DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[GreginND]

Your palate can vary a lot from day to day and what tasted sweet enough before may taste different to you later. You can always add more sugar to your glass or the bottle when you open it.


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[Johngottshall]

Picked up 2 48 oz bags of blueberries at Sam's club yesterday so will start that version tonight going to try less lemon juice. And add oak to this batch

 

[fabrictodyefor]

Picked up 2 48 oz bags of blueberries at Sam's club yesterday so will start that version tonight going to try less lemon juice. And add oak to this batch

I started a straight blueberry on 3/4, racked to a car boy on 3/11. I've been over busy at work so haven't even looked at my car boys lately. I did find the blueberry fermented slower than the others I have made. Not too slow, but slower! Maybe I'll have to thief a taste tonight!

 

[Johngottshall]

I started a straight blueberry on 3/4, racked to a car boy on 3/11. I've been over busy at work so haven't even looked at my car boys lately. I did find the blueberry fermented slower than the others I have made. Not too slow, but slower! Maybe I'll have to thief a taste tonight!

Lol keep us posted

 

[Rosa321]

"Dryer and more acidic"? How does that happen in the bottle? Not sure, Rosa.

I don't know...... I seem to be losing at this Dragon Blood thing! lol
Not giving up, but not winning right now hehe

 

[keahunter]

I also had this interesting fact (well, interesting to me anyway). I started with 9 pounds of fruit, when I removed the fruit bag after the ferment, it only weight slightly under 1.25 pounds. I just found that interesting.

 

[Winenoob66]

Rosa mine has done the same thing. It was good before but now it is at the 2 month old mark it is very tart with the lemon and there isn't much fruit taste to it at all. I am going to make another batch and skip the lemon in it all together and then blend the 2 together to cut the lemon down. Oh and double the fruit in this batch.

 

[reefman]

Winenoob66,
Did you backsweeten the batch or did you go dry?

 

[Julie]

so about a month ago I bottled my first batch of Dragons Blood. on bottling day there wasn't much flavor, but I was happy with the sweetness at around 5 cups of sugar. I tried a bottle last night and tonight, it is drinkable and possibly has more fruit flavor, but it also seems dryer and more acidic? or maybe it's the burn of the alcohol coming through? I plan on trying it again in a month around Easter time. just didn't know if anyone thought it would get better....... I was afraid to over sweeten from comments that it gets sweeter with time. so I'm not sure what to do now that its not tasting as sweet.....

Rosa, what was your starting gravity, your ending and what did you backsweeten it to?

 

[oreoman]

Rosa-- I'm with you on this DB and Tropical Daze. Just don't seem to like the taste. Hoping it improves with age.


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[bakervinyard]

I backsweetened my DB a couple of weeks ago. Wasn't thrilled with the taste at first. I stole a taste yesterday and seems to be improving. I gave a sample to my daughter and her husband and they t6hought it was good. I'll give them the DB and I'll drink something else.
I have a gallon of Raspberry wine I was thinking of blending some with the DB. What do you think. Bakervinyard

 

[Rosa321]

Rosa, what was your starting gravity, your ending and what did you backsweeten it to?

Well it's good to know that others have had this problem.

I started at 1.088 (I was under 1.075 and then added too much sugar and wound up at 1.088).
I ended at 0.990

I did not take the SG while back sweetening. I didn't know I was supposed to
I just followed the recipe until I was happy (5cups of white sugar).
I thought it would get sweeter and more like berries overtime. But it hasn't.
Perhaps it's just the lemon juice coming through???
I dunno! I'm a novice!!!! hahahaha
I have blueberry in a carboy now. I'm wondering if I should over sweeten? hmmmm.......

 

[Rosa321]

Rosa mine has done the same thing. It was good before but now it is at the 2 month old mark it is very tart with the lemon and there isn't much fruit taste to it at all. I am going to make another batch and skip the lemon in it all together and then blend the 2 together to cut the lemon down. Oh and double the fruit in this batch.

That's what I'm currently doing!! 12 lbs fruit, acidic blend, no lemon, lower starting SG (1.079) crossing my fingers and toes, and hoping for the best! hahaha

I'm sure I'll eventually settle on a wine that I really like. Just gunna take a few batches to get there

 

[Rosa321]

I also had this interesting fact (well, interesting to me anyway). I started with 9 pounds of fruit, when I removed the fruit bag after the ferment, it only weight slightly under 1.25 pounds. I just found that interesting.

That's 7.75lbs of yummy flavor!!!

 

[Julie]

Well it's good to know that others have had this problem.

I started at 1.088 (I was under 1.075 and then added too much sugar and wound up at 1.088).
I ended at 0.990

I did not take the SG while back sweetening. I didn't know I was supposed to
I just followed the recipe until I was happy (5cups of white sugar).
I thought it would get sweeter and more like berries overtime. But it hasn't.
Perhaps it's just the lemon juice coming through???
I dunno! I'm a novice!!!! hahahaha
I have blueberry in a carboy now. I'm wondering if I should over sweeten? hmmmm.......

Rosa, I am assuming you like sweet wines. Take a reading to see where you are at. I am going to say you like your wines at 1.010. If I was you I would open a bottle, take some out add a tsp of sugar to the wine you took out, warm that up for about 30 seconds in the microwave, stir until dissolve, add it back to the wine and taste it! If you like it, take a reading, now you know how sweet to make the next patch.

And remember, you just might not like DB!

 

[Rosa321]

Rosa, I am assuming you like sweet wines. Take a reading to see where you at at. I am going to say you like your wines at 1.010. If I was you I would open a bottle, take some out add a tsp of sugar to the wine you took out, warm that up for about 30 seconds in the microwave, stir until dissolve, add it back to the wine and taste it! If you like it, take a ready, now you know how sweet to make the next patch.

And remember, you just might not like DB!

Thanks, Julie!

I actually like ALL wine hahahahaha
I'll drink dry reds to sweet fruity wines. However, for the summer, I think I would prefer some light sweet fruity wines. With that said, I am just having a problem with the acidity. If I got heartburn, I'm sure it would have given it to me!

 

[ckvchestnut]

Rosa and others who are finding the flavour and acidity issues:

How much lemon did you use and fruit for a 6 gal batch? I just made the dragonette version which has NO lemon. I have to say that I think I like the original version a tad better and seems more fruity. But I have never used the full amt of lemon called for but always MORE fruit. Perhaps if you just tweaked your recipe you will find the DB that suits you best.

Without the lemon in my dragonette I perceive a slightly less fruity flavour - but I only backsweetened to .998 or 1.000. It went dry to .990. While I'm not a sweet freak, I do find that my other two batches at 1.010 were much more fruity right from the get go an those were higher abv as well. But I am determined to keep bottles from this drier batch for longer to see what aging does to the overall fruitiness and flavour profile. Some food for thought. I still haven't done a batch of DB that I haven't liked. And I too like SO many styles of wine from bone dry big reds to fruity whites, blushes and sultry, buttery chards.

 

[Rmstuck]

When finished is this wine similar to white Zinfandel or more of a fruit wine?

 

[TableSeven]

Well my wine is looking quite beautiful, I sweetened today, but I won't get to taste for several weeks due to illness and alcohol not mixing well with the medication I'm on for it..

I was told it was sweetened well.

Bottling in a week, then I'll finally taste it in three..skeeter pee starts tomorrow.

 

[Winenoob66]

Dragon's Blood notes 1/5/14
time 10:30 pm

cleaned and sanitized everything

filtered 5 gallons of water in the brita pitcher

added 1 gallon of filtered water to pot on stove
and brought it to a boil
added 20 cups of sugar and stirred it until it had
completely disolved
added sugar water to primary
added 1 48oz bottle RealLemon juice to primary
stirred the **** out of it
brought water to 5 gallon mark on primary
stirred the **** outta it somemore

Took SG 1.090

added 1 tsp grape tanning (stirred)
added 4 tsp yeast nutrient (stirred)
added 2 tsp yeast energizer (stirred)
added 3 tsp pectin enzyme (stirred)
added 6 lbs triple berry blend fruit to 5 gallon paint strainer bag and
gave the bag a few squeeses to break it up some and let the
pectin work work into it some.

Did not top water to 6 gallons like it says in the orginal directions
as I am only doing a 5 gallon batch but topping to 5 gallon before
adding fruit brought me over the 5 gallon mark to almost 5.5 gal
with fruit added (hoping this will give me a little extra for racking)

1/6/14
Made starter for yeast then took SG at 1.090
Gave bag a few squeeses for good measure, and stirred.
Pitched yeast

1/7/14
Squeezed bag almost dry then placed in sanatized bowl,
Stirred for 2 minutes then took Gravity reading 1.082

1/8/14
Squeezed bag almost dry then placed in sanatized bowl,
Stirred for 2 minutes then took Gravity reading 1.050

1/9/14
Squeezed bag almost dry then placed in sanatized bowl,
Stirred for 2 minutes then took Gravity reading 1.024

1/10/14
Removed and squeezed bag dry, Gave must a gentle stir
and took SG 1.000. If I hadn't of gave must a stir gently
I would be transfering to secondary now. But being I have
I will transfer tomorrow.

1/11/14
Took SG .090. Racked onto 5 crushed and disolved camden
tablets (disolved in a half cup of heated water) to cleaned
and sanitized 5 Gallon Carboy tried degassing, but not alot
of bubbles came up. Added Tsp sparkloid into 1 cup water.
Brought to heavy simmer for 5 minutes. Stirred into carboy.
Placed cleaned and sanitized Bung and airlock on carboy.

1/18/14
Racked off lees to clean and santized carboy.
Added sorbate to half cup warm water and added to DB
Stired gently will backsweeten tomorrow

1/19/14
Backsweetened with 3 and 1/2 cup sugar by warming some
in a cleaned and sanitized pot then melting in sugar and
adding back to carboy

1/23/14
Bottled today, going to have to make more of this termites got into it.