Blackberry Concord Mix

[Scooter68]

Well time will help but if you can fit those carboys in a fridge for a couple of days that would help. Alternatively an ice chest filled with enough ice to get the temp into the 30s would probably do the same thing. you could do some straining with a stainless steel fine strainer to get rid more of the lees. THEN chill it down for a couple of days. That's what I do when I have a significant amount of wine with lots of lees after racking. Of course I'm talking 1/2 gallon or smaller containers in the fridge but whatever it takes. Just do it for about 2-3 days max.

 

[David Violante]

So I did end up straining it, thank you for the suggestion. It really didn’t go as planned since there was so much pulp. The strainer kept getting clogged. So, I pressed it. Super happy with the yield and look now. It’s out on the back deck in a balmy 40F. I did the best I could to sparge and purge the one in the right. I figure I’ll rack tomorrow and combine them into one.


Here’s the pulp from my press~ amazing how much I was able to get out!

 

[David Violante]

Update on the blackberry concord mix: It's tasting really good, very blackberry forward and VERY tart. I may backsweeten a smidge, but I want to wait a while before making that decision. If I did, I would probably use some honey to do so. Still, it tastes great.

 

[my wine]

I read somewhere on one of the threads that you can place a bottle of lees in the refrigerator for a number of days and it will separate to give you more wine. Perhaps someone who has done this can chime in.

 

[David Violante]

I read somewhere on one of the threads that you can place a bottle of lees in the refrigerator for a number of days and it will separate to give you more wine. Perhaps someone who has done this can chime in.

Yes, you can! I've done this with the blackberry wine above after pressing it, to help further separate the wine from the lees. It was just tough to get the gross lees separated out.

I believe your question, however, is to get more wine out of the lees, which is similar enough to the concept but may be for a slightly different reason. If you leave a lot of wine behind in racking, this could help, and you could return the wine to the carboy if needed or use to top off your carboy once separated from the lees. Be sure to get it closer to the temperature of the wine you are adding it to. It's probably a good idea to taste it and make sure you're happy with the addition. You could, of course, just keep sampling it...

 

[David Violante]

I just did a quick search here, check out this thread by @winemaker81 he has a great picture of the results of the process.

 

[my wine]

You could, of course, just keep sampling it...

I've heard that happens too!

I noticed my response was a little late. I didn't think to check the 2nd page. Anyway, I was looking to help a fellow beekeeper. What did you do about the squirrels? They will be back next year. Some of them here are big enough to feed a family of 4.

 

[David Violante]

Ahhh - gotcha. I read it as if you were asking the question - my apologies, and thank you for reaching out to help a fellow beekeeper! So, I netted, picked a little earlier than I would have liked, and am hoping for a better 2021. If that doesn't work out, well, there's squirrel stew. How are your bees this year? We had a lot of queen problems and a huge dearth out here. We've been feeding them far more than any other year.

 

[Scooter68]

I understand a pressure cooker does a good job of tenderizing Squirrel meat.

 

[winemaker81]

I'm glad my pictorial helped. Chilling the wine can make a huge difference. When I lived in Rome, NY, the Finger Lakes grapes (especially whites) were high in acid, so I'd put them on my porch for a week or 10 days (temperature in the 30's F), racking before the wine warmed up. The cold precipitated excess tartrate as crystals, and had the side effect of clarifying the wine.

IMO the wine will need at least a bit of backsweetening. I don't recall having a bone dry fruit wine that wasn't harsh and/or astringent. Just a tiny bit of sugar makes a huge difference in the outcome.

 

[winemaker81]

I understand a pressure cooker does a good job of tenderizing Squirrel meat.

Wrapping squirrels in heavy foil with butter, onions, salt & pepper, putting by a camp fire and turning every 30 minutes -- this works well.

 

[David Violante]

Update on the BlackBerry Concord mix... it’s clearing and smells great. It’s pretty tart. I’m thinking I will probably want to back sweeten a little.