DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[Fencepost]

Hi! I've made Dragon Blood in about a million combinations. I make grape only versions all the time. Most often I don't even know what types of grapes they are as I'm just given them by friends and family who have grapevines in their yards. One of our favorites though is the version I make with straight Concords...it is SO good. I also make lots of grape and fruit combination batches including quad berry, huckleberry, raspberry and others. I loosely call them a Moscato but honestly that's just my designation to indicate that it included grapes.

As for adding acid blend, I've never done that. I just follow the DB recipe and substitute whatever fruit or grapes I have on hand. I do always use 12 lbs of fruit though instead of the 6 lbs suggested.

Anyway, these are just my opinions and experiences. The only wines I make other than DB are Island Mist and 6 week Winexpert kits. So you can see I certainly don't have a discriminating palate by any means...I just make what I like

Val, just to be sure, you put the entire grape/muscadine (mashed up but with skins & seeds) for the entire time it takes to ferment down to 1.000, as the recipe calls for, correct? I've read so much about how much time "on skins" I get a sense it is important, but not having done grapes, just waned to double check. I will have them in a nylon strainer bag, will do the squeezing (Presser Method DD calls it) and can pull them out at any time. Thanks for your help... and I hope to follow your path of many variations of DDDB as it really suits my tastes as well. All the best.

 

[user 32114]

 

[user 32114]

i could not figure out the correct lighting so that color would show through, @KCCam,,,
Dawg

 

[KCCam]

i could not figure out the correct lighting so that color would show through, @KCCam,,,
Dawg
View attachment 64774

I think I lucked out with the sunlit background. That looks awesome to me though. And nice label.

 

[user 32114]

I think I lucked out with the sunlit background. That looks awesome to me though. And nice label.

thank you, yeah i like to double or triple my fruits and berries, i grew up eating fruits and berries right from the trees , bushs, briars , and that is the taste i aim for,
Dawg

 

[user 32114]

the last 2 pictures are in bright sunlight setting on a white surface,
Dawg

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

Val, just to be sure, you put the entire grape/muscadine (mashed up but with skins & seeds) for the entire time it takes to ferment down to 1.000, as the recipe calls for, correct? I've read so much about how much time "on skins" I get a sense it is important, but not having done grapes, just waned to double check. I will have them in a nylon strainer bag, will do the squeezing (Presser Method DD calls it) and can pull them out at any time. Thanks for your help... and I hope to follow your path of many variations of DDDB as it really suits my tastes as well. All the best.

Yes, I add the whole grapes to a nylon fruit bag and squeeze it daily. When doing a berry batch, I'll pull it out when the berries are pretty much completely disintegrated as long as I'm fairly close to a S.G. of 1.000 but with grapes I do "leave it on the skins" until I'm ready to rack to my secondary fermenter.

Experimenting with different fruits and combinations is a fun party of the process I've only made a couple batches that I didn't like that much, but then I'd have friends request that very same wine so I knew it was just me

Happy winemaking!

 

[G259]

View attachment 64767

Very nice label and shrink top! I'm so ghetto, I use a scrap of paper and some clear tape!

Yeah, I'm all about the wine, nothing else (lol!)

 

[user 32114]

Very nice label and shrink top! I'm so ghetto, I use a scrap of paper and some clear tape!

thank you
Dawg

 

[user 32114]

Very nice label and shrink top! I'm so ghetto, I use a scrap of paper and some clear tape!

Yeah, I'm all about the wine, nothing else (lol!)

the outside don't mean much of nothing, the only important thing is what is in the bottle,
Dawg

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Well, I have finally done it.....................corrupted a local Amish man with a tasting of DDDB!. We had a little wine tasting after he did some work for me and he loved it so much he has asked if I would show him the art of winemaking. First lesson was last night. I loaned him all my winemaking books, and I am now developing a list of hints, supplies needed, etc. It was heart-warming to see him so excited about the process, and all because he loved the DB so much! Of course I sent him home with a bottle and he is eager to share it with his father......................................Dizzy

 

[G259]

Are Ahmish people non-drinkers though?

I checked Bing, it typically goes both ways. Over indulge, and you're a sinner, expected!

 

[user 32114]

Are Ahmish people non-drinkers though?

I checked Bing, it typically goes both ways. Over indulge, and you're a sinner, expected!

yup it says jesus drank wine, and it says in the bible that you can drink, but not get drunkard, as well it says (king james bible) to not drink anything that moves within itself, pour whiskey into a clear glass with bright daylight or bright lights, look closely and you can see currants moving through the whiskey, as for the amish they won't use electricity from the grid, yet they use electricity from they're own generators, they do great work, what they build is dead on right, and amish broke horses and mules are as good as they come,
Dawg

 

[sour_grapes]

as for the amish they won't use electricity from the grid, yet they use electricity from they're own generators, they do great work,

(I am quoting you, Dawg, just for a jumping off point. I am not disagreeing with anything you wrote.)

I am far from an expert on the Amish, but I do find their attitude toward technology interesting, and maybe even inspiring. Many people think that they shun all new technology. My understanding is that, rather, they evaluate each new bit of technology and assess if it is something that brings their community closer together, or is it something that can lead to weakening of community bonds. They reject things those in the latter category. So the attitude is not "antitechnology," it is rather "pro-community at almost any cost."

They certainly have a point. My wife and I sat in the same room for a spell while I read this forum and she read hers!

 

[KCCam]

the last 2 pictures are in bright sunlight setting on a white surface,
Dawg

And don’t forget, DB is the ultimate recipe to make something your own. This is my Saskatoon Berry DB with a little over 9 lbs of berries. I should have put it a clear glass because it is so beautiful to look at. Almost a shame to drink it.

No, that’s a lie. I don’t mind drinking it at all! Lol.
View attachment 64754

I had sun illuminating the glass as well as bright objects behind that can be seen through the wine. I was mistaken, however, about which wine it was. That one was my cherry/blueberry that got stirred up after clearing. It wouldn't clear again quick enough for my liking, so I used a 1/4 dose of sparkaloid as a test. It cleared up right away, but guess what? I am now finding "whispy" sediment in my bottles. Dang. Oh well.

This is my Saskatoon DB. It still has no sediment in the bottles. Still crystal clear.

 

[user 32114]

I had sun illuminating the glass as well as bright objects behind that can be seen through the wine. I was mistaken, however, about which wine it was. That one was my cherry/blueberry that got stirred up after clearing. It wouldn't clear again quick enough for my liking, so I used a 1/4 dose of sparkaloid as a test. It cleared up right away, but guess what? I am now finding "whispy" sediment in my bottles. Dang. Oh well.

This is my Saskatoon DB. It still has no sediment in the bottles. Still crystal clear.

View attachment 64823

sweet color, what was your FSG?
that was my first foria with blueberry, while still in bottle shock from bottling it was very stringent to say the least, but i could open and in 30 minutes it was very much smoother, i opened a bottle today poured straight in to the glass and tasted, smooth, yep soon as my labels get in, that'll get lost in the back of a closet for at least a year, that dog will hunt,,, i'd only bottled 1/3 to see if i wanted to drink it now or hide the rest out for a year, so i only ordered 1/3 the labels in case i had to tweak it, nope, as is,,,,
Dawg

 

[KCCam]

sweet color, what was your FSG?

Initial SG was 1.110. On day #2 after squeezing bag it was up to 1.114. Finished at 0.988. Backsweetened with sugar, 1/2 cup/gallon, ending at 0.998 (so the sugar added 10 points). Not as sweet as you like them, and I did stop short of what I thought was just right, knowing it would improve. But I'm afraid it ain't gonna last that long!
My cherry/blueberry was almost the same, finished at 0.990 and backsweetened with 3/4 cup/gallon, ending at 1.004.

 

[user 32114]

Initial SG was 1.110. On day #2 after squeezing bag it was up to 1.114. Finished at 0.988. Backsweetened with sugar, 1/2 cup/gallon, ending at 0.998 (so the sugar added 10 points). Not as sweet as you like them, and I did stop short of what I thought was just right, knowing it would improve. But I'm afraid it ain't gonna last that long!
My cherry/blueberry was almost the same, finished at 0.990 and backsweetened with 3/4 cup/gallon, ending at 1.004.

funny how that, don't last that long is,,,huh?
Dawg

 

[G259]

Nice info about the Amish, I'll admit that I'm a bit closed, but wouldn't be against learning about it in the future.

 

[user 32114]

Nice info about the Amish, I'll admit that I'm a bit closed, but wouldn't be against learning about it in the future.

i have had my beef, pork, goats, deer processed for the last 30 years, you can eat off their floors, they wear white clothes, without a spot on them, now the back half is the slaughter area, them wear dark clothes, but the front half has all window all the way the front, not on spot or smear in 30 years on the floor or there clothes, my forecart you can't buy better, anything the Amish do they do it right the first time, although some tend to be a little more costly, but you get what you pay for,, before i got into retail construction, i did all my own butchering, i have the grinders, a meat bandsaw with sliding stainless steel table, but work kept me away, and now being quite harshly disabled ( no pity for me please) i'm alive and i enjoy my life, if you treat them with respect and look them in the eye and honest with them they are mostly very good people,
Dawg