Black Cherry Mango

[FlamingoEmporium]

its thunderstorm season here in Florida. Had a small issue with the feeezer losing power for a while. Most stuff was still cold or semi frozen but I had to clean it out to drain the defrosted ice.

had a lot of frozen mango in the bottom, which is good because none of my trees produced this year after Cat 5 Ian.
so I threw a bunch in the bucket to thaw. Wasn’t sure what to put in wi5h it. I originally thought guava juice but then I looked at the bag of cherries in 5he fridge. I cut up a quarter pound and tossed them in and then the next day I picked up two quarts of black cherry juice from ALDIs.

it’s ingredients are cherry juice and water basically. I figured I needed a change from all the white wines I make. Brought it up to 1.10 with just over 3 lbs of sugar For a 2 1/4 gallon batch No passion fruit this year and my Roselle hibiscus plants aren’t making it.

feels good to get fermenting again. Only my second batch this year. The other was plumeria flower wine which was a great success.

should be going into secondary in three or four days. Pictures then.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bummer. Best wishes and fingers crossed that things get back to normal.

I bought some dried sabdariffa hibiscus early in the year which may or may not be like your Roselle, don't know. Wonderful ingredient. Surprised it's not talked about more for wine.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I bought some dried sabdariffa hibiscus early in the year which may or may not be like your Roselle, don't know. Wonderful ingredient. Surprised it's not talked about more for wine.

Same thing. It’s famous for red zinger tea. You can eat the Roselles fresh or garnish a salad. The seed I bought started out fine but they never flowered and now they are sick. I’ll hit the farmers market this fall and get some for seed.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

SG down to 1.012 today. Into secondary. Color not as “red” as I was hoping for. But I’m sure this will still be good. I haven’t really been disappointed by anything I’ve made so far except the failed coconut water experiment.

 

[BigDaveK]

Looks good!
Food for thought - the last couple of months I've been adding small amounts of dried hibiscus to the wines I know would be boring yellow and clear. Even in small quantities it adds a fruity note but the color is phenomenal. And my all hibiscus wine looks like a gallon of blood.
Oh, and every time I see coconut water in the store I think about your wine.

 

[winemaker81]

And my all hibiscus wine looks like a gallon of blood.

ummm ... how do you know what a gallon of blood looks like?

 

[cmason1957]

ummm ... how do you know what a gallon of blood looks like?

Some questions are better left unasked (or maybe unanswered).

 

[BigDaveK]

ummm ... how do you know what a gallon of blood looks like?

Uuhhhh......uhhh.....I read a lot. Yeah, that's it.

 

[vinny]

Uuhhhh......uhhh.....I read a lot. Yeah, that's it.

Welll... I could tell you, but....

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Racked, treated and on to long term storage in the wine closet .994
no real defined taste, so will backsweeten at bottling time.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Sorry @winemaker81 my patience was at a low today. The black cherry / mango batch was extremely clear after just one month so I checked SG (.992) so I sorbate backsweetend just a little and bottled. It has a really nice light taste, barely tart and flavorful. Got 2 glasses left over to enjoy tonight.

broke my glass testing vial though. My first equipment loss.

exactly one year ago today we were hunkered down for 12 hours in 144 mph winds with hurricane Ian. Everything back 5o near normal, and a sucessful ferment to boot. I like this recipe. A cause for a celebratory glass or 2 !