What is the best fruit wine?

[DavidB]

The question was he wanted to add flavor to wine that he used 8#'s. Strawberries are mostly water so you need more than other fruit. Yes this is for a f-pac.
Remember since there is alot of water you must simmer out the water to make a strong f-pac.

Okay....maybe I've had too many, but I thought he was asking how many #'s he should use for both a gallon and an f-pack. In my humble opinion, 6 to 8 #'s for a gallon will be just right. 3# for the f-pack if you need it but if you start with 6 to 8, you may not need the f-pack.

 

[Tom]

Strawberry that goes dry does not have that much flavor. It will need a f-pac and sweeten to your taste.

 

[Wiz]

I would have to say that a 13%+ ABV blackberry sweetened to just remove the edge is my favorite. Really close second is a strawberry, fresh pineapple, peach, plum, mango, raisin combo that I call Medley Exotica.

 

[joeswine]

best fruit

I think berry wines get a better end product for me,rass,black,but I most like blending them with staight wines,rassberry sharaz,,black berry pino noir,zin pomagrant,(not the kit).blue berry cab............THINK OUT SIDE THE BOX.....................................................

 

[Midwest Vintner]

blends are great. we do a couple ourselves and they almost always are the best of both worlds.

still, i have to say a one type wine would be the ones i've put up, IMO. seems like a consensous though, berry wines rock!

Wade has another good point, black current would be right up there too.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Anything but grape! We have a hard time picking which bottle to try next between the elderberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries and even blends of elderberries with all of the above. I think I will have to go and try them all again to see which is our favorite.

Crackedcork

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Go with 100% fruit, no water, use a handheld blender to mush the berries (its not going to hurt those hard strawberry seeds), make sure to add more berries then you think you will need to make up for the pulp, add some pectinase and you wont need an f-pac. Crackedcork

Follow up question: For a one gallon batch of wild strawberry wine and F-pack, about how many pounds of fruit would you be talking? It's time consuming picking them. I want to make sure I get enough as I don't want to waste 5 lbs of berries only to make a wine that has no flavor. I read somewhere to pick 8lbs to ferment and 2lb for f-pack. Does that sound right?

 

[Midwest Vintner]

^good call. takes alot of berries and then becomes not so cheap, but it's worth it!

i think we are going to shock some with our wines. most are more flavored than our competitions fruit wines AND not as sweet. makes them not so cheap as some, but quality is better than quantity with wine!

 

[Wannabe]

Still new to this whole game so please be patient. Is it really possible to make wine from just fruit like that?!? I certainly have access to the berries in the summer so I realistically could do that. It just never would have occurred to me that you wouldn't need water or juice of some kind. And the way I'm thinking, if I'm going to go to all that work and wait an entire year before I even try it, I want it to be the best I can make it.

 

[winer]

Cracked, what fruits besides strawberry do you suggest using 100% fruit? Also, how do you get a s.g. reading?

 

[Sirs]

Cracked, what fruits besides strawberry do you suggest using 100% fruit? Also, how do you get a s.g. reading?

What I do to get a reading is I'll push either a small collander or use one of my spoon with holes down into the fruit and collect enough juice to get a reading like that, others may have better ways but to me this is the most accurate

 

[Julie]

What I do to get a reading is I'll push either a small collander or use one of my spoon with holes down into the fruit and collect enough juice to get a reading like that, others may have better ways but to me this is the most accurate

Yep, that's what I do as well.

 

[sly22guy]

I also do the same thing.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

winer, we are doing 100% elderberry and blackberry right now, the main problem is the acid levels, we have added some potassium carb to the blackberry to drop the acid a little, we will backsweeten it when we go to bottle and see how it goes. The elderberry has higher tannin levels and the acid isnt a problem for us. Another alternative is to steam juice the berries, that is another good way to get the juice and you dont have to worry about the pulp. There was an article on strawberries in the winemaker mag, they used straight strawberry juice. I like to add some extra light dried malt extract to the strawberry to give it a little more body.

As far as the OG reading, what everyoneelse said goes for us to.

Crackedcork

 

[countrygirl]

blackberry, but blueberry very close second!!

 

[genesiszmommy]

I drank a blackberry wine in a blue bottle from Meijer when I lived in Chicago (2007-2009). Now back in Nebraska I cannot find it or anything close. Anyone familiar?

 

[spaniel]

Black raspberry has always been the best I've done consistently. I've made some excellent apple as well, although using different varieties of apples it has ranged from simply good drinking wine to served at the head table of two weddings wine.

I've tried most of the other more common fruit wines. Sweet cherry is another that usually turns out well. Sour cherry and gooseberry are unique.

I have typically not messed much with acid levels in fruit wines; most of them still work fine. Red raspberry is one where when I make it again I would start playing with ways to reduce the acidity.

 

[olusteebus]

Strawberry that goes dry does not have that much flavor. It will need a f-pac and sweeten to your taste.

I'll say. I used at least 6 pounds per gallon. I guess it has sufficient flavor but to me, it tastes almost like medicine. The acid and ph are in range. It is just flat and does not taste good. I have bottled it and will forget it at least two months, maybe longer.

I bet it will be good then.

I also made some peach. Same thing. It will be 8 months old when I get back to it. It may be good. I am taking a gallon of it and mixing it with peach brandy. I expect that to be good.

I have not had great luck with fruit but it may come around.

 

[LoveTheWine]

Blackberry is amazing.
Cherry is good and so is raspberry.

My current batch of blackberry was made with #6 of fruit per gallon (water and sugar added to balance acid)and some grape skins added during ferment. Well oaked in an american oak barrel. This wine is simply awesome

 

[skyrat]

Ditto on the THE ONE YOU MADE vote....

For Me...My vote goes out to Elderberry but my reviewers (wife & friends) think the BlackRaspberry I make is best. Close call.

FYI My blackraspberry is made with wild growing berries so going to a all/full fruit crush is next to impossible. Generally speaking I use 5lbs of fruit with sugar/water balance per gallon and the wine is full flavored and full bodied as well.