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Which fruit produces the closest wine to a grape, red preferably. Are there cabernet or merlot like clones out there?
Which
- Thread starter Vlabruz
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A lab bench answer;
there aren’t any fruits which copy red grape as well as another variety of red grape. BUT you can take several high high pigment (polyphenols) types of fruit and build back the missing acidity, sugar and tannin and if desired oak, ,,, to come out with a big red wine. ,,,, think of a grape juice as being a neat assembled set of building blocks where the target chemistry is done for you.
My 2021 mulberry was put together to be a big red wine. ,,, I should put some in contest as a red grape to see what the opinions are.
there aren’t any fruits which copy red grape as well as another variety of red grape. BUT you can take several high high pigment (polyphenols) types of fruit and build back the missing acidity, sugar and tannin and if desired oak, ,,, to come out with a big red wine. ,,,, think of a grape juice as being a neat assembled set of building blocks where the target chemistry is done for you.
My 2021 mulberry was put together to be a big red wine. ,,, I should put some in contest as a red grape to see what the opinions are.
Elderberry is also touted for making a heavy duty wine.
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I was thinking those and may blackberry?
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So you just tinkered till you had the wine you wanted?
Yes I cook/ tinker/ try to understand flavors. ,, I try flavors out in pie to see if the concept might work before I tie up a carboy for a year.
Mulberry I have done for several years and for laughs decided to do a “big red wine“ last year. Building blocks! , , , , this was the mulberry color standard
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I'm not following. What do you mean color standard?water- the darkest mulberry?
Humm? If I am on the lab bench I have a target for appearance, , , density of color is one of the appearance traits in wine. This test gave an estimate of what the beverage would look like if diluted with a low pigmented aroma producing juice.
My view is that wine/ a beverage can be built by blending traits.
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So those glasses represent your color spectrum for different appearances you want to achieve?
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https://www.webstaurantstore.com/22-lb-iqf-black-currants/877CUR122.html
I wonder what these and elderberry or blackberry would create
I wonder what these and elderberry or blackberry would create
Tell me more about mulberry wine! We have several giant trees and I've been hesitant to make it because I've read it makes weak boring wine. I'd love to have a good recipe!
i have done three mulberry wines;
* a 100% juice pH corrected done with acid blend which was boring had lost most of the identifiable fruity notes.
* a 100% juice which had real lemon added which supplied missing fruity notes, this pulled it to pH 3.7 and then acid blend added to bring the mix down to 3.3. Excellent mulberry flavor but need to be back sweetened to 1.015 since the TA ran above 1.00%.
* 2021 I decided to do a “big red wine”, again 100% juice, loaded it up with chestnut tannin 1/2 tsp per gallon plus a little FT blanc, pulled the pH down to 3.5 with phosphoric acid, oaked it. Of the people I have tried it on it makes a full bodied wine but still has fruity aromatics so the judge guesses it is some berry wine not a grape,,This will be done again with other tannins, is thick so I should cut it 25 to 50% with water to get closer to a grape mouth feel.
* a 100% juice pH corrected done with acid blend which was boring had lost most of the identifiable fruity notes.
* a 100% juice which had real lemon added which supplied missing fruity notes, this pulled it to pH 3.7 and then acid blend added to bring the mix down to 3.3. Excellent mulberry flavor but need to be back sweetened to 1.015 since the TA ran above 1.00%.
* 2021 I decided to do a “big red wine”, again 100% juice, loaded it up with chestnut tannin 1/2 tsp per gallon plus a little FT blanc, pulled the pH down to 3.5 with phosphoric acid, oaked it. Of the people I have tried it on it makes a full bodied wine but still has fruity aromatics so the judge guesses it is some berry wine not a grape,,This will be done again with other tannins, is thick so I should cut it 25 to 50% with water to get closer to a grape mouth feel.
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Bossbaby
Senior Member
Last fall I added mulberry and red raspberries to a second run elderberry with a medium oak, I am very happy with how it tastes so far, Mullberries definitely need something in addition to give them some body and aroma.
I'm jealous. I don't know how you guys get enough mulberries for wine. All the cool birds know my trees are the place to hang out.
I have 2 mulberry trees in my yard so it is easy to pick every day when they are ripening. That way I get probably half of the berries.
Bossbaby
Senior Member
I spread a Jiant tarp out underneath the tree and a 20 ft extension ladder gets me up there to shake the branches and make it poor down ripe berries. If only elderberries were that easy to process.
I'll have to give it a try this year! Any idea how much fruit is needed for a 23l batch?
