The Blueberry

[Johnd]

I really don't understand why anyone is adding any water to these berries and diluting the flavor! I've been making a lot of Blueberry wines over the years and I have never added any water. Last week I crushed 4 tons of blueberries and they are currently fermenting away right now. I have tried freezing them in the past but don't even do that anymore. For those wanting high alcohol, you wouldn't have to worry the alcohol masking the flavor if you didn't water it down. I'm actually thinking of fortifying a batch this year to make a port style wine.

A big reason is that I don't have 4 tons of blueberries, only the 40# picked by my inlaws, and I don't feel like screwing around with a sub-6 gallon batch. Compounded by the fact that if you research blueberry wine, most recipes recommend 4 or 5 pounds per gallon. And then there is cost, around here, they cost over $3 / pound, making a 6 gallon batch cost more than even the most expensive grapes that I have crushed, destemmed, frozen and shipped to me from California. I'd have preferred to not add any water, it just wasn't in the cards, and I believe that I can make a very nice blueberry wine with 6.66# of blueberries per gallon of finished wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

I agree with the cost. It is one of the most expensive fruits I buy.

 

[Johnd]

I agree with the cost. It is one of the most expensive fruits I buy.

That said, you obviously think it is worth the cost to make your blueberry wine that way. Obviously, you are making some great wine with it, or you wouldn't do it that way. I did intend to do straight blueberry when I asked them to collect them for me, I just expected to get enough for a 6 gallon batch......

 

[Scooter68]

Blueberries are expensive to buy - cannot argue that.

One problem when we all discuss how many pounds of berries it takes for a strong or good flavored wine is the ripeness and water content of the berries used. That's One of several issues in the equation. In the photo on this thread the berries have a lot of red to them - the varieties of berries I grow would not be anywhere near ripe if they have any red on them. (Not meaning those berries aren't ripe!) This affects the outcome of each wine batch - that's the point of the rest of this post.

Something I've learned now after 10 years of growing blueberries - If the stem part of the berry is not the same color as the rest of the berry - it isn't ripe in fact it can be downright mouth puckering. BUT that's not true on every plant I have. When family comes to visit and wants to pick blueberries I tell them I have one rule - you pick an unripe berry You eat it NOW! They think I'm joking, well yes, but it makes a difference and when you pick your own off your own plants you learn to tell quickly - how to end up with good ripe berries in the bucket. BUT there are so many varieties of berries with different characteristics and of course Wild Blueberries as well. So when I move from one plant to another I have to remember or taste test to remind myself of what this plants berries are like. So my point is when we try to tell someone how many pounds of berries they should be using with any fruit.... it depends.... on that batch of fruit. You may think your are comparing blueberries to blueberries but they ain't the same more often than we want to believe. And really that's true with any fresh fruit - even from the grocery store or fruit stand.

 

[Johnd]

Ripeness point well made and well taken. Let there be no doubt that, just like grapes, harvesting your fruit at the proper time for winemaking is important. Like @runningwolf , I believe that wines are all they can be when you don't add water to them. That said, I did it to grapes with a 29 Brix.

With a few hundred pounds of blueberries, all picked ripe and at the same time, split in half and two batches made, I believe that I would prefer the wine made from blueberries with no water added, as opposed to one made with water added. Despite that, it's not what I chose to do, when weighing all of my options.

 

[Scooter68]

Johnd - Understand - I just amended the above post, added to it and put it over on the Beginners Forum for newbies. So many ways to go, so many different aspects to consider when making wine from fresh fruit. That was the point of the post I put over there as a new thread under "Aren't All Blueberries the same?" I suspect that a lot of the differences in how much is enough, stem from the differences in the fruit we use - just as much as our difference in tastes.

 

[geek]

So...the consensus is that 10lbs per gallon with no water?

 

[Johnd]

No doubt Scooter, I definitely know my taste, I know that I like the strongest, thickest, heaviest, dry red grape wines that I can find. My taste in fruit wine is the same, I consider the full strength product to be the most authentic, probably why I don't do them much.

Despite the fact that this one has a bit of water, optimism is still high that the berries can be worked by me and the yeast to strip every morsel of goodness out of them. When I stir and punch the cap down a few times a day, the drill and paddle will be the tool of choice.

One thing I know for sure is how many pounds of grapes it takes to make a gallon of wine, all of them.

 

[Scooter68]

So...the consensus is that 10lbs per gallon with no water?

Depends.... What strength do you like? What is the blueberry like, is it very sweet and concentrated or is store bought 'pretty' berry light in flavor. I don't think there is a clear consensus really, everyone has different likes and the berries themselves vary.
If you like a strong beverage like a port, you probably want to go higher on fruit poundage 12-14 lbs/gal and punch the ABV up to 16%-17% If you like a milder lighter wine you can go as low as 4 lbs and still have a very tasty blueberry wine at an ABV ot 11%-12%.

 

[Runningwolf]

I can tell you I am getting about 200 gallons per ton with Blueberries. I make several different wines with it. Some are 100% blueberry and others I blend with another wine like Cayuga. If you really want to go out on the limb (and this is really expensive) I think one of the best blends was Blueberry and Chardonnay. Just 20-30% blueberry with the char makes and excellent wine. Another idea is blending the Blueberry with a big bold red and fortify it to make a port style wine. I realize this is beyond a beginner in their first year of wine making, but I am sharing it with those who have the extra berries and looking for new ideas.

 

[geek]

I can tell you I am getting about 200 gallons per ton with Blueberries. I make several different wines with it. Some are 100% blueberry and others I blend with another wine like Cayuga. If you really want to go out on the limb (and this is really expensive) I think one of the best blends was Blueberry and Chardonnay. Just 20-30% blueberry with the char makes and excellent wine. Another idea is blending the Blueberry with a big bold red and fortify it to make a port style wine. I realize this is beyond a beginner in their first year of wine making, but I am sharing it with those who have the extra berries and looking for new ideas.

Is that blend with chard using dry blueberry wine or you back sweeten a bit?

 

[Runningwolf]

Back sweeten after Blending

 

[geek]

I got to try that blend with 2 bottles....

 

[geek]

Depends.... What strength do you like? What is the blueberry like, is it very sweet and concentrated or is store bought 'pretty' berry light in flavor. I don't think there is a clear consensus really, everyone has different likes and the berries themselves vary.
If you like a strong beverage like a port, you probably want to go higher on fruit poundage 12-14 lbs/gal and punch the ABV up to 16%-17% If you like a milder lighter wine you can go as low as 4 lbs and still have a very tasty blueberry wine at an ABV ot 11%-12%.

If I make a batch I may be looking for a wine that ladies like, something like 11% with a hint of sweetness.

 

[Scooter68]

Source your blueberries carefully - are they fully ripe and how sweet are they. Beware of big berries from a store or stand. If you go with store bought berries it can be tough. From a stand perhaps better. 4-6 pounds with and ABV of 11% will be a less heavy hitting wine that is along the lines of a white wine in intensity but a blueberry flavor. If you go with lot of berries monitor the acidity.

My latest batch from 8 pounds has plenty of flavor but I'm watching the acidity moderate slowly. In the last month without any help it's gone from a 2.86pH to 2.91pH. Will probably look for a little help with calcium carbonate soon. It's now right at 2 months age. SG is .990 and before bottling I will look to backsweeten slightly to semi-dry probably 1.000 +/- .002 to bring out the flavor more.

 

[geek]

I may be too late for fresh blueberries so maybe Costco frozen, which are supposed to be premium quality.

 

[Scooter68]

Gotta start somewhere - go for it. I use my berries that I have already frozen but I can mark bags as to which bush they came from so I know what to expect. Taste a couple after you thaw them out. Hard to tell without something to compare to but it will give you and idea of how sweet and flavorful they are - will help you know how much to use.

 

[Johnd]

So anyway, taking back over my thread, The Blueberry is moving along well. Ran all of the tests again yesterday morning, all of the numbers from my additions held up well.

Pitched two packs of K1-V116 before I left for work yesterday morning, and had a partial cap formed today at lunch. After punching, I could see that it was fermenting very nicely, so I added 1/2 dose of Fermaid K, stirred it in well, laid the lid on top and left it to its own.

It's a nice looking batch of blueberry, good warmup for grape season.

 

[PierreR]

I have a 6 gallon (23liter) batch of pure juice blueberry, mellowing in the basement.

Pitched yeast on same quantity of 100% Saskatoon berry juice yesterday.

I'm liking the 100% juices. Flavour is amazing.

 

[geek]

I have a 6 gallon (23liter) batch of pure juice blueberry, mellowing in the basement.

Pitched yeast on same quantity of 100% Saskatoon berry juice yesterday.

I'm liking the 100% juices. Flavour is amazing.

Wow, did you press yourself or bought the juice as is?