Cherry Wine Recipes

[newbie74]

Looking for a good CHERRY WINE recipe for a 6 gallon carboy. First time wine maker. Any help would be greatful.

 

[fivebk]

Welcome to the forum !!! Here's a melomel I have just started. Can't tell you how it will turn out because I only started it this month. Just substitute sugar in place of the honey and be sure to keep an eye on the SG as you add sugar.

18 qts Cherry juice(steam juiced )
7 qtsPear juice( steam juiced)
10 lbsClover honeySG1.095
7Bananas
3tspPectic enzyme
6tspYeast nutrient
3 tspYeast energizer
1 pkg71-B 1122Wine yeast

Simmer Bananas in 2 qts cherry juice. Strain & add to primary. Add remaining ingredients except for yeast. Wait 12 hrs, make a yeast starter and pitch yeast.


Here's a cherry wine I am experimenting with. It's very young just 2 1/2 months old


Cherry Wine

3 ½galCherry juice(Steamjuiced)
3galWater
16cupsSugarSG1.085
6 tspCalcium Carbonate
6 tspYeast nutrient
3 tspYeast energizer
4 tspPectic enzyme
1 bag1.5LCabSavgrape skins
1 pkg CotesdesBlancyeast


Add all ingredients to primary fermentation vessel except yeast. Wait 12 hrs, Make a yeast starter and pitch yeast.

BOB

 

[newbie74]

Thanks for your help.

 

[Wade E]

Do you have the cherries because This site sells cans of Vintners Harvest wine bases and they produce very good results. For most of these cans the 3 gallon recipe on the can works out great but just dont follow the amount of sugar they call for. They call for about 12 lbs of sugar but around 8 lbs usually ends up with a better starting sg of around 1.085.

 

[Kemo]

I used about 8 pounds a gallon and it turned out great and used Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast since cherries mostly consist of malic acid. Also Fivebk why did you add the calcium carbonate? is the TA that high in cherry wines. i started mine about 2 months ago and the acidity didnt seem that bad.

 

[fivebk]

The cherries I used were from Montmorency Pie cherries that I had steam juiced. The acid was very high so I added the calcium carb to drop the acid some and will probably backsweeten to help balance the wine later.

BOB

 

[barryjo]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do bananas do for the wine? I see recipes using dried bananas. This one uses fresh.
Also, is there a rule of thumb for figuring how many pounds of fruit to make how much juice? I juiced about 12 pounds of nanking cherrys and got 5 quarts juice. Is this typical?

 

[Tom]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do bananas do for the wine? I see recipes using dried bananas. This one uses fresh.
Also, is there a rule of thumb for figuring how many pounds of fruit to make how much juice? I juiced about 12 pounds of nanking cherrys and got 5 quarts juice. Is this typical?

bananna will add "body" (mouthfeel) to your wine.

 

[fivebk]

I think thats about right. I averaged 10 lbs per gallon when I steam juiced my pie cherries. I usually add 7-8 bananas per 5-6 gal batch. I don't think you would want to use dried bananas. I slice and simmer mine ( for 20 min ) in a little water and then strain into my primary bucket.

BOB

 

[Rocky]

Hi everyone,


I am new to the forum and I havesome questions on Cherry wine. I was given 96 oz. of Michigan Cherry concentrate and asked to make some wine with it. I found a recipe on the internet that suggested adding 3.5x in water. When I did so, and with the amount of sugar the recipe called for (6 lbs), I get a hydrometer reading of 1.120, which seems kind of high. My questions are, 1. can I adjust the SG by adding pure water? and 2. If so, a what point would I add the water?


I have made a lot of wine from grapes in the past when I lived in Pittsburgh and Rochester, NY. This, and a kit of Sangiovese that I have going, will be my first attempt at wine using other than grapes.


Thank you.

 

[Goodfella]

If it was me... I would use water to get SG 1.085 before fermentation.


Others might give different advise...

 

[Scott]

Agree with Goodfella for starting SG, then if needing more flavor at the end can always make a f-pack. Good luck

 

[Rocky]

Hi Scott and Goodfella,


Thank you for the advice. I think I have a larger problem, though. Not really knowing what I was doing and only having the ingredients for a recipe and not the recipe itself, I added the Potassium Sorbate too early. As a result, the fermentation is very slow.I am getting a lot of foam (I assume from C02 gas) on top of the wine, but SG is falling very slowly. The taste is excellent. I don't imagine there is anything that can be done to cancel out the effect of the Potssium Sorbate, is there?


I have made a lot of wine just using grapes and the only additive I ever used was Sodium Metabisulfite.We mostly used either Alicante or Zinfandel grapes mixed 3 to 1 with Muscat. It made a great Italian table wine. I am "chronologically gifted" and started making wine with my Father and Grandfather when a 42 lb. box of California grapes cost $.75 and we got about 2.5 to 3 gallons per box. I am just getting back into this at the request of my Daughter and I am not familiar with all the chemicals that are added.


Thank you for your guidance. I am sure I will ask a lot of really stupid questions but I am a quick study.

 

[fivebk]

How long has it been fermenting?????

BOB

 

[Rocky]

Hi Bob,


I started the batch on 1-25 and it began to ferment slowly the next day, so that is 6 days now.


Thank you for your interest.

 

[Scott]

What is the SG now Rocky???

 

[Rocky]

Hi Scott,


This morning it was 1.090 andthe batchstarted out at 1.12, so it is coming down slowly.


Thank you for your interest.

 

[Scott]

Holy moly that's going to be some powerful stuff. Maybe check out the stuck fermentation threads, if not moving down anymore after stirring and adding energizer? Maybe someone else can help?


Keep us posted

 

[Rocky]

Hi all,
I racked the cherry wine out of the primary and it yielded 4.5 gallons. I have it in a 3 gal carboy, 1 gal and 1/2 gal jugs. The taste is less sweet than it was in the primary, but it may be due to stirring up the lees. I ran a shot glass full thru a coffee filter and the taste improved remarkably. Thanks for all the help.

 

[fivebk]

What's the SG down to now???

BOB