Blackberry Port

[iridium]

I am going to try my hand at port for the first time. I really love blackberry wine and so thought it could make for an interesting and I hope delicious port. I read several threads here about port wine making and I think I am ready to go.

I started with 15 pounds of blackberries that had been sitting in my freezer. I started them thawing and sprinkled with pectic enzyme while thawing. Once thawed I added enough sugar to get an OG of 1.144. Starting pH was 3.2.

The goal is to get down to an SG reading of 1.04. That should leave about 13% abv (the limit of the yeast I am using) and will leave some residual sugars as well. I will add enough brandy (80 proof) to get the abv up to 20%.

A couple of questions on next steps.
1. Do I rack the port before adding the brandy or after?
2. I know that port is supposed to sit for a long time, but I assume the standard rack every 3 months and add k-meta at the same time applies. Is that correct?
3. I will be using oak chips rather than a barrel. I am thinking that I would keep the port on the oak through several rackings? Does that make sense?

Looking forward to the new journey.

 

[joeswine]

My óppion, 1) yes
2) yes
3) no ,I would add fresh wood each time this would keep the profile tight ,next I would add to the first racking ,powered tannins,it would add more structured body. Be careful not to over oak as well. This then depends on what type of a profile your looking for.
Try not to overpower the blackberry taste.

 

[salcoco]

rack the port and insure wine is clear and stable before adding any brandy. calculate your final abv using the formula of beginning sg-final sg times 131. then use Pearson square to determine volume of brandy required to achieve the desired abv. Oak chips, cubes might be better, will work but I would taste periodically to insure overthinking. I would not rack with the used oak but if not satisfied with profile then add fresh oak each time racking. age after oak for a least a year or more to insure integration of brandy oak and wine

 

[iridium]

Thank you. Can you clarify what you mean by clear and stable? I thought the goal of adding the brandy was to stop fermentation. That to me would mean that there are still going to be lees that will settle out over aging. So the wine won’t necessarily be clear and stable.

Thank you for the calculations as well.

Thank you.

 

[salcoco]

Sorry misread your entry, I read 13% thinking that was your yeast limit. you are correct adding brandy at this point should stop fermentation. be aware it will not stop on a dime but will continue for a few more points.