# Blueberry Batch



## K&GB (Nov 1, 2008)

Feeling the urge to make some wine and thought I'd try blueberry. Found some natural blueberry juice but I got a couple quarts of concord grape by mistake. So my starting ingredients include 6 quartspure unsweetened blueberry juice, 2 quarts of concord grape juice, and 3 lbs of frozen blueberries. 







I'm off researchingrecipes now. Any thoughts on how the concord grape juice would mix with the blueberry?


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## Wade E (Nov 1, 2008)

Looks good K&amp;G, never tried that combo but Im sure it will be good!


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 1, 2008)

That looks like some interesting juice....Wish we had bigger stores around here with better selections..

Keep us Posted with your recipe and experience....


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## jobe05 (Nov 1, 2008)

Man I tried looking for Blueberry juice around here and couldn't find any........... You lucky dog!!

I think the concord might be a nice touch............ subliminal mistake perhaps...


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## Wade E (Nov 1, 2008)

You have to look in health food stores most of the time.


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 1, 2008)

I looked at that label again, closer....I did find 'Just Cherry' once in the Natural Food Section of a larger store.... It was added to a Cherry wine I made....turned out pretty nice.

Got to go back to that store and check it out again....


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## K&GB (Nov 1, 2008)

Hi all, 


Thanks for the encouragement. I found the juice in the "Organic" section of a Fry's grocery store. They have several varieties, including black cherry, pomegranite, cranberry, etc. Had to go to both stores in town to get the six quarts of blueberry.


So usinga recipe I found on Jack Keller's site as a rough guide, here's what I came up with-


6 quarts blueberry juice
2 quarts concord grape juice
3 lbs frozen blueberries
1/2 gallon water
5-1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp K-meta
1 tsp bentonite


I originally estimated all ingredients for a 2-gal batch, but the finished product came to just over 3-gal with the strainer bag of berries added.


Initial SG of the juice alone was 1.046. Target SG was 1.085. I dissolved 4 cups of sugar in 1/2 gal of boiling water and added to the must. I later added another 1-1/2 cups of sugar directly to bring the SG up to 1.083. I figure there's some sugar in those berries, so I'll probably end up at 1.085 or a bit higher. I plan to check again before I pitch the yeast and adjust if necessary.


My other fruit wines have turned out a bit thin, so I added less water than called for. If the SG rises much above 1.085 overnight, I plan to dilute a bit more.


I added all ingredients except the yeast and then tried to do an acid test. That's where things got screwy. The must was so dark, I wanted to use my PH meter rather than rely on the color change. But my PH meter gave me some really high readings when I first turned it on. So I decided to calibrate it. Only it wouldn't adjust. So I figured the batteries must be low. I went out and bought new batteries, cleaned the bulb with the cleaning solution, and tried it all again. But it still wouldn't adjust below 7, even when placed into the 4.01 solution. So I gave up on that approach.


I decided to trythe test using the color change after all. I diluted the must with distilled wated until it was a good bit lighter. Then proceeded with the test. Best I could tell, the acid test came outbetween .5- .55 TA. Reading the directions, it appeared I needed to add 2 tsp of acid blend to bring the acid contentup by .1 in a 3-gal batch. My original addition of acid blend was only 2 tsp, so I was reluctant to add another 2.I opted for a 1 tsp addition, and I'll check it again after fermentation.


The must tastes wonderful! I plan to pitch the yeast in the morning.







*Edited by: K&GB *


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## jobe05 (Nov 1, 2008)

wade said:


> You have to look in health food stores most of the time.



Aaaahhh..........

Health Food stores...............

Thats why I'll never find it....


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 1, 2008)

There is a Heath Food Store near where I was getting Chemo, they also have a Beer Making section and a few Wine Making items....

I hate going in that store....Everyone in there is so thin.....

The only one who works there that looks healthy is the manager who runs the Beer Making Club...she has a little meat on her bones....






*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## K&GB (Nov 1, 2008)

I know I should feel lucky that the stores here stock such a variety of juices, and I do. But I long for the day when I can settle down in a part of the country where I can start my own "Wine Garden" like Northern Winos or Champlain Valley Vineyards like Appleman. I really enjoy reading the posts and seeing all the awesome pictures. You're quite the inspiration to folks like me.




My dream is to someday grow something of my own that I can make intowine that me and my friends will enjoy.






In the meantime, it's wine kits and store bought fruit juice for me. All in all, it's been a great first year as a hobby winemaker.


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 1, 2008)

Nothing wrong with store bought juices...You get sure crop every time you open a container....


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## JWMINNESOTA (Nov 1, 2008)

K&amp;GB said:


> I know I should feel lucky that the stores here stock such a variety of juices, and I do. But I long for the day when I can settle down in a part of the country where I can start my own "Wine Garden" like Northern Winos or Champlain Valley Vineyards like Appleman. I really enjoy reading the posts and seeing all the awesome pictures. You're quite the inspiration to folks like me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...






Wherever you go, there you are. Look around at all the things in the Yuma area you could make wine out of. The desert has a bounty of its own with all the different vegetation. Dome Valley used to be a really big source of every vegetable known. Heck man, instead of oak you could mesquite a batch! How many could or would try that!? Don't wait until you reach your own little slice of heaven only to realize what you left behind in that place you didn't want to be!



Dreams are for sleepers, get a vision!


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## K&GB (Nov 1, 2008)

JW,


Thanks, that's good advice.


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## K&GB (Nov 2, 2008)

Pitched the yeast this morning and it's happily fermenting this evening.


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## Wade E (Nov 2, 2008)

Looks like it smells great!


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## K&GB (Nov 4, 2008)

Been stirring twice daily and I checked the SG this evening, 1.02. Time to rack to secondary. Hand squeezed the strainer bag full of blueberries. Hopefully 3-1/2 days contact time was enough.


My step father-in-law has been helping me from the start.








Nice color. I'm pretty excited about this one.








NowI'll let it finish up for ten days or so...





*Edited by: K&GB *


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## Wade E (Nov 4, 2008)

Thats a really nice color there!


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## NorthernWinos (Nov 4, 2008)

That looks rich and mouth watering.....


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## K&GB (Nov 13, 2008)

Fermentation finished out at SG .997, checked the past two days. Today I racked, added K-meta and K-sorbate, degassed, and added Super Kleer. There's probably just enough headspace in the 3-gal carboy to accomodate some sugar syrup for back sweetening.


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## Waldo (Nov 13, 2008)

I'd sure like to put a lip lock around the neck of a bottle of that when it gets ready. That looks awesome...great job


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## K&GB (Nov 13, 2008)

Thanks all. Any suggestions for min aging time on this one?


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## Wade E (Nov 13, 2008)

If you do sweeten that, IMO opinion takes about 2-3 months off the time needed to age and i will say approx 6 months to when it gets good bt around 10 months it really starts to shine and at 1 1/2 years will be so good you will be sorry you didnt make more.
*Edited by: wade *


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## K&GB (Nov 16, 2008)

I racked and back sweetened the blueberry today.Got another quart of blueberry juice and dissolved 3 cups of sugar into it.





















This wine is just semi-sweet now and LOADED with blueberry flavor! Gina says I'll have to sweeten it some more, but I plan to let it age before making up my mind.


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## Wade E (Nov 16, 2008)

Looks yummy!


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## K&GB (Apr 4, 2009)

Update on the Blueberry. This wine turned out GREAT!



I bottled it in January, and I've already drunk or given away four bottles. I can tell this one isn't going to last long. So....


I mentioned last week as we were having a glass fo the blueberry that I'd like to make some more before too long,... just in case we ran out in oh, say... a few months or so. So the inlaws took Gina grocery shopping yesterday and she brought home several more quart jars of blueberry juice and three 12 oz bags of frozen berries. What a gal!


Things I may do differently this time. I think I'll keep the next batch dryor maybe only back sweeten part ofit. I remember this one tasted great even before gina made me back sweeten it.



Also, with the last batch I used two quarts of Concord grape juice along with the six quarts of blueberry. Well, there's a definite "Welch's Grape Juice" flavor to this wine. Not that it's bad. In fact, it tastes great. but I want to see what pure blueberry will be like. Can't wait!


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## Wade E (Apr 4, 2009)

Try using the Wymans Wild Juice in this one, I love that stuff!


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## K&GB (Apr 7, 2009)

Pics of the new batch...


The starting lineup.








Of course, the wine puppies wanted to be involved.








They wanted a peek at those frozen blueberries.








And here it is today fizzing away happily.


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## PolishWineP (Apr 8, 2009)

Now you are just making my mouth water for that final product!


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## mjdtexan (Apr 10, 2009)

That does look really good. I am gonna have to start going to the health food store I reckon.


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## K&GB (Apr 12, 2009)

Transferred the blueberry to secondary today. SG 1.025, a bit soon, but I needed the primary bucket for my Gruener Veltliner.



Squeezed every last drop out of those blueberries in the strainer bag.


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## K&GB (Apr 12, 2009)

Here's a pic of the first batch bottled...


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## Wade E (Apr 12, 2009)

Nice color extraction on that!


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## Waldo (Apr 13, 2009)

Oh yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!


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## NorthernWinos (Apr 13, 2009)

Very nice!!!!


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## smokegrub (Apr 13, 2009)

Looks great! Blueberries make a great wine.


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## PolishWineP (Apr 19, 2009)

I can vouch for this wine.

*This stuff is as good as it looks! We got this package the other day and low and behold there were 2 bottles of wine in it!



One of them was this wonderful, Blueberry Thrill. Aptly named, too. 

Ken, you asked for honesty, and it's good enough that I can give you honest in front of everyone else. 

This wine has a nice aroma that develops after it's beenpoured. There is a definite blueberry flavor without being over powering. It has enough sweetness to bring forward the flavor of the berries without overpowering other aspects of the wine. It is certainly not too sweet. No hints of cough syrup here. There is a mouth dryness after-taste that appeals to my love of really dry wines.



I think the grape juice was a good addition to this wine; maybe the source of the dryness in the background. Ken and Gina, you did an excellent job with this wine!






















*


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## K&GB (Apr 19, 2009)

Thanks PWP.


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## uavwmn (Apr 28, 2009)

Ken and Gina. I was wondering why you never asked for my address to send me a bottle or two.






All kidding aside, it looks awesome!! This was a 6 gal batch, correct?
Maybe when you get a chance you could send the Wine Puppies Blueberry wine recipe.


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