BobF
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Yes, I know, this topic is for non-winemaking posts. It doesn't fit anywhere else though.
I've been threatening to do this for a while and now I've finally started it.
I ordered a Vino Italiano Shiraz kit to add elderberries to. The idea is that using wine grape juice will be better than water for a 3#/g batch.
Using pure fruit juice is great, but usually ends up less complex in flavor with high acid levels to deal with.
I thawed, mashed and treated 18# of frozen elderberries with PE. I pressed the berries and got around 1-1/2g of juice.
This was added to the Shiraz concentrate and the total volume was brought to 23L + 1/2g.
I didn't test the acid beyond tasting (laziness), the SG was 1085. I used the bentonite and yeast (1118) that came with the kit.
I'm planning to oak this and get a sense of how it will be as a dry red, considering backsweetening as a possibility later on if it needs it. Would be nice to have a hybrid grape/fruit wine that's a bit more serious than a mist kit. Time will tell!!
I'll update as this progresses.
I've been threatening to do this for a while and now I've finally started it.
I ordered a Vino Italiano Shiraz kit to add elderberries to. The idea is that using wine grape juice will be better than water for a 3#/g batch.
Using pure fruit juice is great, but usually ends up less complex in flavor with high acid levels to deal with.
I thawed, mashed and treated 18# of frozen elderberries with PE. I pressed the berries and got around 1-1/2g of juice.
This was added to the Shiraz concentrate and the total volume was brought to 23L + 1/2g.
I didn't test the acid beyond tasting (laziness), the SG was 1085. I used the bentonite and yeast (1118) that came with the kit.
I'm planning to oak this and get a sense of how it will be as a dry red, considering backsweetening as a possibility later on if it needs it. Would be nice to have a hybrid grape/fruit wine that's a bit more serious than a mist kit. Time will tell!!
I'll update as this progresses.
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