I am a grape wine maker, but want to try blueberry. I found some unpreserved
juice in BJ's, made by Wyman's ( who also market frozen wild blueberries)
yesterday and will start a small 1 gallon batch. Any advice? Can I ferment
dry or will it taste weird? I don't like sweet wines and hate the taste of
potassium sorbate. Here goes nothin'

Lou wrote:
> I am a grape wine maker, but want to try blueberry. I found some unpreserved
> juice in BJ's, made by Wyman's ( who also market frozen wild blueberries)
> yesterday and will start a small 1 gallon batch. Any advice? Can I ferment
> dry or will it taste weird? I don't like sweet wines and hate the taste of
> potassium sorbate. Here goes nothin'

I made a mixed berry wine (that included blueberries) last summer, and
it is just off-dry now. It still has a very fruity nose and taste. I
think it may taste better sweet, so I intend to sweeten and fortify it
to make a port-style wine, after it has aged a wile over oak. That's
just a heads up for you now. Grapes have been bred selectively for
centuries to provide a complex flavor profile with aging in oaken
barrels. Other fruits will probably always have a more simple taste.

>Any advice? Can I ferment dry or will it taste weird?

I bottled a dry blueberry about three months ago - it's very nice and
not at all weird. My fermentation stuck, and from what I've read many
people have trouble getting blueberry to ferment out. To minimize the
risk of a stuck ferment, I suggest a higher than normal dose of
nutrient and keeping the wine, which you should stir daily, in your
primary fermenter longer than normal.

I don't have precise numbers for "higher than normal" or "longer than
normal", but the next time I make blueberry wine, I intend to double
the amount of nutrient and leave the wine in the primary for up to two
weeks (or until dry, if that happens first).

I think the risk of a stuck ferment outweighs the increased risk of
oxidation in this case.

Good luck and do let us know how it turns out,

Erroll

Hi Lou,

I bought frozen blueberries at Sam's Club for what I thought was a
reasonable price - $2 per pound. I have several 5 gallon batches of
blueberry wine going now. I agree with others who relate that blueberry
produces a wine that is very similar to grape wine, but also that blueberry
is difficult to ferment. I had one fermentation that stuck, and I had to
add yeast energizer and another packet of yeast. Also, with grape
fermentations, they typically are over in one week, but my blueberry
fermentations have lasted over one month. You have to be patient, but I
think the end result is worth the wait. I have followed recipes by Jack
Keller and Gene Spaziani, but I think the best recipe is from Stanley
Anderson. He makes the case that lower concentrations of fruit produce more
grape-like wines. Also, Anderson provides helpful information on 2nd and
3rd fermentations. I have a 2nd fermentation of blueberry going now that is
tasty and extremely cost-effective - basically it it just the cost of 10
pounds of sugar, and I end up with another 5 gallons of wine - lighter color
and body than the original, but quite palatable.

Best regards for success with blueberries.

Gary

http://home.carolina.rr.com/winemaking/


"Lou" > wrote in message
...
>I am a grape wine maker, but want to try blueberry. I found some
>unpreserved juice in BJ's, made by Wyman's ( who also market frozen wild
>blueberries) yesterday and will start a small 1 gallon batch. Any advice?
>Can I ferment dry or will it taste weird? I don't like sweet wines and hate
>the taste of potassium sorbate. Here goes nothin'
>