Hello:

I've been lurking here for a few weeks and reading everything I can
get my hands on about cranberry wine.

Never having made wine before, I was intrugued with Roxanne's recipe
(see below). But as my goodies bubble away I am concerned if this is
going to turn out sweet or too high in alcohol, too hot.

Since my research has found lots of folks that have made cranberry
using this recipe or alternatively a starting out SG of 1.115, I was
wondering if anyone would be willing to share thier impressions of the
results. Too hot, too sweet just right, what?

I've made lots of beer before, and ya didn't have to wait so long for
the feedback results. I guess my question stems from an impatient
nature. Is that common with newbies too?

Take Care and TIA
Steve Vegos
Oregon




Roxanne's Recipe:
http://venus.spaceports.com/~jrjeff/winerec.htm

2 pounds cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 pound raisins
3 pounds granulated sugar (about 6 3/4 cups)
1 campden tablet
1 teaspoon nutrients
1/4 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 1/4 teaspoon acid blend
1 package wine yeast
1 gallon water

Chop cranberries coarsely. The goal here is the break the skin on
every berry to help the juice leach into the water. Place them in the
primary fermentor. Add raisins, water, sugar, yeast nutrient, pectic
enzyme, acid blend and crushed campden tablet. Stir well to dissolve
sugar. Let sit over night.

The next day, check the specific gravity. It should be between 1.110
and 1.115. Add yeast and mix in well. Cover primary fermentor. Stir
daily for five days.

Strain fruit, squeezing out as much juice as possible. Put into
secondary fermentor and place airlock on the bottle.

For a dry wine, Rack in three weeks and return to secondary fermentor.
Rack again in three months, and every three months until 1 year old.
Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in
1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor.
Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart
with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year
old. Bottle.

Ths wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for a year and a
half from the date it was started.

On 12/6/03 11:36 PM, in article ,
"spud" wrote:

Hello:

I've been lurking here for a few weeks and reading everything I can
get my hands on about cranberry wine.

Never having made wine before, I was intrugued with Roxanne's recipe
(see below). But as my goodies bubble away I am concerned if this is
going to turn out sweet or too high in alcohol, too hot.

Since my research has found lots of folks that have made cranberry
using this recipe or alternatively a starting out SG of 1.115, I was
wondering if anyone would be willing to share thier impressions of the
results. Too hot, too sweet just right, what?

I have made cranberry melomels two times now with good results. I find it
best just off dry - not too sweet. I have not made it with such a high
starting SG. My first batch was about 12.5% alcohol and the second was 11%.
I suspect yours will end up quit a bit higher. The alcohol may not be
balanced well with the amount of fruit you used. I think you will want to
sweeten it a bit more than I do to balance the higher alcohol.

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine

(remove spamblocker from my email)

Hello!
I just opened my first bottle of cranberry (11 months old) wine this past
Thanksgiving. It was my first try, and in general I was very pleased with
the results. It had a very cranberry taste, semi-sweet, and slightly tart -
I believe it came out at a 12% alcohol by volume. As soon as cranberries
went on sale after Thanksgiving, I bought 4 (12oz) bags and threw them into
the freezer for my next batch. Right now, I'm contemplating making another
batch, and trying to decided if I would do anything different this time
around. As I look back, my starting SG was 1.110, not to different from
yours - my ending SG was 1.021. It all depends on what your taste buds
like. What kind of yeast did you use? I guess, I wouldn't be too concerned
at this point, there are some things you can do while you're bulk aging and
before you bottle to get the wine to taste more to your liking. Keep notes
and taste-test. I would expect that your wine might have a strong kick to
it when it is young, but that should mellow out as you bulk age. Yes,
feedback comes slowly when making wine, but patience has it's own reward.
If you're like me when I first started, I was already thinking about what I
was going to make next.
Darlene

"spud" wrote in message
...
Hello:

I've been lurking here for a few weeks and reading everything I can
get my hands on about cranberry wine.

Never having made wine before, I was intrugued with Roxanne's recipe
(see below). But as my goodies bubble away I am concerned if this is
going to turn out sweet or too high in alcohol, too hot.

Since my research has found lots of folks that have made cranberry
using this recipe or alternatively a starting out SG of 1.115, I was
wondering if anyone would be willing to share thier impressions of the
results. Too hot, too sweet just right, what?

I've made lots of beer before, and ya didn't have to wait so long for
the feedback results. I guess my question stems from an impatient
nature. Is that common with newbies too?

Take Care and TIA
Steve Vegos
Oregon




Roxanne's Recipe:
http://venus.spaceports.com/~jrjeff/winerec.htm

2 pounds cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 pound raisins
3 pounds granulated sugar (about 6 3/4 cups)
1 campden tablet
1 teaspoon nutrients
1/4 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 1/4 teaspoon acid blend
1 package wine yeast
1 gallon water

Chop cranberries coarsely. The goal here is the break the skin on
every berry to help the juice leach into the water. Place them in the
primary fermentor. Add raisins, water, sugar, yeast nutrient, pectic
enzyme, acid blend and crushed campden tablet. Stir well to dissolve
sugar. Let sit over night.

The next day, check the specific gravity. It should be between 1.110
and 1.115. Add yeast and mix in well. Cover primary fermentor. Stir
daily for five days.

Strain fruit, squeezing out as much juice as possible. Put into
secondary fermentor and place airlock on the bottle.

For a dry wine, Rack in three weeks and return to secondary fermentor.
Rack again in three months, and every three months until 1 year old.
Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in
1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor.
Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart
with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year
old. Bottle.

Ths wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for a year and a
half from the date it was started.

My cranberry is now 12 months. I made it as per Jack Keller's Lowbush
Cranberry recipe. I started it out at about 1.095 and fermented it to
dryness. I figure it is about 13% or so. Yours is probably a bit higher.
So far I am delighted with mine. It came out quite acid (what do you expect
with cranberries?) so I brought it back up to a residual sugar of 2%.

I would aim for a lower starting SG than you used but that is for my taste.
You have yours going already so don't worry about it. You can adjust the
next batch as per the taste of this one. But I bet it turns out good.

What would I do differently next time? As I have to use grocery store
cranberries which are picked under ripe and therefore high acid, I may use
less cranberries (I used 3 lbs cranberries + 1 lb white raisins) and pick
the body up with a blend of white and red Welch's grape juice. One thing is
for sure. Cranberry is going to become a continuous project. When dry, I
love the bouquet. Very floral and not identified as cranberry.

Ray

"spud" wrote in message
...
Hello:

I've been lurking here for a few weeks and reading everything I can
get my hands on about cranberry wine.

Never having made wine before, I was intrugued with Roxanne's recipe
(see below). But as my goodies bubble away I am concerned if this is
going to turn out sweet or too high in alcohol, too hot.

Since my research has found lots of folks that have made cranberry
using this recipe or alternatively a starting out SG of 1.115, I was
wondering if anyone would be willing to share thier impressions of the
results. Too hot, too sweet just right, what?

I've made lots of beer before, and ya didn't have to wait so long for
the feedback results. I guess my question stems from an impatient
nature. Is that common with newbies too?

Take Care and TIA
Steve Vegos
Oregon




Roxanne's Recipe:
http://venus.spaceports.com/~jrjeff/winerec.htm

2 pounds cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 pound raisins
3 pounds granulated sugar (about 6 3/4 cups)
1 campden tablet
1 teaspoon nutrients
1/4 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 1/4 teaspoon acid blend
1 package wine yeast
1 gallon water

Chop cranberries coarsely. The goal here is the break the skin on
every berry to help the juice leach into the water. Place them in the
primary fermentor. Add raisins, water, sugar, yeast nutrient, pectic
enzyme, acid blend and crushed campden tablet. Stir well to dissolve
sugar. Let sit over night.

The next day, check the specific gravity. It should be between 1.110
and 1.115. Add yeast and mix in well. Cover primary fermentor. Stir
daily for five days.

Strain fruit, squeezing out as much juice as possible. Put into
secondary fermentor and place airlock on the bottle.

For a dry wine, Rack in three weeks and return to secondary fermentor.
Rack again in three months, and every three months until 1 year old.
Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in
1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor.
Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart
with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year
old. Bottle.

Ths wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for a year and a
half from the date it was started.