Black Currant Wine

[Norske]

What initial, (pre-ferment) pH would you recommend?

 

[alvachristeen]

ingredients:
3 lb / 1,350 grams blackcurrants
3 lb / 1,350 grams sugar
1 teaspoon citric acid
Water up to 1 gallon
Yeast nutrient
Wine yeast

METHOD:
Crush the blackcurrants and place in a fermentation bucket. Boil the sugar and pour all the liquid over the blackcurrants. When cool add the citric acid, yeast nutrient and wine yeast. Cover and leave to ferment for five days, stirring daily. Using a fine sieve strain the liquid into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar.

Store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave for a further few months. When the wine is clear and stable siphon into bottles.

 

[brewski09]

ingredients: 3 lb / 1,350 grams blackcurrants 3 lb / 1,350 grams sugar 1 teaspoon citric acid Water up to 1 gallon Yeast nutrient Wine yeast METHOD: Crush the blackcurrants and place in a fermentation bucket. Boil the sugar and pour all the liquid over the blackcurrants. When cool add the citric acid, yeast nutrient and wine yeast. Cover and leave to ferment for five days, stirring daily. Using a fine sieve strain the liquid into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar. Store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave for a further few months. When the wine is clear and stable siphon into bottles.

Why not add the yeast nutrient and acid to the boiling sugar water ??? Then you would add a layer of sanitation to it all

 

[seth8530]

ingredients:
3 lb / 1,350 grams blackcurrants
3 lb / 1,350 grams sugar
1 teaspoon citric acid
Water up to 1 gallon
Yeast nutrient
Wine yeast

METHOD:
Crush the blackcurrants and place in a fermentation bucket. Boil the sugar and pour all the liquid over the blackcurrants. When cool add the citric acid, yeast nutrient and wine yeast. Cover and leave to ferment for five days, stirring daily. Using a fine sieve strain the liquid into a demijohn and fit an airlock to seal the jar.

Store in a warm place and allow the fermentation to work. When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave for a further few months. When the wine is clear and stable siphon into bottles.

I think this procedure could be better. Mainly the part where it recommends using a fine seive to strain the liquid. I can not comment on the proportions but generally I like to avoid adding water to my fermentation whenever possible so I would make as much wine as the currants gave me. If the acid was too high then I would adjust later by either adding water or by neutralizing some of the acid.

Instead of using a seive I would put the currants in a fermentation bag that way you can rack straight from primary fermentation (bucket) into secondary (carboy with airlock).


BTW, thanks for sharing!

 

[gaboy]

Type of Yeast?

What is the best yeast to use with Vinters Harvest Black Currant conc.?

 

[Breakinbonesben]

Ok. First post. This recipe brought me to this forum. Off of my currant bushes this year i have enough to do this recipe. I am a noob but now i have the wine making bug.

Notes so far.
primary is vitners best 6.5 gallon fermenter.

Could only fit 4 1/4 gallons of water.

Added acid blend in the begining. the amount specified.

Took 16 pounds of sugar to reach s.g. of 1.09. 5 pounds of which is pure cane surgar the rest granulated table sugar.

Broke up currants in fermenting bag by hand. Had to just put my hands in the liquid and squeeze. Some where broken on the bottom of the bucket in the bag by hand.

First yeast pitch failed i think because of too hot water to start yeast. Second yeast packet placed directly in bucket and saw bubbles the next day.

Because fermenter is so full any cloth i put on top would touch the liquid. Used big cutting board instead.

Liquid kept spilling over the edge from the fermenting bag rising to the top. Placed blanket under primary to catch spill over.

Had a fruit fly issue. I never saw them in the bucket but they where plentiful around feeding off of the over flow. Poured bleach around bucket and put a box fan on it to keep the fruit flies away.

Today i siphoned in to 6 gallon glass carboy. S.g. 1.015.(9 days from the start.)

Took a taste. It tastes great. Tart with fruit in the forward and not hot at all.

Im following the recipe and plan to bulk age once cleared and at the right s.g. I dont want to use a clearing agent and want it to clear on its own.

Im debating on back sweetening or just leaving dry.

Ill send updates.


View media item 4588

 

[Venatorscribe]

Why the acid blend? What does it do for you?

You need acid in order to bring down the pH of the 5 gallons of water that is added. In fact with that amount of water a lot more acid may will be required. The desired pH goal is in the range 3.4 to 3.6 / 3,7. The impact and wholistic effect from adequate acid is best read https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aging_of_wine

FYI, I mainly make fruit and botanical wines which certainly require the addition of water. So I am always acidulating water with tartaric and a lesser amount of malic, way beyond some of the usual levels in recipes you'll find on the web. Let your pH meter be your guide.

 

[Venatorscribe]

Ok. First post. This recipe brought me to this forum. Off of my currant bushes this year i have enough to do this recipe. I am a noob but now i have the wine making bug.

Notes so far.
primary is vitners best 6.5 gallon fermenter.

Could only fit 4 1/4 gallons of water.

Added acid blend in the begining. the amount specified.

Took 16 pounds of sugar to reach s.g. of 1.09. 5 pounds of which is pure cane surgar the rest granulated table sugar.

Broke up currants in fermenting bag by hand. Had to just put my hands in the liquid and squeeze. Some where broken on the bottom of the bucket in the bag by hand.

First yeast pitch failed i think because of too hot water to start yeast. Second yeast packet placed directly in bucket and saw bubbles the next day.

Because fermenter is so full any cloth i put on top would touch the liquid. Used big cutting board instead.

Liquid kept spilling over the edge from the fermenting bag rising to the top. Placed blanket under primary to catch spill over.

Had a fruit fly issue. I never saw them in the bucket but they where plentiful around feeding off of the over flow. Poured bleach around bucket and put a box fan on it to keep the fruit flies away.

Today i siphoned in to 6 gallon glass carboy. S.g. 1.015.(9 days from the start.)

Took a taste. It tastes great. Tart with fruit in the forward and not hot at all.

Im following the recipe and plan to bulk age once cleared and at the right s.g. I dont want to use a clearing agent and want it to clear on its own.

Im debating on back sweetening or just leaving dry.

Ill send updates.


View media item 4588

In my early days of wine making i used to not back sweeten my fruit wines. I was always happy to drink them the way they were. But found that folk were always telling me they were too dry. Once I started to back sweeten with inverted sugar, I discovered it was more about mouthfeel and greater flavour than it was dryness. Taking a more measured approach to back sweetening, I have got rid of the tartness and created nice balanced still wines with smoother depth. So it is worth giving it a trial. Cheers

 

[Breakinbonesben]

In my early days of wine making i used to not back sweeten my fruit wines. I was always happy to drink them the way they were. But found that folk were always telling me they were too dry. Once I started to back sweeten with inverted sugar, I discovered it was more about mouthfeel and greater flavour than it was dryness. Taking a more measured approach to back sweetening, I have got rid of the tartness and created nice balanced still wines with smoother depth. So it is worth giving it a trial. Cheers

Thanks for the insite. Since ill be taking tasting notes as it ages i might add sugar depending on taste as it ages.

 

[David Taylor]

I wanted to make a three gallon batch of wine. Does anyone know how I should adjust all ingredients?

Thanks, David

 

[ASR]

I wanted to make a three gallon batch of wine. Does anyone know how I should adjust all ingredients?

Thanks, David

For the most part wine recipes are linear. If you have a 6-gallon recipe then cut everything in half for three gallons. If you have a 1-gallon recipe then triple everything. The one thing you may not need to adjust is yeast as many recipes will use a full packet for everything from 1-gallon to 5 gallons.

 

[Rice_Guy]

You need acid in order to bring down the pH of the 5 gallons of water that is added. In fact with that amount of water a lot more acid may will be required. The desired pH goal is in the range 3.4 to 3.6 / 3,7. The impact and wholistic effect from adequate acid is best read https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aging_of_wine

FYI, I mainly make fruit and botanical wines which certainly require the addition of water. So I am always acidulating water with tartaric and a lesser amount of malic, way beyond some of the usual levels in recipes you'll find on the web. Let your pH meter be your guide.

Can you check your crop?
Mom’s red currant pH 3.09 / sp grav 1.048
My black currant pH 3.00/ too thick for gravity

My pH target for fruit and white grape is 3.2 to 3.4, this means that to balance flavors I would back sweeten.
The best currant I have had was “honey and red currant wine” with a pH of 2.72 and sweetened to 1.082. Intense currant flavor, acidic, balanced sweet, deep red color. , , , On the third taste of a glass it started to be unbearable, acidic, burning the mouth and throat, , and it was hard to finish a glass.
A guess, that winery had a high solids wine with low added water, , ie large depth of acid notes. It would have been interesting to run TA on the garden samples and guess what water to fruit acid (solids) on the commercial wine was.
I make a pie with all new fruits/ ingredients to guess how flavors will balance. I would rather have an idea what the finished wine will be like this week / today and not find out a year after I put it in the primary fermenter. I use currant as a blending ingredient with higher pH fruits like raspberry or peach or mango or late season apple.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I wanted to make a three gallon batch of wine. Does anyone know how I should adjust all ingredients?

Thanks, David

What were the gravity / pH numbers on your starting ingredient?

An estimate on my part, at 1.042 gravity juice (from mom’s variety) a gallon of juice will have .88 pound (.4 kg) sugar. If I used half a gallon of filtered juice it would contain .44 pound of sugar / soluble solids.
If my finished target was 1.090 I would have about 1.98 pounds of sugar per gallon or 5.94 in 3 gallons. Subtract .44 pounds of fruit sugar, My finished batch would add about 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) of sugar and then fill water to the 3 gallon mark.
Last year I played with two ferments and assumed I would toss a half gallon of lees then ingreased the sugar calculation to 3.5 gallons but only added the extra half gallon water in second racking , , , to top off the carboy. The finished / diluted wine should wind up with the target of 12% alcohol.

 

[Chuck Rairdan]

Just halted fermentation on an elderberry wine blend short of going full dry because, while I also typically like a good dry wine, the tartness and astringency (also added some tannins) were a bit toward. Adding some glycirin today with racking to back sweeten and increase mouth feel. Also used some gypsum to reduce the emergent tartness and provide some hardness and mineral structure to the originally added RO water. Along with oak aging, seeking that ideal 'balance' with that great elderberry fruit character.

 

[David Taylor]

For the most part wine recipes are linear. If you have a 6-gallon recipe then cut everything in half for three gallons. If you have a 1-gallon recipe then triple everything. The one thing you may not need to adjust is yeast as many recipes will use a full packet for everything from 1-gallon to 5 gallons.

Thanks. That makes sense and what I thought but was not sure what to do on the yeast nutrients and enhancer if I am to use 1 packet of yeast.

 

[David Taylor]

What were the gravity / pH numbers on your starting ingredient?

An estimate on my part, at 1.042 gravity juice (from mom’s variety) a gallon of juice will have .88 pound (.4 kg) sugar. If I used half a gallon of filtered juice it would contain .44 pound of sugar / soluble solids.
If my finished target was 1.090 I would have about 1.98 pounds of sugar per gallon or 5.94 in 3 gallons. Subtract .44 pounds of fruit sugar, My finished batch would add about 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) of sugar and then fill water to the 3 gallon mark.
Last year I played with two ferments and assumed I would toss a half gallon of lees then ingreased the sugar calculation to 3.5 gallons but only added the extra half gallon water in second racking , , , to top off the carboy. The finished / diluted wine should wind up with the target of 12% alcohol.

Answering a different post?

 

[Rice_Guy]

Thanks. That makes sense and what I thought but was not sure what to do on the yeast nutrients and enhancer if I am to use 1 packet of yeast.

* You were cutting a 6 gallon recipe and could cut suggested nutrients and yeast in half. The yeast should work even if it is at an extremely low dosage, the key is to have a friendly environment for them to rehydrate in and start to bud, some folks use warm sugar water. The times I have heard problems are when there is an inhibitor as honey (lots of poorly fermentable sugars) or low pH with high TA (ex non diluted cranberry juice).
* On my part I have only used yeast energizer when I have something with "NO food value" like dandelion flowers. and there is no background as raisins or white grape juice. I would also put maximum yeast nutrient in with a "NO food value" like dandelion.
* Yeast need nitrogen so I will always have some DAP. Yeast nutrient (diammonium phosphate) suggests 1 tsp (5 gm) per gallon. Black currant should have vitamins and minerals in it that are available to yeast, therefore 15 grams of DAP is probably over kill and you will ferment to dryness but at a slower rate if you cut it way low as 1t per carboy,, On my part I try to run DAP on the low side if I am trying have weak yeast and maintain some residual sweetness.

 

[David Taylor]

* You were cutting a 6 gallon recipe and could cut suggested nutrients and yeast in half. The yeast should work even if it is at an extremely low dosage, the key is to have a friendly environment for them to rehydrate in and start to bud, some folks use warm sugar water. The times I have heard problems are when there is an inhibitor as honey (lots of poorly fermentable sugars) or low pH with high TA (ex non diluted cranberry juice).
* On my part I have only used yeast energizer when I have something with "NO food value" like dandelion flowers. and there is no background as raisins or white grape juice. I would also put maximum yeast nutrient in with a "NO food value" like dandelion.
* Yeast need nitrogen so I will always have some DAP. Yeast nutrient (diammonium phosphate) suggests 1 tsp (5 gm) per gallon. Black currant should have vitamins and minerals in it that are available to yeast, therefore 15 grams of DAP is probably over kill and you will ferment to dryness but at a slower rate if you cut it way low as 1t per carboy,, On my part I try to run DAP on the low side if I am trying have weak yeast and maintain some residual sweetness.

Rice Guy, what is DAP?

Thanks

 

[Rice_Guy]

Rice Guy, what is DAP?

Thanks

Diammonium phosphate
This is a source of available nitrogen and phosphorous. The nitrogen is used in building protein so a more important nutrient.

 

[David Taylor]

Got my batch started Sunday in the primary. Has anyone added oak or tannin to black currant wine?