Cherry wine

[Kivanc]

I have just started to ferment cherry must yesterday. I mashed 13.22 lbs of cherry with hands and pitted the cherries. I added 1.5 liters of water and strained mashed cherries into 1.32 gallons of jar. Then added sugar to 1.120 sg. Yeast starter is prepared. About half an hour I added this yeast starter to the must with one squeezed lemon juice and left it to stay until 7 days. Primary fermentation is being powerful that it had foamed out of the jar so often. Because of this I had to to throw out some of it

 

[wood1954]

Good luck what kind of cherries

 

[Bhushan Thatte]

I have just started to ferment cherry must yesterday. I mashed 13.22 lbs of cherry with hands and pitted the cherries. I added 1.5 liters of water and strained mashed cherries into 1.32 gallons of jar. Then added sugar to 1.120 sg. Yeast starter is prepared. About half an hour I added this yeast starter to the must with one squeezed lemon juice and left it to stay until 7 days. Primary fermentation is being powerful that it had foamed out of the jar so often. Because of this I had to to throw out some of it

Hello Kivanc!
I am also thinking of making cherry wine. I am having around 3 kgs of Indian Kashmiri cherries (dark red in colour and very less sour). How much should I take cherries for I gallon wine?

 

[Kivanc]

Good luck what kind of cherries

Thank you...
This time I tried to ferment from sweet cherries. It’s on the second day and it’s fermenting with full force

 

[Kivanc]

Hello Kivanc!
I am also thinking of making cherry wine. I am having around 3 kgs of Indian Kashmiri cherries (dark red in colour and very less sour). How much should I take cherries for I gallon wine?

Sweet cherries are fine to make cherry wine as I am fermenting sweet cherries now with 15% tolerant wine yeast. 3 kgs is sufficient for making 1 gallon wine. You may need to add about 500 ml of water to dilute the concentrated cherry juice. I bought 6 kgs of sweet cherry which makes 6 liters (1.58 gallons) of wine..
Good luck

 

[Bhushan Thatte]

Sweet cherries are fine to make cherry wine as I am fermenting sweet cherries now with 15% tolerant wine yeast. 3 kgs is sufficient for making 1 gallon wine. You may need to add about 500 ml of water to dilute the concentrated cherry juice. I bought 6 kgs of sweet cherry which makes 6 liters (1.58 gallons) of wine..
Good luck

Thanks for prompt reply.

 

[Roncito]

Good luck what kind of cherries

bing cherries.

 

[wood1954]

I made wine out of pie cherries twice, both times it was pretty bad, tasted like medicine. I’d like to know how yours turns out.

 

[Kivanc]

I made wine out of pie cherries twice, both times it was pretty bad, tasted like medicine. I’d like to know how yours turns out.

I am on the 7th day of primary fermentation. Tomorrow I will put it into secondary. Mine smells like typical wine by now. I’ll post how mine is going to turn out.

 

[winemaker81]

I am on the 7th day of primary fermentation. Tomorrow I will put it into secondary. Mine smells like typical wine by now. I’ll post how mine is going to turn out.

What is the SG? Are you racking by SG or calendar?

 

[Kivanc]

I am at my summer resort. I never thought of making wine over here Two weeks ago I ordered two 15% ABV tolerant wine yeasts and a hydrometer. I will be racking by SG. I was thinking of making wine from mulberry or blackberry. One day I came across to bing cherries at bazaar.

 

[Kivanc]

I am at my summer resort. I never thought of making wine over here Two weeks ago I ordered two 15% ABV tolerant wine yeasts and a hydrometer. I will be racking by SG. I was thinking of making wine from mulberry or blackberry. One day I came across to bing cherries at bazaar.

On 8th day of July I took it to the secondary at 1.040 sg.

 

[Bhushan Thatte]

Tomorrow I will start with primary fermentation of my first batch of cherry wine, with 3 kgs of cherries. Hope to get 1 gallon out of it.

 

[Kivanc]

Tomorrow I will start with primary fermentation of my first batch of cherry wine, with 3 kgs of cherries. Hope to get 1 gallon out of it.

Hi Bhushan, remember to add pectic enzymes and after you mash it if the must is still concentrated add 1 liter of water. This way, you probably will get what you want. Good luck

 

[Rice_Guy]

I made wine out of pie cherries twice, both times it was pretty bad, tasted like medicine. I’d like to know how yours turns out.

Bing cherry has mainly citric acid less TA/ higher pH than pie cherry which is mainly malic acid. My impression on Bing cherry wine has been it tastes flat/ low acid notes.

My pie cherry wine is done as 100% juice/ requires back sweetening/ has strong cherry flavor, ,, BUT develops dominant astringent flavor notes at the two year age point.

 

[Kivanc]

I made wine out of pie cherries twice, both times it was pretty bad, tasted like medicine. I’d like to know how yours turns out.

The balance of alcohol and taste of my bing cherry wine turns out great. I don’t feel the harsh taste of alcohol while drinking. The first few days I also think that it was like medicine though It is more drinkable now (the medicine taste has vanished). I guess I lost some yeast colony during primary fermentation. I intended to make 15% ABV wine but I came up with 10.5% ABV cherry wine.

 

[ChuckD]

My pie cherry wine is done as 100% juice/ requires back sweetening/ has strong cherry flavor, ,, BUT develops dominant astringent flavor notes at the two year age point.

Have you figured out why it gets the astringent taste?

Also, how much yield do you get from a pound of cherries? My sister-in-law goes to Door County to pick cherries every year and asked me to make a cherry wine for her. I’d like to make three gallons with minimal water.

 

[wood1954]

Have you figured out why it gets the astringent taste?

Also, how much yield do you get from a pound of cherries? My sister-in-law goes to Door County to pick cherries every year and asked me to make a cherry wine for her. I’d like to make three gallons with minimal water.

A guy in my wine making club sent me his recipe for cherry wine, it makes a very good wine, way. better than any I ever made.

 

[ChuckD]

A guy in my wine making club sent me his recipe for cherry wine, it makes a very good wine, way. View attachment 101990View attachment 101991better than any I ever made.

So what is the difference between “tart” and “sour” cherries? I understand the ones sold in grocery stores for eating are considered “sweet”. I believe the ones grown in Door County are considered “tart”.

 

[Rice_Guy]

A sweet cherry has mainly citric acid, I have seen the TA as low as .18% on ones I picked, commercial will come in at 0.8 to 1.0%, pH 4.2 to 4.6.
Pie cherry, what I grow is supermont variety, early crop to miss birds is TA 2.00%, if I risk some bird damage I have gotten it down to 1%, pH ranges 3 to 3.7, pie cherry is dominant malic acid. A side note Montmercy and Supermont are free stone, North Star is not free stone trait.
Astringent is stronger in choke cherry so I am guessing it is a wild character in prunis. We should be able to pull out that flavor with a light treatment of gelatin. It is age related and not in the new wine. (I should hunt out an old bottle to see if it goes away like other tannins) Next time I get enough I will pit the fruit first.
My target has been 4.5 pounds fruit per gallon but in the old days when I could pick 15 gallons at an Ex I ran higher.