This weekend fun will be the 2nd blackberry batch from this falls
pickings. 1st batch (5 gallon) is bulk aging, nothin' but
blackberries with Pastuer Red yeast in that one.

Objective, full flavored dry table wine. So being a rank noobie (I'm
looking for thumbs up or thumbs down people - help) , the recipe will
be as follows, unless someone stops me :-)

30lbs Blackberry
5lbs banana
2lbs dark raisins
Sucrose to 1.095
Acid blend to .65%
3.5 tsp pectic enzyme
6.5 tsp yeast nutrient
Water to 6.5gal
Cote Des Blanc yeast

Any fixes or advice is appreicated.
TIA
Steve - Noobie
Oregon

Done, will report back next year.

Steve - Noobie
Oregon


spud wrote:

This weekend fun will be the 2nd blackberry batch from this falls
pickings. 1st batch (5 gallon) is bulk aging, nothin' but
blackberries with Pastuer Red yeast in that one.

Objective, full flavored dry table wine. So being a rank noobie (I'm
looking for thumbs up or thumbs down people - help) , the recipe will
be as follows, unless someone stops me :-)

30lbs Blackberry
5lbs banana
2lbs dark raisins
Sucrose to 1.095
Acid blend to .65%
3.5 tsp pectic enzyme
6.5 tsp yeast nutrient
Water to 6.5gal
Cote Des Blanc yeast

Any fixes or advice is appreicated.
TIA
Steve - Noobie
Oregon

Sounds good but I would have lost the raisins. At 5 or 6 lbs in a gal,
Blackberries will stand on their own legs and do not need the vinuosity form
the grapes. But I do not think the grapes will hurt anything.

Ray

"spud" wrote in message
...
This weekend fun will be the 2nd blackberry batch from this falls
pickings. 1st batch (5 gallon) is bulk aging, nothin' but
blackberries with Pastuer Red yeast in that one.

Objective, full flavored dry table wine. So being a rank noobie (I'm
looking for thumbs up or thumbs down people - help) , the recipe will
be as follows, unless someone stops me :-)

30lbs Blackberry
5lbs banana
2lbs dark raisins
Sucrose to 1.095
Acid blend to .65%
3.5 tsp pectic enzyme
6.5 tsp yeast nutrient
Water to 6.5gal
Cote Des Blanc yeast

Any fixes or advice is appreicated.
TIA
Steve - Noobie
Oregon

Thank you folks for the response, unfortunately it's to late for this
season. The must is quietly working in the kitchen.

Banana's: sliced and simmered then the 'juice' and fruit were added to
the primary along with the other ingredients. The taste in my opinion
was too heavy to bananas. Or maybe I should say more than I wished it
were. I pulled the bananas from the must and the dominance has
yielded to the blackberry. Seems it's due to blackberry extraction
increasing and filling in around the existing banana flavor and aroma.
Much nicer, much more blackberryey?

The must is thick, kind of, almost, syrupy which is a bit different
than my first batch. The first was thick, but more like I was used to
seeing with the peach, pear, grape etc. Maybe this is due to better
extraction /because/ of the freezer time or the added raisins and
banana, or both. To many variables to discern the reason in any case.

The actual quantity of dark raisins used is 1.67lbs, which, at least
at this point is barely detectable. I don't /know/ being a noobie,
but it doesn't detract from the blackberry right now. I guess we will
see as it progresses though.

Since I have a both a blackberry only batch and this recipe going I
will report back a side by side comparison next year. Right after the
peach tastings are posted. Dar V's wine tastings has prompted me to
follow her lead for feedback on my first attempts. Luckily I'm a
pretty thick skinned fellow!

I like the way the Core des Blanc is progressing, it must like
blackberrys.

Steve - Noobie
Oregon


Robin Somes wrote in repsone to:

Ray Calvert writes
Sounds good but I would have lost the raisins. At 5 or 6 lbs in a gal,
Blackberries will stand on their own legs and do not need the vinuosity form
the grapes.

I'd agree with you thus far, Ray; certainly 5 lbs of blackberries to the
gallon should give a good full body. 6lb would be better, but maybe the
banana will add a little more.

But I do not think the grapes will hurt anything.

But I'd be slightly concerned that the raisins might mask the very sharp
and lively flavour of the blackberry - which might already have been
reduced a little if the fruit has been in the freezer. I'd be tempted to
leave out the raisins, and reduce the quantity of water just a little
(and obviously adjust the acid and sugar accordingly)

cheers,
robin

Removed blackberries today from the fermenting must. ~ 5 days after
it began.

The fruit was left in the must longer with this batch compared to the
last (~3 days). The slightest /perception/ of bitterness from the
seeds is what triggered removal in each case.

Last batch used Pasteur Red and this one, Cote des Blanc. Which is
nicely bubbling away but at a less vigorous clip than with Pasteur
Red. Alcohol sensation came on slower with Cote des Blanc. I'm think
this batch is making a case for this yeast. It allowed longer fruit
contact beacuse of less aggressive fermentation in this instance.
Something that might be useful in the future.

Steve - Noobie
Oregon



Robin Somes wrote:

Ray Calvert writes
Sounds good but I would have lost the raisins. At 5 or 6 lbs in a gal,
Blackberries will stand on their own legs and do not need the vinuosity form
the grapes.

I'd agree with you thus far, Ray; certainly 5 lbs of blackberries to the
gallon should give a good full body. 6lb would be better, but maybe the
banana will add a little more.

But I do not think the grapes will hurt anything.

But I'd be slightly concerned that the raisins might mask the very sharp
and lively flavour of the blackberry - which might already have been
reduced a little if the fruit has been in the freezer. I'd be tempted to
leave out the raisins, and reduce the quantity of water just a little
(and obviously adjust the acid and sugar accordingly)

cheers,
robin

Removed blackberries today from the fermenting must. ~ 5 days after
it began.

The fruit was left in the must longer with this batch compared to the
last (~3 days). The slightest /perception/ of bitterness from the
seeds is what triggered removal in each case.

Last batch used Pasteur Red and this one, Cote des Blanc. Which is
nicely bubbling away but at a less vigorous clip than with Pasteur
Red. Alcohol sensation came on slower with Cote des Blanc. I'm think
this batch is making a case for this yeast. It allowed longer fruit
contact beacuse of less aggressive fermentation in this instance.
Something that might be useful in the future.

Steve - Noobie
Oregon



Robin Somes wrote:

Ray Calvert writes
Sounds good but I would have lost the raisins. At 5 or 6 lbs in a gal,
Blackberries will stand on their own legs and do not need the vinuosity form
the grapes.

I'd agree with you thus far, Ray; certainly 5 lbs of blackberries to the
gallon should give a good full body. 6lb would be better, but maybe the
banana will add a little more.

But I do not think the grapes will hurt anything.

But I'd be slightly concerned that the raisins might mask the very sharp
and lively flavour of the blackberry - which might already have been
reduced a little if the fruit has been in the freezer. I'd be tempted to
leave out the raisins, and reduce the quantity of water just a little
(and obviously adjust the acid and sugar accordingly)

cheers,
robin