On July 13 I took two gallon jars, and nearly filled them with
chokecherries, yeast, sugar, and lemon juice. Then I put in the plastic air
locks. It fermented strong for a couple of weeks, and on July 30 when they
had slowed down some, I poured them out and squeezed the berries to remove
the skins and seeds. Then I filtered out the remainder a couple of times,
and poured the remainder back into one of the glass gallon jars. I
reattached the air lock and noticed it fermenting again for nearly 2 weeks.
I kept the whole operation in a dark room in my basement that stays between
65 and 70 degrees in the summer, and 60 to 65 in the sinter.

Now I wonder what I am supposed to do. Can I pour it off into quart wine
bottles and re-seal them, or will that cause the wine to turn into vinegar
if not used right away? I bought some corks with a plastic plunger in the
center. I was told to pull the plunger out, insert the cork, and then push
the plunger back in. Do you agree with that? I tried one in an empty
bottle and didn't notice any difference when the plunger was pushed in or
left out.

If I messed up this batch of choke cherries, would someone tell me the right
way to do it next year when they are on the trees again? Did my method use
a "primary" and a "secondary", or was it just a big mess. I have a friend
who makes his that way, but he uses a crock for the primary, and I done
remember is he put it into a secondary, of drank it after straining the
skins and seeds out.

I cooked down enough last summer to allow me to can 14 quarts of filtered
chokecherry juice. Will canned juice work as well as fresh or frozen?

Well I rambled on more than I expected, but would like to have some advice
from those of you who know better than me. Thanks in advance.

Dwayne

Is there sediment on the bottom of your jugs? How clear is your wine? The
reason I ask, is that your wine is about 6 months old and it sounds like
you've racked it maybe once or twice. The questions you need to ask
yourself is the wine clear? has fermentation stopped? is the wine still
dropping sediment? If the wine is not clear, I would rack it off the
sediment and wait another couple of months or so before bottling. Has
fermentation stopped (is it still bubbling in your airlock)? You need to
wait until fermentation is over before bottling, so you don't have bottle
bombs.

My suggestion is that you go to http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/ wine
making site and read up on making wine at home. I would also suggest going
to Jack Keller's home wine site, but for some reason I can't get there this
morning.
Darlene

"Dwayne" > wrote in message
...
> On July 13 I took two gallon jars, and nearly filled them with
> chokecherries, yeast, sugar, and lemon juice. Then I put in the plastic
air
> locks. It fermented strong for a couple of weeks, and on July 30 when
they
> had slowed down some, I poured them out and squeezed the berries to remove
> the skins and seeds. Then I filtered out the remainder a couple of times,
> and poured the remainder back into one of the glass gallon jars. I
> reattached the air lock and noticed it fermenting again for nearly 2
weeks.
> I kept the whole operation in a dark room in my basement that stays
between
> 65 and 70 degrees in the summer, and 60 to 65 in the sinter.
>
> Now I wonder what I am supposed to do. Can I pour it off into quart wine
> bottles and re-seal them, or will that cause the wine to turn into vinegar
> if not used right away? I bought some corks with a plastic plunger in the
> center. I was told to pull the plunger out, insert the cork, and then
push
> the plunger back in. Do you agree with that? I tried one in an empty
> bottle and didn't notice any difference when the plunger was pushed in or
> left out.
>
> If I messed up this batch of choke cherries, would someone tell me the
right
> way to do it next year when they are on the trees again? Did my method
use
> a "primary" and a "secondary", or was it just a big mess. I have a friend
> who makes his that way, but he uses a crock for the primary, and I done
> remember is he put it into a secondary, of drank it after straining the
> skins and seeds out.
>
> I cooked down enough last summer to allow me to can 14 quarts of filtered
> chokecherry juice. Will canned juice work as well as fresh or frozen?
>
> Well I rambled on more than I expected, but would like to have some advice
> from those of you who know better than me. Thanks in advance.
>
> Dwayne
>
>
>
>
>

Dwayne wrote in message ...
>On July 13 I took two gallon jars, and nearly filled them with
>chokecherries, yeast, sugar, and lemon juice. Then I put in the
plastic air >locks. It fermented strong for a couple of weeks, and on
July 30 when
they >had slowed down some, I poured them.........

A nearly filled jar fermenting strongly would, I think, force gas
AND liquid out through the air lock. That's why most instructions I've
read say that the primary fermentation should be carried out in 1/2 to
2/3 filled container covered with a towel or gauze screen to keep the
critters out. The air lock is used only later when the primary
fermentation is complete. But that's only my number two concern.
Choke Cherries can be found on any number of listings for poisonous
plants. Are there species that are fit for human consumption ? I don't
know. But why take the chance, when there are so many fruits that are
perfectly good and perfectly safe for wine ?

Hi Bill. Thanks for your response. I have been eating chokecherry jelly
since I was about 5 years old, that is 60 years now. I have drank
chokecherry wine made by a friend of mine in Wyoming. So far we haven't
found any that were a problem. Your first clue is when you see birds eating
them off the tree, bush. If there isn't a lot of dead birds laying around,
they are safe to eat.

Dwayne

"Bill McCarty" > wrote in message
...
>
> Dwayne wrote in message ...
> >On July 13 I took two gallon jars, and nearly filled them with
> >chokecherries, yeast, sugar, and lemon juice. Then I put in the
> plastic air >locks. It fermented strong for a couple of weeks, and on
> July 30 when
> they >had slowed down some, I poured them.........
>
> A nearly filled jar fermenting strongly would, I think, force gas
> AND liquid out through the air lock. That's why most instructions I've
> read say that the primary fermentation should be carried out in 1/2 to
> 2/3 filled container covered with a towel or gauze screen to keep the
> critters out. The air lock is used only later when the primary
> fermentation is complete. But that's only my number two concern.
> Choke Cherries can be found on any number of listings for poisonous
> plants. Are there species that are fit for human consumption ? I don't
> know. But why take the chance, when there are so many fruits that are
> perfectly good and perfectly safe for wine ?
>
>
>
>

> <snip> Your first clue is when you see birds eating
> them off the tree, bush. If there isn't a lot of dead birds laying around,
> they are safe to eat.

I've read in a number of survival books that birds
can get away with eating berries that would kill
a human.

Don

Dwayne wrote in message ...
Your first clue is when you see birds eating
>them off the tree, bush. If there isn't a lot of dead birds laying
around,
>they are safe to eat.


If you've eaten them safely then that's proof enough. We have
these berries in NE PA. The birds seem to love them, at first. Later,
the ground is littered,- not with dead birds, but with clumps of
berries they have vomited up. That's proof enough for me. I don't
know anyone here who eats them, suggesting strongly that we are talking
about two different varieties.

Good luck.

Bill McCarty wrote:

>
> Dwayne wrote in message ...
> Your first clue is when you see birds eating
>>them off the tree, bush. If there isn't a lot of dead birds laying
> around,
>>they are safe to eat.
>
>
> If you've eaten them safely then that's proof enough. We have
> these berries in NE PA. The birds seem to love them, at first. Later,
> the ground is littered,- not with dead birds, but with clumps of
> berries they have vomited up. That's proof enough for me. I don't
> know anyone here who eats them, suggesting strongly that we are talking
> about two different varieties.
>
> Good luck.

Birds and deer eat poison ivy berries also. Hmmmm - wander if there are any
poison ivy recipes out there - how about it Jack?

"Bill McCarty" > wrote in message
...
> If you've eaten them safely then that's proof enough. We have
> these berries in NE PA. The birds seem to love them, at first. Later,
> the ground is littered,- not with dead birds, but with clumps of
> berries they have vomited up. That's proof enough for me. I don't
> know anyone here who eats them, suggesting strongly that we are talking
> about two different varieties.
>
> Good luck.
>
The kind I am talking about grows in bushes in the wild. In your yard, you
will mow down the sprouts that come up volunteer and if left alone, turn it
into a thicket.

The leaves are green, but turn a reddish brown in mid summer and fall. The
berries grow in clumps of 10 to 20, and turn from green to nearly black.
Around half of each berry is seed.

The birds will leave large blue spots of berries, but not from vomiting.
These came from the other end of the bird.

I believe Chokecherry jelly is the best tasting jelly I have ever eaten, if
made right. The trick is not to dilute the juice down too much before
making the jelly.

Dwayne