DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[snoopthulhu]

This looks like a great thread, and sometime I will definitely start to go through it! But sorry, I'm going to ask a procedural question here without first doing an exhaustive search.

So I'm < 24 hours from the first rack. It says to clear a week then back-sweeten for another week. So why can't those steps be combined? Alternately, if it clears quickly, is there any reason not to go to the sweetening stage then?

 

[dcbrown73]

This looks like a great thread, and sometime I will definitely start to go through it! But sorry, I'm going to ask a procedural question here without first doing an exhaustive search.

So I'm < 24 hours from the first rack. It says to clear a week then back-sweeten for another week. So why can't those steps be combined? Alternately, if it clears quickly, is there any reason not to go to the sweetening stage then?

I would suggest you just follow the directions. Also to note. A schedule isn't always exact. The wine will tell you when it's ready. Impatience is not the winemakers friend.

 

[freqflyer]

Also, this wine will sometimes drop some pectin after it clears. This may be dependent on the clarifier. It won't hurt anything but it doesn't look pretty in the bottle, so be patient

 

[Winenoob66]

Sparkloid is bad for dropping sediment a few months after it was cleared and bottled. So I now use a different one. (Kieselsol & Chitosan)

 

[mnwc2004]

I have a question. I used 6 pounds of triple berry fruit and added 2 cans of white grape concentrate from old orchard. Otherwise I followed directions exactly. My starting SG was 1.075 and finished at .992. I've completed step 4 of the process two days ago and surprisingly my wine is already clear. I have not back sweetened yet. I decided to have a taste today and sadly my DB tastes like nothing. No fruit taste no wine taste. Just nothing. It's very thin feeling as well. Is there anything that can be done at this point to give this wine some sort of flavor?

 

[Johnd]

I have a question. I used 6 pounds of triple berry fruit and added 2 cans of white grape concentrate from old orchard. Otherwise I followed directions exactly. My starting SG was 1.075 and finished at .992. I've completed step 4 of the process two days ago and surprisingly my wine is already clear. I have not back sweetened yet. I decided to have a taste today and sadly my DB tastes like nothing. No fruit taste no wine taste. Just nothing. It's very thin feeling as well. Is there anything that can be done at this point to give this wine some sort of flavor?

When you do sweeten your wine, it will bring out more of the fruit flavor, but I find 6 pound for a 6 gallon batch to be thin anyway. When I do this fruit wine, I use 8 pounds each of blue, black, and raspberry.

Most HBS carry flavoring concentrates you can add to help, I personally find them chemically tasting. You can also try adding triple berry juice, which will also accomplish some of your sweetening, but you'll need to clear it again.

 

[Grabo]

I had a similar concern when making my first Dragon's Blood batch. I tasted it and was a little concerned by the lack of flavor early on. However after a back sweetened, the berry flavors started popping out. About 3 weeks after I bottled (no bulk aging) I started to become impressed with the taste for the cost to produce.

Dragon's Blood was the first batch that I made that I could actually drink early (I have a RJS cab sauv that is still aging). I went through the roller coaster of "oh well this is just a cheap alcoholic drink while I wait for real wine" and then 3 weeks later to "holy crap, it actually tastes good!" Give it some time and it'll become a good summertime drink.

 

[dcbrown73]

I followed the directions to a T and it called for 6 pounds of triple fruit. Thought I could only find a four fruit mix. (Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries) Mine is tasting fantastic now. It was extremely bitter before I back sweetened it. Though I added the 3/4 cups of sugar like the directions noted, but it was still very bitter. Though I listen to the directions saying don't over sweeten it and that when the sugar and fruit flavors had time to blend, the fruit would come forward.

Oh man has it. It tastes absolutely wonderful now. I'm glad I left it the way it was and gave it time to come forward and of course, it's about a month old now and is very drinkable. My plan to bulk age it for three months in the carboy is very much in jeopardy! Some of it may have to age to three months in the bottle!

 

[Gussman]

I always use Super-Kleer. Love the stuff

 

[mnwc2004]

Thank you for the reassurance! I'll back sweeten and be patient!

 

[Pd2718]

Bottling question

Can I back sweeten with sugar and grape juice? I Don't want to water down the wine.

 

[Winenoob66]

I actually take some of the wine and heat it until it is just hot enough to dissolve the sugar then mix it back in. But yes if you wanna do it your way then it will be fine.

 

[gotbags-10]

Just racked out of primary. Stabilized but didn't add clearing agent yet. I'm going to back sweeten with frozen berry concentrate. Should I wait to clear after I add the concentrate? Didn't know if it would cloud it back up.

 

[Winenoob66]

You can wait if you like. I usually rack from primary then add k meta and degas. Once the gas is gone, I stabilize then wait a few days to make sure the sorbate has had a chance to take effect good then back sweeten and add clearing agents. Wait another week and bottle or bulk age for 3 months then bottle. (If I bottle it before 3 months there is hardly any of the good stuff left at 3 months)

 

[wineforfun]

Can I back sweeten with sugar and grape juice? I Don't want to water down the wine.

That is all I ever backsweeten with, plain sugar, as like you, don't want to dilute or water it down.

 

[NCWC]

Trying my hand at making this country wine. I made a simple syrup instead of stirring in the sugar. I also am trying a different yeast Cellar Science RBS 133.
After fruit SG was little over 1.09 Color looks great

 

[Black-opal]

when I make these fun wines I always break the Disaccaride bond into its sucrose and fructose components, which makes it easier for the yeasties to nom on. Science!

 

[dcbrown73]

I've bottled my first wine! Which happen to be the Dragon's Blood since it doesn't require so much aging.

The bottling process was definitely a learning experience. First, it isn't something you want to do by yourself hah. You've also have got to leave space for air in the top too or the cork will squeeze wine out via the side of the cork making the cork and bottle slippery wet and the pressure in the bottle easily push the cork up and partially out of the bottle forcing you to re-cork it after draining a bit of wine out of it.

I used the cheaper 1 year corks on this wine as I don't expect to age it. I bought much better corks for my Eclipse wines.

Best part is keeping it properly topped up, I got 29 bottles out of it plus a half filled 32oz mason jar which I promptly put in the fridge for a bit to chill it down enough to enjoy it now.

The wine's color looks fantastic!

 

[NCWC]

Been a week and my DDDBW's SG is 1.025 almost done about 75-80 degree ferment

 

[cintipam]

David, you might wind up with corks pushing up. You are supposed to have a good fingers width empty below the cork to leave room for the air to be compressed. Take a good look at pics of other folks bottled wine to see what I mean. I know these will be quick drinkers, but keep an eye on them.

Pam in cinti