Blueberry Port

[RegionRat]

Grape concentrate? Is that red grape frozen juice (Welch's)? or something else?

This thread was my inspiration to make BB Port. I Followed the above recipe. Here is where I got the BB Juice Concentrate

They sell it in 64oz bottles, enough to make 5 gal of wine. I understand if you call they will ship out smaller amounts.

RR

 

[Sammyk]

So you bought the blueberry concentrate?

 

[RegionRat]

So you bought the blueberry concentrate?

Yes I did.

RR

 

[Sammyk]

That is good because I am not sure how many blueberries I have in the freezer.

 

[Boatboy24]

Grape concentrate? Is that red grape frozen juice (Welch's)? or something else?

http://homewinery.com/cgi-bin/concen.cgi

Though I'm sure Welches would work.

 

[RegionRat]

http://homewinery.com/cgi-bin/concen.cgi

Though I'm sure Welches would work.

I was going to use Welch's until someone in this thread pointed out where to get the beery concentrate.

RR

 

[Boatboy24]

I racked this today and took an SG reading. I'm still only at 1.002 after about 5 weeks in secondary. It was at 1.008 at the beginning of secondary. So I'm thinking my bubbles are not MLF, or the wine degassing itself, but a continued, very slow fermentation.

 

[RegionRat]

What is the temp? Maybe add a little nutrient.
RR

 

[Boatboy24]

What is the temp? Maybe add a little nutrient.
RR

Haven't checked, but should be right around 70. I may take the brew belt off the petite Syrah for a day or so and see what happens. No H2S.

 

[Boatboy24]

Forgot to add, I gave it 1.5oz of medium French cubes.

 

[Sammyk]

Boatboy24 Ironic! We have 16.5 pounds of blueberries in the freezer from our bushes. We are going to make the port. So did you triple everything for 3 gallons? I plan to make a little more so I end up with 3 gallons finished minus the lees. I have the blueberry concentrate and French Oak on order and will start next week. So I will be following this thread closely so please keep it updated!

 

[Boatboy24]

Sammy: I'm definitely keeping this updated. I added 3/4 of a gallon of Knudsen's organic blueberry juice to the mix to up my volume. That gave me 4 gallons in secondary with a fair amount of lees. I'll end up with ~3.5 gallons before I fortify and add concentrate. Should be about 4 gallons total.

My plan is to sweeten with roughly half merlot concentrate and half blueberry. I want the blueberry to shine in this, but not be overwhelming. It's still wine after all.

 

[Sammyk]

That is what we are hoping for is 3 gallons finished. That is why we bought the pint of blueberry concentrate. So did you use your 16.5 pounds to start with? We were freezing as we picked and yesterday pulled all the bags out of the freezer to see how many pounds we had to work with.

 

[Boatboy24]

16.5lbs to start, yes. I chapitalized twice during the primary, using a 3-1 simple syrup. So that added a little volume as well.

 

[Sammyk]

Great! Thank you. How pleased are you with the port at this point in time? Would you do anything different?

 

[Boatboy24]

So far, I wouldn't change a thing. I would have preferred all fruit, but 24 pints of blueberries was all the store would let me buy.

My starting pH was 3.52, and I was happy with that. Didn't test TA, but will check both pH and TA soon. Right now, I seem to be stuck at 1.002, but there are no signs of stress, and I still have visible signs of fermentation. Been in secondary over a month though. If this is where it stops, so be it. It's close enough, and I'll be stabilizing and sweetening anyway.

 

[Sammyk]

Yipeee! Pulled the blueberries out of the freezer a few hours ago to thaw. Will add kmeta in a few more hours.

 

[weaverschmitz]

So far, I wouldn't change a thing. I would have preferred all fruit, but 24 pints of blueberries was all the store would let me buy.

My starting pH was 3.52, and I was happy with that. Didn't test TA, but will check both pH and TA soon. Right now, I seem to be stuck at 1.002, but there are no signs of stress, and I still have visible signs of fermentation. Been in secondary over a month though. If this is where it stops, so be it. It's close enough, and I'll be stabilizing and sweetening anyway.

I'm making a blueberry port and this thread has been helpful. Just wondering how the port is coming along?

 

[Boatboy24]

Welcome to Winemakingtalk, Weaverschmitz. Not a lot of progress since my last post. In the next two weeks, I'll be racking, fortifying and back sweetening (with blueberry and merlot concentrates). It's been on the oak for a few weeks now, and I'll check at that time to see if I want more. At that point, I'll probably let it sit until spring, at which time I'll taste, adjust and bottle.

 

[dangerdave]

I'm posting here to add this to "My Replies" list.

I'm planning on trying this as a triple berry port (blackberry/blueberry/raspberry---Dragon Port) recipe, soon.

This will be my first attempt at a home made port---need to order some malt---so wish me luck! Getting started in the next few weeks.