use between 3 to 5 pounds of berries / gallon, start with a sg of about 1.1, and always back sweeten. I've tasted some locally made dry Cranberry wine and it is atrocious. IMHO there are VERY few good dry fruit wines. If you've never made cranberry wine, start out with a Jack Keller recipe. After you've made it and critiqued it, try changing it. Use more fruit and add some cranberry cocktail, and try pure juice; but don't try straight juice on your first batch.


Great info and advice. Yes, I understand Jack is "da man." Thank you!


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## wpt-me (Jan 9, 2019)

Cellar Vader: No I just used juice, no berries. Start was 1.100 s.g. and yes final was 1.012 s.g.
Yes added slowly to get final.

Bill


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## G259 (Jan 9, 2019)

I have 1 gallon of Langers Cran-Grape from the end of August, and a 3 gallon going, from November. I plan to back-sweeten, but 1.012 sounds too sweet for me, I'll probably go to 1.000. I do like drier wines though.


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## TyYoda (Jan 9, 2019)

Anybody use a Vinter's Best Cranberry Fruit Wine Base to make Cranberry wine? I was given a can by my daughter. I would be interested in your experience.


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## HymnandHerd (Jan 15, 2019)

I just began a cranberry wine from concentrate. I'm afraid its too acidic. I'll work on that after its fermented.
I used 72oz frozen cranberry concentrate 
60oz frozen concord concentrate
5 pounds of sugar to take it to 1.080
Added water to 6 gallons. It is still in the primary but it smelt good.


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## G259 (Jan 15, 2019)

1.080 sounds a little low to me, but it's not my wine! I try for 1.100, the extra alcohol helps to preserve it, I'm told. Also, topping up is easier, if I want to use water it'll lower the ABV a tad each time anyway. I'm a fan of saying 'It's easier to lower ABV, that to raise it (other than fortification). My table says 10.4% alcohol, 1.1 = 13%


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