Thinking outside the box

[joeswine]

Blackberry pino nior

now were going into fermentation and were are going to add the fpac of blackberries,notice the belly bands on the fermenter,it's still cold in the basement so TO insure we get off to a robust start we added them we also changed the yeast what came with the kit was ec1118 we chose to use red star PRIMER do to the fact it's a good yeast for smooth and fruited wines..

SEE THE PICTURE WITH THE LID THAT WAS SO WE COULD TRAP THE JUICES IN STEAM FORM COMING OFF THE BERRIES ALONG WITH THE SPLASH OF CABERNET WE ADDED INTO THE BEGINNING TO START THE PROCESS,THEN INTO THEMESH BAG AND AWAY WE GO

 

[geek]

Joe, did you place those blackberries in secondary?

 

[joeswine]

Adding the blackberries

NO NOT THIS TIME I WANTED THE WINE AND THE FRUIT TO FERMENT TOGETHER,THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF DOING IT,IF I WHERE TO ADD THEM TO THE SECONDARY IT WOULD BE FOR AN INFUSION OF THE BLACKBERRIES TO THE WINE. THIS WAY IT'S THE BASE AND THE BERRIES MERGING TOGETHER AT ONE TIME TO FORM A COHESIVE PACKAGE TO EACH OTHER.DID I CONFUSE YOU??????????????????????????????????????????

 

[LoneStarLori]

It looks like fermentation was underway when you put them in. I think I see bubbles.
What was the SG?

 

[geek]

No confusion...


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[kryptonitewine]

I put blackberries in a cab/merlot blend. It's young (3 months) but taste really good. I also added 2 tbls tannin in the secondary


Jim

 

[wildvines]

I put blackberries in a cab/merlot blend. It's young (3 months) but taste really good. I also added 2 tbls tannin in the secondary


Jim

I did same thing.


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[reefman]

How many pounds of Blackberries did each of you use to tweak your batches?
Did you do Fpacs like Joe?
I'm Assuming they are 6 gallon batches?

 

[wildvines]

Just racked it to bulk age. Took a taste and the tannins and bite are really showing. Do hopefully after 8 months of aging it will all blend together nicely. It was the selection cab/merlot


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[wildvines]

Just racked it to bulk age. Took a taste and the tannins and bite are really showing. Do hopefully after 8 months of aging it will all blend together nicely. It was the selection cab/merlot


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[joeswine]

Adding the blackberries

the pic with the fermentation was taken afterward so yes fermentation was underway. I squeezed the berries and removed them.......when using berries especially black berries they will carry a acidity with them you don't want them to stay to long................

 

[wildvines]

i just used a pound of blackberries. I did it a bit different. I just bought fresh blackberries, put them into a freezer zip lock bag punched them down and got a lot of juices going. I then froze them for a day or so.. I then thawed them out and added it to a hops bag.. ( they work great).. I place mine into secondary with added tannins to let it all blend together. Like joe says it wont change the taste of the particular wine. for example a Pinot noir, IT will still taste like a pinot but with a more dimension. So I wouldn't worry about having the blackberries change the taste of a wine to a blackberry wine. I took Joes advise on this tweak. I am always open to testing things out that have been proven for most.

 

[joeswine]

Blackberry pino nior

you did actually what we disguised,that is just another way of doing it, there is more than one way to get from a to c..............secondary for one purpose and primary for a different out come, we can talk about this in the future but for now you are on the correct path , I asked you to follow, stay the course there's more to learn......................................

 

[wildvines]

you did actually what we disguised,that is just another way of doing it, there is more than one way to get from a to c..............secondary for one purpose and primary for a different out come, we can talk about this in the future but for now you are on the correct path , I asked you to follow, stay the course there's more to learn......................................

That is correct followed you advise/directions to the T. I used it for my Pinot and my cab/merlot. After my super Tuscan I will try it in the primary of my next Pinot noir.


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[kryptonitewine]

How many pounds of Blackberries did each of you use to tweak your batches?
Did you do Fpacs like Joe?
I'm Assuming they are 6 gallon batches?

I used 3 pounds of frozen blackberries. Mashed the heck out of them and added go secondary for 20 days.


Jim

 

[joeswine]

Blackberry pino nior

this is what it looked like after racking

ONCE IN THE CRABOY I TOOK A SG READING IT WAS AT 1.01,STILL A LITTLE WORK TO DO, BUT BETTER TO MOVE IT THEN IT HELPS TO KEEP OXIDATIONS FROM FORMING,IT'S STILL ACTIVE ,GOT IT!......LET THE PROCESS WORK FOR YOU.

 

[joeswine]

Party wines

summer is coming and party wines are at the forefront of the game plan,check this out.:: THIS IS MY WIFES FAVORITE SO THERE'S ALWAYS THIS AROUND BUT HER HORSE RIDING LADIES ENJOY IT............ AFTER THE RIDE.............TRICKS ARE TO KEEP THE ABV AT 1.10 THEN WHEN THE FPAC IS ENTERED IT CREATES A MUCH BETTER BALANCE BETWEEN TASTE AND ACHOLO...............THIS IS THE ONLY TWEAK NEEDED..........

 

[LoneStarLori]

summer is coming and party wines are at the forefront of the game plan,check this out.:: THIS IS MY WIFES FAVORITE SO THERE'S ALWAYS THIS AROUND BUT HER HORSE RIDING LADIES ENJOY IT............ AFTER THE RIDE.............TRICKS ARE TO KEEP THE ABV AT 1.10 THEN WHEN THE FPAC IS ENTERED IT CREATES A MUCH BETTER BALANCE BETWEEN TASTE AND ACHOLO...............THIS IS THE ONLY TWEAK NEEDED..........

Joe, did that start at a 1.10? That seems high for a party wine.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Mezza Luna Red with Zante currants PART 1

I started a inexpensive World Vineyard, Vinters Reserve Mezza Luna Red kit a few weeks ago. I purchased the kit for about $70 with the intention of tweaking it. It is described as having dark fruits like cherries and I wanted one that would be relatively dry. I purchased some Zante currants about 2 months ago waiting for the right wine and this seemed like a good fit.

I have done JoesWine famous raisin and tannin tweak several times with great success. I enjoy the added body and complexity it adds. This time I wanted to up the ante a bit and use dried black currants. They are more expensive and I had to order them online, but I think they will bring a bigger taste change to the finished wine. Black currants are much smaller than raisins. Usually made from concord grapes. They are slightly more tart and quite a bit stronger in flavor than a standard raisin and taste a little like a cherry/raisin to me.


Day one, kit ingredients. It came with 2 bags of oak chips which surprised me.

My additions:

Since this was only a 10L kit, I decided 5.5 gals was enough water.

Starting SG; 1.108

After adding oak,and yeast, I covered the container and waited for the sure sign that 'it's on', that wonderful smell of fermenting fruit.

Two days after pitching the yeast, the SG as at 1.072. Still not time to add currants.

April 7, five days after starting primary SG is at 1.01. Time to rack and add the Zante currants.

I'll be adding standard wine tannin and since I have a little tannin Riche left, about a TBL, I'll add that too. I love the flavor of Tannin Riche. Very silky.

Zante currants verses white raisins. See how much smaller they are?

There has been several discussions here on raisin tweaking and the possibility of second fermentations so I wanted to pay close attention to the SG after adding the currants. Since I prefer to rack down, when the SG got down to 1.010, I racked to a 5 gal AND a quart milk bottle. Currants and tannins in the 5 gal carboy and none in the quart bottle. Not the most scientific test, but I did see a slight difference.

Adding currants (I used 12 oz.) and tannin to clean carboy:

Carboy and quart after racking

Here's where it gets interesting. Second fermentation? You decide.

Carboy sample day one after adding tannins and currants, SG is still dropping

Quart sample day one after racking. SG is dropping in the quart too, but faster.

To be continued.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Mezza Luna Red with Zante currants PART 2

To continue the Mezza Luna Red tweak, I thought I'd post a few more pictures. As you can see in the post above, the SG is dropping faster in the sample without the added black currants. The SG did NOT go up, it is just lowering at a slower rate.

The airlock on the carboy with the currants was much, much faster than the quart sample. I imagine it might be possibly due to the smaller container, but I don't think that is the case.

Fast forward to 4-15-14. Both the carboy and the quart have stopped fermenting and each ended up at .994

As you can see by the currants floating at the top, they have done their job. They are much paler and more transparent.

I cut up a nylon mesh fruit bag to cover the racking cane to help keep the berries out. It worked great. I have learned that using nylon verses cheesecloth, which is cotton, works much better. The cotton in cheesecloth will stretch and cause problems.

Time to add the fining agents. I will hold off on the sorbate until it clears.

Finally, keeping it fruity by topping off with a similar wine. I like the label on this one, you see exactly what you're getting. If my plan works as planned, my Mezza Luna red should have pretty much the same characteristics.

And now we wait for the wine to clear.

If anyone has any thoughts on the SG variances between the carboy and the quart, with and without currants, I'd welcome your comments. Or any comments. This is a forum, let's talk Wine Making.