Chocolate Covered Cherry Wine

[kryptonitewine]

I'm gonna use actual chocolate covered dried cherries. Just trying to figure out how much to use. I have about 10 lbs.

 

[cmason1957]

I did use the boxes with 10 pieces of candy in them. Mine were 6.6 oz or something like that. I seem to remember reading on the Jack Keller site, but it is down now, so I can't check, that he had subsequently made it with smaller and smaller sized boxes and it came it just as good.

I may have just misread the recipe and not noticed that he had 1 lb boxes the first times he made it. I do know what I made has a nice chocolate taste, with cherry overtones.

 

[wineforfun]

Ok, thanks for the reply. I am going to scale it down then from your numbers. I will probably use 8 boxes of the 5.6oz I have or maybe 10 tops. I am only making a 1 gal. batch so will just cut your numbers in sixths.
If yours tastes pretty good with 48 boxes for 6 gal., then mine should be good with 8-10 for 1 gal.
Worse thing to happen is I have to dump it.

I just know looking at 24 boxes of the cherries there is no way that can be right for 1 gallon. The cherries alone will fill up the primary to 1 gal., without the addition of water.

 

[vernsgal]

Worse thing to happen is I have to dump it.

That's why 1 gal. tests are good! lol

 

[buckhorn]

WineForFun - Have you started your batch yet?

I am planning on starting a 1 Gal batch of CCC wine next week. Like you I thought the 8 lbs sounded like a LOT, esp. thinking of how much sugar is in the candy and what would the SG be. I was trying to decide how many cherries I wanted to use.

I have read someplace else that the recipe Jack Keller has on his site gives a wine with more of an almond taste (caused by the cream in the cherries) - after seeing this thread, I think I am going to go with about 10 boxes in my 1 gal batch.

Good luck and keep us posted so I can follow your progress in relation to mine.

-Brian

 

[wineforfun]

No I have not started it. Probably will be a month or so. Trying to free up some carboys(don't want to buy more).
I am going with 9 boxes. I have chocolate covered cherries and also chocolate covered blueberries. I will make a gallon of each.

I will definitely keep my progress posted on this thread when I start it. Please do the same with yours.

I still can't believe that is correct, 8lbs., for 1 gallon. And as cmason1957 posted above, he used 8 boxes per gallon, and said it turned out good.

 

[wineforfun]

I started this batch finally. Mixed everything up Sunday, pitched the hydrated yeast last night. Looks like chocolate pudding. Hard to imagine this is going to be clear and wine someday.

I went with 9 boxes (10 cherries in each box) and not the 8lbs. that the recipe called for. That has to be a typo as with the 9 boxes I used, my primary was 1/3 full before pouring the boiling water over it. Also, this amount of candy had my SG at 1.092 without adding any sugar.

 

[wineforfun]

Got this one clear and backsweetened. Also added 5oz. cherry vodka to it to hopefully add some cherry flavor to it. Doesn't taste too bad right now. Semi-sweet with a hint of chocolate covered cherries. I may throw a maraschino cherry in the glass of wine and see how that goes. If I get this figured out, I will start my chocolate covered blueberries.

 

[Alex80]

Sound like the best wine for my wife, we both love chocolate. I'll try that recipe for sure.