Red Hucklberry wine

[Mike777]

I have been thinking a bit about a nonkit wine. We have Huckleberries here in western Washington but they are a unique variety all thier own, and nothing like the blue ones in the foothills of the rockies although they are exactly the same in every single, respect except color.

I was wondering if anyone has tried these, as they are a little tart and still sweet. They are a pinkish to brite red when mature. I have one small bush but could venture out when the time was right.

Anyone ever make wine with these? Anything special I should consider?

 

[Waldo]

I envy you mike....I would love to make a huckleberry wine and see how it is.

 

[jobe05]

Iwould second that! Huckelberry has always been on my list of fresh fruits to do, but haven't came across any yet.


I think your color would end up being a dark rose wine, or maby even a red wine if you get the real ripe ones, or backsweeten wth red grape juice.

 

[Wade E]

Me three! No such fruit around here.

 

[Mike777]

The red variety here only grows out of decaying cedar stumps and logs so they are only in those places in western washington. I have an ancient stump in my yard, and I cropped the bushes two years ago and they are bigger with more berries. When I made jam a couple of decades ago, we would get a very big tarp and cut the top third of the bush off and wrap those bundles in smaller tarps to carry them out to the big one then strip the berries on the big tarp and clean up with a fan at home. Could get several gallons in a few hours that way. Then the next year the same bushes would produce twice as much so you didn't have to go nearly as far. They are also a big food surce for black bears, so the more you crop the bushes and the larger the berry crop the further the smell carries and the more you run into them. I was just thinking ahead a bit.

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

I remember having them one summer as a kid while in Montana, wish they were available here, think you could make an excellent wine from them.

 

[NorthernWinos]

I saw a TV show on the Food Network...it was from Montana and this town had everything made out of Huckleberries....[they might have been dark ones]...they showed everything from ice cream, jelly to wine....Yummm-o.

Are the red ones edible like the blacks? Around here we have wild red Elderberries and they are said to be mildly poisionous...

 

[OilnH2O]

I've got two gallons -- about 10 lbs of Hucks in the freezer and was just telling Kutya the other day I need to either make pies, or make wine... He and I decided it will be the latter, so I'll do pic's when I do!

 

[jobe05]

OILnH2O: I found a place on line were I can get these for $40 per Gallon. If I get 2, if they are 5 pounds per gallon and I'd get close to 10 pounds, lets say 9 pounds even, would that make a good 3 gallon batch?


I'm ordering!


WOWWA......................................


$102 when all said and done...... a little steep for 3 gallons of wine............


I'll wait for those in the upper northwest to chime in and tell me it's worth every cent!Edited by: jobe05

 

[B M W]

I have a recipe that calls for 2 1/2 lbs huckleberries for one gallon wine. I have about 3 1/2 lbs in the freezer my brother-in-law gave me. I will start a batch this weekend and post pictures.


I do have a question for anyone who uses the steamer juicer. The recipe I have calls for 1 lb of raisins, do you put the raisins in the steamer or do you add them to the primary in a bag? This will only be my second batch of scratch wine, the first is a rhubarb that is still bubbling.

 

[jobe05]

Thanks BMW, that confirms what I thought............ I'll need to buy 3 gallons to get perhaps 13 pounds wich will give me about 5 gallons.


I have a steamer and would not steam raisins, just add them to the must, I would suggest chopping them a bit first, food processors work great forchopping them up. Yes, I would use a straining bag, or since Waldo suggested it once to me, I keep a few pairs of Panty Hose in thehouse (New of course) and when I add smallbits of things like raisins, spices etc.., I just cut off a small peice, tie one end, add theitem(s) then tie up the other end. Works great! Of course, sanitize well first and never, and I mean never try them on.................. at least don't tell us if you do.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Glad you arecoming 'out of the box' and making wines from fruit....I have used a steam juicer on the fruit for almost all my wines....
I have never heard of putting the raisins in the steamer...but you never know...it might work...don't think it would hurt anything...but not sure you would getmuch juice out of them....then again you might...after you do it, thenput them in a straining bag and add it to the primary....It will surely plump them up.


GOOD LUCK and we like pictures...

 

[B M W]

Jobe05…. The pantyhose thing made me laugh, or maybe it was what I have done with pantyhose in the past………. I have to share this story with you, and I hope it isn’t one of those “I guess you just had to be there stories”, because it was very funny. First a little history: Several years ago I worked in an office with two other women, in a correctional facility (our sense of humor can be a little warped)

and we always made fun of one lady who continuously had holes and runs in her pantyhose.

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I believe anyone can have a bad day; it just sucks when it’s your turn and it was my turn. I came to work with two different shoes on (they were both black if that makes it any better),

and anyway it was their turn to make fun of me. This day just happened to be the Thursday before Easter, and we did exchange gifts for every occasion. Now remember this was a bad day and getting late when I remembered I needed to have gifs to bring for them in the morning, that’s when the idea hit me, I could take all my old pantyhose and weave them into Easter baskets…… only the best for my friends, right? I tossed all my old pantyhose into the washer (with a lot of bleach) and headed to the store and bought some of those bright colorful plastic eggs and wrapped candy to fill them with, I was trying to be a little considerate, I knew the pantyhose hose thing would be a little creepy. I cut all the legs and feet off the old pantyhose and weaved two very cute baskets (well at least in my opinion) I did weave in a little ribbon for decoration.

The next morning I came to work all dressed up and as I walked into the office I did a little twirl showing off my matching shoes, and explained that I had even disposed of any old pantyhose with holes in them as I pulled the baskets out of a sack. I just wish I had a video to show you, because words can’t even begin to describe the look on their faces, it went form shock

, to disgust, then hesitation as to rather they should even touch the baskets, then the laughter began.

That was one of the days we laughed so hard we had tears rolling down our faces. It was a wasted day, everyone from every department had to come look at the baskets and the laughing would start all over again.





Sorry for the long post, but hey only the best for my friends, right?

 

[OilnH2O]

Well, I love it, BMW... and I imagine you could weave a pattern after pantyhose-strained ("stained?") huckleberries along with those bleached ones!


SAY...isn't EASTER just around the corner???

 

[B M W]

I think the huckleberry stained pantyhose would make a nice deep purple basket

Here are the pictures I took as I started the huckleberry wine.

 

[OilnH2O]

That looks GREAT! (I can almost smell the juicefrom here!)


I've got two of those gallon zip-locks of hucks, filleduntil they just close. I haven't weighed them, but they were about 5 lbs each before they went into the freezer. What recipe are you using? What do you figure is the ratio ofpounds of fruit to gallons of wine must? And, how much are you making?

 

[kutya]

Those Huckleberries look lovely. I am hoping to pick some this summer and make a batch. I had some huckleberry wine at a wine festival this winter I think it was just called "HUCK", and it was lovely...

 

[B M W]

OilnH2O
The recipe I'm using is in Jim and George's Home wine Making book. The recipe is for one gallon.


2 and 1/2 pounds berries
1 pound raisins
2 and 1/2 pounds cane sugar, or add sugar until specific gravity is between 1.095 and 1.100.
1 teaspoon acid blend, or acid level near .65%
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient powder
1/4 teaspoon grape tannin
1 package all purpose wine yeast
1 campden tablet, crush and dissolve
1 gallon of water


I had almost 3 1/2 lbs huckleberries. Iused my steamer juicer and ended up with almost 1/2 gallon juice. I followed the recipe, but needed to add about 1 1/2 cups more sugar to get a sp 1.096. The 1 tsp of acid blend brought the acid level to .65%


After adding the gallon of water and sugar I ended up with a little over 1 1/2 gals of must. I figured I was okay adding 1 gal of water because I had 3 1/2 lbs of berries and it shouldn't be too diluted. There wasn't a lot of body to juice, not like the rhubarb I started a couple of weeks ago, but only time will tell, it sure smelled good and seems to be bubbling away now.


I like making the wines from scratch, a little more work, but a lot more fun. I hope they turn out as good as the wines I've made from the kits.


OilnH2O - you will have to keep us posted on your huckleberry wine. And Kutya I hope we have a good berry season this year so you can get some huckleberry wine made. It would be fun for all ofus to all get together and sample the huckleberry wines.

 

[Wade E]

I have never seen a huckleberry but that picture has peeked my curiousty! Yum!

 

[Cracked Cork]

We got that same spicerack, funny. I was looking for another little berry to fill some space in the Wineyard and thought why not Huckleberries. I found some at Onegreenworld, hope its the same thing and will grow here in the east. Crackedcork