critique/inputs for blackberry wine

[vernsgal]

Posted this a long time ago. I still have a couple bottles left. If I was to follow this original again I would make 1 exception, I would back sweeten just a bit.
In my,now years of wine making, I have learned that I love my Grape Reds Dry, and my other red fruits have to be just a bit off dry.

 

[hounddawg]

This wine will probably NOT need acid blend. Most blackberries have TOO much acid right from the beginning. It's important to have a PH meter when making this wine because you need to adjust the PH--which usually starts around 2.8 or 2.9---with calcium carbonate to a PH of about 3.4

The acid on blackberry is malic--a very harsh acid. So a good culture for them is 71B because it metabolizes some of the malic--about 20%---which makes a smoother wine without the resulting harshness that can be leftover when using other cultures.

Adding water will dilute this wine, producing a very light-tasting blackberry. When we make this wine, we use 10 pounds per gallon and use no water. This gives a big-flavored wine that tastes just like the fruit. Because we use high poundage, the wine can be very dense, so use bentonite in the primary to give the wine more clarity.

I'm against manual degassing of non-kit wines. We rack the lees off, then allow it to age for at least 9 months. By that time, the CO2 is gone and the wine is clear. Wines need to age up and stablize before sweetening and sorbate additions. Stablization is achieved only when the bulk of the yeast cells are racked off. Only then will sorbate work correctly. Don't be in a hurry with this wine--let it age up and generate its flavors. There is no way you should be adding sorbate when you rack to the secondary--this is totally wrong.

E C Kraus has a real nice discertation on sorbate in the blog section of their website. You should do some reading on proper use of sorbate so you understand how it works and when to use it.

i agree with trurock on acid blend,

 

[hounddawg]

i on pretty much on all country/fruit/berry wines i shoot for my PH OF 3.1 TO 3.6. and as others have said depending on your fruit and berry wine shoot for 6,lbs to 10,lbs per gallon ,, like banana or apple 10 lbs per gallon, where as black berrie and elderberries 6 lbs per gallon, backsweeten to 1'040, but to each there own
Dawg

 

[robert81650]

Your right Dawg, got to sweetened it for it to be good............1.040 sounds about right.....

 

[BernardSmith]

but 1.040 is about 1 lb of sugar in a gallon of wine or about 3.2 oz in a bottle... That is a lot of sugar.

 

[Scooter68]

Agree. Personal tastes dictate but for me most all of my fruit wines are bottled off-dry or slightly sweet. Normally between 1.000 and 1.010 tips. Exceptions now and then but pretty much in that range. A few have been bottled at .998 but mostly 1.005.

 

[hounddawg]

but 1.040 is about 1 lb of sugar in a gallon of wine or about 3.2 oz in a bottle... That is a lot of sugar.

lol,,, hence the word sweet,,,, i've been in all but 2 of the lower 48, down south lol ,,we have a drink one of the best drinks made in the world, we call it Sweet Tea,,,, again the word sweet,,, robert81650 where he lives you'll find it just like here in Arkansas, i know you purest no offence develop your paullet, for wines yawl describe as chalky, earthy,leather, and so on, i do not have a opaluet (cant spell right now) what we good old boys shoot for is good, candy, sweet, fruit like, and for us to describe anything like oak, well run towards that will be a offset stick smoker. mines preloaded right now with hickory,white oak and pecan, equally ,, dang if tomorrow is even close to pretty i'm smoking ribs, farm raised pork ribs,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

but 1.040 is about 1 lb of sugar in a gallon of wine or about 3.2 oz in a bottle... That is a lot of sugar.

dang, the way you stated that, i can see the shock on your face, thank you,,, i needed that smile
Dawg

 

[robert81650]

Tell em Dawg, Just what I wanted to say and you bet me to it...............................

 

[hounddawg]

Tell em Dawg, Just what I wanted to say and you bet me to it...............................

hard to believe, i guess we should of shared the sweet tea,, NAW, BAHWAAA
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

I make fruit wines only, no kits, all made from scratch with fresh fruit and juice. Had a bottle of Blackberry last evening with a salad for dinner it was great. Currently have a Rhubarb and a Cherry in carboys. Plan to make another 20 gallon of Rhubarb this weekend.

same for me country wines from scratch only, never done a kit nore any grape, blackberry is great, no oak needed, blackberry i use 5 to 6 lbs per gallon and plenty sugar, your lighter fruits like banana , apple so on so forth 10 to 12 lbs per gallon,,,,,
Dawg

 

[G259]

Wow! Way too sweet for me. I generally back sweeten to .996, to 1.00.
I have 10 bottles of cran-grape wine at 1.040, that I can't tolerate.
I haven't tried them for 6 mo., and they may be bad now (1.25 yo.)

 

[BernardSmith]

lol,,, hence the word sweet,,,, i've been in all but 2 of the lower 48, down south lol ,,we have a drink one of the best drinks made in the world, we call it Sweet Tea,,,, again the word sweet,,, robert81650 where he lives you'll find it just like here in Arkansas, i know you purest no offence develop your paullet, for wines yawl describe as chalky, earthy,leather, and so on, i do not have a opaluet (cant spell right now) what we good old boys shoot for is good, candy, sweet, fruit like, and for us to describe anything like oak, well run towards that will be a offset stick smoker. mines preloaded right now with hickory,white oak and pecan, equally ,, dang if tomorrow is even close to pretty i'm smoking ribs, farm raised pork ribs,
Dawg

Everyone has their own taste and preferences but I would think that it would be hard to drink a wine that sweet but then I didn't grow up drinking soda.

 

[Scooter68]

Personal preferences vary - for me I don't want the sweetness covering the details of the wine. (Not to mention all this calories it adds.)

 

[hounddawg]

Everyone has their own taste and preferences but I would think that it would be hard to drink a wine that sweet but then I didn't grow up drinking soda.

oh no not sodas. sweet tea, lol,, before i cut back, i drank 2 gallons a day with 3 coffee cups of sugar in each gallon or 6 musred cups per gallon, when i found out i had diabetes i had 75 pounds of sugar in the freezer , my doc said i could not quit all at once or i'd go into withdraws, i gave up my sweet tea, and that very day, now the only sweet tea i drink is if i eat out about 4 times a year, i keep sprite or 7up for upset stomach, maybe 8 or 9 a year, i'd quit drinking alcohol at age 30 till 5 of my doctors wanted me to drink red wines, for the antioxidants,age 48,, lemon, elderberry, and a couple more have the most, i drink 1 to 2 glasses a day, i've tried proper very high dollar wine, no offence but i'd rather drink dirty toilet water, as i have stated i have no refined palate,, and i am fine with my ways and i have zero problems with the ways you like and do, yawl make what yawl like and thats cool, but i make what i like because if i did not suit myself then i'd not make anything, my sweetness varies by fruit , my skeeter pee port uses 1 lemon concentrate per gallon, SG 1.040 and one fifth pure grain alcohol per 6 gallon, hard to tell from southern lemonade, until your getting backup bleeding,,,lol
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

Personal preferences vary - for me I don't want the sweetness covering the details of the wine. (Not to mention all this calories it adds.)

with enough fruit or berries nothing is covered up, as for grapes that i aint got a clue about,

 

[hounddawg]

Wow! Way too sweet for me. I generally back sweeten to .996, to 1.00.
I have 10 bottles of cran-grape wine at 1.040, that I can't tolerate.
I haven't tried them for 6 mo., and they may be bad now (1.25 yo.)

although i made about everything i could find in the fruit and berry line, i now mainly make, blackberry, blackberry/elderberry mix, strawberry, apple/pear mix, skeeter pee port, and banana only for my younger brother, banana is way to much work, i use zero fruit packs, everything i make iis stirred by drill and that churns my fruits and berries up, but i feel the extra trouble is worth the better more fruity taste i get from my wines, up north,out east and west they sell ice tea, you have to add your own sugar, below the mason dixon line we have sweet tea and gravy and biscuits, listen to everyone of yawl i respect what you like, i've spent much time away from home and i know every place has slight differences, so i have my ways and each of yawl have your ways, i am good with that, i have seen proper wine drinkers that can blindly tell you most every wine by taste alone that amazes me, But i like my country wines, now if you folks want some fair wines you could try TJ SWAN or BOONES FARM, MAD DOG 2020 lol,, sorry i could not resist, i respect your ways and likes, but i am like the scorpion and the frog, this is just the way i am, i like sweet drinks, or sours but that's for other forums lol,,, but i'm older broken down but still getting up no matter what, and my only poison left to me is my sweet country wines,

 

[G259]

Wow! Way too sweet for me. I generally back sweeten to .996, to 1.00.
I have 10 bottles of cran-grape wine at 1.040, that I can't tolerate.
I haven't tried them for 6 mo., and they may be bad now (1.25 yo.)

Yes, 'To each his own'. BTW, I just blended that cran-grape with an apple wine at .990, and I thought that the wine would be bad. At an SG of ~.998, I think that this may be the best wine that I have made, even though the apple wine (.990) was only 3 mo. old!