VH Marionberry Cabernet

[Johnd]

The VH Marionberry hasn't gotten any rave reviews, but I got a couple of 96 oz cans for Christmas and figured what the hell, I'll give it a shot since I have an open primary at the moment.
Went to my local HBS to chat with the wine guy there, he spoke pretty well about the MB, saying it tastes more like blackberry than blackberry, but having read less than stellar reviews, decided to try to spruce it up a bit. Here's where I am as of this morning, kind of a blend of the instructions and some of my own additions:

2 - 96 oz. cans VH Marionberry base
1 - 1 gallon WE World Vineyard California Cab kit
Artesian water to 5 gallons
Chapped up to 1.095, water to 6 gallons, SG = 1.090, that was my target
3 tsp acid blend
2 tsp pectic enzyme
5 tsp yeast nutrients
60 g premium oak dust
1\4 tsp KMS
FPac made by reducing 2 lbs fresh blackberries in some Cab. Sauv., added directly to primary
2 TBS tannin

Will pitch yeast late this evening or tomorrow morning. I have EC-1118, RC-212, and VH VR21 on hand. I'll probably pitch the VR21 since it seems to be suited for fruit wines.

So, basically what I've done is make the VH cans to 2.5 gallons each, and added a 1 gal Cab. on top of it, hoping to increase the taste beyond even the 3 gallon recipe. Frankly, I don't have high expectations for this wine, based mostly on the reviews I've read here. Might be my first toss out, I'll post my progress.

I have bentonite on hand, but decided not to use it. PH is sitting right at 3.9, a little high. Didn't do TA, but might later, to adjust acid.

Suggestions and comments certainly welcome.

 

[Johnd]

Well, I decided to go ahead and test the TA on the evening of the 10th, it came in at 3.2 g/l or .32%, certainly a bit low, but not surprising with a Ph of nearly 3.9. Did some quick calcs and added half the tartaric acid needed to get the TA in the 6 range and pitched the VR21 yeast.

Everything has progressed very nicely, hit it with yeast nutrients at 1/3 points, punched the cap down a few times a day, it smells surprisingly nice, it's not smelling like a toss out at all. Yesterday evening I poured the concoction through a mesh bag into another fermenting bucket, squeezed the refuse dry, racked to glass at .998 to finish alcoholic fermentation. This morning it was fermenting lightly, about a bubble every 15 seconds, it looks like it's going to go down to the low .990's.

In ten days, it'll get racked again and have a dose of Kmeta. At that time I plan to run Ph and Ta and taste it for adjustments. I know the TA will be on the low side and Ph on the high side, and I'll temper the acid adjustments with tasting. Hope not to back sweeten and sorbate, but that remains to be seen in bench trials.

I typically use the fining agents provided in kits and bulk age, but with this one I'm going to go natural and just let it sit.

 

[Johnd]

Just got around to racking this morning, clear as a bell, not much sediment, decent aroma. Ran some tests, Ph = 3.23, TA = 6.3, looks like the tartaric acid did its part, nearly too well, as I only added half of what the calcs said it needed. Lesson learned there.

Blackberry taste was faint but present, so did a little tinkering. After some bench tests and sampling with the wife, added 2 oz blackberry flavoring and 4 cups of sugar to the wine, brought the flavors out nicely and helped balance out the acidity bite a bit.

By no means is this a good wine, at least not for my taste, it's light and a little fruity, the wife says she's looking forward to sipping it by the pool. Guess that's not too shabby for a couple of bucks a bottle.........

 

[BlueStimulator]

Great report, keep us up to date. As a newbie reading detailed posts like this really helps A Lot!!! Posts like this really build what little foundational knowledge I have.

 

[Tnuscan]

Great report, keep us up to date. As a newbie reading detailed posts like this really helps A Lot!!! Posts like this really build what little foundational knowledge I have.

I very much agree with you.

 

[Johnd]

This past weekend, after letting my additions to the wine take hold a bit, I tasted and decided to bottle the VH Marionberry wine. It actually tasted quite nice and I was sure some folks would like it.

Although it was crystal clear, I decided to run it through the Buon Vino Super Jet with the #2 - 1.8 micron pads instead of racking straight to my bucket for bottling. The pressure didn't increase during the entire transfer, so it was very much sediment free. Wine had a nice dark red color, can't see through it easily in the clear bottle, but not as dark as a red wine. Filtering did a nice job giving it a polish, it looked really nice in a wine glass.

Ended up with 30 bottles and some change for tasting. Brought a case to my office on Tuesday and put it on the kitchen table, all gone in five minutes. Have had numerous requests for more, some folks even offering to buy me the supplies if I'll make them a batch. It's really funny how different everyone's taste buds perceive things.

So, 18 bottles in the cellar at 55 degrees, just waiting for wifey to enjoy by the pool in Summer. Six weeks from pitching yeast to bottling. For me, this thread's wrap................