Adding Coffee Notes or Chocolate Notes

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JerryF

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I'm curious to see if anyone has any suggestions on how to add a bit of chocolate or coffee hint to a pinot noir kit wine. My thinking is that I could fresh grind some coffee beans and add it to the primary fermentation, maybe about 1/2 cup worth? Similarly, if I wanted to add some hint of chocolate. I would make a slurry of coacoa powder and water and add that to the primary fermenter. I had thought I could find some cacoa beans and just coarse grind but too difficult to find cacoa beans. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations for these?
 
Interesting question. When people say that they taste coffee or chocolate notes I wonder how much coffee or chocolate you would need to add to a wine to mimic that perception given that those flavor notes are caused by esters (?) in the wine rather than any literal coffee of chocolate.
That said, I think you can probably now find cocoa beans in your LHBS. At least mine sells packs of these beans and both my local supermarket sells these nibs as does a natural food store in my city of about 28,000 in upstate NY. I would avoid using powdered cocoa. It is not impossible to clear but it is pretty darn close to impossible. Have you thought about adding some Torani syrup? I've made liqueurs with their chocolate syrup and it was really very good. I've not yet tried to ferment their syrups - just assumed that the sugars are all fermentable..
 
I'm curious to see if anyone has any suggestions on how to add a bit of chocolate or coffee hint to a pinot noir kit wine. My thinking is that I could fresh grind some coffee beans and add it to the primary fermentation, maybe about 1/2 cup worth? Similarly, if I wanted to add some hint of chocolate. I would make a slurry of coacoa powder and water and add that to the primary fermenter. I had thought I could find some cacoa beans and just coarse grind but too difficult to find cacoa beans. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations for these?
You could add a small amount of Dutch processed cocoa to your wine, but that doesn't really give a chocolate hint, more of a cocoa hint. How about some (like 1 Oz or even 1/2 oz for six gallons) of Hungarian oak medium toast. That small amount should give u you a hint of chocolate without a large amount of oakiness. You could also make an extract of either coffee or chocolate by adding some to some grain alcohol or vodka. That could then be added to your wine.
 
you could try some liquor such as Kahlua for coffee and Cream de Cocoa for chocolate. do bench trials . no need to worry about re-fermentation as these are alcohol enough to prevent any yeast living.
 
Half a cup would be too much I think, I would think a tablespoon of fresh ground would give the coffee notes you're looking for. I have done this when making a coffee port.
 
Years ago on here there was quite a bit of adding chocolate. If I remember correctly i think they tended to use unsweetened bakers chocolate. Comes in a bar from your local grocery. Arne.
 

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