I prefer DB in cellar temperature than from the fridge. I think the fridge temperature kills the berry flavor too much.
DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine
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Did you only squeeze on day six and not before?
I squeeze with clean hands, backsweeten, and serve cold.
I’ve only made DB once, but I used frozen berries that broke apart pretty well between freezing and pectic enzyme. I also didn’t use a bag (be free!). There wasn’t much to ‘press’ or ‘squeeze’ when I racked, I used the bottle in the fridge method and let the gross lees compress and added the remaining wine back. I did back-sweeten a little, and am aging it to see the flavor changes over time. I say drink it how you like it! Try it several ways… ice cold, cellar cold, room temp… you're the one enjoying it, as they used to say at Burger King, have it your way! LOL
FlamingoEmporium
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My Daughter from NYwas just down for a visit and I opened the big bottle of what I call my Dragon Pee, kind of a cross between skeeter pee and dragon blood.I called it tutti-frutti I used frozen berry mix and some fresh strawberry. Then I added a nice amount of fresh squeezed lime juice. It was by far one of the best if not the best wine I’ve made so far. Delicious, light, fruity. Easy drinker. Going to make this one again this summer for sure.
this one aged in bottle about 8 -10 months I think.
this one aged in bottle about 8 -10 months I think.
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I squeezed each day but not vigorously and on day six my my sg was .994 so I squeezed the bag dry. I squeezed so hard it caused a few small solids to come out of my mesh bag but its not an issue for me since I use a Pentek to filter all my wines in the end. This was my first attempt of making something that was not a kit so I stood and watched it for hours which does not help the process.
I've learned a lot about wine making the past six months and if I was going to make DB again there would be changes, but one of the things I would repeat was the slight squeeze of the berry bags on days 1-5 and a hard squeeze on the day the bags were removed. On another note, at step 5 I used the back sweetening directions plus one additional cup of sugar because we like sweet or semi sweet wines. Also added 3 oz of raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry flavoring and topped off with blueberry and blackberry wine. Let it sit for 18 days before filter and bottling.
The flavor is GREAT but I regret adding the extra sugar ... its very sweet and the extra sugar is not needed even for us. I had a bottle in December and opened a bottle at the end of March. The taste change from the three months in a bottle even better ... swear!
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I found minimal sweetening and drinking at room temp was better for me. Chilling it seemed to make the sweetness lessened. And like others, I bought gloves to make the whole process of squeezing the bag have less of a chance of bacteria and my hands didn't turn red!
But you should have plenty to figure out what works for you. Put a bottle after a couple months of aging in the fridge and try it. Then try a room temp bottle. You do you, but would be curious which you prefer
But you should have plenty to figure out what works for you. Put a bottle after a couple months of aging in the fridge and try it. Then try a room temp bottle. You do you, but would be curious which you prefer
Curious about the Pentek filter you mentioned. I see that it's a water filter, but how do you use it? Are you using a pump that runs it through the filter? Do you run water thru ahead and behind to not leave wine sitting in the filter? Do you change the filter between wines or just thoroughly rinse with water?I squeezed each day but not vigorously and on day six my my sg was .994 so I squeezed the bag dry. I squeezed so hard it caused a few small solids to come out of my mesh bag but its not an issue for me since I use a Pentek to filter all my wines in the end. This was my first attempt of making something that was not a kit so I stood and watched it for hours which does not help the process.
On another note, at step 5 I used the back sweetening directions plus one additional cup of sugar because we like sweet or semi sweet wines. Also added 3 oz of raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry flavoring and topped off with blueberry and blackberry wine. Let it sit for 18 days before filter and bottling.
The flavor is GREAT but I regret adding the extra sugar ... its very sweet and the extra sugar is not needed even for us. I had a bottle in December and opened a bottle at the end of March. The taste change from the three months in a bottle even better ... swear!
Interesting idea.
This is not my video but its what I have ... used with the AIO wine pump. I have several videos on YouTube with the AIO wine pump but none showing the filtering yet. Probably coming down the road. lol
My videos are not good but they are real. I spray everything down with mist of star san and do not use water anywhere in the filtering system except when I'm finished cleaning up the one hose. Since the filter is plastic, you don't lose any wine or at least very little 2-3 oz at most and wine comes out crystal clear for me. I've only done it about 5-6 times and with the quick connects it took about 6-10 min at most. No, not a paid spokesperson for AIO wine pump ... it just works best for me and your results my vary but its solid system for my needs. Each filter cost about $4-5 and they claim the plastic does not strip color or taste only particles so I use a new filter each time. Its so darn easy ... if it wasn't, I probably couldn't do it! 
My Dragons Blood finished out like a professional wine. Of course, I had lots of help with these guys on the forum and awesome equipment.
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I am just about ready to bottle my first dragon blood. I have to say this is the best wine I have ever made. Not that I have made a lot of wine, but thus far this is by far the best I have made. Thank You Dave for sharing the recipe!
I am wanting to make dragon blood from peaches. Do I use Dave’s recipe and delete triple berries and add peaches? I was wondering about the addition of the lemon juice. Would I still add that? I have read the complete thread and remember some peach related stuff but I can’t find a Dragon Blood peach recipe? Any help here?
Nope. What does it taste like?
81…….Can you give a little more info?
FYI -- if you use an "@" with the UID, the member will get pinged that you mentioned them, e.g., @Billdean. You should get a notification (look at the bell icon in the upper right corner of the page).
Folks do a lot of tests, generating a lot of numbers, among them pH. Most numbers are meaningless except in the context of the situation and/or with respect to other numbers. For instance, let's say the SG is 1.042. If this is the starting SG, the must needs more sugar as the result will be too low in ABV to preserve (wine with ABV < 10% doesn't have a long shelf live). If it's at the end of fermentation, well, it's NOT at the end of fermentation. If in the middle, then this is correct, the ferment is roughly half way done.
When getting close to bottling, the numbers don't matter. I don't care what the pH, TA, RS, etc measure. What matters is does the wine taste good?
So for a given wine, do you taste good varietal character, e.g., does it taste like what it's made from? Does the wine taste acidic/sharp, or insipid/flat? Is it astringent? Especially with fruit wines, a bit of sugar brings out fruit flavors. If the wine is sharp or astringent, a bit of sugar corrects that. If the wine is flat tasting, a bit of acid may perk it.
Winemaking is an art. We apply as much science as we can, but in the end, winemaking is a bunch of judgment calls. Trust your nose and your mouth.
Also keep in mind that it is FAR easier to add more than to take some out, so with additions, always go light.
Carrots?
@winemaker81 …….So if i understand what you are saying, taste the musk to see if i need to add lemon juice or not? If it has good peach flavor but it is insipid probably so. Will adding Lemon juice on the secondary fermentation hurt anything if it is tasting flat at that point.
You can adjust acid at any point, but a balanced must is always best for a strong fermentation and a stable wine. Low Ph promotes growth of unwanted bacteria, but there a lots of acid powders to choose from to make subtle adjustments, as well as using lemon.
I don't believe adjusting acid in the must by taste is a good idea. It can be very deceptive. I usually start 3.5-3.6. You really want to make sure you have that microbial protection. And adding acid in secondary may be too soon because the wine is still developing like crazy. Closer to bottling time is better for adjusting and like Bryan said, by taste, heck with pH.
I like my berry wines tart so I'll go closer to 3.0 at the start. (And that's easy for me to do because my homegrown berries are super tart!)
Good luck with the peach! That's one I haven't done yet. Good flavorful peaches seem to be rare around here, darn it! If I don't have flavor I'm not making wine.
Ha. I answered this while watching TV.
Low acidity promotes growth.
As long as you are in a good area, as Dave says your fermentation will be stable, and the subtle adjustments can be made in secondary. I know if Dave wants citrus flavors, he will choose citric acid. Acid blend will give a more blended flavor. Tartaric is the acid in highest concentrations in grapes and adding it will give the most similar characteristics to a grape wine, so depending on desired outcomes there are multiple options.
Lemon is cheap and easy, but I feel you have more control with powders in secondary.
