Aronia (Chokeberry) Wine

[HillPeople]

Bottled 6 gallons of our Aronia Wine yesterday, and I must say it's one of the most unusual wines I've made. Finished dry at 11.6%. It is the most intense ruby red color you can imagine. I have always been interested in the health benefits of wine and ran across this write-up on Aronia.
Has anyone else out there made Aronia Wine?

http://www.organicaronia.com/Bellbrook_Aronia_Farm-Organic_Aronia/Health_Benefits.html

 

[GreginND]

I have 36 gallons in progress. Mine is not that deeply colored. The aronia berries I got weren't as dark as others. I'm not sure of the specific variety. I infused just a little bit of oak into it. They are a pretty astringent berry. Once it clears up more I'll do some sweetening trials on it to find the right balance. Right now my pH is sitting at about 3.7-3.8. I may add a bit of citric acid to it to brighten up the flavor.

It is also my first time making aronia wine.

 

[HillPeople]

We added pure lemon juice in the primary.
Finished pH of 3.3
Very interesting wine- lots of tannins but I didn't do a TA test on this batch.
Not something you'd have with your favorite steak- pretty much a standalone.
You kinda take a noseful and a sip and just go "Wow-that is really different"
Not so different that I didn't manage to drink the half bottle left over after bottling in one sitting however!
I'm curious as to how much of the documented health benefits are retained in the wine.

 

[knifemaker]

I was just going to post on aronia wine, as I just racked ten gallons tonight. About all I can say about it is, it has a very earthy aroma and flavor to it (dirt).
I have never made it before, but a friend gave me 40 pounds of berries, and I thought what the hay. My question for anyone is, does this uniqueness mellow over time, or am I looking at ten gallons of something that I will be looking at and trying to find something to blend it with? I just can't seem to get excited about it, am at a loss on what to do with it. Dale.

 

[GreginND]

I understand that small amounts can be blended with grape wines to provide tannin structure and earthiness. I had an aronia wine made by a friend who used a steam juicer to juice the berries. That was finished med sweet and had a nice fruity taste.

I will have 15 cases of it in the end so I have to figure out how to finish it so it will sell. I appreciate this discussion.

 

[knifemaker]

Greg, I was going to do a little bench testing after a year in carboy, and just see what works well for me. I'm thinking some more lemon,I used lemon juice in 5 gals. for the acid, and it's definitely better that the other batch. I'm also thinking maybe I'll try a little concord, and see what that tastes like. It was definitely a taste surprise, and I think it will definitely need to be sweetened some. Or maybe I'll just get accustomed to the flavor. Dale.

 

[garymc]

I'm also glad to see this discussed. I just planted some aronia bushes last spring. I have no idea what they taste like.

 

[garymc]

After some research, I find that aronia is the chokeberry and prunus virginiana is chokecherry. My aronia bushes have grown, but have yet to flower or bear in the 3 summer seasons they've been in the ground. But I have a relative who has several mature bushes that produce. I picked about 50 pounds of hers last year and made a 6 gallon batch, which I have yet to bottle. I haven't decided yet whether or how much to backsweeten it. I may also blend a small amount with some other wines on an experimental basis.

 

[GreginND]

In my experience the amount of back sweetening required to achieve balance depends on the ripeness of the fruit. It can be quite variable. Do some sweetening trials before bottling. Don't rely on a recipe for back sweetening.

 

[knifemaker]

Aronia berry wine

In my earlier post I commented about the last 10 gallons that I made, I had used frozen berries that someone had given me, so I didn't know the degree of ripeness, nor the variety. I have since had the opportunity to taste pressed juice from fully ripe fruit, and I couldn't get enough. They grind and press the berries to extract the juice, and I feel that's it's amazing. I tried two 5 gal. batches, No. 1 with straight juice, and No. 2 with 1/2 juice to 1/2 water. In my opinion, the straight is too astringent, and the 1/2 is too weak, so I blended the two together, and I think that it's just about perfect for my tastes. I left it dry as I felt it didn't really need any backsweetening, but did kick up the acid with some citric. Dale.