wild black cherry

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quiltertoo

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Has anyone made wine from wild black cherries? They are blooming now and I have never seen them so thick with blossoms before. I have tasted the cherries in the past and they have a very astringent taste. I am wondering what kind of wine they would make. My first problem would be picking them. The trees are at least 40 feet tall.
Mary Lou
 
are those the same as choke cherries? Cuz I made a wine from choke cherries, turn out pretty good. I, also, blended some with elderberries and that turn out "I wish I had more of that wine"
 
Julie,,,, does the work with the "wild" fruits and berries require closer pre-fermentation attention to acid and ph numbers than regular more common fruits?? I tried a batch using some wild grapes a while ago and it did not work out so well but I did not pay much attention to acid/ph levels.
 
are those the same as choke cherries? Cuz I made a wine from choke cherries, turn out pretty good. I, also, blended some with elderberries and that turn out "I wish I had more of that wine"

No they are not the same although they may be similar. From what I have been able to find out choke cherries do not grow in Missouri. I'm not sure if the birds will leave enough for me. I have a couple of sour (pie) cherry trees and am lucky if I get enough for 1 pie because the birds will eat them before they are ripe enough for me to pick. I have never seen these wild cherries bloom as profusely as this year so I was hoping to try a batch.
Mary Lou
 
I hear you in the birds, Mary Lou. I had two and it was rare that I was able to,get any cherries off of them. I was able to get enough cherries to make a five gallon batch of wine and one cherry pie but that was five years ago! We ended up cutting them down this spring.

Gary, yes you need to pay attention to acid/ph at the beginning, they tend to be pretty high in acid.
 
It depends on what people call wild black cherry, one had little tiny fruits which is the "real" wild cherry, another is an escaped cherry with a nice typical cherry fruit, usually at least around here very dark and sweet. The chokecherries are also getting ready to bloom here in zone 6. WVMJ
 

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