DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[beggarsu]

Sooo...... I've posted a few times about my 3rd batch of dragon blood.
I actually made "dragonette" with a little extra acid blend and fruit.
It's VERY DARK. Looking through it with a flash light, I CAN see through it. And I DO NOT see particles floating around. However, without the flashlight, it it impossible to see through. And I do not know if it is the color, or if it is a haze. It does look like it could be a little hazy....I know....seems weird that I can see through it clearly with a flashlight, but I swear I can!

So I am just having trouble testing/judging the clarity of this wine..........should I put some in a glass and hold it up to the light??? I think that's about where I'm at....
The other two batches, I could definitely tell when they were clear.
This one, I cannot.....

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!!

I don't know what fruit you are using my DB made with 5 wild blueberry packs - fruit eventually dumped into must and disintegrated into small particles - is very very dark blood red seems just dark like I didn't see before - already started it with bentonite - so this is different than the other 2 DB's.

No light at all through the carboy yet, can see some glow in the litre and 750 plastic reserve bottles,


Net few days I will stabilize and add sparkaloid though sparkaloid is a bit of a extra clean up because I already used bentonite in the beginning.
Clear or not I think this one will be a dark one - it will be interesting to see.

Here is a couple of threads.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/how-know-if-wine-clear-enough-bottle-8788/

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/sure-way-test-clarity-wine-bottle-6318/

I like the idea of a lazer light and people acknowledged that some reds are very very dark yet they claim they can still test or judge for clarity - this should apply to fruit other than grape as well.

But I'm sure not gonna bulk age for a year just to settle when the wine is ready to drink in a month.
..
The true test will be if you run it thorough a whole house filter - to my experience, to what happened to me the filter clogs up with unsettled wine - the last part of the wine was not as settled as I should have preferred - I brazened it out and got all of it though but it took a coupe of stoppings and cleanings of the filter - messy job that - messy filter too.

 

[willie]

Sooo...... I've posted a few times about my 3rd batch of dragon blood.
I actually made "dragonette" with a little extra acid blend and fruit.
It's VERY DARK. Looking through it with a flash light, I CAN see through it. And I DO NOT see particles floating around. However, without the flashlight, it it impossible to see through. And I do not know if it is the color, or if it is a haze. It does look like it could be a little hazy....I know....seems weird that I can see through it clearly with a flashlight, but I swear I can!

So I am just having trouble testing/judging the clarity of this wine..........should I put some in a glass and hold it up to the light??? I think that's about where I'm at....
The other two batches, I could definitely tell when they were clear.
This one, I cannot.....

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!!

Hey Rosa I just use my wine thief to get a sample and put it in a clear wine glass for the taste, smell and look for clarity tests.

 

[fabrictodyefor]

Sooo...... I've posted a few times about my 3rd batch of dragon blood.
I actually made "dragonette" with a little extra acid blend and fruit.
It's VERY DARK. Looking through it with a flash light, I CAN see through it. And I DO NOT see particles floating around. However, without the flashlight, it it impossible to see through. And I do not know if it is the color, or if it is a haze. It does look like it could be a little hazy....I know....seems weird that I can see through it clearly with a flashlight, but I swear I can!

So I am just having trouble testing/judging the clarity of this wine..........should I put some in a glass and hold it up to the light??? I think that's about where I'm at....
The other two batches, I could definitely tell when they were clear.
This one, I cannot.....

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!!

I have read that if you can see a flame through the wine it is clear. And so far that has worked for me.

 

[nealz2k]

Finally bottled! Mine is hot (13-14% ABV) so I had to sweeten quitw a bit. Still, took it to a wedding weekend and it was a biiig hit. Will make again!

 

[RotGut76]

I usually add the finishing tannins after the first racking following clearing. In other words, add the clearing agent, wait at least a week and rack add tannin, three tsp.

One more stupid question. How does the finishing tannin effect the flavor?

Wait.... One more. After adding the finishing tannin how long must you wait before bottling?

I have a blueberry DBSP bulk aging with oak and ready for bottling. I'm curious about the tannin but have never used it at the end before.

 

[freqflyer]

Sounds like you are making true Dragon Blood!

Seriously, though, it will improve over time. However, this wine---like any other---is not for everyone.

Sugar improves the balance. Time improves the flavor.

I racked it and back sweetened. Let it age another 3 full days before I couldn't resist tasting it. This stuff is drinkable. It still has a bit of an acid bite to it, and I can taste the alcohol as though it's still someone separate of a flavor if that makes sense. It's not going to take much more improvement before I'll be willing to share this with my friends.

 

[maurtis]

I racked it and back sweetened. Let it age another 3 full days before I couldn't resist tasting it. This stuff is drinkable. It still has a bit of an acid bite to it, and I can taste the alcohol as though it's still someone separate of a flavor if that makes sense. It's not going to take much more improvement before I'll be willing to share this with my friends.

I agree, I just bottled mine last night (~3 weeks old) and it is quite enjoyable as is. Right now I would not hesitate to share it with friends with the caveat "it is a very young wine and drink it very cold". I bet in a month or two I would not have to make any caveats. Definitely looking forward to seeing how this ages in the short term.

Corking
This was the first time I worked with a corker, using one of the double lever handheld corkers. Someone mentioned that first spraying the corks with Star San helps them go in more easily and consistently. So after I boiled them (to help sanitize), I sprayed the corks with Star San. Then holding the bottle on the floor between my feet, got to corking with one quick and firm motion. They all went in smoothly and consistently, no issues.

Shrink caps
I used boiling water for the PVC shrink caps, only got a few wrinkles on the first few bottles until I got into the rhythm. I used a method that I saw in a youtube video: place the shrink cap on the bottle and hold it in place at the bottom with two fingers and dip just the top of the cap in the water. This shrinks the top and will now hold itself in place. Then you can just dip the rest in to shrink it up. No burned fingers, very few wrinkles.

Labels
I was tempted to just use some heavy weight resume paper (since we have a bunch left over from when I was job hunting) and glue them on, but figured it would just be easier to use Avery labels. Walmart had some inkjet compatible "Internet Mailing Labels" that had two labels per 8.5 x 11 sheet which worked out perfectly. Due to the two different label styles I used I got 3 labels per sheet, but could have gone with 4 labels per sheet if I had stuck with the smaller design.

I was thinking about using a spray acrylic sealer for the labels but ended up being too lazy to run to the hobby store. From what I have heard the Avery labels run on inkjet printers hold up to moisture a better than regular paper. This would make sense since mailing labels would surely be exposed to some amount of accidental moisture. We shall see.

And my son and I are big Pony fans, so this first batch had to have some My Little Pony inspired labels. If anything, to embarrass my wife when I hand them out to friends

 

[NoobVinter]

Finally bottled! Mine is hot (13-14% ABV) so I had to sweeten quitw a bit. Still, took it to a wedding weekend and it was a biiig hit. Will make again!

Beautiful!! I don't have enough clear bottles. Haha. Those look so good man. Congrats!!


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[willie]

D.B. Batch #3 I screwed up and got some lees syphoned into the new carboy. I have it topped off and am planning on letting it sit for a few weeks to make sure it clears real good before bottling plus it's aging at the same time.

D.B. Batch #4 Went to Walmart this morning going with different fruit this time.
3 Bags, 12 lbs of Great Value Strawberry, Peach, Mango & Pineapple.
Organic Sugar obtained from our local Amish store for an SG 1.085.
Filtered water.
2 cans frozen Welches 100% White Grape Juice (this is something new)
6 Bananas chunked up as per Danger Dave. (this is also something new)
1, 15 oz bottle of Real Lemon & 1, 15 oz bottle of Real Lime juice.
1 pkg. Red Star Premier Curv'ee Tomorrow 7-3-14
Comment: All the folks that say that wine gets better with age is right on. It's been a real treat for the wife and I to see how our wines improve as time passes. Our very first batch that we made is Summer Breeze Raspberry Merlot a kit wine is 6 months old now and is just awesome.
Will

 

[dangerdave]

One more stupid question. How does the finishing tannin effect the flavor?

Wait.... One more. After adding the finishing tannin how long must you wait before bottling?

I have a blueberry DBSP bulk aging with oak and ready for bottling. I'm curious about the tannin but have never used it at the end before.

The finishing tannin will give it some characteristics of a well-aged wine. It helps to produce a smoother more full-bodied wine, which will improve over time.

Simply put, the longer you wait after adding the tannin, the better the wine will get. I am unsure how much solids are involved with various forms of tannin, so if you add, you'll need to make sure---like always---that the wine is clear before bottling. If you are going to bottle soon (within a week), I'd skip the try on tannin for my next batch if I were you. If you plan on waiting to bottle, I'd go for it. It will definately kick it up a level.

 

[beggarsu]

I don't know what fruit you are using my DB made with 5 wild blueberry packs - fruit eventually dumped into must and disintegrated into small particles - is very very dark blood red seems just dark like I didn't see before - already started it with bentonite - so this is different than the other 2 DB's.

No light at all through the carboy yet, can see some glow in the litre and 750 plastic reserve bottles,


Net few days I will stabilize and add sparkaloid though sparkaloid is a bit of a extra clean up because I already used bentonite in the beginning.
Clear or not I think this one will be a dark one - it will be interesting to see.

I stabilized and used kieselsol/chitosan pack for fining for an experimental change tot see the result.
The blueberry is very very dark blood red but it is all clearing as per normal - I can definitely see difference between cleared and uncleared. I need more than a flashlight to see the light - i used a hand held electric light with special bulb and i could see the clearing.

It looks so good I could probably filter, backsweeten and bottle a lot sooner than the standard month - though I will wait the usual.

Hmm - maybe I'll do the Tannin since I'm gonna wait - oh maybe not because I can't stir the settling batch now..

 

[NoobVinter]

The finishing tannin will give it some characteristics of a well-aged wine. It helps to produce a smoother more full-bodied wine, which will improve over time.

Simply put, the longer you wait after adding the tannin, the better the wine will get. I am unsure how much solids are involved with various forms of tannin, so if you add, you'll need to make sure---like always---that the wine is clear before bottling. If you are going to bottle soon (within a week), I'd skip the try on tannin for my next batch if I were you. If you plan on waiting to bottle, I'd go for it. It will definately kick it up a level.

I am going to add some Tannin Riche. It's a popular Finishing tannin, or so it seems. I figured I would try it in at least a gallon or two of DB.


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[freqflyer]

I'm getting ready to botttle my wine. I added sparloid, metabisulfate and sorbate a few weeks ago.

Do I need to add anything to it right before I bottle it?

 

[reefman]

Not really, it sounds ready to go! Just make sure it's completely clear, and rack off any lees that have accumulated since you added the Sparkloid.
Taste it, and did you sweeten it?

 

[freqflyer]

I racked it and sweetened it. It's been sitting for a week and I don't see any more sediment forming So, I thought it would be ok to bottle.

 

[reefman]

Go for it.
Make sure to stand the bottles upright for about 3 days, in case there's any CO2 left.

 

[bkisel]

I racked it and sweetened it. It's been sitting for a week and I don't see any more sediment forming So, I thought it would be ok to bottle.

Consider racking from your carboy to your cleaned and sanitized primary bucket and then bottling from there. There just might be some fine sediment and this added step should ensure all sediment is left behind in the carboy.

 

[freqflyer]

It's bottled. I had 3/4 of a glass left over, so I dropped an ice cube in it and drank it.

I do have one issue with corking the bottle. I have the Handheld Portuguese Double Lever corker. It seems to set the corkers a little low. About an 1/8 of in below flush with the botttle. There are no adjustments on the corker that I can see. Any ideas?

 

[vacuumpumpman]

It's bottled. I had 3/4 of a glass left over, so I dropped an ice cube in it and drank it.

I do have one issue with corking the bottle. I have the Handheld Portuguese Double Lever corker. It seems to set the corkers a little low. About an 1/8 of in below flush with the botttle. There are no adjustments on the corker that I can see. Any ideas?

I push them in at least that far. then add wax to seal them and make it level

 

[user 31015]

Not sure I reported on my blackcurrant DB. To recap: it was made with about twice the fruit and half the lemon of the normal recipe. I tried it after 1 month in the bottle and whole it isn't bad tasting it is fairly sour. I think this is a function of blackcurrant (I would be curious how "proper" blackcurrant wines handle this). I am hoping the acid will soften with some more time in the bottle.

In good news I have found a local wine makers club and they have some very experienced makers (including a guy who judges competitions) an they have promised honest feedback! So, next meeting, a 2 month old bottle of mine will make a showing.

At the last meeting I was also treated to a very nice blueberry wine one of the members made. The recipe is similar to the DB approach and so I am definitely considering another batch made to that approach.