Blackberry question

[Arne]

My buddys sister sent him a gallon of blackberry juice. He gave it to me to make some wine with. Now the question. Is the blackberry juice strong enough to handle being diluted down? Think she made the juice like you would make it to make jelly. I am going to taste it and thinking about diluting it with a couple gal. of apple juice. Hoping it will keep the blackberry flavor. I know it would probably work fine with elderberry and thinking blackberry should be about as strong. Anybody tried this, and if so how did it come out. Thanks, Arne.

 

[garymc]

I've blended it with elderberry and also with muscadine. The elderberry was best.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Measure the TA, if its high you can dilute it out with some apple juice, if its not high you might not want to dilute the juice at all. A little bit of oak will make it very winelike also. WVMJ

 

[Scooter68]

The real question is how many pounds of blackberries was used to make that juice. My best wine is a blackberry wine from 4 1/2 lbs for a gallon. I used the whole berries for mine not just juice but the key is going to be how that juice was extracted. Sure you know that whole berries in the 'mix' renders a bit more flavor and "character" than extracted juice might. For pure juice I would imagine if there are at least 8-10 lbs of berries in there you should be able to get 2 gallons of good wine from that. Of course I am not from the 'no water added' schoolhouse. Fruits like blackberries have a lot more flavor per pound than grapes. So comparing Grapes to Blackberries, Black Raspberries, and a lot of other fruits is not a fair comparison. Just take a grape and take a similar sized Blackberry and chomp into each see how much flavor each has.

 

[Arne]

The real question is how many pounds of blackberries was used to make that juice. My best wine is a blackberry wine from 4 1/2 lbs for a gallon. I used the whole berries for mine not just juice but the key is going to be how that juice was extracted. Sure you know that whole berries in the 'mix' renders a bit more flavor and "character" than extracted juice might. For pure juice I would imagine if there are at least 8-10 lbs of berries in there you should be able to get 2 gallons of good wine from that. Of course I am not from the 'no water added' schoolhouse. Fruits like blackberries have a lot more flavor per pound than grapes. So comparing Grapes to Blackberries, Black Raspberries, and a lot of other fruits is not a fair comparison. Just take a grape and take a similar sized Blackberry and chomp into each see how much flavor each has.

Well, I kicked this off today. Threw the blackberry juice in, added 2 gal. of apple cranberry juice in along with it. (I had the apple cranberry juice, been waiting for someplace to use it) . Anyway, smells good, still really dark, like a big red grape. Time will tell now. Tasted it, will have to wait til it ferments some, too sweet now. Started it at 1.090, was 1.060 with the juice mixed together. Arne.

 

[Scooter68]

Alright - We will be waiting for any update in a couple of months when fermenting is done and the first racking or two is finished. If it turns out like my first batch did it will be like eating wild blackberries in the woods (Without the ticks and Chiggers)

Only concern I would see is that based on 1.060 for a start and assuming a .995 finish your alcohol level is going to be a bit on the low side at and ABV of 8.53. Should you consider adding a little more to it ??? I have always read that we need to finish with an ABV of at least 11-12 for the wine to keep. (That assumes it lasts long enough to keep )

 

[Arne]

Only concern I would see is that based on 1.060 for a start and assuming a .995 finish your alcohol level is going to be a bit on the low side at and ABV of 8.53. Should you consider adding a little more to it ??? I have always read that we need to finish with an ABV of at least 11-12 for the wine to keep. (That assumes it lasts long enough to keep )[/QUOTE]

Yep, I bumped it up to 1.090 before I pitched the yeast. Don't know how many berries they used but there is a pretty good cap starting. Havn't looked at it today, but will after a bit. Nice having it warm enough in the basement so things take off and ferment. Winter time the ferments work, but they are really slow and usually have to add some heat to them to get them going. Arne.