Feeling skiddish about first mixed berry wine

[FlavorSeeker]

Today I just starting my first Mixed Berry Wine (5 parts Blueberry, 4 parts Strawberry and 1 part Raspberry) from 7.5 kg (~16.25 lbs) of frozen fruit. I was shooting for a 1.090 to 1.095 starting gravity. Based on Jack Keller's 3-gallon recipe (http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request113.asp), I worked my way up to five gallons, adding simple syrup, eventually dumping in the last of my ten-pound bag of sugar reaching a starting gravity of 1.096.

At this point, my primary contains the Blueberries and Strawberries in one straining bag and the Raspberries in another. To this I added the syrup and nothing more. Finding a source for wine making chemicals in Germany has proved to be a challenge. So far, I only have lactic acid; not acid blend. Some of my research into lactic acid in fruit wines indicates potential infection by lactic acid bacteria in fruit wines.

Should I add more juice or fruit and extend to a six-gallon batch? If just adding store-bought fruit/grape juice, what considerations do I need to take? I'll be removing the straining bags after the initial fermentation and topping back up to five gallons. Should I do this with aforementioned juice or water?

My target flavor profile is a semi-dry, fruity, easy-drinking wine.

So, out of these ramblings, my questions are:
1. Should I use my lactic acid or forego the acid altogether?

2. IF I added too much sugar what is the best way to deal with it at this point (only fruit, juice, water and sugar are in the primary).

3. Since trouble comes in threes...yeasts I have on hand are:
a. Bioferm Aromatic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), a dry yeast, stated to promote malolactic fermentation, resulting in more esters and aroma
b. Vina Burgund, a liquid yeast

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Acid is also in lemons, if you cant get acid blend you can use lemons like the old timers used to use before they invented acid blend. You can dilute or just keep it as is, you are probably going to get more sugar from your fruit coming out anyway. You may also want to post to

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/

and someone there might be able to help you find some more supplies. Good luck, CrackedCork in WV

 

[FlavorSeeker]

After the must cooled to 72 f, the SG is 1.092 (accounting for +.002 temperature adjustment). So, I'm back in the ballpark for my expected starting gravity. I just added Bentonite (not in the recipe, but I've seen it recommended elsewhere), yeast nutrient, citric acid and k-meta.

It's about 5 pm here and, according to the recipe, I need to add Pectic Enzyme and then yeast at 12-hour intervals, starting now. Since I need to leave for an unexpected business trip around noon tomorrow, I have about nineteen hours to do a 24-hour task. Should I split the difference and add the PE 9.5 hours from now and then the yeast, 9.5 hours from that point, or just give either of these steps the full recommended 12 hours? How critical is the interval?

On the subject of this last-minute business trip, should I ask my wife to pull the two straining bags after the recommended five to seven days or would it hurt anything to leave them in until next Saturday (nine days)? The recipe suggests squeezing the bags twice daily to extract juice from the pulp. I realize a single squeeze when I return may provide the recipe's expected result, but I may be limited to that outcome. (My wife has never helped with wine making, so I'm concerned about infection due to poor sanitization.)

Any recommendations would be most helpful.

 

[Julie]

Acid is also in lemons, if you cant get acid blend you can use lemons like the old timers used to use before they invented acid blend. You can dilute or just keep it as is, you are probably going to get more sugar from your fruit coming out anyway. You may also want to post to

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/

and someone there might be able to help you find some more supplies. Good luck, CrackedCork in WV

I have a friend who makes elderberry wine every year, that is the only kind he makes and he adds lemons and oranges and then let's nature take it's course.

 

[FlavorSeeker]

Acid is also in lemons, if you cant get acid blend you can use lemons like the old timers used to use before they invented acid blend. You can dilute or just keep it as is, you are probably going to get more sugar from your fruit coming out anyway. You may also want to post to

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/

and someone there might be able to help you find some more supplies. Good luck, CrackedCork in WV

Thanks, Jack. I was able to get some citric acid this afternoon.

 

[FlavorSeeker]

So, I just returned from my business trip, pulled the two straining bags of fruit and checked the gravity...over 1.2!!! Now, I'm hoping this is due to the high volume of visible solids in the must. I'm considering letting it sit in the primary overnight and racking to another primary to hopefully get a more acceptable reading.

Should I wait longer before this racking or is this a doomed batch anyway? If the sugar is really that high, I'm concerned it may not be worth trying to salvage. If I over sulphited, as mentioned earlier, that may have prevented fermentation, as could a crazy high starting gravity.

Should I try a yeast starter, gradually adding must, as I've read elsewhere?

 

[FlavorSeeker]

One good indicator is visible signs of active fermentation (fine bubbling and flocculation). Would letting the must settle overnight (or even a few days) and racking off the solids relieve it of some of the sugars or have all the sugars been extracted from the fruit solids at this point?

 

[FlavorSeeker]

This batch has now been in the primary for twenty-two days. SG is down to 1.009 @ 66f. This down about .002 in two days, so it's still fermenting albeit slow, which I'm attributing to the lower than recommended temperature. I pulled the fruit eleven days ago, but there's some material left behind, which I had squeezed from the straining bags.

Should I rack off to another bucket or just let it go until the SG stabilizes for three consecutive days and rack to a carboy secondary?

 

[docanddeb]

Let it go until it's done. Blueberries can be stubborn at times. It will be fine.

Debbie