wine from wild cherry tree?

[Jal5]

We have several wild cherry type trees on the property that bloom in May-June here in Ohio with a lot of tiny white flowers. the cherries were unusually abundant last year and the birds had a feast! I am wondering if I can harvest these small cherries this year and use them for a wine batch. Not sure what they are called though to research suitability for wine making. Any ideas from those with more experience with country fruit? Thanks.

Joe

 

[GreginND]

Are these chokecherries? I just bottled 40 cases of wild chokecherry wine yesterday. It can be delicious.

 

[Scooter68]

If they are cherries or chokecherries - certainly. You will of course be tasting and testing them to determine if they are a sweet cherry or tart cherry. Odds are the latter. Tart Cherries make a great wine. I just finished one and I suspect if you like tart drinks you will love it.

 

[Jal5]

If I remember correctly tasted them once and they are tart: very small fruit with large kind of pit. My problem will be harvesting them before the birds eat them! Those trees are really very tall too adding another dimension to the challenge. But free fruit...
Joe

 

[Scooter68]

I have a book by a cook who specializes in cooking with things off his farm, including wild veggies and fruits. He has a recipe in his book for a "Cordial" that calls for wild cherries macerated in vodka for 3 weeks then strained off. Not sure how much that relates to making wine but he said something similar, very small fruit with virtually standard sized cherry pits. Book is "The Farm" by Ian Knauer. Some really neat ideas (Recipes) in the book plus he shares his experiences with his farm and his career as a cook. (High Class and Swell Cook) Think there are actually some YouTube videos of what he does.
Recipe is pretty simple with of course no fermentation:
2 cups Wild or Sour cherries
3 cups Vodka
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup water.

I did try it once with our pie cherries - Definitely falls into the Rocket Fuel category.

(OH - Just looking at some of his videos and he has a couple about beer making.!!!)

 

[Arne]

You can net the bottom part of the tree (as high as you can reach and pick) and leave the top open. Let the birds have the high ones and you get the rest. Arne.

 

[wildhair]

I thought I found some chokecherries on the land where I hunt. Upon closer examination - turns out it is buckthorn. Both fruits look similar, but the buckthorn fruit is a powerful laxative! Glad I researched further before making a batch or wine from it!

http://igrow.org/gardens/gardening/chokecherries-and-buckthorn-whats-the-difference/

 

[Rice_Guy]

@Jal5 ; did you ever make the wild cherry?

Yesterday I was picking a fence line tree which I thought was chokecherry when I first tasted it, ,,,, but pHd Google tells me that if there is brown hair on the main stem it keys out as black cherry. (AKA cherry used for furniture)

@hounddawg and @Scooter68 you do lots of country wines ,,,,, would you run this like chokecherry?

 

[user 32114]

in the commercial world of drinks black cherry is a favorite of mine, but i have never got my hands on any, on olivenation.com has black cherry extracts so i would try a 3 gallon batch if i had the chance. i've been getting ready to try 2 batches, black cherry kool-aid, and at the same time black cherry extract from olivenation.com ,,,
Dawg

 

[Rice_Guy]

Dawg, I picked about 1.4 kilo.
Dawg are You are sending me back to the fence line to get Another 5 pounds? (as choke cherry I would run 2 to 3# per gallon)

 

[user 32114]

Dawg, I picked about 1.4 kilo.
Dawg are You are sending me back to the fence line to get Another 5 pounds? (as choke cherry I would run 2 to 3# per gallon)

on tart cherry i go with 5 lb per gallon, that being said mine must be very robust to overcome my tracheostomy, beings a whole lot of taste comes from smell, sadly i'm not a lot closer, as i would pick for all three of us #1-your wine,,,#2-my wine,,#3 my belly, um i was in the SPP i told yawl that it will ambush you,,,,,lol
Dawg

 

[Yooper🍷]

Just bottled 6 gal of choke Cherry wine this morning and 13 pints of Choke Cherry jelly.

 

[user 32114]

Just bottled 6 gal of choke Cherry wine this morning and 13 pints of Choke Cherry jelly. View attachment 65125View attachment 65126

JELLY, did you say JELLY, i'm your long lost 198th removed cousin, dang cuz,,, i love jelly, lol, BTW both look awesome,,,
Dawg

 

[user 32114]

@Jal5 ; did you ever make the wild cherry?

Yesterday I was picking a fence line tree which I thought was chokecherry when I first tasted it, ,,,, but pHd Google tells me that if there is brown hair on the main stem it keys out as black cherry. (AKA cherry used for furniture)

@hounddawg and @Scooter68 you do lots of country wines ,,,,, would you run this like chokecherry?

i;d do it in a heart beat,
Dawg

 

[Jal5]

No our tree didn’t have much yield probably due to the late cold spring weather this year. Joe

 

[user 32114]

No our tree didn’t have much yield probably due to the late cold spring weather this year. Joe

my blackberries, peaches, pears and elderberries looked great early spring then the rains stopped and nothing made this year for me,
Dawg

 

[Jal5]

Blackberries were really dried out here too

 

[user 32114]

Blackberries were really dried out here too

tuff year, last winter and last spring was so good and wet, that everything bloomed with bumper loads on everything, then summer rolled around very hot and very dry,
Dawg

 

[JustJoe]

Chokecherries didn't do well here this year but the elderberries are plentiful and the wild grapes are better than I have ever seen. I think I will get enough grapes for four 6 1/2 gallon batches.

 

[Rice_Guy]

wild cherry is unusual in processing.
First the web recipe has me rub the pulp off the seed which resulted in a thick ketchup soup, second there is a skin that formed on this bucket as I waited for meta to work, now with yeast it is building a pulpy foam (which was scooped off)

Am hopeful it clears as well as @Yooper🍷 got.
Decided to thin it out with apple cider, nice taste at this stage.