Well. After all that talk I've been reading about Raspberry Port, Raspberry Niagra, Raspberry this and Raspberry that, I finally started my first batch ever of Raspberry Wine.
Using the directions from the Vintners Harvest Raspberry can, and this time following them carefully, adding only what I figured was right for a 6 gallon batch rather than a 5 gallon batch (5 cans of water rather than 6 as I used two cans of berry concentrate rather than one) as the recipe calls for, I managed to create what my notes say below.


As I type, she's sittin comfortably stable in the closet at 76 degrees, with the bucket set loosely on top, venting SO2.


Tomarrow, I'll add the yeast.
Looking forward to this first, unadultrated, untainted, ungraped, version. After wards, perhaps I'll try the RaspberryNiagra or Raspberry Merlo with a white grape?


Hope all of you are staying warm and dry.


-----NOTES----<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
22 January 2008 at 07:30pm:
I started the must tonight. Added all the ingredients as the instructions called for exactly and poured the two cans of fruit into the straining sock. Added the balance of the itemsand stired. It was 2” from the top of the 6gallonbucket.

<UL style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in" =disc>
<LI =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">5.5 cans of warmwater,</LI>
<LI =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">6 tsp. acid blend,</LI>
<LI =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">13 lbs white, granulated, table sugar,</LI>
<LI =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">6 tsp. yeast nutrient,</LI>
<LI =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">3 tsp. pectic enzyme,</LI>
<LI =Msonormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">6 Campden tablets crushed 6 Campden tablets crushed </LI>[/list]10.6 a.b.v
s.g. reads 1.078 - Brix 19.5
Finished Alco. 11.21% The must has a pleasantly sweet, very discernable Raspberry taste. Delicious!

[jobe05]

Handyman, Congratulations on your first real raspberry wine.

That was my first also 3 years ago. It still downstairs aging because it sucks so bad........... it's still there because I just don't need the bottles yet.

I screwed up something in making it and didn't pay attention to the pectic haze that was pretty evenly distributed throughout the nice rose' colored wine. Since then, I have planted my own raspberry bushes and will start my batch soon.

I also planted some of the golden, or yellow raspberries thinking they would turn out to be a white wine with a nice raspberry Flavor........... we'll see, we have a couple of more years on them.

[NorthernWinos]

Good going...We have never made a straight Raspberry Wine...always add something to it....Red Grape Concentrate, Apple juice, Merlot Grape juice and this last time Niagara juice....etc. We love them all.


I have wondered about the black and yellow raspberries....will be interesting to follow up on that.

[jobe05]

I planted 1 plant, about 1 gallon in size this past summer, and in late fall I had yellow raspberries........... and they kept coming, and coming and coming............ Over a 6 week period, I probably picked enough for a gallon batch to try. If I had known I was going to get that many I would have froze a few at a time till they were done. I did that with my red raspberries and got 12 pounds of them.

[Waldo]

Should be a good batch handyman.

[joeswine]

HANDYMAN 454///looks good but how about a rassberry shazar or a blackberry pino noir,rassberry porto sounds just lousious ,right now I have 12 gallons of blackberry going and 12 of rassberry as well,my intentions are to make the stated about styles plus straight sharaza and pino noir,all from california,which you'll have soon when I make the blends I 'll forward them also,but that won't be for a few weeks yetremember the most important element in wine making is the tasteing//OK PS the sisters are a hand full of funEdited by: joeswine

Joe:
Could you put the recipe for the Raspberry Sharaza on another "NEW TOPIC" and then send me the web address for it? Having no idea what it is, the name sounds really cool and I'd like to look at it.


Jobe:
If your Raspberry is not tainted (gone bad), whynot try blendingit with another wine? I did that with my White Zin that had gone flat due to thelength of wait to start iton my closet shelf.
My sweety likes liquers so I mixed it with a splash of Creme De Cossis and it turned out fine enough to drink again.


Northern:
Thanks as well. I'm really excited about this batch too. All the Raspberry winesthat I've ever tasted were morbidly sweet. I personallyhate sweet wines. I prefer them semi dry andslightly sweet.
I'm still considering mixing a small batch of this brew with a Peach Shine for a Raspberry Peach Port.


Waldo:
Thanks.

[NorthernWinos]

Our wine are all dry...we like them that way.......No sweet wines here.

[joeswine]

NW my fruit wines are made fruit forward very intense flavor and semi/dry I like to taste some sweetness with the fruit ,its the italian in me

[NorthernWinos]

The Super Kleer K-C sure did a nice job on this wine...





Love the flavor of this combination.