# Beautyberry Wine



## Stressbaby (Sep 12, 2012)

This was probably a big mistake, because I likely don't have enough experience to make this successful, and Keller says it can't be done. However, my wife's favorite plant in our yard is the Beautyberry (not C. americana, but Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai'). And I'm still collecting persimmons, so I thought I'd give this wine a 1 gallon shot.

These berries are not astringent at all. They are very faintly sweet, and they appear to oxidize very quickly (see below). I wonder if C americana behaves differently than this cultivar. Anyway...

I found a recipe in this thread. I'm following it _very loosely_. Basically, so far:

4# berries
8 pints water
2# sugar 

Frozen berries were thawed, squeezed to break them down a bit; poured boiling water over the berries. These berries seem to oxidize very quickly, even while thawing in the bag, and the berries and must quickly turned a dark tea color. Is that expected? OK?

I checked the SG and added another 6oz sugar (total 2# 6oz) to get to 1.090. The pH was high and TA low, so I added 4t acid blend to get TA to 7 and pH to 3.4. Now I have 1t yeast nutrient and 1/2t pectic and will pitch yeast shortly.

Any suggestions from more experienced folks on how to proceed from here?


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## Dend78 (Sep 12, 2012)

pectic enzyme? i didn't look at the recipe but as im looking here i dont see that listed anywhere. not totally necessary but could help


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## BobF (Sep 12, 2012)

1090 might be high for a delicate berry wine ...

The oxidized color will likely fall out during and post ferment. You'll just have to see how much good color remains.

Please keep us posted on progress. This is not one I've read much about, so it's a great experiment to share the experience with.

Good Luck!


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## Stressbaby (Sep 12, 2012)

Dend78, see above, 1/2t pectic.

BobF, thanks, you may be right about the SG...like I said I'm a beginner...I know just enough to be dangerous! Good to know that the color may fall out. I will take some pics and post progress reports here.


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## Stressbaby (Sep 23, 2012)

Update:
I suspect the sugar was not completely or distributed, because when I made a SG measurement just before pitching the yeast, I got 1.084.
It set down a thick layer of lees and the SG is already down to 0.990 so I racked it and dropped a Campden tablet.
It's clearing already; you can see the color below. I tasted it, it is thin but otherwise not bad. I considered tossing a banana or two in there when I started, I may regret not doing so.

This is not thread-worthy so I'll ask here: my highbush cranberry bushes started dropping berries early like the persimmon. So I tried a batch of highbush cranberry wine. This wine is identical in color to the beautyberry, sort of tea colored. It's new, granted, but taste-wise, it is nasty...gawd-awful...bitter as can be, like the berries. Is that expected? And is this color common, or is it related to an error in winemaking or storage of the fruit?


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## Stressbaby (Sep 30, 2012)

My first gallon of beautyberry wine is basically clear. But I think this first batch has two faults:


Brown/tea color, probably related to early and rapid oxidation of the berries.
Low body

I picked another 5# of berries, they are in the freezer. I did some experiments yesterday with a couple of tablespoons of berries at a time, and determined that if I acidify the water (for example, with lemon juice) AND wait to crush the berries until after they are in the water with the acid, the color is better, less brown, more pink. So I was thinking of decreasing the acid blend, adding juice of one lemon, and then adding these to the water prior to pouring on the fruit.

More berries in this batch should also help with the body, but I think I need either some grape juice concentrate or bananas. These berries are low in sugar, non-astringent, with a very slight taste of mint. Boiled, they make what strongly resembles mint tea.

Questions: Which would be better for adding body to this wine recipe, if I use the juice of one lemon: bananas or grape juice concentrate? Would it be any different if I stay with acid blend instead of lemon juice?


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## BobF (Sep 30, 2012)

Something to consider ... if you have more berries, you could make an fpac (search the forum) to add to the batch you already made.

In fact, you can do this with any fruit/berry juice that compliments the flavor of the wine.

I can't say for sure about the color. A bit of tannin always helps and getting SO2 into the must helps also. You're apparently a pioneer with this particular berry 

As far as acidity goes, I'm not sure if lemon juice instead of blend is the best choice. It's pretty safe to go with whichever acid is naturally dominate in the fruit. Test with a TA kit before adding any acid and adjust based on actual acidity.

If this juice turns out to be particularly prone to oxidation, ascorbic acid (vit c) is another option to consider.

Thanks for the update. Please continue to keep us up to date.


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## Stressbaby (Sep 30, 2012)

Thanks Bob. I thought about an f-pac, but as part of the experiments I mentioned above, I tried boiling the fruit as you would with an f-pac. What I got was very tea-like but the color of used motor oil. 

I tested the must from the first batch before adding the acid blend, and the pH was off the scale high, the TA was 5.

I just tested and tasted this first batch and the pH now is 3.4 and TA is 8, but again, that is after 4t of acid blend. I have some ascorbic acid...maybe I could sub a teaspoon of ascorbic acid for one teaspoons of acid blend?


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## fivebk (Sep 30, 2012)

Ascorbic acid will help with the oxidation problem. I use it when crushing and pressing apples.

BOB


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## Stressbaby (Oct 8, 2012)

I have no idea how it tastes yet, but the color is definitely better in the second batch.

What I did:
As the berries were picked, I washed them _twice, very gently,_ and then gave them a bath in water with a bit of lemon juice. Then they were drained and went into the freezer. With the first batch, I froze/thaw/froze. With this batch I just kept them frozen until literally the water was boiling.

5# beautyberry
8.5 pints water
2 bananas
1 can Welch's grape jc concentrate
850g sugar
4t acid blend
1T lemon jc
1 Campden tab
1/2t pectic
1t yeast nutrient
Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast

Boiled two bananas for 15 min in a cup of water; Bought the remainder of water to a boil, then strained the banana water and added it back to the pot. Added lemon jc and half the acid blend to the water. Poured the water over berries and sugar in the primary. After cooling, added remainder of acid blend and Campden tablet. After 8 hours, added pectic enzyme. After 10 hours, added yeast nutrient and yeast. TA as tartaric was 7, pH was 3.4. It is bubbling away now 12 hours later.


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## Stressbaby (Oct 13, 2012)

Here is a pic of the two 1 gallon batches of beautyberry wine. The second batch is on the right. The difference in color is interesting. Also, it is remarkable how fast the first batch is clearing.

The second batch is only 1 week old. It went from 1.090 to 1.000 in three days and is still _slowly_ bubbling in the secondary. The lees are >1" thick...should I rack it already?


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## Stressbaby (Mar 10, 2013)

Bottled both batches of this beautyberry wine last night.
The first batch where I was concerned about the rapid oxidation of the frozen fruit is on the left, the second batch where I dosed the fruit with lemon juice, froze the fruit only once and added banana and grape concentrate is on the right.
I was disappointed that the second batch did not hold its color well. I added 1 Campden tab at the beginning 10/8/2012 and another when stabilizing 2/9/2013. You can still see the color difference. 
The flavor to me is cherries, plum, and mint. Both got backsweetened with 50g sugar. I got a "thumbs up" from my wife. I honestly cannot appreciate the difference from the grape and bananas in the second batch but it is still a bit harsh. I'll let this age a few months and then do a side-by-side comparison and report.
I would appreciate any thoughts on the color changes in batch 2 and how I can preserve that nice pink/red color you see in the post just above.


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## saramc (Mar 10, 2013)

It is quite common for color loss due to fermentation. Strawberry wine is a classic. Some yeasts are known for color retention, as is using a cool temp for the ferment (low and slow), use of pectic enzyme for color extraction, and appropriate tannin balance -- these can all help but no guarantee you will maintain the color naturally, even with time.


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## Stressbaby (Mar 10, 2013)

Sara, 

Can you suggest which yeasts are better for color retention?


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## novalou (Mar 10, 2013)

Stressbaby said:


> Can you suggest which yeasts are better for color retention?



Try Lalvin RC212


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## LonelyMassachusetts (Mar 21, 2013)

The color difference between the two batches is remarkable. In my opinion batch #2 still looks pretty good, especially compared to #1.


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## jswordy (Mar 21, 2013)

I use 71B1122 with fruit wines, and they turn out OK. My strawberry wound up really red.


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## Stressbaby (Mar 21, 2013)

Thanks for the replies everyone. 
My plan here is to age these until this summer, then do some tastings to see which recipe is better. Then I will try one batch with each of the yeasts you mentioned using the preferred recipe.
Thanks again!


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## Deezil (Mar 29, 2013)

Stressbaby said:


> Can you suggest which yeasts are better for color retention?



From what i've gathered/understood (im no science major), color retention has more to with chemical binding reactions between tannins and anthocyanins.. It's possible that the grape concentrate increased the amounts of tannins within the batch, which would improve your color in batch 2 compared to batch 1

As to why you lost the color from the jug when the bottle, is simply going to come down to light penetration... You reduced the depth that light has to penetrate, but light levels are the same, relatively.. This will make it appear lighter in color, but you didn't actually lose anything.. The depth of the wine from one side of a carboy or jug is just a farther distance, than from one side of a 750ml bottle to the other

Edit: So maybe i "missed the ball" as to what color you were hoping to retain.. But it still comes down to light penetration and solids within the wine refracting the light, & during an active fermentation, the color lightens due to the increased numbers of solid particulate - yeast, in masses, mostly - getting in the way & reflecting the light before it can penetrate the container very far.. Then as the number of solids drops, the color deepens because the light can penetrate father before being reflected back to our eyes.. Hope that makes sense


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## saramc (Apr 1, 2013)

Stressbaby said:


> Sara,
> 
> Can you suggest which yeasts are better for color retention?



You are welcome to review the data sheets available and make your own determination, you learn alot doing your own reading. Their notes will indicate if it is particularly known if color retention tends to be well noted. Though you have to consider the fruit you are using, tannins, antioxidants, the temp of ferment, etc. And anthocyanins seem to be a huge component in all of color retention.
It is amazing how a gorgeous dark ruby plum wine turns a brilliant gold more than a year later. Sometimes you can only hope--so far my prickly pear mead is still magenta colored at more than a year.


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## Stressbaby (Jun 24, 2013)

A little reading sheds some light on the color issue. This link indicates that the jelly undergoes the same color transformation that my wine did...to what they describe as a garnet color. Batch #2 has that color I would say.

I've seen descriptions of the taste of the fruit range from earthy to sharp and tart to elderberry-like. To me it is mildly minty and slightly sweet but mostly unremarkable. However, it is widely said to make good jelly and perhaps where there is good jelly there may be found good wine.

We popped open the first bottle from batch #1. Pic below. It is drinkable. Keller describes astringency which I don't have at all. Faintly minty and a little earthy. Batch #2 had some banana and grape concentrate for body, it will be interesting to compare the two.


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## wineon4 (Jun 24, 2013)

Sure looks nice, very nicely staged for the photo good job


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## Stressbaby (Jun 25, 2013)

Thanks wineon4.

A strange thing happened...we didn't finish the bottle (we try not to finish bottles on Monday night) and I put it in the fridge. This morning it is cloudy as can be. I looked back at my notes and this wine was cold stabilized for 2 weeks at ~37F. 

Any thoughts on why it is cloudy?


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## winetortoise (Nov 5, 2015)

My first beautyberry wine appeared with this color. It is a tad sweet, notably dry, and quite tangy. The flavor is musky and with a musky smell, but it also smells like bubblegum as it warms up. There is some okay sour taste as well, but it mellows as time goes by. I'll make a mostly similar recipe next year, when Spring starts here in Florida.


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## Flouridern (Sep 22, 2016)

*Wine time*

I am a wine making rookie. What recipe did you follow ? My son attempted to make beauty berry jelly but made an awesome syrup instead. Thx Floyd










My first beautyberry wine appeared with this color. It is a tad sweet, notably dry, and quite tangy. The flavor is musky and with a musky smell, but it also smells like bubblegum as it warms up. There is some okay sour taste as well, but it mellows as time goes by. I'll make a mostly similar recipe next year, when Spring starts here in Florida.[/QUOTE]


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## winetortoise (Sep 24, 2016)

Flouridern said:


> I am a wine making rookie. What recipe did you follow ? My son attempted to make beauty berry jelly but made an awesome syrup instead.



On my first attempt to make jam it also resulted with syrup. I don't really know how to make jelly, I'm guessing you add pectin or gelatin. Just use less sugar, and a long cook time but at a very low heat. Heat seems to turn them to syrup with the presence of sugar. I think it's because they are so soft and small amd the interior is very mushy.

For the wine, I viscerated the berries and then added them to the stock pot, and covered the mush with water. I slowly heated this to a gentle simmer to bring out and preserve the flavors. The reason I "juiced" it this way is to increase the flavor and bring the color out more, although it seems to gain color whether you cook it or not. Trust me though if you simmer the mush first the flavor is much better. This juice itself is not bad, although not very sweet so I mix in a little other juices for that purpose.

I then add additional water to the recipe, at least as much water as I started with to cover the mush. With other wines people avoid watering down the juice, however this wine will end up with a very strong, offensive flavor if you only ferment with enough water to fully saturate. For sugar, thats all up to the individual, depending on how high you want the alcohol content. Admittedly I go for alc. percentage on the higher range. For my taste, I like this wine to be somewhat dry but also a little sweet. So in that regard I add extra sugar. I add this sugar to the pot after tasting the beautyberry juice to make sure it has the right proportions. It tastes very strong at that point, which shows you first hand that you will need to add additional water to the volume. I never weighed the berries, so I cannot provide a formula. I simply start with a large amount and after saturating and heating I go from there by taste. From there you can consider the volume of wine you want based on the amount of juice you have, and if you have more berries you can increase the amount of wine produced by adding more to the pot. The color appears very deep pink/purple at first, but during fermentation it becomes lighter, like in the picture.


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## winetortoise (Sep 24, 2016)

Stressbaby said:


> Thanks wineon4.
> 
> A strange thing happened...we didn't finish the bottle (we try not to finish bottles on Monday night) and I put it in the fridge. This morning it is cloudy as can be. I looked back at my notes and this wine was cold stabilized for 2 weeks at ~37F.
> 
> Any thoughts on why it is cloudy?



Was it completely dry? It seems unreasonable that yeast could have started reproducing again. Maybe it was beginning the vinegarization process. As Im sure you know, one tiny unnoticed fruit fly can do the trick. But I've also noticed that vinegar can happen without a fly getting involved, as though a vinegar culture was sneaked into it beforehand. Anyway, time would tell if vinegar is the culprit. It is quite cloudy while its undergoing becoming vinegar.


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