fruit consistency

[countrygirl]

this might be a crazy question, but it is on my mind...
how "easy" is it to replicate a wine consistently?
i'm keeping in mind, that fruits change from year to year, especially due to weather, temps, etc.
my blackberry wine is the best i've done so far and everyone is loving it so much, i'm having trouble hoarding my last 12 bottles...
so, if i do everything exactly as i did last summer, will it still be the same?
(we had a drought last summer, so if we have normal rains, will that be better or worse?)

 

[BobF]

this might be a crazy question, but it is on my mind...
how "easy" is it to replicate a wine consistently?
i'm keeping in mind, that fruits change from year to year, especially due to weather, temps, etc.
my blackberry wine is the best i've done so far and everyone is loving it so much, i'm having trouble hoarding my last 12 bottles...
so, if i do everything exactly as i did last summer, will it still be the same?
(we had a drought last summer, so if we have normal rains, will that be better or worse?)

As long as you measure and adjust sugar & acid to the same levels you'll get really, really close.

Follow the records you kept this year when you do next year's batch(es) as close as you possibly can.

 

[Julie]

Bob is right, sugar levels and acid levels will be different in each season. As long as you know what acid level your wine finished at and keep the ABV the same you should be very close. I do this with my elderberry and I get pretty close each year.

 

[Wade E]

Did you test the fruit with a refractometer? Waiting till the fruit has ripened all it could is the main key. Adjusting up with sugar is not that same as waiting till the fruit is fully ripe but I know thats hard to do as the animals want their share so usually we grab them before they do and that unfortunately is usually too early. Drought will usually make the fruit much sweeter and picking them right after a rain can lower sugar and acid levels in most fruits making a wine less flavorful. A refractometer when picking fruits is the best way to know when to pick them and use it often to determine when its at its best.

 

[djrockinsteve]

To get an even more consistancy you may blend your wines from year to year. Some wineries will do this to make their wines as close to previous years as possible.

You wouldn't be going to the extent that they do but if you were really adament you could blend say 25% from last years wine with this years and save 25% of this years wine for next years batch. Bulk age and watch your sulfite levels.

This way if you have any variations they would be minimalized over a 2 year period.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

this might be a crazy question, but it is on my mind...
how "easy" is it to replicate a wine consistently?
i'm keeping in mind, that fruits change from year to year, especially due to weather, temps, etc.
my blackberry wine is the best i've done so far and everyone is loving it so much, i'm having trouble hoarding my last 12 bottles...
so, if i do everything exactly as i did last summer, will it still be the same?
(we had a drought last summer, so if we have normal rains, will that be better or worse?)

Consistency is nice, but you want some variation. Think of it this way. If you had a first child and that child was the apple of your eye, would you want your second child to be a clone of the first?

When I have a wine turn out spectacular, I really enjoy it. Having the second batch turn out not so great makes me enjoy that first batch even more.

 

[countrygirl]

Did you test the fruit with a refractometer? Waiting till the fruit has ripened all it could is the main key. Adjusting up with sugar is not that same as waiting till the fruit is fully ripe but I know thats hard to do as the animals want their share so usually we grab them before they do and that unfortunately is usually too early. Drought will usually make the fruit much sweeter and picking them right after a rain can lower sugar and acid levels in most fruits making a wine less flavorful. A refractometer when picking fruits is the best way to know when to pick them and use it often to determine when its at its best.

no refractometer
remember, i didn't even know what a hydrometer was this time last year, lol!
that being said, i did pick the most ripe fruit on the farm each afternoon. if it was 1 cup, i froze it, and just kept adding to my stock. i probably got 1 gallon of berries a couple of days in a row at their peak. it became an afternoon ritual after work and it was relaxing and i missed it very badly for a couple of weeks when the berries were done
i actually kept decent records with this recipe. i have the exact s.g., yeast, etc. on computer document. i did not test the ta. it was during the making of the blackberry that i searched this site and asked questions about acidity that lead me to buy an acid kit, so i do have one now.
and to lon, i see what you're saying, but i only have one child, so what does that tell you, hahaha

 

[Midwest Vintner]

i'm going to have to agree with bob and wade, but add a little more to it.

IMO, it does matter where the fruit grows. the terrior makes it them different. that is a french word for the earth's soil, climate, drainage, etc. for a given area. maybe not vastly different, but it does matter. also the variety of that fruit makes even a bigger difference. how many apple varieties are there? lol. so basically, to get the consistency, you have to use the same producer of fruit, adjust the acid/sugar per year and check the ripeness of it. The more you do that, the closer you will be.

dj's had a good point, but you're not a winery and having to do that with small batches would be further than i'd take it. lol. still, it would help.

another point is, do you want it to taste the same every year? i do like some variance.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Yup - I agree - waiting until the grapes are fully ripe is best - you will get the best aroma's and flavor from the grapes doing that.

Midwest Vintner is right - depending on the soil, irrigation, weather, etc grapes will taste and produce different wines from different areas.

But that is what is unique about wine making - each batch will have it's own unique stamp to it.