Cherry wine

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loneriver

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Hi I am starting to make cherry wine. I'm thinking of making three gallons. Is it true that it takes more than a year to make?
 
We like our cherry to sit in a carboy for about 9 months to be sure all the CO2 is out of it and that it's perfectly clear.
 
seth8530 said:
Welcome to the forums, most fruit wines take atleast 6 months and others atleast a year.

Thanks I just finished pitting them yesterday. Today ill crush them. Looking foreword my first time.
 
How do you plan to make this? We use no water---you should have a PH meter to check the PH and adjust pre-ferment. A PH of 3.4 is good for cherry. If you don't dilute with water, you'll have a cherry wine that retains its nice tartness while having the acids balanced and tastes similar to cherry pie. If you use water, you won't get the same result. It took us a couple years of trials to master this wine---otherwise it has little cherry flavor and just tastes like "wine."
 
Forgive my intrusion...I'm making cherry wine as well.

By 6months to one year, does that mean the whole process? Primary, Secondary and then aging? As in aging is most of that year?

Is it safe to drink beforehand? Might be rough around the edges as new wine, but is it safe? We want a bottle for "now", and the rest for "later'>

Thanks!
 
John-It ferments in 5 days or so, just like any wine. But you must allow it to sit in a carboy--rack when needed--in order to age up and fully clear. You don't want wines that have CO2 in them when they are bottled. You'll read alot,around here, about manual degassing. But I discourage the practice because you're introducing air into the wine which can lead to oxidation. PLUS--you want the flavors to firm up, which only comes from the months it spends in the carboy on the fine lees. And in that time, the CO2 is naturally gone anyway. So what is accomplished by this manual degassing?

Most young wines taste "green" and aren't very good. Be patient---do a good job at the primary and allow time to work on your wines and you'll have success. Learn good technique right from the start and you'll be surprised how good a winemaker you can be.
 
It is perfectly safe to drink a young wine. As you progress in the hobby you will learn just how much better the wine gets with age. Go ahead and have a taste and see how it improves with time. Time is the best ingredient for wine.
 
Yeah, everything that has been said here is true. The wine is perfectly safe to drink even while it is fermenting but, that does not mean it will taste very good.
 
I remember from before about that. I've always been amazed at the difference between, say about, 30 days out from secondary vs. 60 days out from secondary. The 30 day aging (after secondary) makes the most dramatic changes! Tasting after 30 days of secondary tastes like alcohol and fruit juice, but just the additional 30 days of aging makes it actually taste like a wine.
 
I made mine in around 2 months , I agree with Johntodd. I let mine sit for about 2 months sealed, then drank it .. I used Mancherian cherrys which are sour and bitter . I usually just make what ever I'm making in 2 months or less , pineapple , strawberry and apple , grape juice too. . I dont follow convential methods , just dump in sugar and yeast thats all besides the fruit and sugar ,and water ..
I usually get about 15 % alchol content ..
You might guess by now thaty I'm no high class wine sipper lol. I just wanna get high !
 
Thanks for the information everybody . A couple more questions. Yesterday I crushed my cherries and today I added the yeast and measured the alcohol reading and it measured 13.5 %. I wanted to add sugar. So after I add sugar should I add water to it until it reads 12 %? Oh I am going to measure after six days in the fermenter. Thanks
 
Ok, couple things. Most people around here use SG or brix when measuring the sugar content of a must. Second, if your potential is that high I would not recommend adding any sugar to a fruit wine like this one.
 

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