Blackberry Elderberry Cherry Grape Dessert Wine

[Cracked Cork]

I know most people call these ports but its really going to be a 5 gallons of high alcohol desert wine without an Everclear boost.

30 pounds of blackberry steam juiced
5 pounds of elderberries steam juiced
20 ounces of dried elderberries
Black Cherry Concentrate
Red Grape Concentrate for winemaking
1.5 lb extra light dried malt extract
OG of about 1.110
5 tsp Fermaid
K1V-116 Yeast
Toasted Oakmor in primary, staves in secondary

When the SG drops to 1.02 we will add concentrated black cherry juice (available from local hippie store, tree of life brand) and raise SG to 1.03, twice. The third time it drops we will add some red wine grape concentrate. After that if the yeast want to play some more maybe a hit of welches concord too.

Crackedcork

Edited by: Cracked Cork

 

[NorthernWinos]

Potpourri Wine????
Awesome!!!!!

Sounds like you are using up this past summers bounty.....

Question....How do you dry your Elderberries????
Food dehydrator???
How do you keep those tiny berries from falling through the grate thingys????

 

[Cracked Cork]

NW, we a dehydrator with mesh netting over the shelves. The berries actually stick just a little to the mesh due to their sugar content and so dont fall thru when dry. When they are dried, usually overnight they are tiny and we just brush them off the mesh into a bucket, wait until they cool down and then bag them in vacum bags. They taste great as a crunchy treat, in muffins and we made wine from just the dries ones following both Jack Kellers recipie and we did one with an equivalent amount of dried ones if they had been wet (we dried 15 pounds of berries) and used them for a 5 gal batch. I does taste different, more of a raisaney taste. When added to blackberries man it is fantastic, plus the cherry and grape concentrates, is pretty good.

Crackedcork

 

[grapeman]

It sure sounds like this will have plenty of fruit flavors to compete and stand up to the high alcohol. Sounds great.

 

[Cracked Cork]

And a liter of black currant juice from Looza just to add a little more complexity Crackedcork

 

[Wade E]

I thought you were going to add some fruit juice in there!

 

[Cracked Cork]

And 1.5 lb of extra light dried malt extract for some extra body, forgot about that one, its important. Crackedcork

 

[dfwwino]

I've got some unused Cranraisins you could add. What a concoction! Let us know how this mutt of a wine turns out.

 

[Cracked Cork]

Last years batch turned out fantastic, this year I cut back a little on the ELDME and added the black currant juice. I love the way people describe wines as having a hint of black cherry, a touch of cassis (black currant) etc. Hell, I can make all those just by putting them in there. Last years batch came out so that you couldnt finger any one flavor but they all blended in together well. I am just trying to improve upon it with the grand advice from the list members. Crackedcork

 

[NorthernWinos]

I like to add other flavors to wines too...Peppercorn, vanilla beans, coffee beans, oak, etc.....

Hold the flavors of 'barnyard', 'leather', 'grassy', etc....No Thanks!

I blended 3 wines once and the result was nice...I called the wine Merry Berry....