DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

yea - definitely bottle it - even if it's in the bottle for just a week or two - i need the carboy space anyway - but are used screw capped bottles to be avoided for wines that I plan on storing?

Need some help from the Tropical version experts plz.
My 6 gallon of tropical is clear as bell with a beautiful color .
Problem is there hardly any fruit flavor what so ever i used 15# of fruit it smelled amazing in the primary.
Is there a concentrate that i could add to pack with some flavor just wondering what would pack a punch.
DB is doing great as usual... lol

byronyasgur said:

yea - definitely bottle it - even if it's in the bottle for just a week or two - i need the carboy space anyway - but are used screw capped bottles to be avoided for wines that I plan on storing?

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Again, people may disagree, but screw cap bottles are perfectly fine to use. We used to solely use them for our wine. Local church donated empty cases of "altar wine" bottles, all with screw caps.
Never kept em longer than a year or so before drinking. But always worked out just fine. This was also done with....wait for it...... absolutely zero K-meta added to the wine at all. (Not recommended)

A year seems like a surprisingly long amount of time for a used screw capped bottle to keep a wine good. I bet a side-by-side with a corked bottle would yield some differences, but as I've learned from the Brulosopher, quite a few long-held tenets have turned out to have minimal impact on finished products, at least when it comes to beer.

I imagine there would probably be some surprises if someone were to investigate similarly-held beliefs when it comes to winemaking, but the time frames are so much longer to do most of the comparisons, unlike the weeks it takes to evaluate variables when it comes to testing homebrew.

Redbird1 said:

A year seems like a surprisingly long amount of time for a used screw capped bottle to keep a wine good. I bet a side-by-side with a corked bottle would yield some differences, but as I've learned from the Brulosopher, quite a few long-held tenets have turned out to have minimal impact on finished products, at least when it comes to beer.
.

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I've thought this too. And nobody who drank it had a a very defined palate either. The "relaxed" style they used then to the way I currently make wine are very different. No k-meta at all in the wine (just sanitation), all screw caps some years, only 1-2 rankings after primary. Usually muscat/Alicante blend.
Agreed side by side there would definitely be some differences. My main point was it didn't go bad by any means- a capped bottle w/o k-meta. That worked for them. We all drank it. And we all enjoyed it. ---I'm not suggesting a year in a capped bottle, or that headspace is fine. I definitely do not want to suggest starting with bad habits. Just saying DB in a capped bottle for a few months won't ruin it.
All this under the assumption that As you get into it more and spend more money, you'll also research more and want to make a better product.

My father inlaw has been making fruit wines for 40 years without the use of any k-meta or any other chemicals,he actually thought inwas crazy when he found out i was putting chemicals into my wine. i personally use many products in my wine (kmeta, sorbate, benonite, sparkloid, pectic enzymes, yeast nutrients and energizers) but i will say i have been drinking his homemade wines for years and some of them are up to 3 years old before we drank them, i dont claim to have a refined palate but his "all natural" way of making wines seems to work because they taste great to me and ive never been sick or felt ill after drinking a bottle or 6.

I've usually done a handful of my mist kits in screw tops since I know they'll be gone relatively quickly. I don't think I'm brave enough to try it with anything else though. My corker is easy enough and I've got enough cork style bottles to last me for a little while.

bear6230 said:

Need some help from the Tropical version experts plz.
My 6 gallon of tropical is clear as bell with a beautiful color .
Problem is there hardly any fruit flavor what so ever i used 15# of fruit it smelled amazing in the primary.
Is there a concentrate that i could add to pack with some flavor just wondering what would pack a punch.
DB is doing great as usual... lol

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First thing I can think of is how high is your alcohol? If alcohol is too high it numbs the taste buds from flavor. Have you backsweetened it? If not you can try to backsweeten a test amount to see if that brings out flavor. It doesn't take much sometimes.

How old is it? You need to wait. As with any wine when there done they taste hot/methynly, give it some time to age and that will go away and it will change, the harshness of the abv goes away and the smoothness of the fruit takes over. Wait at least 6 months and i garantee you will be tasting a totally dofferent taste. I made some db but i didnt add much sugar to backsweeten as i dont preffer sweet wines, at first it was very hot, no fruit flavor, i cracked a bottle tonight and it tastes completely different, wonderful, i think its only 3 months now, a little bit of time does wonders for wine.

bear6230 said:

Need some help from the Tropical version experts plz.
My 6 gallon of tropical is clear as bell with a beautiful color .
Problem is there hardly any fruit flavor what so ever i used 15# of fruit it smelled amazing in the primary.
Is there a concentrate that i could add to pack with some flavor just wondering what would pack a punch.
DB is doing great as usual... lol

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Don't know what fruit you used but if it smelled great in the ferment bucket and you used 15 lbs of fruit which is quite a bit then what the other people said about back sweetening and letting it age 2-3 months your wine should be just great.

Will

Just backsweetened my 2nd batch of dragon blood.
Used 6 cups of sugar this time tastes pretty darn good needless to say
Tropical batch is coming around getting flavor now. everyone is right patience is the key to this.
Cant wait to bottle this batch of DB i have one bottle left from the first batch and im thirsty... lol
I have 6 gallon of strawberry/raspberry bulk aging bout 3 months now that is clear as a bell looks great but im gonna let that go for awhile.
As long as i have DB for when the STEELERS kickoff this fall ill be happy.....

Starting a new batch 6 gallons..
Using quad berry ..strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry
10 pounds of sugar vs 20 cups....
Added 20oz of golden raisins in separate Muslim bag
Added frozen concentrate Raspberry/Apple
The above raised the hydrometer reading to 1.090...
Added 2 extra tsp of tannin
Added 1/3 cup American Oak chips to primary

Expecting to ferment to 0.990 for an ABV of 13.13%

Wine Log:

Aug 16th Wed 4pm

Step 1: To a cleaned and sanitized seven gallon (or larger) primary, add—in this order:
* 1 bottle (48 oz each) 100% Lemon Juice (ReaLemon in the green bottle): More or less lemon juice can be added to your taste, (i.e., if you want to reduce the acid level use less lemon juice). The acid added here will help balance the final wine. Substitutes include any other kind of citrus juice (orange, lime, etc.), or use no citrus at all for a very soft, supple blush.
* Water to about four gallons
20 cups of white granulated sugar (you will be looking for a SG of around 1.075 after filling to 6 gallons below. This will give you a finished alcohol by volume of about 10%-11%): Add more/less sugar for high/lower desired final ABV. Stir sugar until completely dissolved.
* 1 tsp. tannin (stir)
* 3 tsp. yeast nutrient (stir)
* 1 tsp. yeast energizer (stir)
* 3 tsp. pectic enzyme (stir)

* Top water to six (6) gallons* and stir well
* Test SG with hydrometer (remember, you are looking for a SG around 1.075) Note: The natural sugars from the fruit (below) will slightly increase the final ABV, so be careful how high you drive up the SG at this point!
* 6 lbs. of Triple Berry Blend (raspberry/blackberry/blueberry--available in most grocery store freezer sections), frozen then thawed, in a fine mesh nylon bag (tied shut), placed in primary (add any extra juice from the fruit as well): Give the bag a couple of squeezes to work in pectic enzyme. You may also toss the fruit directly into primary, but this makes for a "messier" fermentation and subsequently will require more clearing time and further racking. Dozens of variations on this recipe have been created by simply substituting different or combinations of different fruit.
* Cover primary Do not snap down the lid or add an airlock. Cover the lid with a cloth or towel.
* Place brew belt (if desired): Keep temp in 68F-80F range. A higher temp will result in a faster fermentation, and a sharper tasting, more colorful wine. A lower temp will produce a paler blush with more fruity aroma and a smoother taste.
* Let sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours...
Added box of golden raisins in a Muslim bag, 4 berries ,
Added can of concentrated frozen juice raspberry/ Apple
Reading of 1.080 on hydrometer before fermentation...let sit for next 24 hours

10am Thursday Aug 17th
Added additional sugar 2 1/4 cups ...10 pounds total
Added 2 tsp tannin
Added 1/2 cup American Oak Lite toasted
Reading of 1.090 on hydrometer target 13.13% ABV

Next reading 4pm...start yeast fermentation

Aug 17 4 pm ..reading just before adding yeast
Temp 70.5%
Hydrometer reading 1.090

Step 2: To the primary fermenter, add:
* 1 packet of EC-1118 Yeast (follow yeast manufacturer's directions): Sprinkle yeast into one cup of warm water (100F), let sit for 15 minutes (no longer), stir and add to primary. Other yeast strains also work well. Experiment!
* Stir Primary Vigorously!



Step 3: Each day, do the following, in this order:
* Uncover primary
* Check and record temperature
* Check and record specific gravity
* Squeeze juices from fruit pack into fermenter and remove fruit pack (The Presser Method): Temporarily place in sanitized bucket or bowl.
* Stir primary vigorously: To introduce oxygen into must, suspend the yeast, and drive off CO2.
* Replace fruit pack in primary
* Cover primary



Aug 18 Thurs
Temp 69.0%
Hydrometer reading 1.085

Aug 19 Sat
Temp 73.6%
Hydrometer reading 1.070

Aug 20 Sun
Temp 76.0%
Hydrometer reading 1.060

Aug 21 Mon
Temp 71.9%
Hydrometer reading 1.051

Aug 22 Tue
Temp 71.3%
Hydrometer reading 1.010

Aug 23 Wed
Temp 73.0%
Hydrometer reading 1.000

Aug 24 Thurs
Temp 72.0%
Hydrometer reading 0.990

Aug 25 Fri
Temp 72.4% .........remove fruit bags/ do not stir
Hydrometer reading 0.990


Aug 26 Sat
Temp 70.3%
Hydrometer reading 0.990

Transfer to new 6.5 gallon bottle filling bucket with spigot..
filtering thru coffee filter/funnel with measuring cup with spout

Then turn on spigot and fill two 3 gallon car boys and top off with White Zinfandel.



Step 4: When the SG drops to <1.000, do the following:>
* Squeeze juices from fruit pack into fermenter—remove fruit pack: Discard fruit. Note: When the specific gravity (SG) has fallen below 1.000, and the fruit bag has been removed, discontinue stirring daily but check the SG and temp daily as before. Proceed from here only when the wine's SG has stabilized below 1.000. A stable SG means that the SG for three consecutive days reveals no change in the SG.
* Uncover primary
* Rack (siphon or drain) the wine into a cleaned and sanitized six gallon carboy, leaving the gross lees (the stuff in the bottom of the primary) undisturbed.
* Add ¼ tsp. Potassium Metabisulfite (dissolved in half cup cool water) and stir
* Add 3 tsp. Potassium Sorbate (dissolved in half cup cool water) and stir
* Degas wine very thoroughly: I cannot emphasize this enough! Gas in the wine will prevent it from clearing quickly.
* Add Sparkolloid* (or other clearing agent) per package directions (stir for 2 minutes): *1 tbs in one cup of water simmered (boiled) for about 5-10 minutes. Add hot mixture directly to carboy and stir.
* If the carboy is not full, add enough cool water to bring the level within two inches of the top opening: Adding a like wine rather than water is preferred. A cheap white zinfandel will work well.
* Add a bung and airlock (filled half way with sulfite solution)
* Allow to clear undisturbed for no less than 1 week.

Sample taste Monday Aug 28...
Good flavor of berries...should be better after back sweating next Sunday if wine is completely clear.

Step 5: When wine is clear:
* Carefully rack off one gallon of wine into a cleaned and sanitized container, and set aside.
* Carefully rack the remainder of the wine off of the lees into a cleaned & sanitized six gallon carboy.
* Add 2-6 cups of white granulated sugar (stir until sugar is completely dissolved): This is where your personal taste comes in. Different people like different levels of sweetness in their wine. My DB is made with ¼ of a cup of sugar per gallon. Remember! The sugars will blend with the lemon and berry flavors over time, and the sweetness will come forward. Do not over-sweeten!
* If carboy is not full, top up within two inches of top of carboy opening with some of the spare gallon of wine
* Replace bung and airlock
* Allow wine to sit quietly for another week.
*
Sun 12:30pm added 1 1/2 cups of sugar to back sweeten
Hydrometer reading after blending sugar was 1.000
Also added 1 oz of Isinglass to clear more
Used coffee strainer when refilling carboys.

Added another 3/4 cup of sugar..
Hydrometer reading 1.010
Top off last carboy with White Zinfandel




Step 6: If the wine is completely clear:
* Filter if desired
* Bottle in clear bottles (because it's beautiful)
* Note: Never bottle cloudy wine! NEVER!
* Enjoy! This wine is great right from the start! It will, however, improve over time in the bottle. The first few weeks brings a noticeable improvement as the flavors blend and meld, while months will make it smooth and delightful. Be warned, though, it will go quickly.

Excellent Mk5 you got it going.

Will

What's the longest everyone has kept bottled dragon blood before drinking? I have some that's a little over a year old and still good. It is losing some of its sweetness at that age.

jumby said:

What's the longest everyone has kept bottled dragon blood before drinking? I have some that's a little over a year old and still good. It is losing some of its sweetness at that age.

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I have had them up to 1 1/2yrs. old. No better or no worse than drinking it at 6 months.

I just started a 6 gallon batch of dragons blood put in some k-meta and waited 24 hours and pitched my yeast its been a day and haven't seen any activity.

jumby said:

What's the longest everyone has kept bottled dragon blood before drinking? I have some that's a little over a year old and still good. It is losing some of its sweetness at that age.

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I just opened a 2 yr old bottle and didn't notice any difference from when it was 6 mo old.

Buddzy said:

I just started a 6 gallon batch of dragons blood put in some k-meta and waited 24 hours and pitched my yeast its been a day and haven't seen any activity.

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Just added yeast to Must yesterday morning and looked at it before bed time and it had started already. But usually it takes a couple of days. I don't use K Meta in the ferment other than sanitizing the equipment before putting it together.

Will

jumby said:

What's the longest everyone has kept bottled dragon blood before drinking? I have some that's a little over a year old and still good. It is losing some of its sweetness at that age.

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Jumby I aged a bottle of DB for 9 months and my wife and I both thought it had lost some flavor compared to a bottle that is say 3,4,6 months old. The reality is our DB just doesn't last more than a 3-4 months thanks to us, friends and relatives who help us drink it.
I do realize others on this site have a different opinion on aging DB and that's great. As the saying goes if we were all the same life sure would be boring.

Will