# Black Cherry Wine



## Bowine (Dec 16, 2006)

I want to try to make a gallon of black cherry wine, and am wondering if anyone has made it before and how it was. It sounds delicious. but you know how that goes. Any help would be appreciated. I wish everyone and their families a Merry Christmas. Thanks.


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## redderthebetter (Dec 16, 2006)

I've only had a bottle of commercial cherry wine, and thought it was pretty good. Is this going to be your first fruit wine? What type fruit are you going to use? Frozen, canned, probably not fresh for this time of year? I've made several fruits this year, all turned out wonderful. Good luck and Merry Christmas to you too.


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## Wade E (Dec 16, 2006)

I've heard that cherry wine is good and I have one going but have heard
that black cherry wine wasnt. Dont know how true it is and have always
believed in trying something to be sure. Some peoples tastes are different then others.


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## Bill B (Dec 17, 2006)

Like the previous posts, I would like to see the recipe you are using. I have made a Cherry and It wasn't bad, I find that cherry does doesn't age well so iso early drinking is in order. 
<DIV SuperAdBlocker_DIV_Elements="0" SuperAdBlocker_OnMove_Hooked="0" SuperAdBlocker__Hooked="0" SuperAdBlocker_DIV_FirstLook="0">Bill


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## bmorosco (Dec 17, 2006)

<CENTER>*This is a recipe I had..*</CENTER>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER>*BLACK CHERRY JUICE WINE*</CENTER>
<UL>
<LI>*1 gallon black cherry juice, pure or reconstituted *
<LI>*1½ lbs granulated sugar *
<LI>*1 tsp yeast nutrient *
<LI>*1/8 tsp tannin *
<LI>*1 tsp pectic enzyme. *
<LI>*½ tsp citric acid *
<LI>*Lalvin RC212 (Bourgovin) wine yeast *</LI>[/list]


*Cover and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast and recover primary. Stir daily until s.g. drops to 1.010. Transfer to secondary and fit airlock. Rack after 30 days, top up and refit airlock. Wait 60 days and rack again. When s.g. indicates dryness (0.990), stabilize wine, sweeten to taste, allow to sit for 2 weeks to ensure fermentation does not restart, and rack into bottles. Store in cool, dark place at least 6 months before tasting. Improves with age*


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## paubin (Dec 18, 2006)

I am making sweet black cherry wine right now and it smells very nice. From everything I've ever read pie cherries make the best wine and sweet cherries can be thin tasting. In my recipe I uped the fruit by a lb in hopes of avoiding a thin wine.


Pete


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## kutya (Dec 18, 2006)

I made a cherry wine this past year, and it turned out wonderful. I did have to sweeten it, but it cleared really fast, and I would consider it an early drinker. I used fresh cherries I think they are called bing cherries. My only problem was that I didn't make a gal batch but only 3 gal....


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## Bowine (Dec 23, 2006)

*Edited by: Bowine *


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## Bowine (Dec 23, 2006)

redderthebetter said:


> I've only had a bottle of commercial cherry wine, and thought it was pretty good. Is this going to be your first fruit wine? What type fruit are you going to use? Frozen, canned, probably not fresh for this time of year? I've made several fruits this year, all turned out wonderful. Good luck and Merry Christmas to you too.




I am going to use black cherry consentrate I found at a farmers market. I've made several fruit wines and they turned out well. I want to start with a s.g. of 1.10, ferment to1.00,then sweeten and stabilize at 1.02 for a sweet, dessert wine. *Edited by: Bowine *


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## OilnH2O (Jan 29, 2007)

Kutya and Paubin -


You both mentioned making sweet (black) cherry wine in this thread -- I'm ready to start a batch with 40+ pounds of Lapin cherries (like Bing but bigger and sweeter) and am wondering about your recipes. Pete and Jim, could you post them here? Or if you'd rather, PM me and send them that way? (Pleeeaaazzz!)






I have a recipe, but always like to use one folks have had success with!


Thanks,


Dave


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## pkcook (Jan 30, 2007)

I too have heard that the tartest cherries make the best wine, but "best" is in the taste buds of the maker



. I've made wine from Montmorency cherry concentrate from Michigan and it came out wonderful. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out.


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## solo-ed (Feb 2, 2007)

I am currently making 5 gallons of Montmorency tart cherry, also from a concentrate I got from Michigan. The wine has been relatively well behaved, although it quit at 1.010 because I miscalculated and later re-added a little too much sugar/juice mix in trying for a higher alcohol wine. The original yeast was Montrachet, so I re-racked it and made up a starter batch with Cherry juice, energizer, and EC-1118.That really got it going and I'm at about .998 now, and still bubbling. I've held some reserve juice back to resweeten after it's done fermenting and stabilized. Did you resweeten before bottling? How much, if any, reserve juice did you add, and did you add sugar to it? Was the resultant wine tart like the juice? - Thanks!


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## daht (Feb 7, 2007)

Sounds yummy...but I have to ask...where does one find the lapin cherries? We only have Bing in our markets.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 7, 2007)

All this talk about Cherry Wine got us going...awhile back we were in the juice section of the store and my husband suggested a Cherry Wine...

Yesterday cabin fever struck, the temps were above 0*F for the first time in about a week...so we went to the Health Food/Brewing Supply store...I got more air locks and bungs, yeast etc and went to the grocery store for some commercial bottled juices.

I got 4 quart bottles of Knutsen's "Just Black Cherry" juice and 'Cherefrest' juices, both were pure Cherry juice, nothing added...I got some frozen Apple/Cherry Concentrate, got it in the primary bucket with some Red Grape Concentrate.... and the usual 'cast of characters' that we add to fruit wines...It smells awesome...the S.G. was 1.092 and today I added the Pectic Enzyme, waited, added yeast Nutrient and Energizer and just now pitched Montrachet yeast...I got 4 gallons of must and will use jugs to ferment it out...I am very anxious for this one...mainly because of the great cherry smell...*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## jobe05 (Feb 7, 2007)

Apple/Cherry concentrate????? HMmmmm...........


I didn't think about that....... Mine lacks in "bite", it's just bland. But apples arn't acidic are they? So maybe that wouldn't help. I have waited almost a year, mine is still in the jugs, you'll have to keep me posted as to what yours taste like, and what you recommend.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 7, 2007)

jobe05 said:


> Apple/Cherry concentrate????? HMmmmm...........
> 
> I didn't think about that.......  Mine lacks in "bite", it's just bland.  But apples arn't acidic are they?  So maybe that wouldn't help.  I have waited almost a year, mine is still in the jugs, you'll have to keep me posted as to what yours taste like, and what you recommend.



I had seen in some recipes that they added what seemed like more Acid Blend that I would usually add...so in this one I added a tad more...it looked good in the pH papers...that's all I know how to use...know that's not the best.

Also I added 3 teaspoons of Liquid Tannin...I just use it in all our fruit wines...many fruits lack all the good stuff that nature provides in grapes...so try to mimic the grape properties.

I am not sure if apples have much acid, it does give a crispness to wines...I blend it with many other fruit wines...wonder what you could add to your wine at this point to crispen it up....Maybe mix it with some other wine to make a nice blend....

I am almost thinking I might have too much Cherry juices-flavor in his one...time will tell. It tastes so good right now I could just go and 'lap' some of it up out of the bucket.



*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## jobe05 (Feb 7, 2007)

Thanks NW. I didn't add any tannin because of the 4 cans of fruit packed in water that I put in the starining bag during fermentation, bt a small bit more tannin probably would hurt. I was following another thread on another message board (perhaps the problem



), and it said nothing about acid blend. Would it be to late to add it now? It's been bulk aging for almost a year........... If te apple concentrate is tart enough, it may give it just the kick it needs. I can try a small amount in a glass and try it. Maybe try something like a lemon flavored concentrate as well. I love the cherry taste it has, and would make a wonderfull Port style wine........ Now there's a thought....... I still have a half gallon of moon shine.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 7, 2007)

I made a Banana/Pineapple/Apple wine last year...some people really like it..I don't....Tonight we had some with ice and grapefruit juice...it wasn't half bad...





So, try some in fruit juice, or 7up...after a few it will all taste good..


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## pkcook (Feb 7, 2007)

solo-ed,


I used some concentrated juice on the very first batch (1 gal) I tried and it clouded the wine. The second batch I left alone and it cleared fine. On the first batch I cleared the wine with Super-Kleer and it worked great. I have to say the first batch had more tartness than the second, but both were great!


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## OilnH2O (Feb 8, 2007)

DAHT, just saw your post -- the "lapin" cherries I got were from Creston, British Columbia where a good friend has an orchard -- most of the apple orchards in that area have converted to lapin cherries, which is a bigger and sweeter cherry than the bing or other black/sweet cherries. In fact, in the hand-held pitter I used (one cherry at a time!) in probably one out of four instances, the cherry was too big for the pitter! (Bing are grown in the Flathead valley of Montana -- Kutya mentions those -- and in Washington state) 


I'm sure these are grown in other places, but I believe their size and their sugar content is what makes them desirable. Most of the crop is picked in the morning, packed in the afternoon,flown to Calgaryand is on a jetto either Europe or Asia by the next day, where they get premium prices, I'm told. The ones I have in the primary now (pictures later when I can post them --I have a vigorous and over-flowingfermentation going!) are "culls" -- literally those with a defect or missed by the pickers and still on the tree.


NW, I got 2 1/2 gallons of juice from the 28 lbs of cherries and added a gallon of Knutsen's "Just Tart Cherry" juice in place of the sour cherries called for in most recipes -- I'm using Jack Keller's no 2 recipe, modified...


More later!


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## daht (Feb 9, 2007)

Thanks, OilnH2O.........must see if anyone imports them...bigger and sweeter than a Bing...aaah, to die for!


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## OilnH2O (Feb 12, 2007)

I "unfroze" 28 lbs of pitted Lapin sweet cherries.









I was able to get about 2 1/2 gallons of juice from these, then addedtwo 1-qt jars of Knudsen "Just Tart Cherry" juice. I'm modifying Jack Keller's number 2 recipe (of the three he has for Black Cherry). I decided to keep the cherries IN the must during fermentation (even though Jack implies discarding the fruit after squeezing). Initial SG 1.092








Adjusted acid from about 0.90+ to about 0.70 with some more sugar and two more quarts of "Just Tart Cherry" (bringing that up to 1 gallon total). I think it will be about 4 gallons sweet cherry juice/H2o to the 1 gallon tart cherry juice. The yeast is Lalvin 71B 1122 and it really took off! 






"Vigorous" hardly describes the fermentation. In fact, it came up out the airlock and over the sides a couple of times -- nip and tuck -- and was quick!


Jack Keller suggested the fermentation temperature be at 55-60 degrees and I think my 74-76 degrees caused the vigorous fermentation. After only 6 days the SG was down to 1.004 and it has been racked into a carboy and bubbles about once every 3 minutes. The next rack should get it to 5 gallons.


One question for all you experts -- the recipe called for bentonite("to eliminate proteins andsettle solids")to be added during fermentation (which I did not do, since I did not have any). I'm expecting an order from George today or tomorrow, with bentonite -- any reason to add it now? Since two of the recipes did NOT call for bentonite I don't think this is any error-- just curious as to anyone's input!


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## Wade E (Feb 12, 2007)

It helps if you add it in the beginning to give the yeast a platform to
build on and help compact the lees but is in no means ever a necessity.
Just never add it after primary fermentation if you are ever going to
use Lysozyme to inhibit lacto actic fermentation as it will bind with
the lysozyme and render it useless.


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## Waldo (Feb 12, 2007)

That looks awesome Oil......I am going to have to try me a Cherry now. That is one I have never done.
Thanks for the inspiration


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## grapeman (Feb 12, 2007)

"Just never add it after primary fermentation if you are ever going to use Lysozyme to inhibit lacto actic fermentation as it will bind with the lysozyme and render it useless. "


Wow, Wade I'm impressed. You must have been taking lessons from PeterZ.






Some experts recommend adding Bentonite after racking to be more gentle on the flavors, feeling that adding in the beginning strips the flavors. I have done it both ways and have had similar results.


I think in this case I would just leave it out and play it safe, since black cherry is not a powerful flavor like black currant or similar small fruits.


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## Wade E (Feb 12, 2007)

Bentonite will also strip a little color.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 12, 2007)

That looks great, Thanks for the photos...I am sure you are going to have a really nice wine....


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## OilnH2O (Feb 13, 2007)

Thanks for the input!


I think I'll forego the bentonite this time, and just see what happens. I'm pleased thus far and in the secondary the bubbles have slowed down to one every now and then -- more than 3-4 minutes apart. I've never "back-sweetened" or anything like that, and really don't like sweet wines, so I'll have to bulk-age this, I think, before bottling, and 'study-up' about the process of fruit wines. But, it's early!


Thanks for the comments! It's what's so great about this forum!


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## kutya (Feb 13, 2007)

Oil, Things are looking really good there. Keep us posted on how things are going... jh


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## paubin (Feb 17, 2007)

Sorry I didn't get back to ya bud but I've been ultra buzy with work lately and haven't been hear on the forum in a while. I don't have my recipe handy but I know that I used 4-5 lbs of frozen black cherries. I'll be racking it tonight so hopefully I'll have some pics.


Pete


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