Chocolate

[John Prince]

I'm thinking about putting some Chocolate in my wine? What kind and what should I do? How long? Powder or bar?

 

[Deezil]

Most of what i've seen used would be wafers or bars broken into chunks..

You want something with a high percentage of cacao & low percentages of fat/oil/butter.. Something 85% cacao or better...

Some people use powders but they're obviously harder to remove if you overdo it

The length of exposure is up to your & your taste... Stirring the chocolate around daily will help it infuse the wine more quickly but you wanna be sure you dont overdo it

 

[saramc]

I have used Dutch cocoa powder and good old Hershey's unsweetened and their Special Dark powder with great success. I use 4-6 ounces, by weight, per gallon and I add it at the start of fermentation. I have not used the bar or wafer chocolate simply because you are still left with a solid which has to be removed at some point, plus they introduce more oil...but that is just me. I have also added 1 cup of sweetened Hershey's style chocolate syrup per gallon after wine has cleared and no longer dropping sediment; in about 2 weeks that chocolate syrup has dropped to the bottom, has cleared and can be racked and bottled. You can add 5-7 drops of a quality vanilla when bottling to help bring any chocolate a bit more forward.

 

[joea132]

There's a winery near me that uses a chocolate essence that they add to their raspberry wine. It's easily one of the most delicious things I have ever tried. Plus you can add it incrementally.

 

[saramc]

John....I forgot to mention, there is also a chocolate extract that I would not hesitate to use in my wine: Star Kay White brand, Chocolate Extract. Sourced from OliveNation, eBay and sometimes on Amazon. Bench trial to figure out how much, but the stuff is just great (I am a baker too).

 

[Wade E]

There's a winery near me that uses a chocolate essence that they add to their raspberry wine. It's easily one of the most delicious things I have ever tried. Plus you can add it incrementally.

Which place is that Joe?

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

Chocolate essence:http://brewandwinesupply.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=17_96&product_id=1057
It comes in a 4oz bottle, enough for a 5 to 6 gallon batch, but go by taste to your liking.

 

[joea132]

Which place is that Joe?

Land of Nod Winery in Canaan, CT. Well worth the visit for some interesting wines!

 

[bein_bein]

Chocolate essence:http://brewandwinesupply.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=17_96&product_id=1057
It comes in a 4oz bottle, enough for a 5 to 6 gallon batch, but go by taste to your liking.

I have tried the chocolate 'flavoring' as has my brother. To me it has an artificial taste.... I'm going to try putting a piece of chocolate bar (95% cocoa) into my blueberry wine, we'll see how that goes..

 

[Julie]

I have tried the chocolate 'flavoring' as has my brother. To me it has an artificial taste.... I'm going to try putting a piece of chocolate bar (95% cocoa) into my blueberry wine, we'll see how that goes..

Not sure how. Blueberry would taste with a chocolate undertone but you never know. Definitely use a bar, I normally use Lindts dark chocolate, let us know how this turns out.

 

[Runningwolf]

Brian, that is how I do it. I add it for 30 days in the secondary with chocolate of high cocoa content and low butter fat. I've added it to ice wine and cherry wine.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Hmmm...thinking I may need to try a batch of my Cherry Dragon's Blood with some chocolate in it next time. The combinations never end

 

[hobbyiswine]

I am currently messing with my first chocolate experiments. I added some high cocoa chocolate chips to a welchs concoction that has been a bit of a problem child plus i have a couple others currently in fermentation with chocolate powder in varying quantities. Time will tell how they work out. I see many more experiments in the future.