DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[maurtis]

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?

Mine does the same thing consistently. It does not bother me with being below the lip of the bottle, what bothers me is when the corks are above it. But I put PVC shrink caps on mine so I do not see it for very long.

 

[bkisel]

Mine does the same thing consistently. It does not bother me with being below the lip of the bottle, what bothers me is when the corks are above it. But I put PVC shrink caps on mine so I do not see it for very long.

You guys are lucky. When I was using my double handled corker (that's before last Christmas when I got an Italian Floor Corker) I'd get part of the cork below and part above the lip. With bottles being shrink capped I'd first cut off the portion of cork that was above the lip before applying the cap.

 

[beggarsu]

Mine does the same thing consistently. It does not bother me with being below the lip of the bottle, what bothers me is when the corks are above it. But I put PVC shrink caps on mine so I do not see it for very long.

Some two handled corkers like mine have adjusting screws.

Also what is really important is hand skill. You can vary the pressure of a single corking as you are doing the cork You can vary it as to bottle type. ie there is speed ad pressure over time Particularly at the final end you can give it maximum force sharp or slow or light force sharp or slow or in-between.
Also to prevent slippage you can make sure the bottle neck is dry - and I use a piece of rubber round the bottle neck held by an elastic hairband.

Also you can wet the cork and how much you do that is a factor. I've bottled 400 or more bottles this way - no problem with storage.

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

I apologize if this has been asked before, but I just started my very first batch of DB a few days ago and a question has come up. What is the definition of "stir vigorously"? I have a rubber kitchen whip and have been using that to give it a really good stir. I get lots of fizz, foam, and bubbles when I do that, which I assume is good. How long should I do this for or is there a point when you know you've stirred it vigorously enough? Thanks in advance!

 

[Kraffty]

Val - I asked the same question about a whip a few years ago and most seemed to think it would introduce air into the wine which is not what you want. I'd stick with a spoon or paddle.
Mike

 

[dangerdave]

If I am not mistaken, the points in the recipe where I say to "stir vigorously" are when you actually do want to introduce air into the wine, during primary fermentation. After it's cleared and you're back sweetening, stir gently.

Mike gets a little confused sometimes, but we still love him.

 

[Kraffty]

My brain thought degassing somehow. Carry on.....
Mike

 

[Rosa321]

If I am not mistaken, the points in the recipe where I say to "stir vigorously" are when you actually do want to introduce air into the wine, during primary fermentation. After it's cleared and you're back sweetening, stir gently.

Mike gets a little confused sometimes, but we still love him.

Good to know, good to know..........

I don't have a "Fancy whip" yet. Still adding to my equipment collection.
But I'll be sure to put a little more muscle into it when it says "vigorously"!!!!

 

[Jstokerjr]

Started my first batch of Dragon Blood yesterday. Fermenting along and smells nice. Very citrusy.

 

[Rosa321]

Started my first batch of Dragon Blood yesterday. Fermenting along and smells nice. Very citrusy.

I think you will be glad you did!

My first batch was so/so.........but once I got the technique down pat, and started to play around with some different fruits, amounts of fruit, etc. I LOVE IT! I'm so glad I tried and it and found this recipe!

So start small. Try the original. Work out the kinks. And you're on your way!!!

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

Yes, my batch is still in primary fermentation where introducing air is a good thing. I just didn't know if a couple minutes of good stirring is enough or if I should go longer.....or should I be looking at this as a mini degassing session and stirring until some of the foaming has settled down?

 

[calvin]

I tried a batch of db original recipe + 6#'s of blackberries and 4oz of toasted French oak chips in the primary. It is ok. Do you guys think the addition of oak creates the need to age the wine longer? I also used rc212 yeast. Back sweetened with 3.5 c of sugar.

 

[jojabri]

Good to know, good to know..........

I don't have a "Fancy whip" yet. Still adding to my equipment collection.
But I'll be sure to put a little more muscle into it when it says "vigorously"!!!!

You can go a long way with a DIY whip if you have access you a drill/driver and a plastic coat hanger. Not too long ago I did an article about around the house wine making tools that included this trick. Look it up, it really works. I degass with a combo of the coat hanger & drill/driver and transferring with my All In One wine pump and its awesome how quickly I can get an absolutely still and clear batch.

Now if I could only find a good balance between my two jobbies (job/hobbies i.e. wine making and couponning) that both get done efficiently and effectively, I'd be great!

 

[beano]

Good to know, good to know..........

I don't have a "Fancy whip" yet. Still adding to my equipment collection.
But I'll be sure to put a little more muscle into it when it says "vigorously"!!!!

I use a simple 3/8" wooden dowel left over from a project as my whip and it works well for me. And the price was right. Though I've never tried it, they make an attachment for your drill to stir paint. A small 5 or 6 bladed propeller on a shaft. Just a thought........

 

[bkisel]

Started my 3rd batch of DB this morning. Any chance I have the record?

Man, between drinking and gifting this DB stuff sure goes fast!

 

[sour_grapes]

Started my 3rd batch of DB this morning. Any chance I have the record?

If you mean that you started three batches, all this morning, then maybe you have the single-day record for batches started!

In any event, good going and keep on truckin'!

 

[bkisel]

Fellow DBers... Orchard fresh peaches should be available here in Connecticut in just a few weeks. Wife would like a DB variation using peaches in place of the berries. Think it was here on this thread that someone already mentioned using more than 6 pounds of peaches in place of the 6 pounds of berries. How many pounds of peaches would you recommend I use for a DB peach variation? Wife would be happy with just a hint, maybe a hint and a half, of peach flavor and smell.

Peaches will be cleaned, pitted, quartered and frozen a few days before being used in place of berries in the DB recipe. I kind of think of a peach wine as being not as thin as a berry wine so maybe a couple of bananas in secondary to add just a little body?

Thanks...

 

[datcv]

I'm going to start a new batch of DB this week. I have been diligently collecting a lot of pick-your-own berries from local Virginia farms this summer. I currently have in the freezer about 6 lbs of black raspberries, 1 lb of red raspberries (I unfortunately missed most of the reds), 2 lbs of blueberries, 4 lbs of blackberries, and 4lbs of cherries.

Earlier this summer I started a couple gallons of strawberry wine that is ready to be bottled (~25 lbs of strawberries into about 2.5 gallons of wine).

I'm thinking for this next batch, a black dragons blood with black raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

I am trying to decide if I want to use lemon juice or acid blend- does anyone have any comment on the difference in taste? How much acid blend would I use as a substitute?


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[Dale1978]

Not sure about taste difference. BUT Dave came up with the Dragonette recipe which replaces the lemon juice with acid blend. I think the recipe pdf is under this thread.

 

[datcv]

Thanks I had forgotten about that one. I found it and it says 3tsp of acid blend for a full batch of dragonette.


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