What fruit makes a good ‘red’?

[Cosyden]

Hi,
I’m looking for suggestions. I like a really ‘heavy’ red wine but I haven’t found a country/fruit wine that really hits the spot yet.

I’ve made bilberry, mixed red berry, red gooseberry, beech leaf, and I’ve just bottled 3 gallon of blueberry. All good wines and perfectly drinkable but I still reach for a commercial merlot or shiraz more often than not.

So, what should I try next? What fruit makes a god ‘red’?

Thanks in advance, G

 

[vinny]

I just bought a commercial Haskap, I likely would have believed it was a grape wine if I hadn't known differently. It was a lighter red for grapes, but the heaviest berry wine I have tasted.

My second choice would be blackberry. I have a triple berry that was very heavy on the blackberries. It is almost really good. I feel full blackberry would have the body and depth that I prefer.

Have you considered a kit? I have made some extremely good wines form kits. Shiraz, Merlot, Pinot noir, etc. etc.. I enjoy them much more than retail bottles.

 

[BigDaveK]

No experience with it yet (but soon!) I've read elderberries are a good choice.

 

[winemaker81]

Elderberry

 

[Raptor99]

Elderberry wine is excellent. Other fruit wines with more of a 'heavy' flavor are tart cherry and cranberry.

Most heavy reds are high in tannin, so you might consider adding some extra tannin and/or aging on oak. I find that aging blueberry on oak adds a nice flavor and complexity.

 

[Hazelemere]

Hi,
I’m looking for suggestions. I like a really ‘heavy’ red wine but I haven’t found a country/fruit wine that really hits the spot yet.

I’ve made bilberry, mixed red berry, red gooseberry, beech leaf, and I’ve just bottled 3 gallon of blueberry. All good wines and perfectly drinkable but I still reach for a commercial merlot or shiraz more often than not.

So, what should I try next? What fruit makes a god ‘red’?

Thanks in advance, G

blackberries with elderberries. If you can get them wild cherries (pitted) with blackberries and elderberries. Dewberries are also good.

 

[Cosyden]

Thanks all.

Looks like the consensus is elderberry and blackberry. Both grow wild nearby so they’ll definitely be the right price for me.

@vinny I’ve only tried 2 kits. The red was mediocre and the white was absolutely awful. Might just give a kit wine another go though.

@Raptor99 I’ll try extra tannin. That’s a good tip!

@Hazelemere I’m not sure we get dewberries here. I’ll do a bit of research.

 

[vinny]

Thanks all.

Looks like the consensus is elderberry and blackberry. Both grow wild nearby so they’ll definitely be the right price for me.

@vinny I’ve only tried 2 kits. The red was mediocre and the white was absolutely awful. Might just give a kit wine another go though.

I have made low end kits that were decent. I changed up the yeast from ec-1118 to one the complimented the varietal and they become good. I have made very good wine from the higher end kits. In my experience the reds are better than the whites, but I like my whites in a small range of bright and tart. I am currently giving my third white a shot at glory, and maybe my 15th red.

I should note I age a minimum of 3 months beyond the 4-6-8 week kit date. Before that time I find they are very sharp and unbalanced.

I have fresh juice buckets on order that are actually cheaper than the high end kits. That might be something to consider.

Did you ever try the spruce tip wine?

 

[ratflinger]

Really jealous of you members that live in regions where there is plentiful vine/tree fruit. Not jealous enough to move though, lol.

 

[suzyq2]

I believe vinny is on to something. all-about-haskap-fruit-wine-honeyberry-c75e12a915ca.
They are extremely easy to grow and produce early. I haven't made wine yet as I compete with the grands for the fruit.
Blackberry combined with elderberry (I used dried) is a commonly combined in the British Isles. I have 5 gallons of this ready to bottle from last year. It's is definitely going to be repeated this year.

 

[Cosyden]

Did you ever try the spruce tip wine?

No, not yet. I’ve some tips in the freezer from last year which I might try. The ‘spruce beer’ was very good at around 5 or 6% using brown sugar. If I make spruce wine I’ll aim for 11%ish with a mix of brown and white sugar I think.

I did find about 5lb of black currents in the freezer last night. They must have been picked off our 1 small bush last year. I think there’s probably enough for a gallon or so. I reckon that might make a good red.

I’ve had cloudy apple and oak leaf in the jugs since September last year. Both are taking an age to clear but I’m definitely looking forward to both of them. I think I’ll give them both some bentonite this weekend to push them on a bit.

 

[Cosyden]

I’d never heard of Haskap before reading this. After a bit of Googling it seems that the Scottish Honeyberry (haskap) coop was formed just 12 miles from me in 2017, to introduce haskap as a new crop to Scotland. Who knew??

I’ll see if I can get a few pounds to try and maybe half a dozen bushes for the garden.

 

[balatonwine]

Black Mulberry. I only did it a few times, but made a great stout red wine.

https://stcoemgen.com/2012/08/06/mulberry-wine/
Edit : Note I provide a link to show I actually made this wine. Not just "suggesting" something. To think about....

 

[wood1954]

Definitely blackberry or elderberry

 

[Rice_Guy]

Mulberry does a excellent big red wine. It is low on acid pH 5, needs to be supplemented with tannin to copy red grape, Mulberry flavor can turn muddy but makes a stable mulberry/ fruity aromatics flavor when blended with lemon juice.

Elderberry is a good bitter tannin source, the aromatics have been low when I made it. (Smooth tannins have more of an astringent note.)
Black berry and black raspberry are fruity, rich color, can have astringent notes with age but if you age more that chemistry precipitates out.
I like haskap, Minnesota haskap has purée which is a good starting point. It is low on tannin so can be helped by supplementation.

Where are you located? What is local? What do you like?,,, fruit/ color/ tannin/ aromatics/ long flavors/ etc. ,,, My point of view is food company which means one builds a grocery store product by adding a little of this and a little of that to build the finished product. Balance makes a good wine.

 

[balatonwine]

Balance makes a good wine.

Agree. Fully. with fruit wines.

Problem is... What is a good fruit balance?

Darn if I know. I only did varietal fruit wines (cherry, mulberry etc.). But a blend may be specular.

 

[Hazelemere]

Agree. Fully. with fruit wines.

Problem is... What is a good fruit balance?

Darn if I know. I only did varietal fruit wines (cherry, mulberry etc.). But a blend may be specular.

1 lb dried elderberries for 24 to 30 lbs blackberries (I use frozen) with 30 medium toast American oak cubes and EC-1118 or RC212 yeast. Press the seeds out after 6 days active ferment using a bladder press or panty hose.

 

[Hazelemere]

slightly over-ripe bing type pitted cherries at 8lb cherries to 1 Imperial gallon of water to 3 lbs sugar can make a good red.

 

[winemaker81]

FYI, here are the conversion ratios for Imperials and US gallon batches:

Multiply Imperial amounts by 0.83 to get US size.
Multiply US amounts by 1.20 to get Imperial size.

E.g., for @Hazelemere's recipe, to make 1 US gallon batch use 6.6 lbs cherries and 2.5 lbs sugar.

 

[HillPeople]

Blueberry/Black Currant makes a good medium bodied red.