Oregon Fruit Puree - Dark Sweet Cherry

Rojoguio · Aug 14, 2024

Looking for thoughts as to a water volume to puree package for a starting target volume. The package of Dark Sweet Cherry fruit puree is 3 pounds 1 oz. I use 1 package of Oregon's Raspberry puree in my Raz-a-Rita wine for a 3 gallon batch and by year 2 the raspberry flavor dominates the Limes. I have 3 packages of the Dark Sweet Cherry and thought about making a Cherry-Rita since I'm sitting on 12 cups of pure fresh frozen ripen lime juice for this years Raz-a-Rita. My concern is using too little water or maybe too much. I only have storage for a little under 300 bottles and am about 1/2 full right now. I bulk age for a year before bottling so that will help with room. I'm looking to make a good wine over a volume of wine. Thanks for your help.

Hazelemere · Aug 14, 2024

9 lbs cherry puree. Don't use more than 1 1/2 Imperial gallons of water unless you want to co-blend other fruit to increase the volume.

Rojoguio · Aug 15, 2024

I have a large container of Maraschino cherries 44oz that I was thinking of chopping and soaking in the cherry wine after all fermentation has stopped. Would you consider that added fruit? Thanks for your reply. The Cherry puree was on sale, I like their Raspberry puree, so I bought some.

Hazelemere · Aug 15, 2024

you can mix them all in which the black cherries will reduce the acid on the maraschinos and raspberries. If you go this route I'd use 71B yeast to drop as much malic as possible so you don't need to sweeten as much to balance the flavour after ferment.

Rojoguio · Aug 16, 2024

Thanks for your reply. I had 4 3# containers of the Oregon Dark Sweet Cherry Puree. I was reading in Jack Keller's recipes introduction to Cherries and it was commented if you're going to make weak wine don't make it at all. I'm hanging close to the Sweet Cherry #2 recipe and will save my Raspberry puree for Raz-a-Rita.