Purple Raspberries???

[Delaney]

Hi,

I'm currently putting forth a proposal for a fruit winery, which will focus primarily on black raspberries. While searching for cultivars that are suitable for my climate, I came across a variety of purple raspberry (red x black) which seems particularly well suited to the environment.

I have experience producing both red and black raspberry wines, but not purple raspberry wine. In my experience, red raspberry wine is generally not of very high quality, whereas black raspberry wine is phenomenal. I am wondering if anybody has experience with fermenting purple raspberries, and whether they lend well to wine production? How do they compare to red/black raspberry wine?

The cultivar I am interested in is called Royalty.

Thanks kindly,

Delaney.

 

[Deezil]

Most people here havent even realized there IS a purple raspberry variety

Would have to disagree, when you say red raspberries cant make a high quality wine

Each color of raspberry is a bit different
There's also yellow varieties, which make amazing wines as well..

I plan on purchasing Royalty next spring myself, to see about this whole idea for myself

Also, another thing to keep in mind - black raspberries are more disease-prone & if planted too close to everything, they can be the contractor for one of a few diseases that could wipe everything out... From everything i've read, its always been recommended to keep black raspberry plants well away (several hundred feet atleast) from the other colors - which is why i dont even own black raspberries

I havent found very much documentation on making any purple raspberry wines but i'll get to try it myself here in probably 2 years

 

[Delaney]

Perhaps it was due to acidity problems with red raspberries, but I found that the black raspberries produced a signficantly higher quality wine. The red raspberry wine was okay, but not fantastic. The black raspberry wine I made actually rivals some of the best wines I've had, and I am a very harsh critic of my own creations. Third party critiquing confirmed this. I'll add that I used some of the most flavorful organic red raspberries that I have ever come across.

I was thinking about cultivating yellow raspberries, as some of them have similar flavor to black raspberries. I opted not to due to problems with disease, as you mentioned. I believe the minimum distance between either type is 300 feet.

 

[grapeman]

We had black raspberries and yellow raspberries as well as red raspberries and blackberries all growing side by side in a high tunnel greenhouse structure. The black raspberries would grow 12 feet high if allowed to and outperformed the others by about 5 times. No problems with disease in the high tunnel, but replicated outside the bushes declined to the point of almost complete loss within a couple years. Just some food for thought. This was in a high tunnel on one of the Cornell research farms where I tended them one year as well as the vineyard there for a number of years.

 

[Delaney]

We had black raspberries and yellow raspberries as well as red raspberries and blackberries all growing side by side in a high tunnel greenhouse structure. The black raspberries would grow 12 feet high if allowed to and outperformed the others by about 5 times. No problems with disease in the high tunnel, but replicated outside the bushes declined to the point of almost complete loss within a couple years. Just some food for thought. This was in a high tunnel on one of the Cornell research farms where I tended them one year as well as the vineyard there for a number of years.

This is fascinating, as all of the literature I've come across suggests that red raspberries are generally much more productive than red raspberries, hence the high price of black raspberries. When you say that the black raspberries outperformed the others, is this mostly in terms of height or in terms of yield as well???


I came across the following document, which doesn't fully support what you mention in terms of black raspberries outperforming other raspberry types. "Black raspberries, however, are relatively low-yielding and have a short harvest season. Thus, even the yield increases that result from tunnel production may not economically justify tunnel use with this crop. " (page 6, http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/production/pdfs/hightunnelsrasp2012.pdf)


It's fascinating what you mention in terms of reduced problems regarding the cultivation of black and red raspberries in proximity to one another in such a system, but because I don't intend to cultivate red/yellow raspberries this is not of concern to my business proposal.

 

[Delaney]

I do find it to be an interesting idea, and the fact that it would eliminate the need for netting might offset the cost, to what degree I'm not yet sure.

 

[Deezil]

Perhaps it was due to acidity problems with red raspberries, but I found that the black raspberries produced a signficantly higher quality wine. The red raspberry wine was okay, but not fantastic. The black raspberry wine I made actually rivals some of the best wines I've had, and I am a very harsh critic of my own creations. Third party critiquing confirmed this. I'll add that I used some of the most flavorful organic red raspberries that I have ever come across.

I was thinking about cultivating yellow raspberries, as some of them have similar flavor to black raspberries. I opted not to due to problems with disease, as you mentioned. I believe the minimum distance between either type is 300 feet.

Only reason i pointed out the disease issue, is because generally the purple raspberries are grouped with the reds and yellows while the black raspberries are kept to themselves..

And with any caneberries (yellow & black raspberry, the least), acidity will be an issue that you'll need to learn to conquer in your winemaking tactics... While black raspberries may make a better wine than red raspberries - just the fact that you state red raspberries dont make a high quality wine kinda has me worried, honestly.

My worry stems from maybe you not knowing enough about potassium or calcium carbonate (2 different uses) or cold stabilization - methods used in winemaking to get a handle on high-acid musts.. A little bit of research and some fiddling might change your mind on red raspberry..

Not trying to discourage you, change your proposal or whine all over your business venture so please dont take it that way - just trying to bring to light some things/facets to all this, that maybe you havent thought of quite yet

 

[docanddeb]

I make a phenomenal red raspberry melomel. It does take 1 yr to be of great quality. We have regular and everbearing types. We got 119# from our small patch this year... yes, my husband weighs it all! We get far more berries from the everbearing variety.
I find yellow raspberries lacking in the flavor that I love... they also "mush" VERY easily and don't lend themselves to freezing or baking.
Red raspberry also blends amazingly well with Elderberry.

Debbie