Elderberry Port Question for the advanced

[pwrose]

The title is not to put anyone down so don't take it that way.

Oh btw hi all, haven't really been on the forum that much but I check it regularly. This retirement life is fun, lol, I work harder and make less money.

Ok on to my question,

I made 3 gallons of elderberry port this past fall and it is really good but I had one person that suggested something to do to it that they thought would make it even better. Problem is I dont know how to accomplish it.

First here is the info on the wine
18% ABV (it is a port remember)
1.025 SG
It is a little sweet but extremly good.

The suggestion was to make it a little dryer through the middle and on the end but keep the initial sweetness. So how to make a wine sweet on first taste but get dryer through the taste?

If your not sure what I am getting at let me know I will try to explain a little better, hopefully.

Thanks all.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Not an expert, but I think they are full of it If it tastes good to you at the start and finish the stuff in the middle has to bee good to!

What was your recipie for your port?

Crackedcork

 

[Wade E]

If someone stated that to you Id like to meet him or ger as that person must kn ow a lot more about making wine then 99.999% of us!!!

 

[pwrose]

The person that made that commit was my father-in-law. Now a little background on him, he DON"T drink wine but when he tried the elderberry port he wanted some for himself. I don't normally try to please other peoples taste in wine, however in this case since he don't drink wine but wanted this one to be a little different I was willing to try and make it something he really liked. That is why I proposed the question because I didn't know how to make it that way. LOL, I guess there is a reason why I don't know how to make it that way, You can't. Oh well he will just have to deal with the sweetness.

Here is the thread where I made it, it should have everything in there from starting SG throught the steps of adding sugar to bring the SG back up to get to 18%.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8469

I certainly plan on making more than 3 gallons this year. I have gone as far as to aquire a GPS to mark all the elderberry plants while they are in flower so I can go back and get all the berries. I don't plan on making but 3 gallons of the port this year but I want to make at least 5-10 gallons of normal 10-11% elderberry.

CrackedCork, question for ya, since you grow and make som much elderberry have you ever mixed elderberry with strawberry. If so how did you do it, ie make both wines and mix or ferment them together. If you haven't made that mix do you think it would be a good one to try, or is there a reason it wouldn't be good to try.

Thanks guys

 

[Wade E]

Elderberry with strawberry, that would require lots of strawberries and very little elderberry as the elderberry is MUCH more potent! I wouldnt say its not possible to do what your father in law said, its just way above most of us and most anybody. If Robert Mondavi was alive then maybe he'd be able tom answer that.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

PWR, yes, but, we are using tame elders not wild ones, we havent used wild ones yet and I believe there may be quite a difference between wild plants and our cultivated ones. We did add some elderberry to a strawberry wine, just like a pound per gallon for color mostly, it may have added a little taste but we put in a lot of strawberries normally anyhow. Crackedcork

 

[Goodfella]

I think you could add Tannins..... They will add that "dry mouth" feel to the Port.

I think that may be what they trying to explain.....

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Its elderberry, probably got enough tannins, they just wanted to impress PWR Crackedcork

I think you could add Tannins..... They will add that "dry mouth" feel to the Port.

I think that may be what they trying to explain.....

 

[Wade E]

I agree, Elderberry has enough tannins on its own and with elderberry dont leave them on the skins too long or you will extract too much tannins!

 

[pwrose]

I think I might have to agree with crackedcork on the trying to impress part.

I was fortunate that i didn't ferment on the skins, I cooked the berries and extracted the juice that way (only because I dont have a steam juicer YET arrrggg). I dont think I will be adding tannins to anything that might have enough tannins in it to start with. I added a small amount to my chokecherry wine and holy cow I am still waiting for the bitter to go away. I am thinking another year or better and maybe if im lucky it will be drinkable. It has already been 6 months and albeit has gone away some it is still to bitter.