DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

[willie]

Christmas Wine

After adding honey, elderberries, cinnamon stick,vanilla and a few cloves 6 days ago to a 6 gal. Triple Berry we tasted the wine and decided to rack it off the berry's and stuff. We will let it sit for another 10-14 days and then filter and bottle. The wine is clear and had a great taste.

Will

 

[JSquared]

Vanilla, oak, and dried elderberries is my vote!

Okay I went to my local wine store and he had everything you recommended! My question is, I've never worked with vanilla beans before. Will one vanilla bean be too much for just a gallon of wine if you usually use one vanilla bean in a 5-6 gallon batch? I'm new to working with the spices and such but so very excited to learn!

 

[Jdub]

Hi, thanks and a question

Hi all, I have been lurking for a couple months and have read a good portion of the thread but just made a profile so I could comment. Thank you all for your recipes and insight. I had brewed a couple 5 gal batches of beer but stopped and sold my setup when my twins were born. Time & $$ were short and I realized I didn't really like beer enough to risk having 5 gallons of only decent brew. The twins are 3 now and I needed a hobby so I looked for an easy sweet wine recipe and found this thread. The fruit wine recipe sounded almost as intriguing as the name, DragonBlood!!

I picked up a 2.5 gal bucket and three 1 gal carboys and have made a couple 1 gallon batches of DragonBlood. The first just got back sweetened and will be ready for bottles soon and the second is almost finished with primary fermentation. My first batch was quad-berry (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry) the second was half quad-berry & half cherry. I am going to bottle about half of each batch in 187ml clear bottles for gifts and the rest in beer bottles. I figure I have just enough time to get one more batch made for Christmas gifts.

I was wondering if anyone would have a good idea or recipe for a holiday cranberry wine? I saw the recipe posted by Jericurl for a holiday wine with cranberries but it seemed too complex for my simple mind. I don't have much experience with different spices and flavors so I'm not sure what would compliment the cranberry flavor. Any advice would be appreciated!!
Thanks,
Jesse

 

[globalnavigator]

newbie mistake already

Hi All, in my first attempt at Dragon Blood, my SG read 1.12 after adding my sugar. I then completed step 1. The only deviation from the original recipe was that my lemon juice was a 40 oz from Walmart, and I added one star anise, a cinnamon stick, a whole nutmeg, and a few cloves.

So, two questions;

1) can I take steps to reduce the (15%?) alcohol that is indicated for the final product, and,

2) will I even taste the small amounts of spices that I added to my 6-gallon batch?

-Steve

 

[JSquared]

Welcome to the thread! Tons of great info on here! I am just finishing Jericurl's Christmas variant of the DB now and I am far from experienced in wine making! I've only be making wine for a year myself! I'm sure someone on here will give you a great suggest. I really haven't worked much with cranberries yet. Good Luck! Jackie

 

[Jericurl]

Okay I went to my local wine store and he had everything you recommended! My question is, I've never worked with vanilla beans before. Will one vanilla bean be too much for just a gallon of wine if you usually use one vanilla bean in a 5-6 gallon batch? I'm new to working with the spices and such but so very excited to learn!

I wouldn't use an entire bean unless you want a very very strong vanilla flavor. ALL VANILLA ALL THE TIME.

Maybe cut off an inch at the tip and split/scrape just that part, then toss it in.

 

[JSquared]

I wouldn't use an entire bean unless you want a very very strong vanilla flavor. ALL VANILLA ALL THE TIME.



Maybe cut off an inch at the tip and split/scrape just that part, then toss it in.

Took your advise and added .8 oz Md French Roast oak, .4 oz dried Elderberries and 1/5 of a vanilla bean. I'm gonna check it in a week and see how it's going!

 

[Jericurl]

1) can I take steps to reduce the (15%?) alcohol that is indicated for the final product, and,
You can add water, but you will lose flavor and body.

2) will I even taste the small amounts of spices that I added to my 6-gallon batch?
Yes... you will be able to taste the spices. Wait until you taste it before you add any more.

 

[mforney12]

Bottled my dragon blood this afternoon, had roughly half a bottle left that we're taste testing. The DB smells good, little fruity smell. However as far as taste ... its very disappointing - very little berry/fruity flavor. It kind of tastes like tart, sweet water. Does this change over time? Do the fruit flabors come out over time (how much time)? If not i'm hesitant to give this to anyone for holiday gifts.

 

[CGish]

Bottled my dragon blood this afternoon, had roughly half a bottle left that we're taste testing. The DB smells good, little fruity smell. However as far as taste ... its very disappointing - very little berry/fruity flavor. It kind of tastes like tart, sweet water. Does this change over time? Do the fruit flabors come out over time (how much time)? If not i'm hesitant to give this to anyone for holiday gifts.

What is your ABV?

The flavors will come out with time, but if the higher the alcohol the longer it will take.

 

[JetJockey]

It would also be helpful to know how much fruit you used per gallon.

 

[wineforfun]

And if you backsweetened.

 

[globalnavigator]

regarding my post #3444

I'm still thinking about my goal of lowering the final alcohol percentage.

Isn't there a way to stop the fermentation early, at say 1.02, to keep more of the sugar intact instead of the yeast converting it to alcohol? Since the Dragon Blood recipe calls for backsweetening, I could just add less sugar then?

 

[wineforfun]

I'm still thinking about my goal of lowering the final alcohol percentage.

Isn't there a way to stop the fermentation early, at say 1.02, to keep more of the sugar intact instead of the yeast converting it to alcohol? Since the Dragon Blood recipe calls for backsweetening, I could just add less sugar then?

The only way you will stop fermentation is by fortifying it, making the ABV even higher.
Just let it runs it's course, then backsweeten and hopefully in 2-3mos., you can get the flavors to come forward, like a normal recipe would.
Your issues are from your starting SG of 1.12.

Only other option would be to make another batch and do some blending, to get the ABV lower.

Personally, I would go with my first option and just chalk it up to "live and learn".
Heck, who knows, you might actually like the finished product. Remember too, wine changes over time so even though it may not be to your liking in month 1, it may be awesome in month 6.

 

[JSquared]

Bottled my dragon blood this afternoon, had roughly half a bottle left that we're taste testing. The DB smells good, little fruity smell. However as far as taste ... its very disappointing - very little berry/fruity flavor. It kind of tastes like tart, sweet water. Does this change over time? Do the fruit flabors come out over time (how much time)? If not i'm hesitant to give this to anyone for holiday gifts.

I personally found that I like my Dragon Blood after it has been bottled for about 6 months. It was good but not great to me at the start. I'm now running low because it has moved on to great!

 

[mforney12]

Specs on my dragon blood batch:

Pitched 10/4; SG = 1.082 @ 74*F
Racked 10/13; SG = 0.990 @ 72*F

Used 1 pound berry blend per gallon ... 6 pounds total for my 6 gallon batch. Only deviation from original recipe was 1 cup less lemon; back sweetened with 3.75 cups of sugar.

Will work on determining what my abv is.

 

[Ctmaro]

Specs on my dragon blood batch:

Pitched 10/4; SG = 1.082 @ 74*F
Racked 10/13; SG = 0.990 @ 72*F

Used 1 pound berry blend per gallon ... 6 pounds total for my 6 gallon batch. Only deviation from original recipe was 1 cup less lemon; back sweetened with 3.75 cups of sugar.

Will work on determining what my abv is.[/QUOT

I’ve had really luck, getting more fruit taste with regular wines, by making a Flavor pack.
Take a package of Triple Berry, put it in a pot, just cover it with water, and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes. Strain and mix the “juice” into your wine. Make sure you sorbate and Kmeta your must, so it doesn’t start fermentation again.
The dilution should bring down the ABV, and add flavor to the wine.
Time (aging) will also bring flavor forward, in about 6 mo to a year.

Mark

 

[sour_grapes]

Specs on my dragon blood batch:

Pitched 10/4; SG = 1.082 @ 74*F
Racked 10/13; SG = 0.990 @ 72*F

Used 1 pound berry blend per gallon ... 6 pounds total for my 6 gallon batch. Only deviation from original recipe was 1 cup less lemon; back sweetened with 3.75 cups of sugar.

Will work on determining what my abv is.

Right around 12%.

 

[mforney12]

for future notes, does more fruit per gallon yield a fruitier wine? or does it not work like that? just curious.

I was hoping that this DB i started in early October would be ready by Thanksgiving and would be 'prime' by Christmas ... but maybe i'll just tell folks to wait and celebrate/drink it on Valentine's day. Guess i thought DB was a faster wine than it really is ... should have started in August.

Any recommendations as to when i should open the next bottle and test? wait a few weeks? wait a couple months?

 

[willie]

for future notes, does more fruit per gallon yield a fruitier wine? or does it not work like that? just curious.

I was hoping that this DB i started in early October would be ready by Thanksgiving and would be 'prime' by Christmas ... but maybe i'll just tell folks to wait and celebrate/drink it on Valentine's day. Guess i thought DB was a faster wine than it really is ... should have started in August.

Any recommendations as to when i should open the next bottle and test? wait a few weeks? wait a couple months?

Yes adding more fruit will give your wine a stronger fruit flavor. I have been changing it up and have used 6, 7.5 , and 9 lbs. Have not tried 12 lbs. yet but I believe others have. Experimenting with this recipe is what makes it fun.

Will