DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[tjgaul]

I would appreciate input on a plan I am hatching. My initial DB was quite the hit with the wife and before I even have the bulk of it bottled she's talking about the next batch and how she thinks some strawberries would really add flavor.

I happen to have another experiment going making 5 gal of Merlot and 1 gal of Merlot port from one of the real cheap kits on Amazon. Both batches have a mix of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries in the primaries right now and I am applying the "presser method" to them daily. When I rack off to the carboy I was thinking I would combine the fruit and make a seconds wine in the DB style, simply adding a couple LBs of fresh strawberries to the fruit bag.

I've made a couple seconds wines so far (raspberry & concord) and both are progressing well, but are only a couple months old and have not been bottled yet.

Any downsides to mixing new fruit with once used? Any particular downsides to using strawberries in a DB style wine?

All thoughts are welcome. Thanks.
Tim

 

[Johnd]

I would appreciate input on a plan I am hatching. My initial DB was quite the hit with the wife and before I even have the bulk of it bottled she's talking about the next batch and how she thinks some strawberries would really add flavor.

I happen to have another experiment going making 5 gal of Merlot and 1 gal of Merlot port from one of the real cheap kits on Amazon. Both batches have a mix of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries in the primaries right now and I am applying the "presser method" to them daily. When I rack off to the carboy I was thinking I would combine the fruit and make a seconds wine in the DB style, simply adding a couple LBs of fresh strawberries to the fruit bag.

I've made a couple seconds wines so far (raspberry & concord) and both are progressing well, but are only a couple months old and have not been bottled yet.

Any downsides to mixing new fruit with once used? Any particular downsides to using strawberries in a DB style wine?

All thoughts are welcome. Thanks.
Tim

My only thoughts are that your wine will be on the weak side, you'll be using "used" berries from your first wine, and strawberries are pretty weak in flavor themselves. Combined together, it seems that you may be lacking in flavor profile in the finished product.

 

[tjgaul]

Thanks Johnd . . . . I planned to make a small 1 gallon batch. Maybe I will pump up the volume of strawberries and see if there's anything else in the freezer that could contribute. After making my 3 gal batch of DB I made a 1 gal seconds with cinnamon, clove and allspice. It came out decent, albeit a bit strong on the cinnamon.

I really enjoy messing around with the small batches while I'm waiting for all these darn reds to mature. Plus, I tend to be fairly frugal and you don't have much to loose on a seconds wine.

Thanks again.

 

[Johnd]

Thanks Johnd . . . . I planned to make a small 1 gallon batch. Maybe I will pump up the volume of strawberries and see if there's anything else in the freezer that could contribute. After making my 3 gal batch of DB I made a 1 gal seconds with cinnamon, clove and allspice. It came out decent, albeit a bit strong on the cinnamon.

I really enjoy messing around with the small batches while I'm waiting for all these darn reds to mature. Plus, I tend to be fairly frugal and you don't have much to loose on a seconds wine.

Thanks again.

You could always go to Sams and spend just a few bucks on one of those big frozen bags of triple berry blend to help it along.......

 

[ohiowino]

Can i make this without yeast energizer? I have nutrient but not energizer. Also...can this come out dry like a table wine or is sweet only viable option? I was trying to find cheap wine options while my first batch of good stuff ages and I get the hang of this.

 

[mennyg19]

Dont need energizer

 

[JetJockey]

You can make it bone dry or as sweet as you like, depending on the amount of sugar used to back sweeten. Note that DB berry flavors come out more with a little backsweetening. Seems most people that I've given bottles, prefer it at 1.008 corrected SG with ~13% ABV. That might be considered semi-sweet.

 

[ohiowino]

I wonder if i could make 5 gallon bone dry then split into 5 different gallon jugs backsweetened differently?

 

[wineforfun]

I wonder if i could make 5 gallon bone dry then split into 5 different gallon jugs backsweetened differently?

Of course you can. I do that often with a lemon-lime base I ferment. I make a 2 - 3 gal. batch then once fermented and cleared, rack into 1 gal. carboys and flavor/backsweeten accordingly.

 

[tjgaul]

I wonder if i could make 5 gallon bone dry then split into 5 different gallon jugs back sweetened differently?

I agree with wineforfun. Split however you like once it is finished and clear. For my whites, I have been bottling 2-3 gal of dry and racking the remainder to a 3 gal carboy to sweeten slightly. Then I bottle a couple more gallons and rack the last gallon off to experiment with. I haven't done enough testing yet to definitively state the proper RS so I will just have to keep making more wine. Darn!

Tim

 

[reefman]

Many people bottle DB and SP dry, and then sweeten to taste, depending on your audience preference, when you open it.

 

[gurusan]

Just started my first DB, 5 gallons. However, due to being snowed in at the moment did a variation. Next time I will probably follow the recipe exactly to see how it was meant to taste.

This time I made 5 gallons, added on top of active mead lees in the primary, but had no fruit on hand so added a can of welch's concord grape concentrate.

I will either add some triple berry mix later on in the primary, or rack over the fruit in the secondary....or maybe both!

-edit..added 6 lb triple berry blend to primary after 24 hrs. Fermentation is very active, yay!

 

[AkTom]

I have 10# of blueberries and 1.5# cranberries. How does that sound?
I have my first batch bottled, followed the recipe. Body is a bit thin... Tastes great. Second batch is a tropical in the carboy. Third is back to DB with 12# berries. I have another 8 gallon fermentor, might as well use it.
Thanks
Tom

 

[willie]

Just started my first DB, 5 gallons. However, due to being snowed in at the moment did a variation. Next time I will probably follow the recipe exactly to see how it was meant to taste.

This time I made 5 gallons, added on top of active mead lees in the primary, but had no fruit on hand so added a can of welch's concord grape concentrate.

I will either add some triple berry mix later on in the primary, or rack over the fruit in the secondary....or maybe both!

-edit..added 6 lb triple berry blend to primary after 24 hrs. Fermentation is very active, yay!

Adding the Triple Berry to your fermenter will really help your batch. Good luck.

Will

 

[Stevelaz]

I just bottled my first 3 gallon batch of Dragon Blood! A few days ago i racked and backed sweetened to about 1.010 maybe a bit more. I was trying to keep it a bit below that. It is pretty good except for kind of a harsh after taste. Im wondering if thats the lemon juice or maybe even the alcohol.

I noticed that Dave did another recipe called "Dragonette" with no lemon juice at all and double the triple berry. Anyone tell me why it was changed and how the end product is of that recipe. Im thinking of doing another 3 gallon batch of that one.

 

[Johnd]

I noticed that Dave did another recipe called "Dragonette" with no lemon juice at all and double the triple berry. Anyone tell me why it was changed and how the end product is of that recipe. Im thinking of doing another 3 gallon batch of that one.

When I do DB, I use triple the berries and half the lemon juice, never had any kind of aftertaste, but that doesn't really mean it's the lemon juice that's responsible.

 

[willie]

I just bottled my first 3 gallon batch of Dragon Blood! A few days ago i racked and backed sweetened to about 1.010 maybe a bit more. I was trying to keep it a bit below that. It is pretty good except for kind of a harsh after taste. Im wondering if thats the lemon juice or maybe even the alcohol.

I noticed that Dave did another recipe called "Dragonette" with no lemon juice at all and double the triple berry. Anyone tell me why it was changed and how the end product is of that recipe. Im thinking of doing another 3 gallon batch of that one.

We use 30-45 oz of lemon juice and have never experienced any after taste from the lemon juice. You maybe are just experiencing your wine that just young yet and needs some more aging. At about 3 months the fruit and sweetness really starts to come forward. Give it some more time and at 3-6 months I believe you'll be happier with the taste. And as John does you can add more fruit to bump up that fruity taste that make this wine so popular on this site.

Will

 

[Stevelaz]

Update: Took 2 bottles to a family X-mas eve and came home with 2 empty bottles! It was much better than when i tried it the other day. Maybe my taste buds were off a bit. I put in frige before and drank it cold and also tried over ice. I think this is going to be an excellent summer drink. However, i still want to try it with more tipple berry mix! Im still waiting to see if anyone can comment on the "Dragonette" version to see how it compares. Merry Christmas!

 

[wineforfun]

Update: Took 2 bottles to a family X-mas eve and came home with 2 empty bottles! It was much better than when i tried it the other day. Maybe my taste buds were off a bit. I put in frige before and drank it cold and also tried over ice. I think this is going to be an excellent summer drink. However, i still want to try it with more tipple berry mix! Im still waiting to see if anyone can comment on the "Dragonette" version to see how it compares. Merry Christmas!

My son made the dragonette years ago. We did not like it, but that was us. Seemed flat with the acid blend and lack of lemon juice.

We don't make much DB anymore, as we have a different go to quick drinker, but when we were making it, we would use 1.5lbs. of fruit per gallon. This gave a nice fruit flavor. As with any DB, you need to give it a couple months in the bottle. It will become much more fruit forward at that time.
Also, by drinking it cold or on ice, it will subdue a lot of the flavors. We drink ours cool, not cold.

 

[Toosweet]

Thanks for sharing that recipe Dave. I'm a newly inspired newbie and now I'm hooked on the wine making. I found you on the Sicilian Channel on You tube. I plan on making this to see how it looks and tastes.

Thanks again Mike