Cranberry wine

[Wade E]

Hi everyone. My wife wants me to make a cranberry wine so I called
around to all the stores within a 75 mile radius and can't find either
fresh or frozen cranberries anywhere. Has anybody ever used cranberry
juice or the vintners harvest base. Does it compare to fresh or frozen?

 

[Waldo]

The cranberry juice makes a pretty nice wine wade. Just read the label good and be aware of the preservatives used. You can also use canned creanbereries Edited by: Waldo

 

[PolishWineP]

Wade,
Can your wife wait 2 months for you to start it? You should then be able to get cranberries. Good luck!

 

[Wade E]

What preservatives should I stay away from if not all. I dont think
there are any out there without any preservatives. And P.W.P., my
wife wants it for Thanksgiving so I really cant wait too long as it
would not be able to age much. Even now will be cutting it close.

 

[Waldo]

Ouch..You might could have some ready for Thanksgiving next year

 

[Wade E]

Maybe you should tell my wife that, I'M SURE NOT GOING TO!

 

[masta]

You should to try and stay away using any product that contains potassium sorbate as a preservative. Sulfiteis ok but sorbate could prevent fermentation from starting if the concentration is high enough.
This company makes some great concentrates that could be an option for a cranberry wine.


https://www.brownwoodacres.com/index.htm

 

[Funky Fish]

Wade,


As suggested on "another forum," I'd wait until they are in season and get fresh cranberries. Tell your wife that good wine takes time, and good wine comes from good ingredients.

 

[peterCooper]

Ascorbic acid is not the same thing as potassium sorbate. It's easy to get confused. There are apple juices out there that have ascorbic acid. They are fine to use.

 

[redderthebetter]

If finding fresh or frozen is a problem, try craisins. I made a batch over winter that was incredible. I just chopped them in the food processer before adding them to the bucket. There are recipes out there. I know I'm not the only person on the board to do this. I followed the cautions about preservatives also. You can find them in the bulk you need at SAMs club. SAMs also has other frozen fruits in bulk needed for our hobby. One note. It made the thickest lees I've seen so far. They looked and poured like catshup.I filtered through many coffee filters to secondaryafterracking down to the lee bed. This got me an extra pint or so out of the primary


Maybe do a search on the board for the recipes.

 

[Wade E]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have seen the craisons in a few places and wondered. I might just try this out.

Thank you.

 

[pkcook]

Wade,


I've made wine from Brownwood Acres concentrates (Masta's post)and their products are top notch. My cherry and red raspberry are very good. I'm bulk aging the concord I made from their concentrate. I'm sure the cranberry would be just as good. I made 5 Liters of cranberry wine from fresh cranberries I got on sale at Sam's Club last year. I plan on cracking the first bottle for Thanksgiving this year.

 

[dfwwino]

I've seen the dried cranberries, craisins, at Costco's as well and have been toying with the idea of starting a cranberry wine. I looked at the label and no preservatives are added, though sugar is. Does anyone have an idea of how many ounces/pounds of craisins are needed to create a gallon of wine? Edited by: dfwwino

 

[masta]

I have seen recipes that use 1 lb of dried cranberries per gallon compared to 3 lbs of fresh.

 

[dfwwino]

Here's an excerpt about the craisins: "Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries pack the goodness of cranberries into a surprisingly sweet, delicious real fruit snack. Craisins® are 100% natural sweetened dried cranberries, are naturally fat-free, cholesterol-free and have no artificial flavors or preservatives." The pack at Costco's is 12 oz. I think I'll try a pack with 2.5 pounds of honey to make a Cranberry melomel. Edited by: dfwwino

 

[Wade E]

Excellent Info. I am going to start making 1 gallon batches as I can
afford to buy all the ingredients for a 6 gal. batches. I'm gonna try
the craison wine and the blueberry mead.

 

[dfwwino]

I just bought Craisins at Costco. Costco sells a 48 oz. package for $6.09.

 

[Wade E]

Whats that 1/12 lbs. Thats a good price.