Elderberry concentrate

[Scooter68]

I just looked over their directions and you are correct - They seem to be saying that the amount of sugar in the wine must "pre-ferment" will determine the sweetness after fermentation. Sad to see this sort of basic error. Also there is another issue with their statement that wine corks should be soaked in a sulfite solution for 2 hours before using - That is something I have never heard recommended on this board or anywhere. There are a few that suggest dipping in a k-meta solution for a few minutes but most folks nowadays prefer a quick dip (IF anything) or using right out of the bag if the bag was sealed. In any case that recommendation really is a bit troublesome as well.

All in all those instructions look like a kit wine set of instructions things they state like fact that simply do not connect with reality: 1) 4-8 weeks for fermentation 2) No reference to how much concentrate to add - just the mention of concentrate and 3 gallons of water, not even a mention of the yield of the recipe. 3) Suggestion of bottling as soon as the wine clears. It looks more like something from a YouTube video or a MotherEarth recipe and directions.

Bottom line - I would totally ignore their directions. Look at some of the discussion by others who have used their concentrate or contact them for their recipe, diretions and be sure to ask them the type of wine they like as that will affect their recipe contents.

 

[hounddawg]

Final taste is most important to me, but I agree with Scooter that knowing the contents of any food product is important. Also, it's impossible to comparison shop for juice if you don't know what is in the bottle. They would do well to be more upfront with their customers. Especially since it seems they have changed their ingredients.

I also noticed that their recipe does not include K-meta at any time thru the process. I assume that's because -according to the label - they have added sulfur dioxide. But how much? They say to use Potassium Sorbate but not K-meta before bottling. They also say the the sweetness of the final wine is determined by the amount of sugar you add pre ferment. I'm pretty new to this, but do these things make sense to you guys?

yeah see they've changed everything, the last jugs i got had a piece of paper clear taped on that only said, sour cherry, or black raspberry, or blueberry, not like @Scooter68 got with a label, the old man has retired and now lives by @dralarms, no i quit drinking better than 30 years ago, but 5 of my doctors wanted me to drink red wine for my health, so i researched and went to crafting better then i could buy, plus i knew mine was all natural. if i cant find all natural and non-GMO then I'm going back to fresh fruit in my area,, 'the orchard i found , this weekend we'll go look for table scraps, but next year I'll be first in line, if nothing else this weekend i'll be stocking up on crabapples, this orchard is better than 50 years old, and 15 mile down a gravel road, and where it starts is 5 miles from a town of about 200 people, dogs and cats, combined,,,,
Dawg

 

[crushday]

15 mile down a gravel road, and where it starts is 5 miles from a town of about 200 people, dogs and cats, combined

Envious...

 

[David Violante]

@hounddawg I saw in another post about ordering carboys from HomeBrewOhio that they had pure concentrates. Do you have any experience with these?

 

[hounddawg]

@hounddawg I saw in another post about ordering carboys from HomeBrewOhio that they had pure concentrates. Do you have any experience with these?

no, as soon as i found their bottles i never checked anything else, Thank You,
Ill take a better look.
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

www.packagingoptionsdirect.com[/URL]

is cheaper for carboys
Dawg

www.packagingoptionsdirect.com
Dawg

 

[David Violante]

I was looking for concentrates myself and came across this thread. Great information here thank you. It's amazing what is in, or omitted from "truth in labeling".

 

[Scooter68]

Sadly these days you really have to know how they can "weasel-word' labels hoping that you won't check the ingredients. Then there are those who seem to ignore common practices because there are no 'laws' that force them to do otherwise.

One more point (I'll try not to get too windy here) beverages sold for drinking straight out of the container are typically not full strength juices. Typically some degree of extra water, other juices and/or sugars are added. If you are making 'Country Fruit Wines" typically most folks make them stronger, for more of the fruit flavor, than is found in a grape wine. For that reason over the counter drinks like Ocean Spray drinks (Even the 100% Juice 'no sugar added') are not great sources for home wine makers. More than likely our better sources are those made specifically for wine bases, and those made for health food drinks - Concentrates. Typically I've found the latter to be good sources for wine bases especially when the label says "Add 1 oz to 7 /8 ozs of water per serving. THOSE are good true concentrates and the labels typically say something like "Ingredients: Montmorecy Cherries"

 

[hounddawg]

ever heard of www.naturesflavors.com 8 oz concentrates, i emailed for more information, hope to hear back from them, and yes what @Scooter68 said about fruit wines is dead on, country wine vintners are a totally different breed of wine craftsmen, most of us don't strive to repeat a particular wine, we strive to keep our fruit flavor, we just add alcohol. you take say a peach straight from the tree, next years peach from that very tree is different than last years peach, naw, the good lord, great spirit or what ever you believe makes that fruit, why change it, it is already good, but to add alcohol and keep natures flavors, that's my attempted key,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

www.naturesflavors.com in the search box try fruit juice concentrates, they have gallon jugs and 5 gallon buckets, i sent a email for a breakdown of how much each concentrate will make, they want $158.00 per gallon of concentrate of elderberry, at that price i'd need 8 to 12 gallons of finished wine,
Dawg

 

[Scooter68]

They sound too much like a chemical laboratory than I care for. And at those prices....

 

[hounddawg]

They sound too much like a chemical laboratory than I care for. And at those prices....

yep; i was weary, everything else was all suited for processing production products, and on the concentrated juice there was no info, not in how many parts to water nor anything else, this sucks, we've just passed the prime harvest time, and any bushels or pecks of fruit will be foreign i fear, i got at least a couple three years of wine, I'm not a big drinker, but crafting a really good wine relaxes me,,, mind, body and soul,,,
Dawg

 

[Scooter68]

Well you can also look at Fruit Products | Natural Fruits and vegetables | juices | Purees | powders - milnefruit.com A commercial supplier don't know if they'd even talk to a home wine maker nor do I know their prices but the products they describe look to be simple concentrates of fruits.

 

[hounddawg]

I'll hang with from scratch,
Dawg

 

[silverbullet07]

Here is another option I ran across.
https://colomafrozen.com/industrial-products

 

[reeflections]

Here is another option I ran across.
https://colomafrozen.com/industrial-products

Thanks for that. I just emailed them to see if we could get some ingredients to their concentrates.

 

[Scooter68]

For me - I grow my own blueberries and we have wild blackberries (In good years) so the concentrates I look for are Black Currant, Black Raspberry, and Tart Cherry. I have used Vintner's Harvest Black Currant concentrate and the Tart Cherry from this site Complete Natural Products: Complete Natural Products

It looks like it's getting tougher to find true 100% varietal concentrates. Buying non-concentrates means your wine is going to be limited in strength . Let's also let be realistic - most of those 100% varietal juices are in reality reconstituted from concentrates and watered down to some degree - Notice that most all state "from concentrate" meaning they added water and they don't say that they only added back natural amount of water.

I apologize if I seem to be harping on this topic but it does get old finding misleading ads and labels.

 

[reeflections]

Got a return quickly to my email:

Subject: Apricot Concentrate

Hi, I'm wondering about your fruit concentrates. For example, is your apricot concentrate pure apricot, or is it blended with another juice like apple or grape? If it is blended, could you give me an ingredient list with the percentages of any other ingredients included?

Thanks!

Mike
==================


Mike:

Thank you for your inquiry.

All of our concentrate are 100% pure fruit concentrates, no additives, no preservatives, non-GMO. The only ingredient in all of the concentrates is the fruit itself. I hope that answers your question. If not please reach out to me for more information or other questions. We remain here to serve you.

Thank you.

Ed ‘Eddie’ Sill
Sales
Coloma Frozen Foods, Inc
Nature Blessed, LLC
269-876-5917

Work is for those who do not Fish

 

[silverbullet07]

I will give the blackberry a try to use to back sweeten my current Blackberry wine when I'm ready to bottle. I just ordered the Red Raspberry from the Brownwood Acres store since it is just a little cheaper since they include shipping. Their juice is 100% of the fruit too.
email from them.

Hi Harold,

Yes! All of our concentrates (RASPBERRY included) are 100% juice from the fruit, condensed down into concentrate. No additives, no fillers, nothing

Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. Thank you, and have a great day!

 

[reeflections]

How's this for good product description?

https://colomafrozen.com/brewers-and-vintners