My blackcurrant wine recipe + join chat & advice me!

Winemaker2013 · Apr 16, 2013

Hi there!

So i have made up my mind to get more serious in wine making. Surfed over internet a bit and decided that this forum should be good place to get help, friendly talk on this topic and more.. So as my first post i say hello to everyone!

Information on black currant wine making

There is none. Thats what i found out browsing internet for over few days.. There are no books that dive deep in this fruit (which i treat as second best* being grapes as number one! hehe

)

*im very wrong right?

My winemaking background

I never took any book on winemaking in my life, and i never browsed internet on winemaking untill few days ago. I only used my grampa same recipe for years (managed to get few bottles to as old as 10year old.)
Never had complaints that wine was terrible or bad. It was above average(personally it was the best wine ever - for me)

Id like to get some advices on each topic

1. Anyone knows any book that specifies in blackcurrant wine making?

If you guys help me out in explaining on this i might not even need a book

2. Id like to get some feedback(from neutral perspective) on my recipe ive been using for years.

3. Where should i start next? *i want to continue on black currants but i want to become more knowledged on how to improve it!

Blackcurrant recipe

* 3.4 gallon (13liter) of boiled water(cool totally)
* ~0.8gallon (~3liter) pure black currant juices (pressed with ordinary juice maker and then hand pressed by those linen(edited: nylon straining bags)
* ~ 6.25/6.6 lbs(2.5/3kg) of sugar
* nothing else, no yeast no nothing (please dont jump on me)

1. Mix sugar with water
2. put it in juices and stirr abit.
3. make it stay in warm temp for fermentation (about a month)
4. Pour all wine through that specific cloth/nylon mesh bag/strainer bag(or how are they called in english) so its pure juicewater/almostwine with no leftovers(lees) from fermentation.
5. Leave it in dark cell for a year
6. Pour all wine through that "nylon strainer bag" so that lees that gather through a year will be removed.
7. Leave for year and then repeat the 6th step one more time.
8. At 3th year pour it in bottles and let them stay in cell for years..

And.. thats how i managed to get 10year old wine. Would like to get some feedback, please dont attack me harshilly. It worked for me all the time**

**only one bottle had to be thrown down the drain because of subtle rotten egg smell.

Please give me some feedback at least on recipe. Thanks!

pjd · Apr 16, 2013

It sounds a bit primitive but who can complain when it managed to be drinkable 10 years later! I have never made Black Currant wine but I sure would try one made from your recipe. I dont really understand "specific cloth" I guess we do have a bit of a language barrier. Good luck and welcome to Winemaking talk!

Winemaker2013 · Apr 17, 2013

pjd said:
It sounds a bit primitive but who can complain when it managed to be drinkable 10 years later! I have never made Black Currant wine but I sure would try one made from your recipe. I dont really understand "specific cloth" I guess we do have a bit of a language barrier. Good luck and welcome to Winemaking talk!

I googled it with translator and they are called "nylon straining bags" or something like this. I hope now you do understand what i meant.

And dont worry about my crude/primitive recipe - its good, but this summer/autumn i will buy that hydrometer and i will try making adjustments on ratios of winejuice / water / sugar. And i will probably add something else in there too.

So if there is anyone who uses similar recipe is welcome to tell me what ratios they are using and how good is their wine!

Duster · Apr 17, 2013

Welcome to minemakingtalk, at the least you're going to want to get a hydrometer and some potassium metaphosphate (K-META). I would also recommend a racking cane.
there are several things you can do to add to the complexity of this wine but it sounds like you have the basics down.
It also sounds like you have mastered one of the hardest elements of winemaking, being patient.
the K-meta will help with preserving the wine and with equipment cleaning. the hydrometer will give us a better understanding of what your ABV will be and the racking cane will help you create a clearer wine without taking three+ years.
do you have any goals in mind how you would like to change it? Make it sweeter, add more body, maybe some fruity characteristics.

Winemaker2013 · Apr 17, 2013

Duster said:
Welcome to minemakingtalk, at the least you're going to want to get a hydrometer and some potassium metaphosphate (K-META). I would also recommend a racking cane.
there are several things you can do to add to the complexity of this wine but it sounds like you have the basics down.
It also sounds like you have mastered one of the hardest elements of winemaking, being patient.
the K-meta will help with preserving the wine and with equipment cleaning. the hydrometer will give us a better understanding of what your ABV will be and the racking cane will help you create a clearer wine without taking three+ years.
do you have any goals in mind how you would like to change it? Make it sweeter, add more body, maybe some fruity characteristics.

Hey thank you very much for feedback!

This year my goals are to master fermentation(maybe it should be quicker than 30days) and with hydrometer to get good at knowing how much % my wine will have ( i dont want to get most % but i was always curious about it - not curious(knowledged on how to use it) enough to buy one tho..)

As for the taste well, i havent decided yet, but im strongly against mixing whatever fruits in wine for tastes sake.. I want to say here - this is pure blackcurrant wine! Im more interested in making it smell even better. But i have no nose so im not sure if you will be able to help me out on this matter.

Arne · Apr 17, 2013

Find a post on here made by Wade and shoot him a p.m. He grows the black currants and has a recipe he uses for them. I have one I use for red currants, but have never even seen a black one. Only red ones I have seen are growning in our yard. Anyway if you want the red currant one, I'll dig it out, otherwise try Wade. He doesn't post as much as he used to, but there are a bunch of posts on here by him so it shouldn't take very long to find one by him. Arne.

Winemaker2013 · Apr 19, 2013

I am reading a lot of info in this amazing website but so far, im just stuck at - if i start using those tools that probably all of you are using, how am i going to make unique wine. It seems all those tools and advices generalizes winemaking in standart recipe (follow this, you have to get this much %, dont over do this and that).

Arne · Apr 19, 2013

Most of us on here have been making wines along the general paths we try and lead you down. They are pretty much tried and true and you can make a good wine by following the general guidelines. Make a couple this way and then you can branch out and make some additions of your own. Think you will find you are making some unique wines along the way. One thing, keep good notes so if you come up with a good one that you want to make again you will know what you did the first time. Arne.