Açai wine

[sgx2]

Boy, it was a good day when my local health food store had 1 litre bottles of 100% Açaí juice on sale for $5.99 each! I saw them on the shelf and thought they might make a nice wine, so I bought three bottles and started a 1 Gal batch. I'll share the recipe, my notes and other progress notes below.

I just did my last racking to another 1 Gal container (it's as clear as a bell now!) and got a chance to taste it -- wow! Deep color, big flavor -- I decided to throw in a few small oak chips for a week or so -- perhaps until they become waterlogged and sink. It's so good I stopped by the same store to see if had any more and found the sale was just finishing -- so I grabbed six more bottles to get another two 1 Gal batches going. It's that good!

I'll grab a picture of the jug this week. Perhaps I'll blend it with the new batches I make when I bulk age them.

Here's the dump of a report from my database on this batch (sorry about the mixed units, I'm Canadian):

Batch: Meçaí
Varietal: Açaí
Batch Size: 1 Gal/3.8 L Jug (5 bottles)
Date Started: Jul 3, 2013 12:15 PM
Cost of ingredients: $20.00

3 L pure Açaí juice
1 341 mL can of Welch's 100% Red Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate [a standard frozen concentrated juice can from the grocery store]
~500g brown sugar [about a pound]
1 tsp red acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp yeast energizer
1/2 tsp tannin
2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 pkg bentonite
1 pkg Lalvin EC-1118 yeast

Açaí juice tested at 1.062 so I amended as needed with the brown sugar. Could future batches use other dark sweeteners (barley malt? molasses?)...

Poured all the juice into a 1 Gal jug, then rinsed each bottle with a little warm water to ensure I got all the juice. Added the tannin, yeast energizer, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme and acid blend and shook madly before adding the yeast to ensure all was well blended. It didn't need much topping up due to the addition of the sugar and the rinsing of the bottles. Confirmed that the OG was at 1.085, so I fitted a nice clean airlock.

The amount of sugar needed will depend on the OG of the Açaí juice.

Current ABV level: 11.6%

Initial Chemistry:
SG: 1.085 TA: n/a % pH: n/a SO2: n/a ppm

History

Date                  Event      Value  Details/Observations
Jul 3, 2013 12:15 PM Start             
Jul 4, 2013 12:57 PM SG Reading  1.064  Active and still particulate-laden. Visible yeast cultures throughout.
Jul 7, 2013 5:09 PM  SG Reading  0.998  Some trapped gas
Jul 7, 2013 5:10 PM  Racked             Very thick, had to leave about 1/6 of the jug behind – will need significant topping up - will keep remnant jug stuff to see if it clears [it didn't]
Jul 7, 2013 5:11 PM  Stabilized         Added 1 ampule each Siligel and Liquigel
Jul 7, 2013 5:14 PM  Note               Topped up with a little blueberry wine from the year old batch
Aug 4, 2013 2:50 PM  Racked             Racked to another 1 gal jug - added a tiny bit more sorbate and potassium metabisulfate
Aug 4, 2013 2:52 PM  Tasting Note       Smelled so good when racking that I had a taste -- wow!! Decided a little oak would be good so I added a few chips.
Aug 4, 2013 2:55 PM  Note               I could bottle this by mid-August, but perhaps I should wait

Here's the label I worked up:

 

[Stressbaby]

Cool.
What is "red acid blend?"
Are you using a carboy for the primary?

 

[sgx2]

Thanks!
Somewhere along the line I ran into two different types of acid blend, "red" and "white". The red version doesn't contain citric acid, just tartaric/malic.

For 1 Gallon batches I use a 1 Gal jug. I use a bucket primary once I get to 3 Gal and higher, as I have access to 3 Gal, 5 Gal and 6 Gal carboys for clarifying/aging.

Most of my 1 Gal jugs look like this:

 

[sgx2]

I just started the two 1 Gal batches I bought the supplies for yesterday. I also added a very few medium toasted oak chips to each jug, as well as a tablespoon of cocoa powder and a shallow teaspoon of black tea leaves (a rather nice english breakfast variety).

I'm looking forward to see how they compare to my first batch!

 

[sgx2]

I just racked all three of these batches, the last two of which have been dry for a few days. What a dark, rich-smelling wine this is making!

I plan to taste a small amount from each jug in a few months to see if there is a marked difference between the first batch and the two from the second batch. I added a tiny bit of oak during fermentation for the second batch, as well as a few black tea leaves and some cocoa powder. If there is little or no difference I will blend them all together when I filter before bottling. If there is something to take note of I will filter and bottle separately...I'll have to come up with something to put on their labels to differentiate!

 

[sgx2]

After tasting I decided to filter and blend all three gallons I made, then bottle and keep for a few months before serious tasting...

I did sample the "extra" and I loved it! A bit acidic right now, but that should settle. Amazing color!!

 

[Stressbaby]

Thanks for updates!

 

[sgx2]

Thanks for updates!

Glad you're enjoying them

My wife tried some of this last night and immediately said, "Make more!"

So I will.

 

[sgx2]

Another update: this just keeps getting better