Started Cranberry Wine

[CajunTim]

Started a Cranberry wine Friday.2/23/07 <1 gal>
Ingredients:<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
7 US pints Water
1/2 Teaspoons Pectic enzyme &lt;add after 12 hours&gt;
1/2 Teaspoons Energizer
1 Campden tablets
2 Pounds Sugar
3 Pounds Fresh Cranberries
1 Pounds Dark raisins
Yeast:
Red Star Côte des Blancs &lt;add after 24 hours&gt;
SG_start: 1.090
SG_after 24 hours: 1.095

Made sure I had all the ingredients ready to start. &lt;Did not need the acid blend&gt;

Used the rolling pin method and crushed the frozen and thawed berrys.

Chopped up the raisins.

Put all the fruit in a strainer bag and placed it in the bottom of a 2 gal bucket.

Crushed 1 Campden tablet so it is ready to go.

&lt;Forgot to take picture here but…&gt;Mixed the sugar and water together until all the sugar was dissolved. Added it to the bucket. Added energizer to bucket and mixed well. Checked S.G. and was at 1.090. Placed towel and lid on the bucket and let it sit for 12 hours. Added Pectic enzyme and mixed well. Let it sit another 12 hours with towel and lid on. Checked S.G. and was at 1.095.

Pitched yeast and recovered bucket. Will stir daily for about 5 days until the S.G drops to about 1.030.

 

[WineNewbie]

Looks great! Nice pictures...keep us posted on the progress.

 

[CajunTim]

WineNewbie,
I tasted it again today and It is sooo good! The straining bag is down to about 1/4 the size it started with. Going good.

 

[NorthernWinos]

I think your going to have a really nice flavorful wine....I started a batch with bottled and frozen juices and red grape concentrate....too early to tell what it will be like...dark red for sure.

 

[jobe05]

Looks Great, Nice color........ Just one thing wrong that I can see.......


Your gonna wish you had tripled that recipe and made 3 gallons after you age it and try it!

 

[Wade E]

Looking good Cajun!

 

[pkcook]

Cajun,


I made a gallon of Cranberry last year and I pretty much did the same as you, but I used to blender to break up the berries. I used White raisins with mine, and I didn't have much left but a few raisin skins when I removed the bag. Thoses yeasties are pretty incredible creatures!

 

[CajunTim]

Northen, I think you are right. It is thick like an Ice wine right now. Hope it does not thin out to much.


Jobe, I know..I know.... I will be wishing I made 5 gals if it turns out as good as my apple did.


pkcook, with the wite raisins, did the must still have a deep red look?

 

[pkcook]

Yup, the cranberries were almost blood red, so the raisins didn't make much difference.

 

[CajunTim]

This is the Cranberry from Sunday, It is going strong.

 

[pkcook]

Looks Great! I enjoyed a bottle of mine on Thanksgiving and it was very good, but still a little young. I only have 2 bottles left and I'm thinking I'll wait till this Thanksgiving to try again.

 

[Waldo]

Wait until Thanksgiving ? Yeah pk........Sure

 

[CajunTim]

Day 6,
Transferred the Cranberry today. SG was at 1.028 and is bubbling like crazy. Taste a lot better then I would have thought at this time. &lt;Cran on the left&gt;

Edited by: CajunTim

 

[pkcook]

Cajon,


That looks so good! I pulled out some photo's of my cranberry and they could be sisters

. The wine will be very drinkable at 6 months, but give it a full year and see the difference!


Hey Waldo,


I have learned the hardest part of winemaking, "patience." I'm so protective with my wines now, I'll almost buy a bottle to keep from opening up one of my own, almost! Heck, I still have your two bottles and just can't bring myself to open one; they are like a part of the family now

. I'm having my retirement ceremony from the Air Force in May (24 years) and I think I will just have to break down and serve them up to my friends and family.

 

[Stvr]

You are going to love this wine. I've just sampled my first bottle justlast weekend and it was a big hit!
I used a similar recipe as yours. Mine took the better part of 8 months to get into the bottle, which I thought was an incredibly long time. It took a very long time to clear, even with fining's. I let it bottle age 6 months.My next batch I will use my Buon Vino filter pump after fining to speed things up.


Also, you're gonna find that a gallon jug just ain't enough. For something that takes a year plus tomake, you'll find that that 5 bottles won't last very long. I'm getting ready nowto build a3 or 5 gallon batch just as soon as I can get a carboy free.


Good luck.Edited by: Stvr

 

[CajunTim]

Thanks Stvr,
That's the problem I have with my apple wine. Just 5 bottles and taste to good to last.

If this cran comes out as good I will be making 5 gals of both soon. &lt; hope mine clears faster, but will have to wait and see.&gt;

 

[CajunTim]

I just racked my Cranberry off the lees yesterday. Had a little more then a Gallon so I put the rest in a bottle and used the marble method to top it up.

 

[Stvr]

Looks good! That is a novel (to me) marble, top fill method.


I just tossed my yeast on the mustyesterday on a 5 gallon batch of cranberry and she's boiling away!


I added a few extra goodies that should make it interesting e.g. Demerara raw sugar, banana powder-120gr., 2tsp.fresh ginger, 500ml. eachof both red &amp; white grape concentrate and a tbl.spn. of oak pwdr.


After fining &amp;filtering, I'll finish it off 5oz. each of glycerin, wine conditioner and brandy and maybe a little Sinatin17 if it needs it.

 

[pkcook]

Cajun,


That will be some fine wine! I've been told that cranberry wine will make a wine the closest to a grape wine of any fruit. I sweetened mine up a bit and I must say it is very close to grape, but still has a difference.


I love the marble method!

 

[PolishWineP]

Tim, Love the color on your cranberry! It makes the marbles look great! Get ready to make the next batch.