DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[CGish]

Bottled today. Yield from this first batch is 67 bottles.

 

[Dentman]

Ok thanks jericurl. Do you mean back sweetening will add aging time?

 

[Jericurl]

Ok thanks jericurl. Do you mean back sweetening will add aging time?

No. Adding elderberry and not as much sugar will add a bit to the aging process.
I would still definitely add some sugar though. That much lemon juice plus all those berries definitely needs just a bit to level out the flavor. You don't have to do much.

 

[Jericurl]

Bottled today. Yield from this first batch is 67 bottles.

View attachment 25289

Looks great! But most importantly, how does it taste?

 

[CGish]

Looks great! But most importantly, how does it taste?

It is already very good. It will be interesting to see how it changes over the next several months. I have 67 bottles, so maybe a few will make it past Christmas? I should have had another bottle out of this batch, but I polished off the top up container several days ago.

 

[CheerfulHeart]

Using Fermaid in DB?

The store where I will be purchasing my additives only carries Fermaid K and Fermaid O rather than regular Yeast Energizer and Yeast Nutrient.

How many teaspoons of Fermaid K and Fermaid O should I use and when for a standard 6 gallon batch of DB? I don't have a metric scale as yet.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mikeyy]

Hi guys can anybody help me out I've searched on this site but I can't find the post/thread about daves strawberry tart that people have mentioned does anybody have the link to the recipe
Thanks, mikey

 

[sour_grapes]

Hi guys can anybody help me out I've searched on this site but I can't find the post/thread about daves strawberry tart that people have mentioned does anybody have the link to the recipe
Thanks, mikey

I think I found it! See http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=528905&postcount=167

 

[gaboy]

I pitched my Lalvin 1118 yeast 21 hrs ago, and have not yet noticed any action with must @ 75 degrees. Yeast was kept under refrigeration for @ 9 months before pitching. Do I have a problem?

 

[CGish]

I pitched my Lalvin 1118 yeast 21 hrs ago, and have not yet noticed any action with must @ 75 degrees. Yeast was kept under refrigeration for @ 9 months before pitching. Do I have a problem?

How big of a batch and did you re-hydrate?

My first batch of DB went three days before the gravity started dropping. I noticed some action before that point, but it was slow getting started.

As a general rule, you don't panic over the yeast until the third day after pitching.

 

[gaboy]

Yeast Viability?

It is a 6 Gal DB batch c 9 lbs of fruit, the yeast were hydrated @ 10 min in warm water then added to the must with stirring. Others @ 3 gal I have done, took right off. THANKS for the reply info!!!!

 

[wineforfun]

I pitched my Lalvin 1118 yeast 21 hrs ago, and have not yet noticed any action with must @ 75 degrees. Yeast was kept under refrigeration for @ 9 months before pitching. Do I have a problem?

21hrs. is nothing to worry about. Only reason I would even think to worry about the yeast is if it's expiration date was passed.
I am sure you will see plenty of activity in the next day or two.

Stir it twice daily.

 

[CGish]

^ what wineforfun said.

Have a glass of wine and don't worry about it!

 

[gaboy]

21hrs. is nothing to worry about. Only reason I would even think to worry about the yeast is if it's expiration date was passed.
I am sure you will see plenty of activity in the next day or two.

Stir it twice daily.

THANKS for all the replies!! It just "took off" @ 26 hours, thanks for humoring me during the birth!!

 

[CGish]

Racked my second DB batch - tropical daze variant - out of the primary today. Started on 10/22/15. I planned for a 12 gallon batch, but wound up way over the proper starting gravity. I had to add 3 gallons of water to bring the O.G. down. I then added another 8 lbs of fruit and can of pineapple to preserve the ratios. Still wound up with an O.G. of 1.105, but I was out of space in the fermentor. F.G. was 0.990. Tasting the wine, I think I will need to add a little more acid. I will test it in a couple weeks when I back sweeten.

Today I double racked with my AllInOne wine pump to degas and added sulfite, sorbate, and sparkolloid.



Filled three five gallon carboys with just a bit left over to taste.



The AllInOne wine pump did all the heavy lifting. I only had to move the three five gallon carboys from one table top to another. No dead lifts, bending, or over reaching.

Now the waiting part.

 

[HeadWatersWine]

Latest Dragons Blood

 

[CGish]

The combination of a thorough degassing and sparkolliod is astonishing. This is six hours after racking with the AllInOne wine pump from the primary to the secondary and stirring in the sparkolloid.

You can see how much clearer the wine is already and the 1/2" band of lees in the bottom of the carboy:

 

[Dominic1920]

What can I do to keep my next batch of dragons blood from turning orange as it ages? I made a strawberry, blackberry variant and it started out a beautiful deep red, then turned a pink blush, now its a bright orange.

 

[CGish]

What can I do to keep my next batch of dragons blood from turning orange as it ages? I made a strawberry, blackberry variant and it started out a beautiful deep red, then turned a pink blush, now its a bright orange.

How are you aging and / or bottling?

Carboy?

One Gallon Jugs?

Wine Bottles?

Beer Bottles?

If you are bulk aging, how much headspace are you leaving in the carboy?

 

[Dominic1920]

Wine bottles for about 6 months at room temperature, though it did sit in the carboy for about 3 months clearing with a bit more headspace than it should of had. When it first started clearing in the carboy it was a deep red. When I bottled it was a blush pink. After 6 months in the bottles, its bright orange.

How are you aging and / or bottling?

Carboy?

One Gallon Jugs?

Wine Bottles?

Beer Bottles?

If you are bulk aging, how much headspace are you leaving in the carboy?