WineXpert Aging recommendation for WE Blackberry Port kit fortified with Everclear

TallTexan · Apr 24, 2015

I have a WE Blackberry Port kit that I fortified with Everclear 190 using George's calculations for fortification. I added the Everclear with the F-pack, and according to the kit timeline it should be ready to bottle in about a week. I plan to bottle age as opposed to bulk aging. I have made other port kits but without fortifying, and they tasted great at bottling time and improved steadily with up to 2 years of aging. At this point, the Blackberry Port has a strong medicinal taste,like the cough syrup prescription that our family doctor gave us when I was a child many years ago.

Can anyone tell me if they have fortified a port kit with Everclear and, if so, how much additional aging time did it take for the medicinal taste to soften? I am hoping to have this ready to drink in Nov/Dec of this year.

marino · Aug 25, 2019

How did this work? My la bodega port kit just turned 5, still developing!

Scooter68 · Aug 26, 2019

Keep us posted and I'll be watching for others comments too.

(Just had to add Everclear to a Black Currant batch as it totally quit fermenting at an ABV of 7.9% so I used Everclear to raise that to 11%. It's now beginning aging time (1 year normally for most Fruit wines))

TallTexan · Aug 26, 2019

The fortified Blackberry Port had finally softened enough to be acceptable by October 2018. As of about 2 weeks ago, it is quite smooth and I am not hesitant to share or gift it to family and friends. I don't know that I will ever fortify with Everclear again. I think that I will try using VSOP brandy instead, even though it will probably affect the overall flavor profile more than Everclear does.

marino · Aug 31, 2019

TallTexan said:
The fortified Blackberry Port had finally softened enough to be acceptable by October 2018. As of about 2 weeks ago, it is quite smooth and I am not hesitant to share or gift it to family and friends. I don't know that I will ever fortify with Everclear again. I think that I will try using VSOP brandy instead, even though it will probably affect the overall flavor profile more than Everclear does.

I hear you! Since making the kit, I’ve tried making with fresh grapes and the wine is much further along than the mm labodega kits I made in 2014. I don’t know why, but the kits take a long time to move along. Btw, I’ve always used brandy and it still needs time to settle into itself. Good luck!