blueberry wine ?

[nordlund]

Hello I have a small batch of blueberry wine and never made blueberry wine before new to making it.. its is clear nicely looks like fermentation is slowing up I am using the wine makers recipe handbook (purple). it says add grape puree. not sure if I want to sweeten it or not.. does anyone have advice on this? it be appreciated

 

[ChuckD]

Most on this site, and myself from now on, use more fruit per gallon than the recipes in your book. As for adding the grape concentrate, it’s all to your taste, but a little back sweetening typically brings out the fruit flavor. When your wine is ready to bottle pull a few small samples and Conduct a trial. Make a simple syrup (or use the grape concentrate), sweeten the sample just a little, and give it a taste. Keep track of exactly how much you add. When you get it where you want it do the math to determine what you need for the whole batch. Then follow the directions for stabilizing and bottling.

Many here would council you to find that “sweet spot” then back off just a little with the sweetening. It will mellow in the bottle after a several weeks.

ETA: welcome to WMT.

 

[winemaker81]

@nordlund, welcome to WMT!

Do you have a hydrometer? If not, it's the one essential piece of hardware that is universally recommended. This thread explains how to use one:

How To Read Hydrometer

How To Read A Hydrometer. By taking a specific gravity reading before the introduction of your yeast to the must, then again when fermentation is complete can you determine the alcohol percentage by volume. Subtract the final reading from the beginning to get your answer. When your hydrometer...

www.winemakingtalk.com

Fruit / Country / non-grape wines almost universally benefit from backsweetening, which brings out fruit flavors and aroma. How much? That depends on you and your tastes. My version of sweet is (at most) off-dry by most standards, while other folks like their wines much sweeter. Do what @ChuckD recommended and do some bench trials to see what works for you.

BTW, how old is the wine? Bulk aging is recommended to give the wine to undergo natural chemical changes, for the flavors to meld, and for sediment to drop (better in carboy than the bottle!).

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to wine making talk.

Chuck and Bryan are right.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome aboard!

 

[nordlund]

thanks for the advise my wine was started in mid febuary I will do a sample back sweeting and check reading with my hydrometer.. thanks so much

 

[Fox Squirrel Vin]

@nordlund, welcome to WMT!

Do you have a hydrometer? If not, it's the one essential piece of hardware that is universally recommended. This thread explains how to use one:

How To Read Hydrometer

How To Read A Hydrometer. By taking a specific gravity reading before the introduction of your yeast to the must, then again when fermentation is complete can you determine the alcohol percentage by volume. Subtract the final reading from the beginning to get your answer. When your hydrometer...

www.winemakingtalk.com

Fruit / Country / non-grape wines almost universally benefit from backsweetening, which brings out fruit flavors and aroma. How much? That depends on you and your tastes. My version of sweet is (at most) off-dry by most standards, while other folks like their wines much sweeter. Do what @ChuckD recommended and do some bench trials to see what works for you.

BTW, how old is the wine? Bulk aging is recommended to give the wine to undergo natural chemical changes, for the flavors to meld, and for sediment to drop (better in carboy than the bottle!).

I had a really good crop of blueberries last year and had enough left over after making 12 jars of jam for 3 gallons of wine. It was gawd awful until I backsweetened, it didn't become good until November and it finished fermenting the first week of May. So you are spot on about it needing some aging. But when it turned the corner it was pretty good but dry. I didn't add any grape to it, wanted to see how it stood on it's own. It ended up being about 12% ABV

This was the recipe I used

9 pounds blueberries +/-
5 pounds of sugar
2 tsp pectic enzyme
Around 2 1/3 gallons of water or so (to get 3 full gallon cider jugs with some left for topping)
3 tbs acid blend
1/4 tsp Tannin
4 tsp YN
EC1118
Backsweetened to taste (one just slightly off dry, one semi dry, one desert sweet)
1/4 tsp kmeta and 1 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate mixed in 3 oz water and equally divided in each jug

 

[BigDaveK]

I just started last October and haven't used any recipe that calls for a concentrate. Like @Fox Squirrel Vin said, I want to see how everything stands on its own. Part of the very fun learning process.

I bottled a strawberry wine after 4 months in bulk that was absolutely crystal clear. I noticed superfine particles in the bottle after a couple weeks, dammit, so now I'm not even going to think about bottling until at least 6 months in bulk. Except for skeeter pee and dragon blood! Lesson learned.

 

[Rojoguio]

I had a really good crop of blueberries last year and had enough left over after making 12 jars of jam for 3 gallons of wine. It was gawd awful until I backsweetened, it didn't become good until November and it finished fermenting the first week of May. So you are spot on about it needing some aging. But when it turned the corner it was pretty good but dry. I didn't add any grape to it, wanted to see how it stood on it's own. It ended up being about 12% ABV

This was the recipe I used

9 pounds blueberries +/-
5 pounds of sugar
2 tsp pectic enzyme
Around 2 1/3 gallons of water or so (to get 3 full gallon cider jugs with some left for topping)
3 tbs acid blend
1/4 tsp Tannin
4 tsp YN
EC1118
Backsweetened to taste (one just slightly off dry, one semi dry, one desert sweet)
1/4 tsp kmeta and 1 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate mixed in 3 oz water and equally divided in each jug

How was the body without any grape?

 

[Fox Squirrel Vin]

How was the body without any grape?

It wasn't bad actually, had great color, I was amazed how much color came out of the blueberries, it was really intense like a really dark red only more purplish and the flavors were really intense as well. Of the three versions I made I liked the semi dry one the best. It just had a slight touch of sweetness and was REALLY awesome with some BBQ ribs, the sweetness of the Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and it's plum flavors went really really well with it. I'll be making it again for sure.

I certainly would not ever mix it with grape. It's good on it's own. If I was short fruit I'd add frozen blueberries before adding any grape.

 

[Rojoguio]

I have massive blueberry bushes. Southern High Bushes. I use 1 box of Sultana raisins in each batch of wine and I very respectfully submit, the Blueberry I racked yesterday is off the charts good. What I can't say is if the raisins are contributing to the overall flavor. Very good body too. My blueberries are super sweet and when I pick I pick like Juan Valdez the coffee bean picker. I only pick perfect berries.

 

[Fox Squirrel Vin]

I have massive blueberry bushes. Southern High Bushes. I use 1 box of Sultana raisins in each batch of wine and I very respectfully submit, the Blueberry I racked yesterday is off the charts good. What I can't say is if the raisins are contributing to the overall flavor. Very good body too. My blueberries are super sweet and when I pick I pick like Juan Valdez the coffee bean picker. I only pick perfect berries.

That's the part I hate, picking the damn things every few days as they ripen. Raisins are an interesting twist.

 

[Rojoguio]

We go out early in the morning, I have all the grass very low and the under growth removed so we can easily see if any "customers" (snakes) are laying in them. I leave a 100+ year old 1x2 Mahogany flooring strip near the bushes to make the customers leave. We pick a couple of gallons every third day or so. Retired so time spent is OK. So when I say tall, I have a Bobcat and put a pallet on the forks raising it up 6-8ft so I can stand and pick the high berries.

 

[Raptor99]

I certainly would not ever mix it with grape. It's good on it's own. If I was short fruit I'd add frozen blueberries before adding any grape.

I agree. Blueberry wine is awesome on it's own. I've had good results with 5 lbs. of fruit per gallon. If there is not quite enough body, add a bit of glycerin before bottling. It's good with a little bit of oak in the secondary.