# Starting Blueberry Wine



## gaudet (Jun 24, 2008)

Plotting my second attempt at fruit wine making. The victim this time..... blueberry. I have 3 gallons of fresh picked, frozen berries. I plan to prep them with campden. For a 5-6 gallon batch, I will add yeast energizer, pectic enzyme, and acid blend, along with 11 pounds of sugar. I have a general recipe that I will follow. Also, I will try to document (photos) the steps here as I go. 

Please help a newbie out with any tips or suggestions. I have a 7.9 gallon primary thats just begging to be used.


Mike

*Edited by: gaudet *


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## Bert (Jun 25, 2008)

Welcome to the forum gaudet.....If I understand your plan to make a 5-6 gal batch and if you plan to fermet on the berries, you may not have enough room in your primary....3 gallons of berries will displace a lot.....Good luck...Blueberry wine sounds great..


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## NorthernWinos (Jun 25, 2008)

Yeast Nutrient as well Yeast Energizer....sometimes Blueberry is hard to start.

Photos will be nice.


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## smurfe (Jun 25, 2008)

You ought to be able to fit those berries in your fermenter. You won't leave them whole, rather you will smash them to release the juice. That will reduce the space taken up by the berries. I would say you will have the volume of berries down to a gallon or less. If you have or have access to a steam juicer, that would be even better. Good luck with the wine.


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## smokegrub (Jun 25, 2008)

I have found that freezing the berries and mashing them helps in primary fermentation.


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## gaudet (Jun 25, 2008)

It has begun.............

16 pints (2 gallons frozen) fresh picked blueberries, 11 pounds sugar, 3/4 tsp pectic enzyme, 2 tbs yeast nutrient, filled to 6 gallons with water. Berries were mashed, 6 tabs crushed campden stirred in well. Covered and in a holding pattern for at least the next 24 hours. I took a OG reading of 1.100 

Pictures to come.


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## Wade E (Jun 25, 2008)

Thats a pretty high SG for a fruit wine. Let me guess, you got this recipe from Jack Kellers website. I dont like those high SG's with country wines especially for a beginner as that will require some serious aging before you can drink it as it will be very harsh for awhile. I and many others like to make their fruit wines with a starting SG of no more then 1.090 to keep the fruit taste from being hidden by the abv. Jack likes to get all the alcohol he can from his wines. What yeast did you use as different yeast strains will have higher or lower abv tolerances.


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## gaudet (Jun 25, 2008)

I followed this kraus recipe, but adjusted to about 3 pounds more blueberries. I had read Jack's recipe and thought it was more complicated than I wanted to try my hand at. I will stir and take another SG tomorrow. I expect it to be close to the same though.

I have 4 types of yeast to choose from Lavlin K1-V1116, Lavlin D47, Red Star Champagne, &amp; Red Star Montrachet. I was leaning towards the Montrachet from most of the recipes I have seen. 

I won't add any more sugar Wade, I promise.


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## Wade E (Jun 25, 2008)

At that SG you will probably stop fermenting around 1.000 give or take some depending on where your yeast finally fizzles out with Montrachet yeast and i do believe that is your best bet.


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## Bill B (Jun 25, 2008)

I have to agree with Wade. 1.100 is guite high for a fruit wine. I would like to see the SG at around 1.085 I keep all my fruit wine at that SG you would be amazed at how much more fruit you will taste. Good luck.


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## gaudet (Jun 26, 2008)

Are you getting 10-12% ABV with that OG? I only plan to do fruit wines for now as its easy to get plenty to work with relatively inexpensive. I might branch out later on as I get more comfortable with my methods and that I am doing this correctly. I plan on seasonal wines based on whats available around here.

PSS I stirred the juice this morning and the sq was actually between 1.09 and 1.095

I have about 5 inches of head room left in the primary, I could dilute it further if you guys don't think that it would be at risk of foaming out



*Edited by: gaudet *


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## First Time Wine (Jun 26, 2008)

You are going to be very happy with this wine. I had some room left in mine when I started. I started off making a 3 gallon batch that has turned into a 5 gallon batch. Make sure you add the additional nutrient energizers etc. to compensate.


I have a very strong fruit concentration and felt like I could add more watter and sugar to make a bigger batch. I am glad I did. My SG started about 1.080 which I was a little concerned was too low. It is almost done fermenting in the secondary and the alcohol and fruit combination is just right. 

If I can offer a little advise. Make sure you wait a min of 24 hours before adding yeast etc. You might can even wait a little longer. I added too soon and fermentation didn't start. I think there was too much concentration of K-Meta.

You are going to be very happy. 

good luck


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## gaudet (Jun 26, 2008)

I plan to pitch the yeast either tonight, or tomorrow afternoon. After 5pm it will be 24 hours since I added the campden. 


I was curious as to when is the best time to add bentonite for clearing. I have read that its good to add during the primary fermentation due to the vigorous activity in process. I read that if you use too much then it can give an off taste to the wine. In a previous batch I have going, I added it when I transferred it from the secondary back to the primary (Only 1 carboy at the time), it was easier to stir that way. I havealso read on easier ways to mix the bentonite before adding it to the must that I want to try.


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## First Time Wine (Jun 26, 2008)

Hum you got me. I will be interested in the answer you get. Good luck


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## Wade E (Jun 26, 2008)

Bentonite is usually what i use in the primary and mix that in before anythin else with hot water. This will help rid your wine of a protein haze. After fermentation I use just time or SuperKleer to fine my wine.


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## gaudet (Jul 3, 2008)

Here are the first pics. I started the juice on 6/25, Pitched the yeast 25 hours later on 6/26. OG was 1.096 if I read it right. This morning I took the sg and it was 1.020 

I racked it to secondary and placed airlock. Time to sit tight and wait........




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## gaudet (Jul 12, 2008)

I got my supplies from George today. Very quickly might I add. The only thing I needed today was the pH strips. I did my 2nd racking from carboy off the lees today to the primary bucket. I took a sg and I got 0.990 or 0.992 I checked it twice and got the same reading. I took a small amount to a cup and pH tested it reading the test strip (pretty confident I got this right) 3.6 pH. I crushed 6 tabs of campden and mixed it to the primary thoroughly before racking back to my clean and sanitized carboy. Topped it off with 2 cups of water to the top of the shoulder. Now we play the waiting game again. Tasting the sample in the cup, it was extremely dry and tart. Not quite what I was expecting, but I'm sure its fine. ABV 13.9% - 14.3%


Mike


*Edited by: gaudet *


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## smurfe (Jul 13, 2008)

The tartness is from the pH. It will dissipate when (or if) you back sweeten. You higher SG and higher alcohol level will enhance it as well. As Bill B stated in an earlier post, 1.085 is about ideal for a fruit wine. He should know to. He makes some of the best, if not the best fruit wines I have had the pleasure to drink. Let us know how it comes out after you back sweeten a bit. I bet you will be surprised.


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## gaudet (Jul 13, 2008)

I am slowly learning that you need to carefully set your starting gravity as to not get too much % ABV. I have another batch (blackberry) that I started a month earlier than the blueberry and I overdid the sugar. It started at 1.120 and finished at 1.010

When it comes time for bottling (blackberry) in another few weeks, I will be asking some more questions.

*Edited by: gaudet *


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## gaudet (Jul 20, 2008)

Ok Guys and Gals,

Two days ago I used a packet of Super Kleer when I racked my blueberry. That was pretty fantastic how fast it cleared that wine. Its still got a long way to go, but I never thought it would clear so quickly.


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## pizz65 (Jul 22, 2008)

gaudet said:


> Here are the first pics. I started the juice on 6/25, Pitched the yeast 25 hours later on 6/26. OG was 1.096 if I read it right. This morning I took the sg and it was 1.020
> 
> I racked it to secondary and placed airlock. Time to sit tight and wait........


What is OG??


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## Wade E (Jul 22, 2008)

OG is original gravity(Starting Gravity)


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## gaudet (Aug 17, 2008)

Ok, update on this. I racked it off the last of the lees. The sg was stable 0.996. I degassed and stabilized with 1 tbs potassium sorbate and 6 tabs of campden. I capped it and its sitting there mellowing. Considering I stabilized it can I let it ages for 1 to 2 months then bottle? If I backsweeten do I need to stabilize again with campden and k-sorb


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## Wade E (Aug 17, 2008)

You can let it age even longer if you wish as you have added more then 1/4 tbsp of k-meat so you should be good fro around 4-5 months before checking to see if you need more. You will not have to add anymore sorbate.


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## gaudet (Sep 12, 2008)

I am the impatient one.................





Going to bottle this either today time permitting, or on Monday. I need to know the best way to backsweeten. Should I mix the sugar directly or should I make up a simple syrup? Would that recipe be 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water? I intend to rack out of the carboy into a bottling bucket and stir the snot out of it with my mix stir and will sweeten to taste. If I were using my hydrometer (which I can) what level should it be for say semi sweet to sweet wine?


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## Wade E (Sep 12, 2008)

Sugar is twice the amount of water so 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup boiling water. Do not add sugar to wine without dissolving or it will not dissolve properly. As far as ow sweet to make it thats a very personal opinion and my suggestion to is to you to be careful not to sweeten too much as its very hard to fix. You would have to add a like wine that is dry and blend it back and finding a Blackberry wine that is dry is very hard unless you have another batch going or know another wine maker with such wine. Add a little and taste it then add a little more and taste again. Once you get t to where you like it make a log for future reference on a next batch with your hydrometer.
Dry Wine .990 - 1.000</font></font>
Medium Sweet Wine 1.000 - 1.008</font></font>
Very Sweet Wine over 1.008</font></font>


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## gaudet (Sep 12, 2008)

Thats the info I needed. Thanks Wade. BTW its blueberry, not blackberry this go around. So I will be very careful adding the simple syrup, and will take hydrometer readings.

Thanks again.

Mike


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## gaudet (Sep 12, 2008)

I bottled my blackberry last month. I don't think I took a FG reading on it since I couldn't readily find my wine thief. It is coming along nicely, we have consumed about 4 bottles and I gave two away to friends with instructions not to drink it yet at least not for another 2 months. about 

As for the blueberry, I will take a fg reading after I transfer to the bottling bucket on this one. As well as a reading for the final with backsweetening.
Its probably good to know for future reference.
Thanks again for the info


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## gaudet (Sep 12, 2008)

TO close the chapter on this one:

Final Gravity was 0.992

Backsweetened to 1.004 by adding simple syrup (3 cups sugar, 1.5 cups water). I probably could have gone a little further, but I liked the way it tasted. Not too dry not too sweet.

Got 30 bottles and three glasses out of this batch. Now to get creative and make a label.

So I had to look back at my notes and see where I started. 

OG was 1.095
FG was 0.992

So 0.103/0.00734 = 14% ABV

I will post some pics after I get them all pretty and labeled.



*Edited by: gaudet *


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## Wade E (Sep 12, 2008)

Remember that with wine, flavor and sweetness are typically received better after time. In other words in case what I wrote isnt clear and usually isnt. The flavor will be more forward later and so will the sweetness unlike how an oak flavor will fade with time and smooth in.


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## gaudet (Sep 13, 2008)

I get what you are saying Wade. I just have to let those babies mature.

I need to get some more going in the near future. I want to get some muscadine juice fermenting in the next week or two. I have to replace what I lost from the storm power outage last week. I figure if I can get two more 6 gallon batches going, then I can start to build up a supply of wines and will be able to enjoy the second half of my hobby a little more frequently.


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2008)

[chuckles]


Gaudet reminds meof me when I started this voraciously, infectuous hobby. Ready to uncork the bottle two days after I corked it.
I think Mohamed may have said at one time or another, "patience comes only after the 36th gallon".


Over sweetening your fruit winesat start up produces some really heavy alcoholburn in them when they finish up.
Be gentle with them on your start up sg as Wade and all have recomended. You'll be hapier with the end results later.


Also. You can adjust your starting sg per your own tastes.
I started my blueberry at 1.080 to keep the alch taste as far in the back ground as I can.


Take care that you taste your "backsweetening" as you add sugar.
Stop your sugar push the minute you reach your desired level of sweetness.


You might also consider taking an sg reading on some of the "over the counter" wines that you buy to get an idea of what type of sweetness level you like in various types of wines.


Ihave ablackberry that I backsweetened low,that I love to sip in conversation and another blackberry made similar to the first that I finished ata much higher sugar levelthat I serve as a desert wine. 


The first is just a tad on the bitter side and lasts a good long while in the glass. On the other hand, the second is much sweeter than the first and it's hard not to gulp it as you drink it.


Welcome aboard!
Handyman


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## Wade E (Sep 13, 2008)

Handyman, What was your fruit to water ratio and what was the color like when you made it.


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## pbrblue (Sep 14, 2008)

Avery has a neat program you can download for free and works for all their size labels. Just pick a picture and overlay the type. The type can be curved or anything you want. I make mine this way and use 3 1/3 X 4 labels.


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## Wade E (Sep 14, 2008)

I downloaded their free template and use Micro-Word to open it and print onto George's pre gummed label paper. I also use the 3.33" x 4"template which gives you 6 per page.
*Edited by: wade *


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