Tart cherry wine recipe

[VitruvianMan]

Of course, Id need two more bottles to make a full gallon of juice so I thought Id add some cranberry to top it up to a gallon, Ill see what happens thanks again

 

[Arne]

You betcha, keep us informed on how it goes. Arne.

 

[VitruvianMan]

Ok, so I got the trader joes 100% juice and a 64 oz of cranberry to complete the gallon gonna mix up a batch today and see what happens, thanks everyone. I will post details to let ya know how it turns out

 

[VitruvianMan]

ferment down to .990 or so? I figure it would end up around 1.000 or just below so time will tell

 

[VitruvianMan]

Ok now Im just rambling lol, but I started out way high on the SG I dont want to add water and dilute it so would it be safe or a good idea to add another packet of yeast to ensure it continues to ferment? After the first day I can see some slight bubbles in the primary but nothing like the foam and bubbling zIve gotten with other previous wines so Im hoping it doesnt get stuck in fermenting

 

[Turock]

You said the SG was 0.99---so all the sugar is used up. I'm not sure what you mean by adding more yeast or being concerned the ferment is stuck!. If your beginning SG was high, you'll have higher alcohol content. You've got what you got!!

Did you transfer it to a carboy?

 

[fivebk]

If you have slight signs of fermentation just give it some time and it will get going strong. Yes, let it ferment down to something below 1.000, check it for three days to make sure the reading is the same and then you are ready to rack ( SG 1.010 )

BOB

 

[Downwards]

I did a tart cherry with the dried cherries from King Orchards (someone linked to them earlier). These cherries come with oil on the skin, but the oil did come out mostly in the rehydration process, and the little that was left was left behind with rackings. It came out pretty good, but I used half a can of zinfandel concentrate in it too. I also used some raisins in the recipe. Mine is about 12% alcohol, but dry. No one has said it tastes cough syruppy, but I do get a whiff of sucrets, haha. It is pretty good over all. There is a slight brownish cast to the red color, but I'll bet this is from the dry fruit. I also backsweetened very lightly with some of the concentrate that King Orchards sent me for free with the order of the cherries. Overall, I probably wouldn't do it this way again. The dried cherries were more expensive than the concentrate, and I think it would have tasted better from juice like you are doing.

 

[BernardSmith]

Ok now Im just rambling lol, but I started out way high on the SG I dont want to add water and dilute it so would it be safe or a good idea to add another packet of yeast to ensure it continues to ferment? After the first day I can see some slight bubbles in the primary but nothing like the foam and bubbling zIve gotten with other previous wines so Im hoping it doesnt get stuck in fermenting

If you think that the alcohol content is going to be too much for the yeast then simply adding more yeast is not going to solve any problem. You will simply be killing more yeast. What I would do is get another bottle of the cherry juice and "dilute" the wine with the juice (I am assuming that the sugar content of the juice was itself, not so high and that you added sugar to the must before pitching the yeast. - If you now add more juice without any additional sugar then you can calculate the nominal resulting SG of the wine by adding the two batches together and dividing by 2 eg if the SG of the wine when you started was 1.120 and you add a similar quantity of must with an SG of 1.040 then the total equivalent SG is 1.080 (1.160 divided by 2) At 1.080 even bread yeast will tolerate- so you will have diluted the alcohol (because you diluted the sugar concentration)- but you won't have diluted the juice. In fact you will have added more juice.
I am assuming that you have room in the bucket to dump the same quantity again of juice. If you add a different quantity then you need to do a slightly more complex calculation (using the Pearson Square) which takes into account the quantities of liquid as well as their relative SGs. .

 

[VitruvianMan]

Yeah I got it going and fermenting just fine, I added too much sugar before taking a reading so I was nervous it would kill of the yeast before it got done fermenting, but I read some stuff and got it figured out, thanks guys

 

[VitruvianMan]

Ok I racked into a carboy today, Im not gnna backsweeten it all to see how it comes out. The taste now is tart yet sweet on the back side, so seems to be its gonna taste great

 

[VitruvianMan]

Bottled it up this past weekend, no backsweetening, just the Cherry juice and cranberry juice, turned out very good I must say

 

[VitruvianMan]

I want to know, as I havent been on here for sometime as work is so busy with so many new buildings going up, what If i switch to a faster working yeast so it takes less time to be done. Will it change the flavor any, or am I asking dumb ? lol

 

[Turock]

Any ferment takes about 5 days or so. Yeast choice is not made on quickness, but on the benefits of the culture matched to what you're fermenting.

 

[VitruvianMan]

Ok, I normally use the cote de blanc yeast for this recipe I have now made twice. I thought about using lavlin ec 1118 to make a batch as it seems those batches are done faster than the other ones I have made. Any suggestions?

 

[Turock]

Well, 1118 IS a strong fermenter but has neutral flavor. Always be sure to use good nutrient management with this yeast because it can produce high SO2 levels.

On sour cherry--and many of our other fruit wines--we like Montrachet because it gives complex aromas and flavors. It really seems to have a fruity profile that enhances flavor of fruits. This one is a good fermenter but is a big foamer. So you always have to have good headspace in the vat so the foam doesn't overflow. When stressed, it produces large amounts of H2S so always use good nutrient management with it.

Fast ferments can avoid many problems. But even a fast ferment is 5 days.

 

[sour_grapes]

Well, 1118 IS a strong fermenter but has neutral flavor. Always be sure to use good nutrient management with this yeast because it can produce high SO2 levels.

Wait, I am now confused. Which yeast are you referring to? I thought ec-1118 had low nutrient requirements, low H2S production, and only modest SO2 production.

 

[Turock]

sour grapes--No, that's not the case. I have the Scott Labs book right here and looked it up again. Under low nutrient conditions, it can produce high levels of SO2--up to 50 PPM!!

 

[sour_grapes]

Huh, interesting.

Actually, what I said is averred to be true by Lalvin:

Low requirement in assimilable nitrogen
Low O2 requirement (especially at low T°)
Low to average production of volatile acidity
Average SO2 production
Low H2S production
Low foam formation

However, what you said is ALSO averred to be true by Scott Labs.

Under low nutrient conditions Lalvin EC1118 (TM) can produce high amounts of SO2 (up to 50 ppm) and, as a result, may inhibit malolactic fermentation

So I suppose the takeaway is that, while EC1118 has modest nutrient needs, if those needs are not met it can produce lots of SO2. Sound correct?

 

[Deezil]

EC1118 has modest nutrient needs, if those needs are not met it can produce lots of SO2. Sound correct?

That's how I've looked at it