Blackberry dilemma

[K&GB]

Hi all,


I recently fermented a VH Blackberry trying to copy Wade's recipe, but my Cotes Des Blanc yeast was stronger than expected. I started with SG 1.110 and ended down around .990. With that much alcohol, I decided to dilute the 3-gal batch by expanding it to 4-gal. But I didn't want to lose the body and flavor, so this is what I did. I mashed up some nice fresh blackberries and poured boiling water over them, straining the juiceinto a pitcher. I sweetened this juice with table sugar and added water to make 1-gal. Then I added it to the wine. (I had already stabilized with K-meta and K-sorbate.) Next I added Super Kleer to the entire 4-gal batch, which caused most of the sediment to drop. However, the wine is still cloudy, presumably from the added fruit juice. Would pectic enzyme or some other fining agent help at this point?

 

[whino-wino]

It may be that it just needs more time to clear. I've had some wines that clear in a couple of days with super-kleer and I've had a few that took a couple of weeks. If I recall correctly I had a VH black currant last year that took several weeks to clear completely with super-kleer.


Pectic enzyme will not hurt anything so I would add it anyway just to be safe. Pectin hazecanbepain to get rid of if not dealt with right away.

 

[Wade E]

Thats why I said beware cause this can always happen, not to me yet but Im sure it will eventually. My peach Ice wine took a lot longer to clear also. I used the Chitosan that they gave me and that failed miserably but the SuperKleeer worked but took almost a month. Give it more time.

 

[K&GB]

Yep, I knew the risk going into this with an SG that high. Just trying something new, hoping it would finish a bit sweet without having to back-sweeten. I'll give the Super Kleer more time. I was just a bit concerned that I added fresh fruit to the wine after fermentation. I'm sure it'll clear up.

 

[Wade E]

I would be worried if you did this with peach or apple but blackberry shouldnt give you much of a problem.

 

[K&GB]

Bottled the Blackberry Wine last week and put the labels on today...

 

[grapeman]

The wine looks great and so does Gina. I hope she is feeling much better and stays that way!

 

[Waldo]

How did it turn out for you buddy?

 

[Wade E]

We want feedback, Did the abv settle in and did you sweeten it up after the wine went dryer then planned?

 

[K&GB]

Thanks all. Can't really say what the ABV turned out to be, but the flavor is great. I tried to darken the color up a bit with the added blackberries, but it came out very light, more of a violet color. Still, nice tannins and fruit flavor with just enough tart to balance out a tad of sweetness. I like it now, and I hope it'll get even better with some bottle age.


Appleman, thanks. Gina is feeling much better. Taking online classes, enjoying her puppies, and planning to go back to work in the fall.

 

[Wade E]

Glad you came to like it even though it fermented a little dryer then anticipated.

 

[Goodfella]

Congrats..... Looks good.


Sometimes the headaches early on, make it more rewarding when it turns out right in the end.