We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:09:39 +0100, Nikki Cluley
wrote:

We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki



check back to the July 21st thread blackberry wine question.. for my
recipe if you can't see it I will post again.

You will need 20K for a 20 L batch.

cheers
Marv

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:09:39 +0100, Nikki Cluley
wrote:

We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki



check back to the July 21st thread blackberry wine question.. for my
recipe if you can't see it I will post again.

You will need 20K for a 20 L batch.

cheers
Marv

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:09:39 +0100, Nikki Cluley
wrote:

We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki



check back to the July 21st thread blackberry wine question.. for my
recipe if you can't see it I will post again.

You will need 20K for a 20 L batch.

cheers
Marv

I am having a go at 100% (okay, 90%) blackberry wine. I bought 24 lbs of
frozen marionberries from Trader Joe's, and when thawed and fermented at SG
1.110 (Yikes!), they yielded 8.25 liters of beautiful wine. I diluted it
with water by 10% to bring the alcohol down to about 13.5% and the acid with
it. I am oaking half to make a dry, "big" red - and sweetening the other
half to make a fruity dessert wine. It is lovely stuff. I'm drinking a
coffee-filtered glass from the carboy bottom right now after having just
racked it. (Winemaker's privilege!)

I thawed the berries along with added sugar, sulfite, and pectic enzyme over
the course of 3 days - essentially a 3 day cold maceration prior to
fermentation. Following that, I pressed the must with my basket press and
proceeded with fermentation in a 3 gallon carboy. I realized that I had
overshot the SG and would end up with a 15% PA doozy of a wine... so I
planned my first racking accordingly. I filled two gallon jugs each with
375mL water, which is 10% of the jug volume, then racked to both jugs. The
resulting wine is reduced by 10% in PA (15 to 13.5%) and in acid. I also
had 2 x 750mL bottles in overage for topping, which I left undiluted.

I don't work with recipes per se, so I can't give you one. The tannin in
blackberries seems to be adequate though, so I wouldn't (and didn't) add
any. The acid is substantial if you are not doing ML. If you do, word is
that it will carry the wine over the edge into flat territory - as
blackberries are mostly malic acid. So I chose to see how the acid would
end up, and finish to balance by sweetening if necessary. As luck would
have it, the unintentional over-sugaring was a blessing in disguise because
I could dilute the acid without killing the alcohol. I used Lalvin
Bourgovin yeast on this batch.

Sorry for the ramble... good luck with your wine.

Roger
Quinta do Placer

"islander" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:09:39 +0100, Nikki Cluley
wrote:

We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki



check back to the July 21st thread blackberry wine question.. for my
recipe if you can't see it I will post again.

You will need 20K for a 20 L batch.

cheers
Marv

I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09. Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki

for most fruit wines, I enjoy using the Cotes Des Blanc,

Rick

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09.
Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like
the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki

for most fruit wines, I enjoy using the Cotes Des Blanc,

Rick

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09.
Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like
the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki

in article , islander at
wrote on 6/8/04 2:39 am:

On Fri, 06 Aug 2004 01:09:39 +0100, Nikki Cluley
wrote:

We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki



check back to the July 21st thread blackberry wine question.. for my
recipe if you can't see it I will post again.

You will need 20K for a 20 L batch.

cheers
Marv


Thanks. Will have a look at it. Shouldn't be too hard to get a good
amount. Where we take the dog for a walk there are loads of them.In the
past three days we picked 9, 12, and the 22lbs and thats without even
trying. Made bramble jelly with the few first lots, but there will be
another lot ready by now.

Nikki

in article , Mike at wrote
on 6/8/04 4:54 am:

I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09. Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki






Never had to buy blackberries. There are loads of them here in England just
growing everywhere they can. Where we take the dog is a bit of an open
space/nature reserve and the paths have bramble bushes along side them. Its
such a shame to see so many wasted each year. I'll have to get the other
frezzer plugged in somewhere so I can freeze some.
--
Nikki

in article , Mike at wrote
on 6/8/04 4:54 am:

I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09. Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki






Never had to buy blackberries. There are loads of them here in England just
growing everywhere they can. Where we take the dog is a bit of an open
space/nature reserve and the paths have bramble bushes along side them. Its
such a shame to see so many wasted each year. I'll have to get the other
frezzer plugged in somewhere so I can freeze some.
--
Nikki

Never had to buy blackberries. There are loads of them here in England just
growing everywhere they can. Where we take the dog is a bit of an open
space/nature reserve and the paths have bramble bushes along side them. Its
such a shame to see so many wasted each year.

The blackberries are hardly wasted if they are left to supply the (ever
decreasing) wildlife with a healthy supply of food.
After all, they need it more than you or I.
On a more positive note, has anybody ever tried making a pure blackberry
wine? I made five gallons of the stuff last year, only adding sugar to
raise the alcohol to 11-12% and after only a year of ageing in the
barrel it tastes seriously good, if still a little harsh. I really
recommend it. I know, I know, I am contradicting myself big style but
there was a HUGE crop last year so I hardly damaged the numbers of
blackberries at all.
Please do try it!
--
Dan

$6 for 2.5 lbs sounds like a good deal but just a heads up. I have made
dewberry (a close relative to blackberry) wine several times and with
several recipes. I have found that anything less than 5 lbs in a gallon and
it comes out weak with low boddy. 6 lbs is what I have standardized one.
You might visit Jack's site for a number of recipes and note what he
suggests.

Ray

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09.
Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like
the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki

$6 for 2.5 lbs sounds like a good deal but just a heads up. I have made
dewberry (a close relative to blackberry) wine several times and with
several recipes. I have found that anything less than 5 lbs in a gallon and
it comes out weak with low boddy. 6 lbs is what I have standardized one.
You might visit Jack's site for a number of recipes and note what he
suggests.

Ray

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each 2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09.
Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like
the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki

You are right, I looked back at my past wines. I need to use 4 lbs minimum
per gallon.

Anyone have a opinion on just fermenting the juice without any pulp?




$6 for 2.5 lbs sounds like a good deal but just a heads up. I have made
dewberry (a close relative to blackberry) wine several times and with
several recipes. I have found that anything less than 5 lbs in a gallon
and
it comes out weak with low boddy. 6 lbs is what I have standardized one.
You might visit Jack's site for a number of recipes and note what he
suggests.

Ray

I just scored 2.5lb packs of frozen organic blackberries from Costco for
real cheap(just over $6 each). I figured each would make a gallon. I
think I will thaw them, add enough water to make one gallon to each
2.5lbs
of berries. balance acid to .6 TA and sugar to a SG of 1.08~1.09.
Ferment
with pulp for a few days then strain and finish fermentation. Slightly
sweeten if necessary at bottling.

Any recommendations for a yeast?

I would like comments on my strategy. I have done this before and like
the
results, but am always looking for improvements.




"Nikki Cluley" wrote in message
...
We picked 22lbs of blackberries yesterday and thought we'd have a go
at
making some wine. Anyone got any blackberry wine recipes?

Thanks in advance.

Nikki