DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[bear6230]

Bottled my first batch of Dragon Blood this morning.
For my first time i don't think they look to bad.
Time to start another batch only got 21 bottles cause couldn't help myself from drinking it from carboy..lol

 

[willie]

Bottled my first batch of Dragon Blood this morning.
For my first time i don't think they look to bad.
Time to start another batch only got 21 bottles cause couldn't help myself from drinking it from carboy..lol

Well done Bear. I remember when I first started making DB Danger Dave would say as soon as you free up your fermenter get another started cause if you like the stuff it surely won't last long. And of course you may want to gift a few bottles to friends and family. I have 2 great nephews who never liked wine but they love the DB & the Skeeter Pee we make.

Will

 

[Commoncandi1]

I was referred to this recipe (I'm a complete and utter newbie) I'm both nervous and excited to start my newest adventure thanks for a detailed recipe

 

[dangerdave]

Since some of you have asked, I am doing very well. Eat, drink, and be merry! I'm two and half years into retirement and loving every day. After my 1000 mile hike in 2015---and the long healing process that followed---I began the work on my house, which continues unabated. I still get some time to make wine, hike, and ATV, but my wife, Johnna, keeps me very busy. Last year was shingles and siding. This year is a new deck and landscaping. So, with all that, plus maintaining our home and property, and caring for a disabled wife---who always tries to do too much---I don't get much time on the computer anymore. I really miss hanging out here and talking wine, but I've got stuff to do!

But to answer a few questions from Mk54321...

What temp do you target for fermentation?
Any further details on how much oak ...a shot of oak power ?
and how much additional tannin?

I currently make my DB in a 32 gallon food grade plastic Brute trash can. It sits on a wooden pallet so it's up off the floor. I make three batches at time (18 gallons), simply tripling the ingredients. In addition to the items listed in the recipe, I add 9tsp of wine tannin (3tsp per three batches), and one cup of untoasted American oak (1/3 cup per three batches). All in the primary. Fruit goes in three bags (actually cheap disposable lady's stockings), and everything gets stirred daily with a drill and whip. As for the Temp; I don't even check anymore except by feeling the sided of the fermenter. I use both of my brew belts on the Brute and wrap it with a thermal blanket. There has been times when I thought it had gotten very warm---likely the upper 80s(F)---but it turned out fine. It's easy enough to shut down one of the brew belts if necessary. I noticed, after doing many such batches that at higher temps, that the wine had more color and flavor. Maybe the extra tannins and oak are helping as well.

It's raining and I'm filtering some wines today, so I had a few minutes to check up on you guys/gals. Keep up the good work, everyone! I hope to check back in soon, but if I dont, shoot me an email: [email protected]

 

[Mk54321]

Thank you for the feedback.

 

[Javaslinger]

This looks amazing and will be my wife and I first foray into wine making!

We come from a homebrew background and I'm shocked you don't put a lid on the fermenter with a bubbler? Is it simply unnecessary? Will it hurt anything if I do?

Thanks!

 

[willie]

This looks amazing and will be my wife and I first foray into wine making!

We come from a homebrew background and I'm shocked you don't put a lid on the fermenter with a bubbler? Is it simply unnecessary? Will it hurt anything if I do?

Thanks!

Some of us like to use a towel so the fermenter can get more air v's putting a lid on. It also keeps those pesky fruit files out of the wine. Using a lid just may slow the ferment down some that's all.

Will

 

[bear6230]

Since my first batch of Dragon Blood is almost gone it was necessary to fire up a another batch also started a batch of the tropical version
My first batch DB was a hit amongst my friends so i had stash a few bottles for aging that is if i can stay away from them long enough for the next batch gets done.

 

[wineforfun]

Since my first batch of Dragon Blood is almost gone it was necessary to fire up a another batch also started a batch of the tropical version
My first batch DB was a hit amongst my friends so i had stash a few bottles for aging that is if i can stay away from them long enough for the next batch gets done.

Did you use lime juice with your tropical version or stay with lemon?

 

[bear6230]

i used pineapple juice with the tropical...today is the third day with .990 gonna rack it today maybe.
the DB in the other bucket still fermenting slow only at 1.010 today.
the tropical smells amazing cant wait till its done

 

[byronyasgur]

My dragon blood ( also my first wine) is at the end of fermentation having been stable at 995 for 3 days. I'm about to transfer it to carboy now and adding sorbate and finings. Tbh the wine tastes great but its way to acidic and tart to my taste. Does this calm down over the next week or two or is there anything i can do with it. I followed the recipe and it's a pity because i can't imagine drinking more than a small glass at a time.

 

[Ron0126]

My dragon blood ( also my first wine) is at the end of fermentation having been stable at 995 for 3 days. I'm about to transfer it to carboy now and adding sorbate and finings. Tbh the wine tastes great but its way to acidic and tart to my taste. Does this calm down over the next week or two or is there anything i can do with it. I followed the recipe and it's a pity because i can't imagine drinking more than a small glass at a time.

Yes. It will calm WAY down over a few weeks and even more over a few months.

 

[PandemoniumWines]

backsweetening will take care of a lot of that as well, but time too.

 

[byronyasgur]

Yes. It will calm WAY down over a few weeks and even more over a few months.

backsweetening will take care of a lot of
that as well, but time too.

Thanks - that's good to know.

I am adding the kieselsol later today and the directions say to afterwards fill to near the top of the carboy with water - but I did a one gallon batch and my trial jar is about 100ml so I lost about a bottle of wine's worth ( about 0.75 quart ) in testing, which is a higher percentage of a one gallon than a 6 gallon. I'd be adding something like 25% water to the wine. I don't know what the purpose of filling the carboy up is or whether it's important but dont want to dilute my wine with water ( or some cheap wine as in the recipe ) unless I really should for some technical reason like headspace or something. What is the purpose of topping up the carboy.

 

[JetJockey]

You are correct, adding H2O decreases the headspace. The headspace is amount of air in contact with the surface area of the wine. The more air in contact with the wine, the more chance of oxidation and bad taste. Always top off the wine so there is not excessive air. This usually means top up to the skinnier neck of the bottle or carboy. A like wine will not water your wine down and won't change the flavor if only adding small quantities. Adding a little water will not affect the taste or alcohol content. An alternative is to use Vacuum man's headspace eliminator if you have the All-in-one wine pump. (Best piece of equipment I added to my wine stuff!)

 

[byronyasgur]

You are correct, adding H2O decreases the headspace. The headspace is amount of air in contact with the surface area of the wine. The more air in contact with the wine, the more chance of oxidation and bad taste. Always top off the wine so there is not excessive air. This usually means top up to the skinnier neck of the bottle or carboy. A like wine will not water your wine down and won't change the flavor if only adding small quantities. Adding a little water will not affect the taste or alcohol content. An alternative is to use Vacuum man's headspace eliminator if you have the All-in-one wine pump. (Best piece of equipment I added to my wine stuff!)

thanks - I did a bit of reasearch on this since posting and I understand better now - but in my case I'd be adding about 25% - so since I was thinking of backsweetening this with some apple juice that I have that is really nice and natural and has similar notes in some ways to the wine - I was wondering about making an apple juice water mix and doing some of the backsweetening at this point rather than adding that amount of water - would that work - I think for future batches I need a better technology or technique but what's the best way to save this one. Cheap wine is not really an option tbh - we dont really get cheap wines in ireland due to the way the taxation works - the cheapest ones are fairly good - I could put one or two of those in it but it's not really what I wanted to do and it's not particularly cheap either

 

[JetJockey]

Can you find a smaller carboy/secondary? I often have to downsize from a 6 gal to a 5 or have used multiple 1 or 1/2 gal bottles as secondaries for bench trials.

 

[Ajmassa]

You can have some headspace with this wine without hurting it as long as you properly added the K-meta. I recently made a 5 gallon batch. I made it heavy so I could have an extra jug along with my 5 gal Carboy so I could top up with.
After fermentation I had a 5 gal carboy, a 1.5 liter jug and a 1 liter jug all filled up. After racking, stabilizing and clearing and racking again I was left with about 4.25-4.5 gal in the carboy. Lotta headspace. Got sloppy in my racking and Lost a lot with the lees, as well as a good portion used to determine how much I would sweeten.
I let it sit an extra week like that before I got to putting on the headspace eliminator and sitting for 6 more weeks. As long as your batch is sulphited it could last another month of aging with headspace. Many will disagree with this, but I know it to be true.
Topping up protects the wine.
Adding k-meta protects the wine
Having both is sure fire way to know it's protected. But this isn't wine that needs to age long and you can get way with it on dragons blood aging a month or so after clearing.
Make sure it's got k-meta, and don't push the time on aging too long and just bottle when she's looking clear and I think you will be fine. But obviously if you have access to a proper sized vessel that would be the preferred route.

 

[byronyasgur]

thanks - yes was thinking along those lines - It was only a gallon and it's less now with testing so if it's nice it will be gone really quick and it's my first wine so it's not like I'm trying to win awards - I don't think I'll fuss over it and if the worse comes to the worst I'll have experience. In the future yea I'll do it different - rather than get a smaller carboy I'll probably just use a bigger bucket and make 1.5 gallons or something like that ... all part of the fun. The beauty with this wine is the ingredients are pretty cheap so it's not like spending a fortune on a premium kit.

 

[Ajmassa]

thanks - yes was thinking along those lines - It was only a gallon and it's less now with testing so if it's nice it will be gone really quick and it's my first wine so it's not like I'm trying to win awards - I don't think I'll fuss over it and if the worse comes to the worst I'll have experience. In the future yea I'll do it different - rather than get a smaller carboy I'll probably just use a bigger bucket and make 1.5 gallons or something like that ... all part of the fun. The beauty with this wine is the ingredients are pretty cheap so it's not like spending a fortune on a premium kit.

Yea man you've got the right outlook. 1st batch, 1 gal, cheap ingredients. Even tho it's just <1 gal do you still plan to bottle it up after? You should so it stays good while you drink it. Even if it's just re-used screw cap bottles.
You could read online till your blue in the face, but doing a batch firsthand and learning from my mistakes is where I gain the majority of my knowledge. Or fumbling around with something and then using that experience to look up the proper way. Then within a couple batches you can account for things beforehand and plan accordingly.