Blueberry, Tart Cherry and Black Raspberry batches started & done in 4 days

[Scooter68]

Ok so I pulled some frozen fruit from our freezer to make some wine (I need the space for the new, freshly picked fruit.
1) I found that we had about 5 lbs of Tart Cherries (Already pitted) that were overdue to be used for something so.... why not for wine (1 Gal Batch)
2) I found 5.5 lbs of Black Raspberries - Same situation (No newer Black Raspberries because the wild things just haven't been doing well for us - Might have to plant and grow my own. (1 Gal Batch)
3) Ah yes plenty of blueberries to pull out from 2017 and 2018 about 15 lbs So it will be a 2.5 gallon volume to start with. I ran the blueberries through my Omega Slow Juice once they thawed out. Tossed the Skins and seed pulp for this batch - will see if that changes the wine at all.

ARRRGH My pH meter batteries were dead - So.... I ordered a cheap replacement and some new batteries. The replacement meter arrived 2 days after I pitched the yeast for batches 1 & 2 and one day after batch 3. BUT I pulled a small sample before pitching the yeast and put that in the fridge to test when the meter and batteries arrived. Low and behold the pH readings were in the ball park.
1) Tart Cherry pH3.16 (low but.... it fermented)
2) Black Raspberry pH 3.51
3) Blueberry... pH3.18
Starting SGs
1) Tart Cherry on 7/9/20 at 9:30 PM SG 1.086 on 7/13/20 at 11:00AM SG was 1.004 , On 7/14/20 1:00PM AG was 1.004
2) Black Raspberry on 7/9/20 at 8:30PM SG 1.084 on 7/13/20 at 11:00 AM SG was .996, On 7/14/20 1:00PM SG was .996
3) Blueberry on 7/10/20 SG at 8:00PM was 1.078 , on 7/13/20 at 11:00AM SG was 1.018, on 7/14/20 1:00 SG was 1.008

So that suggests that the blueberry will finish in the next 24-36 hours.

The Yeast was K1-V1116 No tannins added to these batches just yeast nutrient, sugar and water. I'll add tannin as it's aging if I feel it needs that addition.

One thing I love about Black Raspberry wine is the way it clings to containers. Sorry that the photo is fuzzy but you can still see that as I lift out the hydrometer the wine just clings to the tube. Now I HAVE to go find more Black Raspberries. 1 gallon every 2-3 years is NOT enough. Need at least another 3 gallons for this year but the good news - I only need about 5-5.5 lbs per gallon for a wine that will still rock your taste buds.

 

[hounddawg]

Ok so I pulled some frozen fruit from our freezer to make some wine (I need the space for the new, freshly picked fruit.
1) I found that we had about 5 lbs of Tart Cherries (Already pitted) that were overdue to be used for something so.... why not for wine (1 Gal Batch)
2) I found 5.5 lbs of Black Raspberries - Same situation (No newer Black Raspberries because the wild things just haven't been doing well for us - Might have to plant and grow my own. (1 Gal Batch)
3) Ah yes plenty of blueberries to pull out from 2017 and 2018 about 15 lbs So it will be a 2.5 gallon volume to start with. I ran the blueberries through my Omega Slow Juice once they thawed out. Tossed the Skins and seed pulp for this batch - will see if that changes the wine at all.

ARRRGH My pH meter batteries were dead - So.... I ordered a cheap replacement and some new batteries. The replacement meter arrived 2 days after I pitched the yeast for batches 1 & 2 and one day after batch 3. BUT I pulled a small sample before pitching the yeast and put that in the fridge to test when the meter and batteries arrived. Low and behold the pH readings were in the ball park.
1) Tart Cherry pH3.16 (low but.... it fermented)
2) Black Raspberry pH 3.51
3) Blueberry... pH3.18
Starting SGs
1) Tart Cherry on 7/9/20 at 9:30 PM SG 1.086 on 7/13/20 at 11:00AM SG was 1.004 , On 7/14/20 1:00PM AG was 1.004
2) Black Raspberry on 7/9/20 at 8:30PM SG 1.084 on 7/13/20 at 11:00 AM SG was .996, On 7/14/20 1:00PM SG was .996
3) Blueberry on 7/10/20 SG at 8:00PM was 1.078 , on 7/13/20 at 11:00AM SG was 1.018, on 7/14/20 1:00 SG was 1.008

So that suggests that the blueberry will finish in the next 24-36 hours.

The Yeast was K1-V1116 No tannins added to these batches just yeast nutrient, sugar and water. I'll add tannin as it's aging if I feel it needs that addition.

One thing I love about Black Raspberry wine is the way it clings to containers. Sorry that the photo is fuzzy but you can still see that as I lift out the hydrometer the wine just clings to the tube. Now I HAVE to go find more Black Raspberries. 1 gallon every 2-3 years is NOT enough. Need at least another 3 gallons for this year but the good news - I only need about 5-5.5 lbs per gallon for a wine that will still rock your taste buds.View attachment 63473

hum, that's the exact three berries i just finished, spooky, i made 15 gallon, i bottled 6 gallons, i was very disappointed, but i forgot to check my PH, i set 6 gallon to bulk age and put 3 gallon of tart cherry, blueberry and black raspberry, with 3 gallon strawberry together to bulk age, now i better test,
Dawg

 

[Scooter68]

Well I just got busy with other things and didn't check on these 3 batches until today. Racked them all into glass carboys with a dose of k-Meta
Ending SG's
Tart Cherry -1.002
Black Raspberry - .996
Blueberry - .990
Now I have to make space on my aging spot so it looks like it's time to back-sweeten and bottle the wine batches that have been aging almost a year now. Black Currant, Pineapple Mango, Elderberry, Blueberry ( All 3 Gallon batches
Glad I have bottles all cleaned and just in need of a quick re-sanitize and drain.

 

[hounddawg]

Well I just got busy with other things and didn't check on these 3 batches until today. Racked them all into glass carboys with a dose of k-Meta
Ending SG's
Tart Cherry -1.002
Black Raspberry - .996
Blueberry - .990
Now I have to make space on my aging spot so it looks like it's time to back-sweeten and bottle the wine batches that have been aging almost a year now. Black Currant, Pineapple Mango, Elderberry, Blueberry ( All 3 Gallon batches
Glad I have bottles all cleaned and just in need of a quick re-sanitize and drain.

hum. i did the exact 3 but mixed at start of ferment i got 15 gallons of, but i did find out that blueberry and black raspberry had to be PH Adjusted, at least for me,
Dawg

 

[Scooter68]

Well I probably would have adjusted the pH but my meters were non-functional due to dead batteries so... the numbers are from the samples I kept out so that I could adjust a little if I needed to after I pitched the yeast. Given that they all fermented down enough... no need to adjust.

 

[scruff_farrier]

I have a quick question about this, I did actually the exact same three Berry's together. I had a total of 18 pounds of Berry's. I know it was probably ba little low for for a 5 gallon batch but I tried it any how. Mine SG was 1.088 and finished last night at 0.992. Now I did hit it with k meta and sorbate. I know I need to pick up a PH meter I just haven't yet, it's on the ever expanding list of things I want/need, haha. But I've never had a wine turn out...thick? I geuss is the only way to describe it, it has a liqueur feel, kind of syrup-ish feel...is there a way to fix this without testing? Is that what acid blend is for? Will it age out? I mean is only about 2 weeks old, but it just has a weird mouth feel.

 

[Scooter68]

1) Starting / Finishing SG sounds great looks like 12.6% ABV solid. (See calculator image below)
2) The K-Meta good - Sorbate is something I personally like to wait until just before back-sweetening which I don't do until about a week or less before bottling. (Just a personal decision on my process)
3) As to a pH test now - not really needed and not going to be too accurate if there is any risidual CO2 present but nothing wrong with taking a measurement.
4) By "Thick" what do you mean? No bite to it at all? Sweet? or seems to cling to the sides of the container? The first would suggest not enough acidity, Sweet would mean that your hydrometer reading is off. If it seems to cling to the side of the glass/container - That's called Legs and if your wine has that quality that's good to have. Black Raspberry (I use Wild ones) Has done that for me each time I've made it and it's considered a good thing.
If that last item - your question about being 'thick' isn't addressed in what I responded with - Need a little more description then. Low acidity is easy to fix if that's it - Add some acid blend and that should fix the problem - THAT is what your pH meter can tell you. Normally pH readings during and immediately after fermentation are going to be off - show more acid than you really have due to the CO2 presence BUT if you have a low acid condition with a pH more than 3.6 - like 3.8 4.0 or higher - then you should fix promptly as it affects the taste AND the stability of the wine in terms of keeping well. Higher acid (lower numbers) helps a wine keep better. So most times I'm looking for the pH to range between 3.0 (Pretty strong acidity) to 3.5 at tops on a aged fermented wine.


Hope that helps some. Yeah, getting a pH meter will make it a bit easier to keep track of where your wine is at. (Note if you hear about using TA instead of pH - That's fine you can do a TA test with a pH meter and one chemical instead of two.

 

[scruff_farrier]

1) Starting / Finishing SG sounds great looks like 12.6% ABV solid. (See calculator image below)
2) The K-Meta good - Sorbate is something I personally like to wait until just before back-sweetening which I don't do until about a week or less before bottling. (Just a personal decision on my process)
3) As to a pH test now - not really needed and not going to be too accurate if there is any risidual CO2 present but nothing wrong with taking a measurement.
4) By "Thick" what do you mean? No bite to it at all? Sweet? or seems to cling to the sides of the container? The first would suggest not enough acidity, Sweet would mean that your hydrometer reading is off. If it seems to cling to the side of the glass/container - That's called Legs and if your wine has that quality that's good to have. Black Raspberry (I use Wild ones) Has done that for me each time I've made it and it's considered a good thing.
If that last item - your question about being 'thick' isn't addressed in what I responded with - Need a little more description then. Low acidity is easy to fix if that's it - Add some acid blend and that should fix the problem - THAT is what your pH meter can tell you. Normally pH readings during and immediately after fermentation are going to be off - show more acid than you really have due to the CO2 presence BUT if you have a low acid condition with a pH more than 3.6 - like 3.8 4.0 or higher - then you should fix promptly as it affects the taste AND the stability of the wine in terms of keeping well. Higher acid (lower numbers) helps a wine keep better. So most times I'm looking for the pH to range between 3.0 (Pretty strong acidity) to 3.5 at tops on a aged fermented wine.


Hope that helps some. Yeah, getting a pH meter will make it a bit easier to keep track of where your wine is at. (Note if you hear about using TA instead of pH - That's fine you can do a TA test with a pH meter and one chemical instead of two.


View attachment 63908

Thank you, you answered everything. I think your spot on with the "legs". I geuss I've just never had one do that yet.

Yep, we used wild black raspberries picked from my parents farm. Took the girlfriend and two nieces and spent the afternoon of the 4th fighting the thorns. It's kinda a tradition to pick them on the 4th of July. But I'll be the first to make them into wine, haha.

I'm kinda betting that since it has legs and is still very very green, it just surprised me with the mouth feel and taste. Thank you again for the info, I'm gonna get a pH meter fairly soon. I just kinda keep putting it off every time I read about having to have the storage fuild and the different fuilds to calibrate, then I talk my self out of it. Vicious cycle, haha.

 

[Scooter68]

Thank you, you answered everything. I think your spot on with the "legs". I geuss I've just never had one do that yet.

Yep, we used wild black raspberries picked from my parents farm. Took the girlfriend and two nieces and spent the afternoon of the 4th fighting the thorns. It's kinda a tradition to pick them on the 4th of July. But I'll be the first to make them into wine, haha.

I'm kinda betting that since it has legs and is still very very green, it just surprised me with the mouth feel and taste. Thank you again for the info, I'm gonna get a pH meter fairly soon. I just kinda keep putting it off every time I read about having to have the storage fuild and the different fuilds to calibrate, then I talk my self out of it. Vicious cycle, haha.

Yeah that's the painful part but when you just set it in a jar and let it work measuring while you do something else, much better than than trying to ready litmus papers or the two part TA test watching for a color change. Buy a set of the fluids and keep them in a cool dark area. My last set lasted over a year - just tossed them out because I didn't trust them any more. Just got these.

 

[wetneck]

Tis the season. Im going blueberry picking and possibly raspberry picking this week. I like the tart blueberries. Can't remember exactly which ones but i think Darrow. I used to work at a blueberry farm in Otter Lake, Michigan. Pruned way more than my share of blueberry bush. Does anyone know which kind of blueberries are best for wine? Im sure its not those giant bland Jerseys though lol.

My black raspberries grow like an invasive weed. They were here when i bought the place and grow wild all over this neighborhood. Im going to try them at my property in Millington, Michigan. Its real sandy out there so i have my doubts. I had some tomato pots under my trellis here at my place in Flint and apparently the birds planted some black raspberry seeds lol.

Guy who owns the orchard i got my tart cherries from has a few trees with transparent apples. Said he was picking those today. They are top level tart and possibly the most tart apple ive ever eaten. Are they any good for wine?

Crazy, he don't make wine. I'd probably be working on setting up a winery if i were in his shoes lol

I really enjoy going to fruit farms and talking to the owners. Reminds me of when i was in my 20s working on the blueberry farm. The literal down to earth feeling i get is priceless. I had a great time talking to the orchard owner yesterday while he pitted my cherries. He was complaining about how hard it is to find help now days and i was actually thinking about asking if i could help out lol. Just so i could experience that awesome country feeling. To be honest, im still contemplating. Just turned 57 last Saturday and have health issues but it sounds great.

 

[Raptor99]

Many tart fruits have more flavor than the sweet varieties. Since we are going to adjust pH and sugar anyway, that isn't a problem. I would love to try some tart blueberries in a batch of wine. We have some blueberry farms nearby, but I don't know if they grow any tart blueberries.

Last year I retired and moved out to a place with 5 acres. Now I have learned to drive a tractor. Nothing gives you that "country feeling" more than out working with the tractor.

 

[wetneck]

I would call that blueberry farm bro. You probably won't find tart blueberries anywhere else but maybe farmers market. Im sure they would love to hear from you too.