Red Hucklberry wine
- Thread starter Mike777
- Start date
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Those are beautiful berries. That should be slow sippin wine to make it last.
From where we live you have to go up in elevation about 1500 feet and drive 2 or 3 hours to get that variety.
I will shoot pics of the red hucks, on the bush, and picked when they are ready, towards the fall. (maybe a couple small gallon batches too) I know the red flavor won't blend so we will need to give up an afternoon for enough.
From where we live you have to go up in elevation about 1500 feet and drive 2 or 3 hours to get that variety.
I will shoot pics of the red hucks, on the bush, and picked when they are ready, towards the fall. (maybe a couple small gallon batches too) I know the red flavor won't blend so we will need to give up an afternoon for enough.
Here is an update on the huckleberry wine. I started it on 3-25 sg 1.096 temp 70 degrees. I checked the sg on 3-30, still 1.096
added 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient. Checked sg today 1.070 so I added 1 tsp yeast nutrient. I've been checking this wine daily for action and stirring, can see the bubbles and hear them, just seems to be moving very slow.
Anyone have any other ideas or anything I might be missing, this is only my second batch of wine from scratch so I'm still a little unsure of myself.
Anyone have any other ideas or anything I might be missing, this is only my second batch of wine from scratch so I'm still a little unsure of myself.
Might need 1/2 tsp. of yeast energizer to go with the nutrient. What
yeast did you use as I know Red Star Cotes Des Blank is very fickle and
requires a 75* temp to really get started then can be backed off a
little.
Edited by: wade
yeast did you use as I know Red Star Cotes Des Blank is very fickle and
requires a 75* temp to really get started then can be backed off a
little.
Edited by: wade
Try getting the temp up alittle more and see what that does 1st as that
just might do the trick in itself. But if your going to be doing
scratch wines you will need to have the energizer around anyway. Its
amazing what a little bit of this stuff can do for a fermentation to
really get jump started.
just might do the trick in itself. But if your going to be doing
scratch wines you will need to have the energizer around anyway. Its
amazing what a little bit of this stuff can do for a fermentation to
really get jump started.
Found this article on the reds. There may be some outlets to purchase them
online but I closed the window too soon.
http://www.nwwildfoods.com/bi_wrh.cfm
online but I closed the window too soon.
http://www.nwwildfoods.com/bi_wrh.cfm
Mike --
From their website:
"Tell a huckleberry picker from Idaho, Montana or Washington's Inland Empire you've been picking Wild Red Huckleberries, and they will probably believe you to be color blind. That's because the only wild huckleberries they know of are wild blue huckleberries. But here in the Pacific Northwest, we know for certain that these juicy wild red huckleberries exist and are a rare, juicy, wonderful treat. We get many of our wild red huckleberries from the Hoh River area of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. It is there that the berries grow beautifully in natures backdoor. "
My first thought looking at the pic's was that "those aren't hucks..." then I read the above in the webstie. You might have better luck than we would getting those on your own, without the high purchase price. It's $30 for a gallon ziplock, or about 5 lbs of hucks, at roadside stands here in Montana, and that's pretty expensive!
And Cracked -- I doubt what you're finding in a nursery is the real thing -- at least from what I understand,the Rocky Mountain version has yet to be "domesticated" and lots of people and nursery's have tried!
From their website:
"Tell a huckleberry picker from Idaho, Montana or Washington's Inland Empire you've been picking Wild Red Huckleberries, and they will probably believe you to be color blind. That's because the only wild huckleberries they know of are wild blue huckleberries. But here in the Pacific Northwest, we know for certain that these juicy wild red huckleberries exist and are a rare, juicy, wonderful treat. We get many of our wild red huckleberries from the Hoh River area of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. It is there that the berries grow beautifully in natures backdoor. "
My first thought looking at the pic's was that "those aren't hucks..." then I read the above in the webstie. You might have better luck than we would getting those on your own, without the high purchase price. It's $30 for a gallon ziplock, or about 5 lbs of hucks, at roadside stands here in Montana, and that's pretty expensive!
And Cracked -- I doubt what you're finding in a nursery is the real thing -- at least from what I understand,the Rocky Mountain version has yet to be "domesticated" and lots of people and nursery's have tried!
OK I have about 4.5 pounds of those hard to get red berries!!!!
Now I live in a place called Sahalee, which means high heavenly ground. It was named such under the avatar of Raven. In respect I have left about 2 pounds for the birds and other animals, lest raven tell the forest beast of shadows (mountain man, sasquatch, hoquim) I have taken too much.
Not very much. How much can I realisticly stretch it to? 2 gallons?
What is the best recipie?
I have no idea what is fruiting in the lowlands so I may not be able to get more now because of the 100+ temps.
I will post up some pics in a day or so.
Edited by: Mike777
Now I live in a place called Sahalee, which means high heavenly ground. It was named such under the avatar of Raven. In respect I have left about 2 pounds for the birds and other animals, lest raven tell the forest beast of shadows (mountain man, sasquatch, hoquim) I have taken too much.
Not very much. How much can I realisticly stretch it to? 2 gallons?
What is the best recipie?
I have no idea what is fruiting in the lowlands so I may not be able to get more now because of the 100+ temps.
I will post up some pics in a day or so.
Edited by: Mike777
Mike, I would do one of two things, #1, I would head back up there and get a couple more pounds, take a couple of bags of wild birdseed with you as penance for your greed and #2 I would make a heavy bodies 1 gallon batch with what you have.
As for a recipe, if I had them I think mine would go as follows:
4.5# Huckleberries
1Tsp Yeast Nutrient
1/2Tsp. Yeast Energizer
1 Campden Tablet (crushed and dissolved)
1/8 tsp Liquid Pectic Enzyme
1 TBSP Acid Blend ( More can be added before pitching yeast if needed)
Montcharet Yeast
1-3/4 lbs Sugar for a target SG of 1.090 - 1.096 ( here, I would test the Brix on the Hucks before I added any as I am not sure what their sugar content is close to. Once that is determined then add sugar accordiongly to hit your target SG)
I would use my Steamer to juice the berries after I had frozen them for a couple of days but as that is not an option for you at this time ( I am guessing here you don't have one) then I would freeze them for at least a week and then juice them.
Add pulp to strainer bag, place in fermenter with juice, add 2 qts boiling water to fermenter, stir well, adding campden tab. Add sugar, dissolved in 1 pint of the boiling water. Let set for 12-14 hrs then add Nutrient, Energizer and Pectic Enzyme and enough water to bring to one gallon. Stir well andlet set for another 12-14 hrs then make a starter and onceit is going good, pitch to must. Punch down strainer bag twice daily, usingstirring spoon to gently massage strainer bag to extract juices. Once SG reaches 1.010 - 1.000 I would give the strainer bag a good squeezing to extract all I could from it, discard it and rack wine to secondary at which time I would add 1ozs of French Oak, Medium Toast cubes. Wine should be ready for its first racking in about 3-4 weeks. I would test the oakiness at this time and then remove the chips at racking or if more is needed transfer at racking and leave a couple more weeks, testing weelkly until level of oakiness desired has been reached.
Edited by: Waldo
As for a recipe, if I had them I think mine would go as follows:
4.5# Huckleberries
1Tsp Yeast Nutrient
1/2Tsp. Yeast Energizer
1 Campden Tablet (crushed and dissolved)
1/8 tsp Liquid Pectic Enzyme
1 TBSP Acid Blend ( More can be added before pitching yeast if needed)
Montcharet Yeast
1-3/4 lbs Sugar for a target SG of 1.090 - 1.096 ( here, I would test the Brix on the Hucks before I added any as I am not sure what their sugar content is close to. Once that is determined then add sugar accordiongly to hit your target SG)
I would use my Steamer to juice the berries after I had frozen them for a couple of days but as that is not an option for you at this time ( I am guessing here you don't have one) then I would freeze them for at least a week and then juice them.
Add pulp to strainer bag, place in fermenter with juice, add 2 qts boiling water to fermenter, stir well, adding campden tab. Add sugar, dissolved in 1 pint of the boiling water. Let set for 12-14 hrs then add Nutrient, Energizer and Pectic Enzyme and enough water to bring to one gallon. Stir well andlet set for another 12-14 hrs then make a starter and onceit is going good, pitch to must. Punch down strainer bag twice daily, usingstirring spoon to gently massage strainer bag to extract juices. Once SG reaches 1.010 - 1.000 I would give the strainer bag a good squeezing to extract all I could from it, discard it and rack wine to secondary at which time I would add 1ozs of French Oak, Medium Toast cubes. Wine should be ready for its first racking in about 3-4 weeks. I would test the oakiness at this time and then remove the chips at racking or if more is needed transfer at racking and leave a couple more weeks, testing weelkly until level of oakiness desired has been reached.
Edited by: Waldo
