Hello, my husband and I are relatively new to wine making. This is our third year taking our grandsons blueberry picking and turning it into wine. We have 15 gallons of wine in secondary fermenters as I type this. We made 10 gallons last year and everyone loved it so much we barely got to keep any ourselves, so we keep expanding. Were going to try some other fruit wines and have a wine kit coming as well. Its so much more satisfying to drink wine youve made. I hope to learn enough so I can pay it forward down the road. Weve been very appreciative of others sharing their experience.
Hello fellow winemakers
- Thread starter Calhce49
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Ohio Bob
Senior Member
Welcome! Like a lot of us, a little success drags a deeper into this great hobby.
Were hoping! ( always a little nervous until its done - im always convinced ive done something to ruin it -then it turns out fine- but I guess its all part of the fun )
welcome to Wine Making Talk
If you have done a good,, the neighbors ask for more bottles,, blueberry you can do wine. What grows in your area? there are a lot of good crops out there to ferment.
If you have done a good,, the neighbors ask for more bottles,, blueberry you can do wine. What grows in your area? there are a lot of good crops out there to ferment.
We actually haven't tried any others. We wanted our grandsons to experience berry picking and then found we could only eat so many muffins...grabbed some buckets at the local winemaking shop and fell in love. Weve tried cider as that comes into season as the weather starts to cool. But we dont use air-conditioning, or have a stand alone freezer, so mid summer has never seemed conducive. When its 90 here ( in western ny ). It feels inhospitable to pitching yeast without getting the must too warm. Ive just been seeing that you can buy pulp in bottles...( amoretti?)...and wondering if we should give it a try. Or should we try apple wine? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Funny you should ask...ive just been reading the forums here about wine kits. ( id actually love to do it from fresh grapes but im not sure where to get them locally ). I thought we might try a winexpert cabernet. But so far its only been blueberry.
Ohio Bob
Senior Member
Highly recommend the Fine Wine Kits sold by Label Peelers. They will ship the kit to you.
Thanks! Looked them up and looks like they have a batch coming in late september....strongly considering. Im also waiting to research Monday morning what shops I have available that might provide actual grapes. Appreciate the recommendation.
Welcome to WMT!
The only bad thing about this fun little hobby is that I waited so long to start.
The only bad thing about this fun little hobby is that I waited so long to start.
If you have a basement or crawl space that would work to get your temperature down.
I would highly recommend apple. It was my first wine and I have made 10 gallons a year since. It’s always a hit with my wife and kids. Also, you can hold off until later in the year for cooler temps. I didn’t have a press the first few years so I was chopping them and fermenting the whole fruit. That yields a LOT of lees so start with a bigger batch than your secondary.
Welcome aboard!
I am doing apple cysers. (12% ABV) In the future I see dropping the alcohol but I don’t know how low yet. (5% is the floor for micro stability) The magic flavor ingredient was finding apple bitters which so far is crab apple at 5 to 7%. (planted a Kingston but I am years away from harvesting). I will also make a extract of crab and add it to rhubarb, grape, gooseberry, etc so I am freezing crab now for spring wines.
I have no opinion against fruit in wine. A 12% ABV or higher should survive the dilution and micro assault from adding a half percent non fermented stuff. I sometimes sweeten with frozen concentrate, so have managed bottle time additions without refermentation.
fwdevoe
Member
Welcome...glad to have you aboard! Love that blueberry wine! 
Welcome along! Glad you’re here and looking forward to seeing what you’re making and how you’re doing.
Anna Nelson
Junior
I am really glad to hear that blueberries can make good wine. I have the opportunity to get frozen blueberries in quantity every once in a while. I turned the last ones down because I couldn't imagine blueberry wine. Starting on a batch of strawberry
Welcome to WMT! Blueberry wine is one of my favorites.
If the temperature is too high, the yeast ferments very fast and the flavor is not as good. The old way to make wine, before freezers and air conditioning, was to make it when the fruit ripens. Late ripening apples are ready in the fall, when the temperatures should be cooler. But blueberries come early, while it is still hot. I wonder if anyone in your family would be willing to keep some berries in their freezer for a few months in exchange for some blueberry wine?
