# What is the best fruit wine?



## abefroman

What is the best fruit wine?


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## 1ChuckGauthier

My best wine so far has been Thimbleberri/red huckleberri, then all the rest of the fruit wines once I started putting enough fruit in them..........


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## Midwest Vintner

^yeah, it does make a difference doesn't it

IMHO, elderberry/blueberry/pineapple/strawberry are all in for a tie in my book. it's more about what i'm going to eat or what mood i'm in. those can all be very good. there are a few others out there that can be good, but none coming to mind right now as good as the above.


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## DavidB

Hard to say what the best is. Depends on YOUR taste and preferences. As was previously stated, the amount of fruit used in making the wine is paramount in making a good wine and also the amount of water added is important. I had to learn this the hard way. Pick your favorite fruit, add at least 30 pounds for a 5 gallon batch and go for it. I can honestly say I've never had a bad fruit wine and I plan to make many variations of them this year.


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## abefroman

DavidB said:


> Hard to say what the best is. Depends on YOUR taste and preferences. As was previously stated, the amount of fruit used in making the wine is paramount in making a good wine and also the amount of water added is important. I had to learn this the hard way. Pick your favorite fruit, add at least 30 pounds for a 5 gallon batch and go for it. I can honestly say I've never had a bad fruit wine and I plan to make many variations of them this year.



I'm not a huge fan of the fruit wines that I've had.

But as far as fruits I like most of them, particularly berries.


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## FTC Wines

I like my Apple the best for a white fruit wine, most of the ladies like my Peach the best. Elderberry & Blueberry are my fav red fruit wines. Planning to blend a Blu Elder Wine from my bulk aged wines, maybe 1/3 blueberry 2/3 elderberry, time will tell, Roy


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## BobF

#1 - Elderberry
#2 - Blackberry


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## Wade E

Black Currant without a doubt followed byElderberry, then blackberry and then raspberry. I must admit though that second and third get replaced often like Dan's (Runningwolf) Rhubarb was so good that I hope mine tastes as good as that may replace 2nd place in my mind. Abe, if you dont like many of your fruit wines then you probably arent making very good fruit wine or probably just arent using enough fruit!


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## Tom

Simple the one YOU made.


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## corntassel

I agree with Tom .


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## Runningwolf

Can Candy Cane wine be classed under fruit wine? I feel like a total fruit telling anyone I am even making it. Gosh I hope it's going to be good. If not like someone else once said "It'll make good toilet bowl cleaner".


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## lloyd

I could not help but noticing Wade you are 8 posts shy of 10,000 My Plumb was best so far


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## Tom

Runningwolf said:


> Can Candy Cane wine be classed under fruit wine? I feel like a total fruit telling anyone I am even making it. Gosh I hope it's going to be good. If not like someone else once said "It'll make good toilet bowl cleaner".




LOL now IF/WHEN you enter it in a Wine Competition WHAT catagory??


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## Wade E

Now thats a good question!


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## DavidB

Runningwolf said:


> Can Candy Cane wine be classed under fruit wine? I feel like a total fruit telling anyone I am even making it. Gosh I hope it's going to be good. If not like someone else once said "It'll make good toilet bowl cleaner".



If you don't like it, I'll be happy to come get it! I have people calling asking when the next batch will be ready. I haven't even started it yet!


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## abefroman

DavidB said:


> If you don't like it, I'll be happy to come get it! I have people calling asking when the next batch will be ready. I haven't even started it yet!



Lol, I might have to try that, along with the blackberry.


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## Wannabe

Follow up question: For a one gallon batch of wild strawberry wine and F-pack, about how many pounds of fruit would you be talking? It's time consuming picking them. I want to make sure I get enough as I don't want to waste 5 lbs of berries only to make a wine that has no flavor. I read somewhere to pick 8lbs to ferment and 2lb for f-pack. Does that sound right?


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## Tom

I would o 3# if its for 1 gallon. Bow what I would do is simmer the beries in a amall amt of water. Strain thru a kitchen strainer. Reduce that by at least 1/2. Add mix well AFTER you stabilized. Taste, add simple syrup to your taste


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## DavidB

Tom said:


> I would o 3# if its for 1 gallon. Bow what I would do is simmer the beries in a amall amt of water. Strain thru a kitchen strainer. Reduce that by at least 1/2. Add mix well AFTER you stabilized. Taste, add simple syrup to your taste



3#??? I thought the standard was at least 6 per gallon. Tom are you making a F-pack or starting a one gallon batch?


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## Tom

The question was he wanted to add flavor to wine that he used 8#'s. Strawberries are mostly water so you need more than other fruit. Yes this is for a f-pac.
Remember since there is alot of water you must simmer out the water to make a strong f-pac.


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## DavidB

Tom said:


> The question was he wanted to add flavor to wine that he used 8#'s. Strawberries are mostly water so you need more than other fruit. Yes this is for a f-pac.
> Remember since there is alot of water you must simmer out the water to make a strong f-pac.



Okay....maybe I've had too many, but I thought he was asking how many #'s he should use for both a gallon and an f-pack. In my humble opinion, 6 to 8 #'s for a gallon will be just right. 3# for the f-pack if you need it but if you start with 6 to 8, you may not need the f-pack.


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## Tom

Strawberry that goes dry does not have that much flavor. It will need a f-pac and sweeten to your taste.


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## Wiz

I would have to say that a 13%+ ABV blackberry sweetened to just remove the edge is my favorite. Really close second is a strawberry, fresh pineapple, peach, plum, mango, raisin combo that I call Medley Exotica.


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## joeswine

*best fruit*

I think berry wines get a better end product for me,rass,black,but I most like blending them with staight wines,rassberry sharaz,,black berry pino noir,zin pomagrant,(not the kit).blue berry cab............THINK OUT SIDE THE BOX.....................................................


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## Midwest Vintner

blends are great. we do a couple ourselves and they almost always are the best of both worlds. 

still, i have to say a one type wine would be the ones i've put up, IMO. seems like a consensous though, berry wines rock! 

Wade has another good point, black current would be right up there too.


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## WVMountaineerJack

Anything but grape!  We have a hard time picking which bottle to try next between the elderberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries and even blends of elderberries with all of the above. I think I will have to go and try them all again to see which is our favorite.

Crackedcork


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## WVMountaineerJack

Go with 100% fruit, no water, use a handheld blender to mush the berries (its not going to hurt those hard strawberry seeds), make sure to add more berries then you think you will need to make up for the pulp, add some pectinase and you wont need an f-pac. Crackedcork



Wannabe said:


> Follow up question: For a one gallon batch of wild strawberry wine and F-pack, about how many pounds of fruit would you be talking? It's time consuming picking them. I want to make sure I get enough as I don't want to waste 5 lbs of berries only to make a wine that has no flavor. I read somewhere to pick 8lbs to ferment and 2lb for f-pack. Does that sound right?


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## Midwest Vintner

^good call. takes alot of berries and then becomes not so cheap, but it's worth it!

i think we are going to shock some with our wines. most are more flavored than our competitions fruit wines AND not as sweet. makes them not so cheap as some, but quality is better than quantity with wine!


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## Wannabe

Still new to this whole game so please be patient. Is it really possible to make wine from just fruit like that?!? I certainly have access to the berries in the summer so I realistically could do that. It just never would have occurred to me that you wouldn't need water or juice of some kind. And the way I'm thinking, if I'm going to go to all that work and wait an entire year before I even try it, I want it to be the best I can make it.


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## winer

Cracked, what fruits besides strawberry do you suggest using 100% fruit? Also, how do you get a s.g. reading?


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## Sirs

winer said:


> Cracked, what fruits besides strawberry do you suggest using 100% fruit? Also, how do you get a s.g. reading?


What I do to get a reading is I'll push either a small collander or use one of my spoon with holes down into the fruit and collect enough juice to get a reading like that, others may have better ways but to me this is the most accurate


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## Julie

Sirs said:


> What I do to get a reading is I'll push either a small collander or use one of my spoon with holes down into the fruit and collect enough juice to get a reading like that, others may have better ways but to me this is the most accurate



Yep, that's what I do as well.


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## sly22guy

I also do the same thing.


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## WVMountaineerJack

winer, we are doing 100% elderberry and blackberry right now, the main problem is the acid levels, we have added some potassium carb to the blackberry to drop the acid a little, we will backsweeten it when we go to bottle and see how it goes. The elderberry has higher tannin levels and the acid isnt a problem for us. Another alternative is to steam juice the berries, that is another good way to get the juice and you dont have to worry about the pulp. There was an article on strawberries in the winemaker mag, they used straight strawberry juice. I like to add some extra light dried malt extract to the strawberry to give it a little more body. 

As far as the OG reading, what everyoneelse said goes for us to.

Crackedcork


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## countrygirl

blackberry, but blueberry very close second!!


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## genesiszmommy

I drank a blackberry wine in a blue bottle from Meijer when I lived in Chicago (2007-2009). Now back in Nebraska I cannot find it or anything close. Anyone familiar?


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## spaniel

Black raspberry has always been the best I've done consistently. I've made some excellent apple as well, although using different varieties of apples it has ranged from simply good drinking wine to served at the head table of two weddings wine.

I've tried most of the other more common fruit wines. Sweet cherry is another that usually turns out well. Sour cherry and gooseberry are unique. 

I have typically not messed much with acid levels in fruit wines; most of them still work fine. Red raspberry is one where when I make it again I would start playing with ways to reduce the acidity.


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## olusteebus

Tom said:


> Strawberry that goes dry does not have that much flavor. It will need a f-pac and sweeten to your taste.



I'll say. I used at least 6 pounds per gallon. I guess it has sufficient flavor but to me, it tastes almost like medicine. The acid and ph are in range. It is just flat and does not taste good. I have bottled it and will forget it at least two months, maybe longer. 

I bet it will be good then.

I also made some peach. Same thing. It will be 8 months old when I get back to it. It may be good. I am taking a gallon of it and mixing it with peach brandy. I expect that to be good.

I have not had great luck with fruit but it may come around.


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## LoveTheWine

Blackberry is amazing.
Cherry is good and so is raspberry.

My current batch of blackberry was made with #6 of fruit per gallon (water and sugar added to balance acid)and some grape skins added during ferment. Well oaked in an american oak barrel. This wine is simply awesome


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## skyrat

Ditto on the THE ONE YOU MADE vote....

For Me...My vote goes out to Elderberry but my reviewers (wife & friends) think the BlackRaspberry I make is best. Close call.

FYI My blackraspberry is made with wild growing berries so going to a all/full fruit crush is next to impossible. Generally speaking I use 5lbs of fruit with sugar/water balance per gallon and the wine is full flavored and full bodied as well.


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## dcteague

Anyone done a wine from Blackcherry juice? I've used some of this to sweeten a port I'm making and it seems to have excellent potential for a wine.


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## spaniel

dcteague said:


> Anyone done a wine from Blackcherry juice? I've used some of this to sweeten a port I'm making and it seems to have excellent potential for a wine.



From full black cherries yes, and it was a very good wine. If I could find them again at a reasonable price (that orchard closed) I would certainly do a port out of them.


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## deboard

I made a cherry that everyone liked. The trick seems to be to use tart cherries and use an f-pak. Not much on sweet wines though myself, so I like the dry black currant I made pretty well.


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## Gowers Choice

Persimmon has always been one of my favorites. Followed by Blackberry, Cherry, and Raspberry.


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## Stressbaby

Gowers Choice said:


> Persimmon has always been one of my favorites. Followed by Blackberry, Cherry, and Raspberry.



Gowers,
Has the persimmon wine you like been made from Asian persimmons or the native variety? I have ~10 gal or wine now from native persimmons and so far it is not nearly as good as my citrus wines (Valencia, Satsuma, Calamindin, etc)


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## olusteebus

olusteebus said:


> I'll say. I used at least 6 pounds per gallon. I guess it has sufficient flavor but to me, it tastes almost like medicine. The acid and ph are in range. It is just flat and does not taste good. I have bottled it and will forget it at least two months, maybe longer.
> 
> I bet it will be good then.



Well I didn't wait three months on the strawberry. I tried it last night and it was pretty good. Much better mouthfeel and a pleasant flavor. I will try again in a month.


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## joeswine

*berries are the best*

 FOR me it's the berries,raspberry and blackberry,they not only make a great wine and port but they are terrific in blending into other wines .


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## terroirdejeroir

My family and I sampled some of my blackberry wine this weekend and experimented with mixing it with Merlot. Very nice. The ladies like my strawberry chocolate. Peach is pretty good, but I don't care for the gallon I mixed with bananas. I personally love my persimmon wine, but I haven't really gotten any feedback from anyone else on that. The Welch's cherry/white grape recipe I got from Keller makes a very easy drinking wine that is an early drinker.


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## UBB

Most of my 'fruit' wine is in various stages of aging. I do have some cherry wine in the bottle that is pretty good but since I've made it I have learned quite a bit so I'm very excited for the next time I make it. A different cherry wine I have going shows lots of promise as well as the blueberry I have aging as well. I have a blackberry aging as well that I oaked. It's going to need a lot of time still as the oak is much to pronounced.


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## Rodnboro

Being from Georgia, I'll have to say Peach. I also like Blueberry and Blackberry.


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## dcteague

I've decided my next batch of wine is going to be a blackcherry wine, as basic as possible.


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## dangerdave

I've made a blackberry wine that I think will be awesome, if early tasting plays out later. It goes without saying---_but I will_---that at my house the blend of blackberry/raspberry/blueberry that goes into the Dragon Blood is a definate hit with everyone. I couldn't get the flavor I wanted in the strawberry or peach without adding extracts, but they turned out great with the added flavorings (natural extracts, of course).

Hmm. I like the idea of blending the blackberry with merlot, since I have both clearing right now. I am yet to do much blending at all, so I think I might have to try it with these.


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