Blackberry Port Attempt

[ckassotis]

Hi all,

So, brief history and then onto my current issues.

I started an attempt at a blackberry port at the start of last week. I used Jack Keller's recipe, but didn't add the water that he recommended, due to suggestions by users on another forum that I would want a more concentrated wine for this.

However, I also didn't account for the fact that this meant my acid would be considerably higher. I didn't add any, but I think I might have started off too high. Don't have my values on hand, but TA ~1.0 or so, if I recall. Perhaps higher. pH was in the range of 2.5 if I recall correctly.

At any rate, I sweetened all up front, which wasn't what I had intended. Wanted to do batches, but found myself with a S.G. of 1.130. Things seemed to go well for a few days. Smell was lovely, etc. Took the bag out after 5 days and tossed it into a secondary fermenter with a gallon of sugar water. That one seems fine, and has since fermented to complete dry.

As for the port, it apparently got stuck at some point, around 1.008-1.010. I'm not terribly concerned with this, since I would be fortifying anyway, as well as sweetening. However, the wine also took on a sour smell, as well as a sourish taste.

Is this a goner? I did some reading after this, and found that excess acidity can cause this issue. So, I tried some calcium carbonate last night, and brought the pH up and the acidity down a bit. Not sure what I should be expecting though. Will that smell/taste dissipate over time? Is it effectively ruined now? If the carbonate was going to help, would it have?

Any input or suggestions would be much appreciated. I also have the gallon of "second-press" that seems quite nice that I could blend, but it is much lighter, of course.

Lastly, I have some grape concentrate and 4# of frozen blackberries that I was going to use to sweeten. If I can sweeten and counter that sourness of the acid with sweetness, then maybe I will do so, but don't want to waste ingredients if I messed something up.

Let me know if you need any extra info, etc. Many thanks!

 

[Wade E]

Welcome, the calcium carbonate isnt going to work overnight! its going to take some time and cold temps to work. The cold temps will help drop out the acid alone but with the added calcium it should help much more. This is a very young wine with a very high abv so its going to need a lot of time for this to smooth out! The higher the abv the more time it needs, sweetening will also help hide the abv and probably even out the tartness. Ports are typically sweeter then what you have but dont go by what a port usually is, go by how you want it!

 

[ckassotis]

Thanks Wade.

Would you blend the wine into the port for a larger volume and reduction in TA? Or leave the port separate for now, as it is currently?

I expected some roughness, just didn't expect the sourness. That's all that is throwing me for a loop right now. JK recommends fortifying and sweetening up front and then aging, which I guess I could just go ahead and do, but didn't want to waste any concentrate or additional blackberry juice on something that I had messed up in some way.

If you think it is fine though, perhaps I will thaw the BB's and concentrate them up a bit, add some pectic enzyme, and sweeten it up.

Like I said before, if I did blend the wine into the port, I could make a 3 gallon batch, which could be nice in terms of aging, rather than an assortment of gallons and 1/2 gallons. Appreciate your thoughts!

 

[Wade E]

I wouldnt blend them as Im willing to bet that there isnt much flavor with that wine. IMO there are a lot of fruit wines will taste sour when dry. Try pulling a very small sample out like a glass worth and try sweetening that and see what you think. As far as sweetening the whole batch do so in small amounts and remember that it will taste sweeter later when the abv smooths out so go on the lighter side when doing so.

 

[ckassotis]

Very possible! Yeah, I haven't tried the second batch. It has a decent color to it, but it was more for my interest than as a serious attempt at anything. We'll see if it turns into anything worthwhile.

Thanks for the advice on the small-scale testing! I will definitely give that a shot.

Some more strangeness....

When the fermentation stopped days ago, I racked off and sulfited - if you recall, it stalled early, but at 16% abv, so I just went with it. So I sulfited days ago, and sorbated a day ago in preparation for sweetening. And today.... bubbles in the airlocks. Hah. Go me! This wine is strange. Just a very occasional bubble, but certainly seems to be doing something. Think it has re-started? Seems hard to believe after campdens and sorbate, with an already stalled fermentation, but I suppose there are sugars left to grab, so perhaps it has. I guess now I will just wait and check the S.G. perhaps tomorrow to see if it actually is going down again.

If it is, guess I will do some waiting - perhaps the acid is what had stalled it, and once I added the calcium carb and lowered it a bit, it was able to pick up again. How odd. Well, I guess I'll do nothing and let it sit for now. Anything to be concerned about?

 

[Wade E]

What was the temp when it stalled? Has the temp come up since then? If so it could either be degassing itself or starting fermentation.

 

[ckassotis]

Temp has stayed a pretty constant 70-75. Shouldn't have changed much.

I checked S.G. today and it is identical, 1.010-1.008. So, must be degassing itself.

Side note, the smell and taste have come along remarkably in a short time. Going to sweeten with blackberry juice and a bit of concentrate on Sunday, fortify, and then just age it for a while and see what I end up with.