Recipe for Blackberry Wine?

[Dugger]

Blackberries are just becoming ripe here now and I want to make a couple of small 1 gal batches - is there a recipe you can point me to? I did a search but only came up with a 5-6 gal recipe.
I've only made kits over the past 15 years so this is my first venture outside of my comfort zone. No doubt I'll ask lots of rookie questions! I'll pick them as they ripen and freeze them.

 

[Wade E]

Id use TYoms recipe as it is also very very close to what I use and I lso recommend that yeast stated there also as it eats up more malic acid which black berries are high in.

 

[Dugger]

By "Tom's recipe" do you mean the one for 6 gal in the sticky under recipes?
I will be making probably two 1 gal batches - is there a recipe somewhere here for that? I think I need about 6 lbs per gal ? and I think I can probably pick enough for 2 batches in my backyard.

 

[Wade E]

Yes, that one and I meant to post the link but forgot to include it. You can follow that recipe just divide evrything by by 6 for a gallon batch. You can split the packet of yeast into 2 for doing 2 gallons.

 

[Dugger]

Okay,thanks.

 

[Dugger]

Well I picked my berries, put half in the freezer and used the other 6 lbs of fresh berries to start a 1 gal batch. I found it quite a job to squeeze out the juice. I'm guessing this is why frozen berries, thawed, are preferred, because they may squeeze easier? Is this the only reason for freezing other than the obvious reason of keeping them until you're ready to use them?
I will make my second batch with the frozen berries when my bucket gets freed up. By the way, I went to the grocery store and got a 2 gal frosting bucket from the bakery and it's a perfect size for this small batch.
Also, for backsweetening, does an f-pack provide a better product than simple syrup for fruit wines? If so, how much fruit (blackberries) would you need to make one for a 1 gal batch? I would guess I'd want a medium sweet wine for this.
Thanks.

 

[pwrose]

The main reason for freezing other than to keep them longer is to break down the cells of the fruit or berry which make it give off more juice.

For back sweetening use a simple syrup, for adding more flavor use I think it is 20% of the original amount of fruit cooked down to about 1/2 of what juice it gives off originally.
For you one gallon batch with 6# of berries I would say 1 to 1.5# would be good, make juice from that and what ever it gives you simmer it down to about half that amount. That would make your f-pak. You can make a simple syrup to use for back sweetening.