The start of my Blackberry

[pwrose]

After I posted the last post I went to check the SG and it was at .994, the previous two readings were .994 and 1.000 so I went ahead and added the following

1.5 tsp of sorbate (thats 1/2 per gallon)
1/2 tbsp of sparkalloid

I decided instead of racking right now I just left it in the secondary and added these things and shook the heck out of it a couple of times to help degas it. I probably should have waited until I could rack it but well see how it goes. I will say that its bitter taste is no longer there, it is just now a very young tasting wine, and very dry. It has great pucker power right now, lol. I am planning on sweetening it up with some blueberry juice mixed with some simple syrup.

Figuring based off of my starting SG and the final SG I should have about a 10-11% ABV. This will probably change a little since I am planning to add about a half gallon of blueberry juice. But I don't plan on trying to figure it out, I will just call it 10% ABV. LOL

I was surprised to see it as clear as it was this early on without any finings added.

Anywho I will keep it updated as time passed and try to get some pics.

 

[pwrose]

OhHHHhhHHh my god,,,
I decided to add a tsp of simple syrup and a tsp of blueberry juice to the amount that I took out to check the SG. Maybe 2 oz or so, and the first impression of the first taste was I just made a "Sex on the Beach". I even had my wife confirm it without saying anything about what I though. It still has a young wine after taste but I hope that the flavor stays after bottling and aging.

 

[Tom]

Be careful.
You have rocket fuel so go lightly ...

 

[pwrose]

Be careful.
You have rocket fuel so go lightly ...

My strawberry is rocket fuel at around 16% ABV, but I didn't think that 10% ABV was considered rocket fuel.

The flavor of this mix tasted like the Sex on the Beach drink, but certainly does not have the knock down power of a mixed drink.

 

[Tom]

oops, Got them confused.

 

[pwrose]

I backsweetened to 1.02, was shooting for a 1.015 and over shot it a little, LOL. It is still really good, just a little sweet.
I added 6 cups of blueberry cider with 3 cups of sugar boiled down to just under 6 cups of liquid. Looking back I probably should have only done 2 cups of sugar.
There is a total of 3.25 gallons. It still taste like a sex on the beach, and I got the wife working on a lable for it already.

What is a good age for a sweet blackberry?

 

[Tom]

try one @3 months. 6 would be better

 

[pwrose]

I wasn't planning to bottle it until around Oct to Nov. So are you saying 3 months from then or 3 month from now?

How well do fruit wines take to bottling? The last time I had a fruit wine was back around 2000 and it was never bottled in regular bottles. We put it in 1 gallon jugs and mason jars. Of course it never lasted all that long so no one ever knew the difference as far as aging. Now I am more interested in the correct way of doing it and don't have any idea about this bottle shock thing.

 

[Tom]

fruit wines can be a bear to clear so, I filter all mine. 6 months min is my norm for fruit wines. I dont rush as I have such a large supply in my cellar. I also have a member of my Wine Club that bottles earlier.
Treat it as any other wine. After bottle wait at least 1 month then open it

 

[pwrose]

Quick update
racked for the last time tonight, a little rushed but it was already clear and the bottom had very little lees. This was the second time racking.
I tested the SG again since it has been f-pac and backsweetened and got a reading of 1.024. I also checked the acid and according to the way the kit reads it has .8%. I know that is really high but it taste great. I just wonder if by adding the extra bottled water to make the wine a rose color makes a difference in the acid reading.
Either way it taste just like a sex on the beach, I still cant get over that.

I will probably bottle earlier than planned as well, maybe end of next month or so.