# Blueberry Wine experiment



## DAB (Jun 7, 2018)

Okay, tis the season for blueberries. As such, I'm thinking of trying to make some blueberry wine. Perhaps 3-5 gallons--first time. That said, I'm not sure if I should treat the blueberry wine making experience in the same way as you would when making wine from grapes. Or rather, if the process should be treated like something different, something special. With special needs and considerations.

I'd think blueberries would have a equivalent amount of sugar, perhaps even more, than grapes. Furthermore, I'd think one could add a basic yeast, or even a champagne yeast, and produce a reasonable wine by treating it essentially, like many of the various grape wines. 

Thoughts? Recipes?

Many thanks,
Newbie


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## pgentile (Jun 7, 2018)

I've done a few blueberry wines. None have been 100% blueberries though. Mainly because they are very acidic and known to be a tough starter and finisher with fermenting. My last couple batches have been 5-7lbs of blueberries per gallon plus 64oz of malbec concentrate for a 5 gls batch. Water and sugar if needed to an SG of 1.090. Many recipes call for welches or grape juice/concentrate, which I used for my early recipes. The reason for mixing with grape juice/concentrate is to bring down the acid. I experimented with blueberry wines transferring from beer making to wine. 

Blueberries make a good wine, I find I'm not crazy about them until they hit about 10-12 months, the wine to me becomes very enjoyable then.

This summer's blueberry might be my first try at 100% blueberries. Instead of blending with grape juice or concentrate to bring down acid, I'll make a pH adjustment. To make five gallon will probably take over 100lbs of blueberries.

Any red wine yeast if fine. Champagne yeast will work.


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## Johnd (Jun 7, 2018)

You could use some advice from @Runningwolf as he makes lots of straight blueberry wine every year, and probably knows the ins and outs better than most.

My thoughts. Be prepared to manage low acid, they’re very acidic fruit and can be of low enough pH to cause fermentation issues. I doubt you’ll have the sugar we see in grapes, so be prepared to chaptalize your must. Freeze / thaw cycle will help break the fruit down, as will some pectic enzyme. If you don’t run them through a crusher, you may need to smash them up by hand to express some juice to make your must have liquid to work with. Consider a yeast for fruit or red wine that can help extract color and tannin, K1-V1116, RC212, BM4x4, come to mind. The finished wine takes a while to come around and backsweetening helps bring out the fruity flavors. Hope that helps.


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## Scooter68 (Jun 7, 2018)

Never made any blueberry wine that wasn't straight blueberries and the acidity never was a problem for getting the fermentation started. (Not saying that acid may not cause issues but that's not been my experience with my homegrown blueberries.) Blueberries were my first wine to make and that batch worried me because it didn't show much bubbling.

Sugar will be needed, but I've never found freezing to be needed as blueberries break down easy but the seeds are a real pain to deal with since they go through the mesh bags or get stuck in them. My first blueberry wines were made with Montrachet yeast because that's what came with the fruit wine making starter kit I bought. Since then I've mostly used K1-V1116 with no issues.

Here's my wine log info on that first batch if that helps at all. Despite several mistakes in the process it went well.
Very little foaming with this batch.

5 lbs Blueberries ( Since then I've tried using upt to 8 lbs but have not settled on about 6 - 6.5 lbs per gallon.)
3 1/cups sugar
1 tsp Acid Blend (Didn't have electronic tester and I was just following a book recipe - wouldn't add acid now until I test the must)
1 1/4 tsp Tannin
Water to bring to 1 gallon volume
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient

Starting SG 1.090
Starting pH 3.9 (Taken by Paper test - NOT reliable)

PH at 2nd racking 2.85 (Taken by Electronic pH tester) July 31, 2015
pH at bottling 3.20 on December 8, 2015 Estimated ABV 15 %

This wine was edgy when bottled this early but I wanted to impress friends we were visiting. Wine tasted 18 months later was super smooth and sweeter than anticipated.

Hope that helps.


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## Scooter68 (Jun 7, 2018)

Here's my 3 gallon recipe for Blueberry. This batch is just about 1 year into aging. It was made from frozen blueberries I had in the freezer (I was cleaning out all the old bags of berries dating back up to 4 or 5 years old.)

6/16/2017
16 lbs blueberries
1 3/4 tsp Pectic Enzyme
3/4 tsp Yeast Nutrient
Water to 3 gallons volume
No Tannin or Acid Blend added
SG before adding sugar 1.042
Added 3 Campden tablet crushed and dissolved in warm water

6/17/2017
pH 2.98 Taken after overnight treatment with Campden tablets
Added 5 lbs sugar SG 1.095 (Via Simple Syrup 2:1)
Total volume with fruit in bag 4 gallons

6/18/2017
pH 3.17

Made Yeast starter with:
Yeast K1-V1116 1 packet
Yeast starter made with 1 oz blueberry must 2 oz warm water 1/16 tsp Fermaid K, 1/16 tsp Yeast Nutrient
Starter was bubbling within 30 minutes
Room Temp 78f 
3:30PM Stirred in yeast starter and moved to basement with basement temp at 72f.

6/19/2017 4:00 PM SG 1.088 active ferment in evidence by foam and smell
6/20/2017 SG 1.036 (Added 1/2 tsp Wine Tannin and 3/4 tsp Yeast Nutrient)
6/21/2017 SG 1.024 pH 2,.86 !!!!
6/22/2017 SG .992 (10:00PM)
Racked to carboy and added Airlock and Campden Tablets

Saved excess must into quart jar and placed in Fridge to settle. Later used for topping off along with water.


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## Scooter68 (Jun 7, 2018)

pgentile said:


> To make five gallon will probably take over 100lbs of blueberries.



That seems a bit high on the lbs. I get a full gallon of juice with just 8 lbs of blueberries. My simple syrup brings up the volume so that I am close to 1 gallon when I pull the fruit bag.

Even with 10 lbs per gallon you should have something around 10 gallons of juice if you start with 100 lbs of blueberries.


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## pgentile (Jun 8, 2018)

Scooter68 said:


> That seems a bit high on the lbs. I get a full gallon of juice with just 8 lbs of blueberries. My simple syrup brings up the volume so that I am close to 1 gallon when I pull the fruit bag.
> 
> Even with 10 lbs per gallon you should have something around 10 gallons of juice if you start with 100 lbs of blueberries.



Thanks good to know,


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## DAB (Jun 8, 2018)

Okay, all good info, thank you very much. Scooter, insofar as the Pectic Enzyme is concerned...is there a set formula for exactly how much to add? And, no MLF in blueberries? Also, compared to your first batch, have you tasted this second batch lately to know if you're on the right track? Presumably it will be better then the first batch/recipe...I think try your second recipe...thank you!


Many thanks for all the info. 
Newbie


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## heyyou (Jun 8, 2018)

I made a batch last year however I used 8 pounds of blueberries and 49 oz of puree. The yeast i used was Cote des Blanc. after a variety of racking i had to use some wine to top off my 3 gallon jug. I used the first time about 200 ml of Merlot and the second time about 100 ml Viogner. Once the wine was finished i decided to do some back sweetening. The wine came a beautiful rose color. After sitting for a few months we tried it chilled and then let it come down to room temp. Personally i prefer it in the 60-60 degree range. I have had friends try it and they all ask me if they can have a bottle or when do i plan on making more. I basically followed the recipe from the Sicillain Prince. http://howtomakehomemadewine.biz/2015/09/16/homemade-blueberry-wine-recipe/


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## Scooter68 (Jun 8, 2018)

Actually I normally follow the bottle recommendations for Pectic Enzyme but there doesn't seem to be any known problems if you over dose the wine with PE. (Within reason I would guess) My Blueberry, Blackberry and Black Raspberry wines have all cleared very quickly so the PE quantity never really came into question. Peach Wine and Apple wine on the other hand are tough and slow to clear, for me at least. 

No MLF for me, at least not done intentionally. 

There was a second 1 gallon batch I made with 8 lbs (or was it a 3rd 1 gallon batch) In any case it was pretty acidic and doesn't have the softer feel on the pallet that the 1st batch did. The 3 gallon batch, is about ready to bottle but I haven't tasted it lately. (Been busy with other things and just racked and ran when I did it.)

My latest batch, a 1 gallon one, was started in August 2 months after the 3 gallon batch. I used 6oz Orchard brand White Grape Juice concentrate to help raise the SG prior to fermentation. That one is on I need to check on. It is also due to bottle soon (Started August 2107) With blueberry aging seems to be less of a problem bottling early is possible if it clears quickly so bottling this latest batch might happen soon so that I can compare the 3 gallon and it for flavor. I've got about 30 blueberry bushes so I don't have a supply problem if I can keep my wife from bagging and freezing them all. 

I've always back-sweetened the blueberry wines as they seem to need help to bring back the flavor.

Good Luck on your effort. I'll try to update once I bottle both of these blueberry wine batches.


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## Johnd (Jun 8, 2018)

Scooter68 said:


> Never made any blueberry wine that wasn't straight blueberries and the acidity never was a problem for getting the fermentation started.
> 
> 5 lbs Blueberries ( Since then I've tried using upt to 8 lbs but have not settled on about 6 - 6.5 lbs per gallon.)
> Water to bring to 1 gallon volume



I don't consider a wine to be "straight blueberries" when water is added. My interpretation of the OP's question about "treat(ing) the blueberry wine making experience in the same way as you would when making wine from grapes" was that he'd be considering making his wine without adding water. This is also why I suggested that he seek input from @Runningwolf, who regularly makes large quantities of straight blueberry wine.


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## Ajmassa (Jun 8, 2018)

Johnd said:


> My interpretation of the OP's question about "treat(ing) the blueberry wine making experience in the same way as you would when making wine from grapes" was that he'd be considering making his wine without adding water. This is also why I suggested that he seek input from @Runningwolf, who regularly makes large quantities of straight blueberry wine.



Simple misunderstanding here. OP was asking if making blueberry wine ‘should or should not be made in the same way as wine from grapes? Looking for the best way to go about it. 



DAB said:


> I'm not sure if I should treat the blueberry wine making experience in the same way as you would when making wine from grapes. Or rather, if the process should be treated like something different, something special. With special needs and considerations.


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## Scooter68 (Jun 8, 2018)

My experience in making Pure Straight Blueberry wine is that adding no water does not necessarily produce as good a wine as adding a moderate amount of water.

What I call Pure, Straight Blueberry wine is a wine that has no other juice in it like Apple, White Grape or any other fruit. If one goes looking at the commercial wines commonly found in the local liquor stores it's going to hard if not impossible to find a wine labeled as "Blueberry Wine" that doesn't contain a very significant amount of some other juice. In fact most times for such Fruit wines it's actually been my experience to find that the Fruit on the label be it Blueberry, Blackberry or other fruits is usually second or third in the list of contents - meaning it is flavored wine not a pure fruit wine.

As to adding water making a wine not a "Straight or Pure" wine I would argue that the same could be said of anyone who uses dried fruit as well. It's not unusual for some fruits, on their own, to not contain enough water to produce a wine without the addition of some water. If one wants to argue the point of Pure Straight fruit wine then the addition of sugar as well could be construed as making something other than a Pure Straight wine of any fruit.

_As to the OP question - Short and sweet, Yes Blueberries require a little different approach than wine grapes. Additional sugar and water are needed to balance out the lack of natural sugar as well as the acidity of the blueberries - even if that water is introduced as part of a Simple Syrup to raise the SG. Tannin is another item that most grape wines don't need as they naturally contain it of course. _

My experience in wine making is certainly not as deep as a number of folks on this forum but I believe that some interpretations made from time-to-time border on being hypercritical and non-productive. So if anyone wants to state that adding water means you are making a not making Pure or Straight Fruit 'X' wine, so be it, but: I believe that is an unproductive approach and more than a bit close minded. (What would you call it if a person uses a concentrate but uses an amount of water more or less than the container directions?) Finally I would be interested to find out if anyone has made an Elderberry wine and NOT added any water. From all reports from experienced wine makers that I have seen water is always added to elderberries to avoid an overly tannic wine that overpowers the palate.

I understand we all have different opinions on what makes a good wine but it seems that there are some who are somewhat quick to question terms, or descriptions when there are solid reasons for alternate understandings. Time and time again I see posts of people making Blueberry wine and reporting pH levels that others felt caused the ferment to fail/not start. My one batch that I did make that was "PURE STRAIGHT Blueberry, (8lbs) was in fact not as good a wine as my batches with lower levels.(5-6lb/gallon) Interestingly I have yet to have a blueberry wine batch fail to start or take an extended period to start even with pH levels ranging from 3.4 down to 2.85. Of course I use only my own home grown blueberries and my batches are relatively small (1 or 3 gallons)

Just I think we would win more over to home wine making with a little more honey in our talk and a bit less vinegar, which we all know is a 'spoiled' wine.

_Now I've droned on way too long and I have try to deal with a Raccoon who is raiding my blueberry patch - despite my netting - That battle will continue I suspect. I am concerned that he made be in danger of lead poisoning_


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## Johnd (Jun 8, 2018)

Scooter68 said:


> My experience in making Pure Straight Blueberry wine is that adding no water does not necessarily produce as good a wine as adding a moderate amount of water.
> 
> What I call Pure, Straight Blueberry wine is a wine that has no other juice in it like Apple, White Grape or any other fruit.
> 
> ...



My God man, take a pill and relax, I’ve not assaulted your family, only shared my opinion that a “straight juice” isn’t straight juice if you add water. It’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it. 

Using your terminology, if I ordered “pure, straight, blueberry juice and was sold juice that was watered down, I’d be ticked. If I ordered a straight bourbon on ice, and the bartender put water in it, again, ticked. 

My interpretation. Disagree?? Fine, but I’m far from hypercritical, close minded or unproductive, you don’t need to try to win every disagreement, let alone by calling names and labeling, just disagree, it’s OK, I’ll still respect you in the morning.


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## DAB (Jun 23, 2018)

Well, we're picking the blueberries tomorrow from a place that has 20 different varieties. Any ideas about which of these varieties are, will be best, for the wine making application? 

Many thanks,
Dab the Newbie


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## JuiceMan (Jun 25, 2018)

Fresh blueberries are always the way to go first, however, wild *blueberry juice concentrate* is the way to go for a year-round, consistent and a more rounded blueberry flavor profile. https://goo.gl/sxKvkb It's only 23 bucks and free shipping.


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## baron4406 (Jun 26, 2018)

I make about 30 gallons of blueberry a year. I usually get my berries from an LHBS and they go for $25 for 30 lbs. This yea I'm gonna make a few batches with a cabernet wine kit. Blueberry also loves heavy oak.


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## DAB (Jul 9, 2018)

Okay, Blueberry wine is well underway...here's the scoop: 
7 gal bucket
15 lbs of blueberries—frozen and thawed and put in blender
12 lbs of sugar dissolved in 2 gal water
Peptic enzyme ½ tsp per gallon
Yeast nutrient 1 tsp per gallon
Yeast Energizer ½ tsp per gallon
Acid Blend 1 tlb per 5 gallons
Tannins 1/2 tsp per 1 gallon
Camden Tablets 1 per gallon crushed and dissolved in water
Added all ingredients to bucket with mesh netting and water to six gallons
1.105 Gravity (projected ABV approx 12.47)
24 hours later....

Added 1 pack of EC 1118 yeast and oxygenated.
Fermentation began within a couple of hours...now vigorous.

All looks good!! Fingers crossed all will turn out. I plan to rack in a week or so once fermentation has subsided. The first questions remains, to attempt MLF or not?


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## Scooter68 (Jul 9, 2018)

Don't see the quantity of blueberries in this recipe.

Is this a blueberry/grape blend wine ???


Also your projected ABV is low based on the normal expectation of an ending SG of .995

Initial SG 1.105 to ending of .995 = 14.44%


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## Stressbaby (Jul 9, 2018)

I feel like blueberry needs some sugar (back sweetening). If you plan to do that, and you can't sterile filter, then no MLF since you'll probably have to use sorbate.


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## pgentile (Jul 9, 2018)

Did you mean "15lbs blueberries" instead of "grapes"? If grapes in a blender what kind? SG of 1.105 fermented dry will end up 14+ in ABV,

Blueberries have mostly citric acid. Not sure MLF would be worth the effort. 

All else looks good.


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## DAB (Jul 10, 2018)

Scooter68 said:


> Don't see the quantity of blueberries in this recipe.
> 
> Is this a blueberry/grape blend wine ???
> 
> ...



15 lbs of blueberries...I fixed my typo.
No grapes...just blueberries and sugar as fermentables
14.44???...that's better yet!


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## DAB (Jul 10, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Did you mean "15lbs blueberries" instead of "grapes"? If grapes in a blender what kind? SG of 1.105 fermented dry will end up 14+ in ABV,
> 
> Blueberries have mostly citric acid. Not sure MLF would be worth the effort.
> 
> All else looks good.


Yes, forgive me, I meant to write 15 lbs of blueberries...sorry.


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## DAB (Jul 10, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Did you mean "15lbs blueberries" instead of "grapes"? If grapes in a blender what kind? SG of 1.105 fermented dry will end up 14+ in ABV,
> 
> Blueberries have mostly citric acid. Not sure MLF would be worth the effort.
> 
> All else looks good.


Okay, thanks...


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## Scooter68 (Jul 10, 2018)

14.4 is going to be a bit high but more importantly - At 15 lb / 6 gallons, you are at 2 1/2 lbs of berries per gallon and that is going to be an very very mild flavored wine. I personally would never go under 4 1/2 lbs/gallon


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## DAB (Jul 10, 2018)

Well, that is certainly a consideration...one that I hadn't thought about largely because I don't have any experience with making wine in general and with blueberry wine in particular. Perhaps, if in the end, before bottling, it's too mild, I could beef it up with some blueberry concentrate or something, which would also help to add any necessary sweetness...no?


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## Scooter68 (Jul 10, 2018)

Depending on how far along the fermentation has gone you could add concentrate now. Adding later runs the risk of fermentation restarting or just clouding up the wine and causing further delays while it clears. 

If you chose to add concentrate now, the thing to do is to check the SG immediately before you add it and then again after adding. Since you would be adding a small amount of volume with a concentrate, the impact on the ending ABV should not be large and in fact might moderate the currently high expected ending ABV.

Keep in mind that if you started with a volume of exactly 6 gallons or 5 gallons, you are going to lose as much as 1/4 to 1/3 gallon of volume due to lees. If lees are heavy you might lose more. Boosting volume with a couple of 16 oz blueberry concentrate bottles would not hurt you at all and in fact would bump volume up some as well as adding flavor.

Just something to consider.


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## askins3097 (Aug 2, 2018)

I found this thread and decided to add to it instead of making a new one.. This is my first year making straight blueberry wine. I picked around 70-80# from a local farm. After everything was adjusted, fermented, pressed, I ended up with 12 gallons, so around 6#/gallon. I used cotes des Blanc yeast. I racked it today into it’s final home, sulfited, topped off with organic blueberry juice, and added oak. Here’s some observations. I’m curious to hear if others experienced the same:

-nice color. Lighter than my merlot but it’s dark. It’s the third jug in on top of my bench and the first one on the left underneath. 

-it has a unique (not bad) taste and smell. Nothing like I was expecting. I just had a small sip while racking, but I’m not noticing much blueberry like you would expect. It has a floral-flowers type smell?? Im sure there’s a technical term for that floral aroma. A very fruity, almost like a light Lake Erie grape wine flavor. You could tell someone it was made from grapes and at least to this point, I think it’d be hard for the unknowing person to tell the difference. 

-I added sugar to get 14%ABV. I wanted it a little on the high side because I planned on making this sweet. I didn’t transfer into a test tube to get a clear image but I dropped my hydrometer in before racking and it looks like the Cotes Des Blanc yeast didn’t ferment the whole way dry. Very close but I’m not seeing a perfect .990. After some googling, I read this yeast is mild and maxes out at around 13-14%? Does that sound right? If so, it’ll make back sweetening less troublesome.


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## sour_grapes (Aug 2, 2018)

askins3097 said:


> I I didn’t transfer into a test tube to get a clear image but I dropped my hydrometer in before racking and it looks like the Cotes Des Blanc yeast didn’t ferment the whole way dry. Very close but I’m not seeing a perfect .990.



I essentially never see 0.990. Usually, I get 0.993 to 0.995, with any yeast.


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## askins3097 (Aug 2, 2018)

sour_grapes said:


> I essentially never see 0.990. Usually, I get 0.993 to 0.995, with any yeast.



Ok, that makes sense. I usually make everything dry, so I don’t see anything because I never check final SG lol.


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## pgentile (Aug 2, 2018)

askins3097 said:


> I added sugar to get 14%ABV. I wanted it a little on the high side because I planned on making this sweet. I didn’t transfer into a test tube to get a clear image but I dropped my hydrometer in before racking and it looks like the Cotes Des Blanc yeast didn’t ferment the whole way dry. Very close but I’m not seeing a perfect .990. After some googling, I read this yeast is mild and maxes out at around 13-14%? Does that sound right? If so, it’ll make back sweetening less troublesome.
> View attachment 50229



I've used Cotes des Blancs a few times on blueberry wines a few years ago. Always finished for me in the .992-.996 range.


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## Scooter68 (Aug 2, 2018)

Blueberry is one of the fruit wines that needs a little sweeting up to bring out the blueberry flavor. Also Blueberry is not an overpowering flavor anyway. Have you tried blackberries or black raspberries? Those (especially wild varieties) have much bolder flavors.


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## askins3097 (Aug 2, 2018)

Scooter68 said:


> Blueberry is one of the fruit wines that needs a little sweeting up to bring out the blueberry flavor. Also Blueberry is not an overpowering flavor anyway. Have you tried blackberries or black raspberries? Those (especially wild varieties) have much bolder flavors.



No, I usually just stick with the traditional grapes and I make apple wine some years if I have access to a couple good trees and the time to pick them. The only reason I’m venturing to blueberry wine is I made friends with the owner of 10 acres of blueberries. I can drive right up to his rows and pick away. I figure it’s good practice and a good way to get all my equipment in line for grape season. 

I wouldn’t say the flavor isn’t strong, it’s just not a blueberry flavor as how I’d expect it taste. It’s definitely good tho. Like I mentioned before, almost like a fruity, grape taste. I’m curious to see what 6 months of aging, a little oak, and back sweetening does to it.


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## Scooter68 (Aug 2, 2018)

Great to have opportunity. Apple wine, is one that has eluded me. But I'm going to keep trying when my trees produce enough.


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## iridium (Jan 8, 2019)

Thank you for all of the information in this thread. I have about ten pounds of blueberries sitting in my freezer and I am getting ready to start up the process. The logs were helpful.

I just finished a batch of apple wine that came out really nice. I used honey crisp apples as the apple source. One thing I would do is when you back sweeten, and I would be cause it brings out more flavor and I like a sweeter fruit wine, is to use apple juice or concentrate. I found when I started with sugar I wasn’t bringing out as much apple flavor as I wanted. 

Can’t wait to start the blueberry wine and report in the results.


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## Scooter68 (Jan 8, 2019)

IF you have 10 lbs of good blueberries (Even if they have shruken - Lost some water content) in the freezer you should be able to make two gallons of a very good blueberry wine. At the risk of poluting the wine you could try adding about 2-3 oz of White Grape concentrate/per gallon to the batch before you start the fermentation. That may not be a "Pure Blueberry" wine but it will have a beautiful aroma. 

10 lbs/gallon would be a bit overkill and probably cause your wine must to be overly acidic - common with blueberry wine, that's why I recommend the split into 2 One gallon batches. You could even do 1 with the White Grape concentrate addition and 1 without. But now I'm meddling.


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## iridium (Jan 8, 2019)

Thank you for the advice. I like the idea of doing two one gallon batches. Would you ferment together or separately? Either way I will probably risk a little dilution to add enough water to compensate for lee loss after at least primary fermentation.

Since this is my first batch I will probably just use all blueberries with some added water. So not a “pure blueberry” wine ;-). 

Thank you!


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## Scooter68 (Jan 8, 2019)

If you want to try two variations on blueberry wine I'd do it as two separate batches. Using identical quantities with only a limited difference perhaps in the amount of sugar >> Higher ABV at the end. Make one a dessert wine - higher ABV and then Back-sweeten more.


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## Stressbaby (Jan 11, 2019)

iridium said:


> Thank you for the advice. I like the idea of doing two one gallon batches. Would you ferment together or separately? Either way I will probably risk a little dilution to add enough water to compensate for lee loss after at least primary fermentation.
> 
> Since this is my first batch I will probably just use all blueberries with some added water. So not a “pure blueberry” wine ;-).
> 
> Thank you!



@Scooter68 will attest, you have to watch your pH here. 5#/gallon can pretty easily get you down under 3.0, sometimes even to 2.8 range. My 2017 blueberry started at 2.85. I like to use a little red grape concentrate - DON'T USE WELCH'S unless you want it to smell like Concord grapes instead of blueberries - I use Alexanders Merlot concentrate. Another thought - 1/2 to 1 banana per gallon can add good dose of nutrients and body without any banana aroma. You might consider that as well.


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## Scooter68 (Jan 11, 2019)

I've used the Welchs (Or any brand) *WHITE *grape frozen concentrate. I agree their concord or red grape juice would destroy/cover-up the blueberry flavor. Doesn't take much if the White grape concentrate to add to the bouquet without a distraction from the blueberry taste. Believe if you start with 1-2 ozs per gallon it would help without distraction.

Never used bananas in my wines yet but that is supposed to be a great way to add body.

My first batch of blueberry was bottled at 5 months. Shared a bottle at 6 months and it was 'good' the next bottle was opened around 12 months WOW! What an improvement - so with blueberry, as with almost all wines, time is your friend.


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## iridium (Jan 13, 2019)

This is great news. Does anyone have a recipe or information on how to make a blueberry dessert wine that @Scooter68 recommended? I would like to try that. I just started thawing the blueberries so can start that batch soon.


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## Scooter68 (Jan 13, 2019)

Same as a regular wine with these changes:

1) Increase your starting SG so that the expected ABV will be about 14% or higher (Be aware that while a yeast may be 'rated' to be capable of fermenting up to 18% ABV - that assumes the perfect conditions.)* ** I wouldn't aim higher than 15-16% for now. Remember to use an ABV calculator and figure on the wine fermenting to .990
2) Once the wine has fermented all the way dry (.990 - .995) age just as you do your regular wine. (At least 6-12months - longer is better) THEN when it's degassed itself, aged, and cleared you will back-sweeten to whatever sweetness you like. Normally Dessert wines are sweetened back to 1.010 or slightly higher. You need that sweetness to cover for the higher ABV so that it's not like drinking everclear. (Not really that bad but....) Once you reach the point where you find the sweetness balances out the higher 'octane' of the wine you are good to go. (OF COURSE stabilze the wine before back-sweetening)

One nice benefit.... Normally folks serve smaller servings of a dessert wine, unless you are trying to seriously intoxilate, uh entoxxicatel, hmmm is that intoxicate your friends/family. 

At least that's the way I make my dessert wines with fruit. Others may have different methods. Just don't skimp on the fruit for a dessert wine, you need plenty of flavor with a high ABV.


*  My first effort at a dessert wine was with a can of Vintner's Harvest Black Currant. I aimed at an ABV of 16.5% (A starting SG of 1.127) and the yeast gave out at an SG of 1.008. The good news was that after aging it didn't try to ferment any more for the 9 months I aged it. So I tasted it and it was great. I figured that when it stopped at 1.008 I still had an ABV of 15.6%. My wife was afraid to drink more than about 3-4 ozs at a time. It was wickedly good.


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## Stressbaby (Jan 14, 2019)

By the way, you might consider holding back 10% of your must and using that for back sweetening. That will bring you closer to the original fruit flavor of that particular wine.


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## DAB (Jun 15, 2019)

Scooter,
In a previous post you said:

"IF you have 10 lbs of good blueberries (Even if they have shruken - Lost some water content) in the freezer you should be able to make two gallons of a very good blueberry wine. At the risk of poluting the wine you could try adding about 2-3 oz of White Grape concentrate/per gallon to the batch before you start the fermentation. That may not be a "Pure Blueberry" wine but it will have a beautiful aroma.

10 lbs/gallon would be a bit overkill and probably cause your wine must to be overly acidic - common with blueberry wine, that's why I recommend the split into 2 One gallon batches. You could even do 1 with the White Grape concentrate addition and 1 without. But now I'm meddling."

So, if I wanted to make 6 gallons of blueberry wine using 4lbs of blueberries/gal (20lbs total) and 3oz/gal (18oz total) of "Winexpert White Grape Concentrate" OR, PERHAPS,("Home Brew Ohio Vintners Best Fruit Wine Base, Blueberry") would there be a need/requirement to add 10-12 lbs of dissolved sugar to get the SG to a point necessary to achieve a 12-15%ABV? Also, do you see any issues with these ingredient ratios? Finally, thinking of using EC 1118 yeast unless you have a better suggestion. 

I did this last year but at 2.5 lbs of blueberries per gallon (plus 12 lbs of dissolved sugar) the wine is light in color and flavor. 

Thank you


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## Scooter68 (Jun 15, 2019)

After 5-6 batches of Blueberry I've pretty much found that for my tastes -you don't need more than 7 lbs of blueberries to get a great wine. On the other end I would recommend at least 5 lbs of blue berries. Addition of White Grape juice concentrate has given my wines a beautiful floral aroma with not too much alteration of the taste. (I've had those good results with as little as 2 oz of White Grape Frozen Concentrate for a gallon of wine. _Start low with it to be safe_)

As to sugar.... I just make up a simple syrup 2:1 (SS) and add until I reach the desired target. Technically that simple syrup is adding water but not enough to dilute flavor. For a gallon I believe I've used something just over 1 batch of SS per gallon so that's something over 2 cups of sugar. Remember that Blueberry wine is a lighter flavor and may not work well with a high ABV So I'd aim for between 10% to 12.5% ABV. At 15% the burn of the ABV is going to overwhelm the flavor

As to yeast you can't go wrong with EC 1118 but perhaps you might find a different yeast to may help bring out the floral and lighter flavors of blueberries. I would think a yeast for white wines might actually do a good job. But EC 1118 is pretty tried and true.

Finally just check and adjust that pH. You can start it with a pH below 3.4 but if you get down below 3.2 you risk issues with getting things started.


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## DAB (Jun 15, 2019)

Okay, for my planned six gallon batch I'll split the difference and add 36 lbs of blueberries (6lbs/gallon) and 12 oz of white grape concentrate (2oz per gallon) plus whatever SS I need to achieve a SG of around 1.105-1.10. 

Also, would it be feasible to add 1-2oz of white grape concentrate to last years five gallon batch of blueberry wine? As previously stated, it's a bit short on flavor and aroma--over all, it seems to lack personality.


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## Scooter68 (Jun 15, 2019)

DAB said:


> Okay, for my planned six gallon batch I'll split the difference and add 36 lbs of blueberries (6lbs/gallon) and 12 oz of white grape concentrate (2oz per gallon) plus whatever SS I need to achieve a SG of around 1.105-1.10.
> 
> Also, would it be feasible to add 1-2oz of white grape concentrate to last years five gallon batch of blueberry wine? As previously stated, it's a bit short on flavor and aroma--over all, it seems to lack personality.



I'm assuming it's aging still in a carboy? If so there is no reason you can do that. 

FIRST - You'll need to ad K-Meta and K-Sorbate to the wine and wait at least a couple of days. (If you've recently racked and added the proper K-Meta dosage you just need the Sorbate addition.)

I always start with a cup of the wine and bench trial that using small increment of my SS when back-sweetening. In your case you'd be using the White Grape Concentrate doing the same thing. Once you hit the point just short of perfect... then you'll know to add 79** *times that amount to the rest of the batch. ***(5 gallons = 80 cups minus the back-sweetening sample)  When working with cup (8 oz) of wine I use a and add about 3-5 ml at a time to the cup of wine, stir and taste test it.

_Back-sweetening at this point should help out that wine. AND since it's aged you won't be trying to offset that young wine sharpness.

For your new wine those starting SGs are pretty high you'll have an ABV of 15 % or higher. IF you go that route you might want to plan on making that a dessert wine - sweeter than normal to offset that alcohol burn that will be there. Also don't forget to start high in volume - you need to have a starting volume of about 5 1/2 to 6 gallons starting out to account for sediment losses. And of course that means some additional blueberries as well._


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## DAB (Jun 16, 2019)

Yes, it's still in a carboy. Thank you very much for the information, I'll try it!


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## DAB (Jun 23, 2019)

Believe it or not, 5 ml's per cup was the sweet spot--pun intended. Any more made it too sweet...thanks for the guidance, I'd have surely thought it would have taken more.


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## Scooter68 (Jun 23, 2019)

Glad that worked out. 
Recently I was in my local supply store and someone had provided the owners a bottle of Muscato. While the flavor was good, though I'm not a fan of Moscato, the sweetness was off the scale for me, borderline syrupy. Which is funny because I normally like things sweet. Most of my wines get back-sweetened to the ballpark of and SG of 1.002 - 1.010. 

Don't forget to check the SG. It's always a nice number to have for comparison with later batches.


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## Dennis Griffith (Jun 24, 2019)

Since this is about blueberries, thought I post a pic my wife shot while she was picking.


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## G259 (Jun 25, 2019)

We have a blueberry winery near us, and they make several variants. One was a Riesling with strong apricot notes, they said that there was no apricot in it, but I'm thinking that an apricot brandy fortification was used, it was tasty though.


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## sour_grapes (Jun 25, 2019)

G259 said:


> We have a blueberry winery near us, and they make several variants. One was a Riesling with strong apricot notes, they said that there was no apricot in it, but I'm thinking that an apricot brandy fortification was used, it was tasty though.



How do you get Riesling from a blueberry winery?


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## Johnd (Jun 26, 2019)

sour_grapes said:


> How do you get Riesling from a blueberry winery?



Technically speaking, it’s impossible.


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## G259 (Jun 26, 2019)

OK . . . Reisling - like.


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