Raisins

[Wild Duk]

What exactly do they do for wine making....


I'm about to start a batch ofElderberry. Its a Vinters reserve fruit, and I was wondering if addingsome raisins would do anything to help out the wine....

 

[Goodfella]

Body and flavor.

 

[Wild Duk]

Any idea if they would improve on this wine....I'm not good atformulating recipies, just following them....

 

[pelican]

Raisins, being from grapes, also add some grape sugars, a little bit of tannins (not that you need that with Elderberries!), nutrients unique to grapes, and that quality of vinosity (wine-y-ness) also known as body and mouthfeel. They also tend to add a sherry-like flavor which can be good or can be not as desired. In elderberry, they are a nice combination.

 

[Wild Duk]

Thanks, how much would you add for a 3 gallon batch....

 

[pelican]

How much would depend on what style effect you want but I'd guess (key word - guess - ) that to enhance a bit of body to elderberry wine, you can try 1 lb of raisins per gallon, or 3 lbs for a 3 gallon batch.

You'll also need to chop the raisins first as well, a food processor comes in handy for that.

The hard part is to remember to adjust your overall sugar additions downward by ....?...and that's
the hard part, knowing how much sugar those raisins contribute! You could maybe bring your SG before the raisins go in down by .005 (instead of 1.080, start 1.075 then add the raisins).

 

[pelican]

Forgot to ask, can you post the recipe you are starting with?

Beware that the Vintner's Reserve can recipe may be a little out of whack, according to what others have had to say about it. It also seems I recall to mention making a x% sulfite solution and then using a teaspoon of that solution - and others have misread that and added a teaspoon of metabisulphite powder which is Waaaaayyyyyyy too much. So beware the recipe on the can!