Vintners Harvest Black Currant kit + backyard fruit

[MineWine]

I bought the Vintner's Harvest 96oz Black Currant kit and I have 2.5 gallon ziplock bags filled with backyard Boysenberries. The plan is to add water and 'smoosh' the boysenberries then add sugar to an acceptable SG. Then add campden, wait 24 hours and pitch yeast.

Any suggestions would be great, Thanks!

 

[sour_grapes]

My suggest is to NOT add water first. Mix Vintner's Harvest concentrate and boysenberries, then add water to make the SG what you want it to be. No sugar.

 

[MineWine]

Thanks for your reply sour_grapes, I've not done a kit before. I understand what you're getting at, use the natural juices for the best final product. Unfortunately, I have only 2.5 gals of backyard boysenberries and the 96 oz of currant concentrate. To make 5 gals I'll need to add both water and sugar.

Since my berries are frozen, I'll heat a gallon of water and squish 'em good. I'll try to break open every berry and release all the juices. This will cool the water down and thaw the berries so I can add the currant concentrate. I'll be using a mesh fruit bag. The recipe for the concentrate says I'll need approx 12 lbs of granulated sugar to be added to make 5 gals, so I'll need to dissolve some sugar in a couple gals of water and add to the mix. I'll do this a bit at a time and measure SG to be sure I end up at a starting SG of 1.09ish. I'll guess I'll need less sugar than the recipe says since there is sugar in the boysenberries.

Boysenberries can also be tart, even when fully ripe. They may contain enough acid to allow me to not add any, or not. Once my SG is good I'll measure acid and if it's over .55 I'll leave it. If it's lower I'll add acid to bring it to .55.

I understand that wine from concentrates can be bottled earlier than wine from fruit. I'll probably rack a couple/three times and use a clarifier. Maybe 90-120 days after fermentation I could bottle, if clear.

Thanks again for your reply, I appreciate any and all information!

 

[MichiganPaul]

I would only do 3 gallons with the Black current 96 oz. I don’t think you will be happy with the 5 gallons. I did 3 gallons and it was very good. Can’t imagine it at 5 gallons.

 

[MineWine]

MichiganPaul, That's why I want to add the backyard fruit. There are two recipes on the can, one for 3 gals and one for 5 gals. I want to get 5 gallons out of the kit, the added fruit should make up the flavor. I've also seen where some home winemakers add stems from table grapes, as well as oak, to help the flavor.

Who's done this?

 

[MichiganPaul]

And that is why I should read posts closer. I read 2.5 pounds instead of your 2.5 gallon ziplock bag. I thought 2.5 pounds would not be enough for 2 additional gallons. I hope it turns out well.

 

[MineWine]

I ended up with just over 6 gallons with the fruit bag in. It's been fermenting for 5 days now, today I pulled the mostly empty fruit bag out and poured the side gallon back in. It's got plenty of foam and wood chips which I stir daily. Should be a few more days until I transfer to a carboy.

 

[MineWine]

Day 11. Yesterday I transferred to a 6-1/2 gallon and a 1 gallon glass carboy in the wine closet. Still fizzing and bubbling away. SG was measured at 1.030. Still plenty of CO2 to protect the large headspace. Nice red color.

 

[MineWine]

Day 22. Still fizzing away. Airlock is bubbling, too. There is some scum where the wine meets the shoulder of the carboy. Smells great, nice red color.

 

[MineWine]

Day 26. I racked it into a sanitized carboy adding from the gallon to top up to the neck. The rest is now in a 750 ml, both with airlocks. Everything smells great, even what is thrown down the sink.

 

[MineWine]

Day 49. Racked again. Clearing nicely with some residue at the bottom. Tart!

 

[MineWine]

It's been a while! This batch came out well, maybe a little light in flavor. Overall very drinkable would have been smoother if i had reduced the amount of initial sugar by a cup or two.