Getting Started in Country Fruit Wine Making ?

[Khristyjeff]

I have a can of red raspberry juice. I was considering combining with another fruit to make a wine and I looked for some ideas here. Searching WMT I noticed many made black raspberry wine but not red. Has onyone made red raspberry wine? How was it?

Has anyone made red raspbarry and another fruit? What did you use and how did it turn out? Thanks!

I did a cheap Zinfandel Rosé kit (Wine Lovers) that I added a raspberry f-pac in primary (and some got sucked into secondary), made it to 5 gal. instead of 6 and added some simple sugar to get the 7% ABV higher. It is excellent. Tastes like red raspberry wine.

 

[my wine]

Yes - I did but I used a can of Vintner's Harvest Red Raspberry wine base - meh, not impressed by it.

That's what I have also, the Vintner's Harvest meh raspberry. Now I'm more motivated to add another flavor with it. I will use the 3 gallon recipe to make it more flavorful.

The Zin Rose is a neat idea but wanted to make a country wine for the experience instead of a grape wine with fruit flavor. I'm currently taking a Merlot and adding cherries post-secondary to make a Cherry Merlot. That's still going; haven't tasted it yet.

I have about 2 pounds of overripe frozen bananas, frozen cherries, green apple extract and raisins in the home inventory. I can easily get frozen blueberries, blackberries, mixed berries, canned peaches, etc. Or flavor concentrates at my local brew store. I'm still hoping to hear if someone had an interesting mix they made or even if some combination sounds good.

 

[Scooter68]

Blackberry and Black Raspberry with the Red Raspberry could make into a nice wine. Your can of VH Red Raspberry along with about 6-7 lbs each of Blackberry and Black Raspberry for a 5 gallon batch. Of course push your volume up above 5 to maybe 5.75 all three of these berries should break down well and when pressed well afterwards I think you can safely get 5 gallons with some extra for topping off along the way. That's the way I would probably use a can for the Red Raspberry now knowing what it makes into by itself. \

We have Wild Blackberrys in the freezer and if we have a good season I hope get to use the older frozen berries for wine. [My wife does the blackberry picking so I am careful not to use any of the 1-2 year old frozen berries.] Wild Black Raspberries are tough to come by they seem to only grow in limited areas and then they fade away after a couple of years and pop up somewhere else.

 

[hounddawg]

Been making wine since 1957. Still learning. Still drinking.
When i was a kid, I never dreamed learning could be so good, and it keeps your joints lubricated. at least your elbow

Amen,,,, I since 1975, then went on the road for twelve years, then a few years later joined WMT to marry the old ways with work saving pumps, processes and chemicals, and yes to have learned it all means your heartbeat has stopped,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

Blackberry and Black Raspberry with the Red Raspberry could make into a nice wine. Your can of VH Red Raspberry along with about 6-7 lbs each of Blackberry and Black Raspberry for a 5 gallon batch. Of course push your volume up above 5 to maybe 5.75 all three of these berries should break down well and when pressed well afterwards I think you can safely get 5 gallons with some extra for topping off along the way. That's the way I would probably use a can for the Red Raspberry now knowing what it makes into by itself. \

We have Wild Blackberrys in the freezer and if we have a good season I hope get to use the older frozen berries for wine. [My wife does the blackberry picking so I am careful not to use any of the 1-2 year old frozen berries.] Wild Black Raspberries are tough to come by they seem to only grow in limited areas and then they fade away after a couple of years and pop up somewhere else.

bush hog your briars every 4 to 5 years, i bush hog 1/2 then 2 year later bush hog the rest. so you'll always have producing briar patches, just like milking cows or goats, they need restarted,,,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

OH @Scooter68 very nice thread,,,
Dawg

 

[my wine]

While still hunting for raspberry wine ideas, I came across this gem. I'm posting here since the recipes are mostly country wines.

https://swguildpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jack-Keller-Complete-Requested-Recipes-Collection.pdf

Recipes include Cranberry-Raspberry, Raspberry-Chipotle, White Grape Juice-Raspberry, ... I also found a Raspberry-Pear recipe online.

 

[Scooter68]

While still hunting for raspberry wine ideas, I came across this gem. I'm posting here since the recipes are mostly country wines.

https://swguildpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jack-Keller-Complete-Requested-Recipes-Collection.pdf

Recipes include Cranberry-Raspberry, Raspberry-Chipotle, White Grape Juice-Raspberry, ... I also found a Raspberry-Pear recipe online.

Yeah Jack Keller is well known for his recipes. Hang on to that info as after he passed they disappeared. He was not into strong flavored wines but seemed to perfer higher ABV wines than some prefer. Great reference material though.

 

[Scooter68]

I have not used used golden raspberries. I imagine if they are home grown they should make into some really nice wine. Bet the color would make it look like a "White Wine" until the flavor hits the taste buds. That would be a fun trick to pull on someone.

 

[Jovimaple]

Yeah Jack Keller is well known for his recipes. Hang on to that info as after he passed they disappeared. He was not into strong flavored wines but seemed to perfer higher ABV wines than some prefer. Great reference material though.

I was just looking for his recipes yesterday and found his obituary but no recipes.

 

[Jovimaple]

While still hunting for raspberry wine ideas, I came across this gem. I'm posting here since the recipes are mostly country wines.

https://swguildpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jack-Keller-Complete-Requested-Recipes-Collection.pdf

Recipes include Cranberry-Raspberry, Raspberry-Chipotle, White Grape Juice-Raspberry, ... I also found a Raspberry-Pear recipe online.

This is awesome!! Thank you for posting this!

 

[Scooter68]

Keep in mind that his recipes favor lighter fruit taste and a bit higher ABV. As long as that suits your taste they are pretty complete and well explained. I don't know who snagged all the recipes he posted but apparently they are out there.

 

[Jovimaple]

Keep in mind that his recipes favor lighter fruit taste and a bit higher ABV. As long as that suits your taste they are pretty complete and well explained. I don't know who snagged all the recipes he posted but apparently they are out there.

Thanks for the callout on his fruit amounts. I have noticed that in some of the other recipes I have found on the internet, too. I plan to use his as a reference and tweak to my tastes as far as the ABV especially. Probably end up with more fruit, too.

I looked through some of the recipes and for me, his experience in trying so many different ingredients helps me to see if I should even attempt some of them (ex: craisins) or if it really isn't a good idea. Fun stuff and thanks again to whoever compiled his recipes!

 

[Scooter68]

I'm sure that his recipes produce great results. If you haven't done much (Or any) wine making, my only suggestion would be to start out with a couple of simple recipes with minimal number of different fruit, flavor additives. Then move on from there. If you are a more experienced wine maker then go for it. Raisins, craisins etc. Fruit wines are all I know, all I've really done simply because you can't buy them off the shelf in their "Pure Form" unless you get really lucky. (At least that's here in the US.) Keller's recipes won prizes so certainly they work.

 

[Ivywoods]

I downloaded Jacks's recipes. So many wines..... I should have started this adventure many years ago!

 

[mikewatkins727]

Like my wife, I use a recipe as a guide and Jack Keller was an inspiration. Much to our lost Jack has crossed that bridge and some of his writings are hard to come by. I downloaded some of his recipes and discussions on different subjects. Should have downloaded the entire web site. Didn't think he would go before me, tho we were the same age. Guess his time in Vietnam didn't help much.

 

[Rembee]

For any of you that are interested, there is a Jack Keller recipe book coming out in May by Jack B. Keller Jr.
Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine

https://www.amazon.com/dp/159193947X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_4WJR85DXK5AJRQQB3VNZ

 

[KCCam]

2) Have a pH Meter

Since you recommend having a pH meter, would it be worth while adding a note about the range you should shoot for, and how to adjust it? Or is that too much detail?

 

[Scooter68]

A lot depends on your patience and the instructions with the pH meter. My first one seemed to work fine for about 3 1/5 years. The one I replaced it with is a pain to calibrate. So.... While I can find what I ordered the first time... it's no longer available on Amazon. What I liked about it was that you adjusted it with a screwdriver and that was quite simple and straight forward. The new one has badly written/translated instructions and recommends 3 pt calibration.

Honestly there are just so many out there and so many look just a like. My first was yellow body with black cap and top.

Generally I spend a little time on things like this reading the reviews and looking at how many people reviewed it. Anything with more than 10% ratings of 1 star... not likely to buy that. Also Iook to make sure the reviews are for the correct item (Tells you Amazon monitors reviews very poorly) Sorry I can't give you better advice. Fortunately most start around $25.oo or even less sometimes so it's not going to break the bank.

As far as range - I look for something with an a accuracy rating of .05 or better. (That would mean a reading of 3.53 might actually be 3.58 or 3.48 )
I'd avoid anything that is only accurate to .1 or higher. (That would mean the reading of 3.6 might actually be 3.7 or 3.5 - that's a pretty wide range)
Adjusting them varies from model to model.

 

[KCCam]

A lot depends on your patience and the instructions with the pH meter. My first one seemed to work fine for about 3 1/5 years. The one I replaced it with is a pain to calibrate. So.... While I can find what I ordered the first time... it's no longer available on Amazon. What I liked about it was that you adjusted it with a screwdriver and that was quite simple and straight forward. The new one has badly written/translated instructions and recommends 3 pt calibration.

Honestly there are just so many out there and so many look just a like. My first was yellow body with black cap and top.

Generally I spend a little time on things like this reading the reviews and looking at how many people reviewed it. Anything with more than 10% ratings of 1 star... not likely to buy that. Also Iook to make sure the reviews are for the correct item (Tells you Amazon monitors reviews very poorly) Sorry I can't give you better advice. Fortunately most start around $25.oo or even less sometimes so it's not going to break the bank.

As far as range - I look for something with an a accuracy rating of .05 or better. (That would mean a reading of 3.53 might actually be 3.58 or 3.48 )
I'd avoid anything that is only accurate to .1 or higher. (That would mean the reading of 3.6 might actually be 3.7 or 3.5 - that's a pretty wide range)
Adjusting them varies from model to model.

Sorry, wasn't talking about the meter itself, but the target range for the must. I was suggesting a little more info for us beginning country wine makers about what is normal, how far away from that should you consider adjusting it, etc. But thinking about it, your post is perfect as-is. Not the place to get into that type of detail.