Pin Cherry

I picked some pin cherries this past summer and put some in the freezer for safe keeping. I kept running into them lately every time I dug in the freezer so I figured I'd put them to good use. I had about 8 pounds of them in 2 vacuum sealed bags so I got one out:





I checked my recipe book....nope, no pin cherry in there. Checked my recipe folder on my computer....none there either. Hmmmmm. Googled "pin cherry wine" and got a few hits, but it looks like everyone that has written anything about it on the internet just went with a chokecherry wine recipe. Then I figured why not just wing it.


Recipe (invented just a few hours ago):


4 lbs pin cherries
1/2 lb chopped golden raisins (for the heck of it)
Sugar to S.G. 1.085 (I used 3 1/3C if you're curious)
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme (I actually haven't added this yet....will do tomorrow)
Acid Blend (to .60 tartaric)
1/8 tsp tannin
1/2 tsp yeast energizer
Water (to 1 gallon)
1/8 tsp K-Meta (I don't use campden tablets)


I have not decided on the yeast yet.
I've only got 5 packets on hand in the refridgerator (2 Lalvin K1-V1116, 1 Lalvin 71B-1122, 1 Lalvin EC-1118 and 1 Red Star Pasteur Red) Perhaps I should put that up for a vote? I'll most likely use the K1-V1116 since I have 2 packets.


Here it is all mixed up:





Tomorrow....we start making bubbles

I would vote for 71B-1122 myself. I'm not sure if I would have used the tannin. I have had pincherries before and they are pucker your mouth material if I ever saw it.


I bet it is good!

Either that or the Pasteur red.

I tasted some of these and they are actually quite sweet. This was not a real dark red (the pic is shadowy, doesn't really show the true color) so I figured a pinch of tannin wouldn't hurt.
71B-1122 would actually be my first choice, but then I wouldn't have any left.....but wait, that gives me an excuse to place an order! 71B-1122 it is!

I've seen a few Pin Cherries in some trees around here....Never have seen enough to pick, or didn't look long and hard enough.

Thought they had more pucker than ChokeCherries.

Let us know how this wine turns out...worth an adventure to seek out more bushes...

Will for sure keep an eye on this thread.

These actually were quite sweet when we picked them. I got them up by Rainy Lake last summer. We went up for blueberries and found very little so we picked whatever else we could find. The birds were eating them faster than we could pick them. I'm surprised we got as many as we did.


BTW, I've already placed my order to replenish my yeast supply. Had to throw a kit in there too (CC Old Vine Zin) and of course a few other odds and ends.

Ladies and Gentlemen, We have Liftoff:

Did we sample?

Looks great whino! And the CC old vine Zin is a real winner! Keep us posted on this one.

wade said:

Did we sample?

Click to expand...

Is that a "trick" question?

And he verdict?

Too soon to tell. Still very sweet, but I don't think it's got as much pucker as some have suggested. I'll have a better idea at the first racking later this week. S.G. was at 1.055 today.

S.G. checked out at 1.020 today. Good enough. Racked into secondary......





The picture doesn't do it justice. It's a nice fire engine red in color. Looks much darker in the photo.


With that done I now found myself in possession of an empty primary.......New post coming shortly.

It appears that I was mistaken on the tartness. It is getting close to done (S.G. about 1.000) and it tastes just a tad bit too acidic. If it turns out too tart I still have another 4 lbs of fruit in the freezer. I'll just mix up another gallon and ferment without the fruit in the mesh bag and also without adjusting acidity. I think that the fruit I had in there boosted the acid content a little because my titration kit gave me a reading of about .60 tartaric when I started, although I did add 1/2tsp of acid blend to get there. I'll make a note to leave that step out next time. I haven't re-tested the acidity because I'm low onSodium Hydroxide.I thinkit's in the vicinity of about .80 but that's just a guess at the moment.


This is why I rarely use all of any given fruit on hand for a single batch. You never know when you might need to make a second batch with "adjustments" for blending. This will be a heck of a lot easier than treating the wine with calcium bicarbonate.

I am wonering how much this recipe will make as in how many bottles? I have a chance at picking at least 5 lbs of pin cherries.

StevenR65 said:

I am wonering how much this recipe will make as in how many bottles? I have a chance at picking at least 5 lbs of pin cherries.

Click to expand...

The recipe on page 1 of this thread is for 1 gallon. 1 gallon = 5 bottles (750ml)

Now starting out for the first time I am assuming that is 4 lb of pin cherry with out the pits?

Give it time - That tartness may mellow out in a few months or maybe it will take a year. I've only used a pH meter and I've had several come back from 2.70 and 2.58 to 3.38 and 3.18. Initially they were pretty sharp on the tongue but later mellowed out to quite good.
Depends on that acid type. That's the one thing I wish we could determine is the true type of acid we are dealing with in each must. Fruits have certain acids that dominate normally but as the fermentation progresses it would be nice to know which acids are present in which proportion.

StevenR65 said:

Now starting out for the first time I am assuming that is 4 lb of pin cherry with out the pits?

Click to expand...

That is correct.

Scooter68 said:

Give it time - That tartness may mellow out in a few months or maybe it will take a year. I've only used a pH meter and I've had several come back from 2.70 and 2.58 to 3.38 and 3.18. Initially they were pretty sharp on the tongue but later mellowed out to quite good.
Depends on that acid type. That's the one thing I wish we could determine is the true type of acid we are dealing with in each must. Fruits have certain acids that dominate normally but as the fermentation progresses it would be nice to know which acids are present in which proportion.

Click to expand...

Should of had time to mellow out. The last post on the origional thread was from 2009. Bet the batch is long gone. But I will agree, if you give your wines time they have a tendency to mellow down and give you much better flavor. If I sound snippy, I don't intend to be. The original poster never posted back, so it must of turned out for him. Arne.