Mixed-Berry

~~Ingredients~~
10# Sugar
2 cans cherry pie filling
1 can blueberry pie filling
4 containers frozen grape concentrate
1 gal cranberry juice
1/2 tbls nutrient
1/2 tbls energizer
1 tbls pectic Enzyme
1pkt Montrachet yeast
Water to 5.5 gal

~~Prep~~
1) dissolve sugar in 1-2 gallons of warm water on stove and set aside in pot
2) add pie fillings, concentrate and half of the cranberry juice to the brew bucket.
3) Add nutrient, energizer, and enzyme to the half of the cranberry juice still in the jug and shake like crazy to dissolve and aerate. Add to brew bucket.
4) Pitch in the sugar solution. Then use warm/cool water to bring the total volume to 5.5-6.0 gal and the temperature to about room temp.
5) let sit about 12 hours while the pectic enzyme does it's work.

.... 12 hours later
6) use about 2 cups of the solution to start your yeast in a small jar or cup. After it's frothy, swirl, pitch and give a quick stir.
7) cover and wait about a week. I accutally use a lid and airlock, but some people like to just cover with a towel or cheese cloth.

.... 7(ish) days later
8) use a wire strainer to scoop out the floating fruit. I save this in the freezer, it makes AMAZING pie.
9) rerack to a 5gal carboy and a half-gal (or similar) small jug. The small jug will be used for topping up on subsequent rerackings.
10) Rack and treat as other wines until clear.

~~Primary Details~~
Sat in an Ale Pail on my kitchen counter for a week. Regular room temp 70F-75F

~Secondary~~
Used blue plastic water jug (the type found at lowes etc). Already had a debate in another thread about oxygen permeability, and yeast settling but it ended up not being any problem (at least that I could taste or see).

~~Bottling~~
Stabilized a week prior to bottling by racking onto 5 crushed campden tablets and just shy of a tablespoon of of sorbate.

~~Moral of the story~~
Cheap. SWEET. Enjoyed by all.

SWMBO and I got the ingredients for this this weekend, going to start it this weekend. Sounds delicious. Can't wait!

*edit*

Oh we polished off a growler of it saturday night. Just saying that our card game was considerably more hilarious.

Let me know how it goes for you!

I took a small sample of this and gave it a taste -- it's delicious! I can't wait until this is all done. I did use a different yeast - the K1V-1116, since my OG was quite high (1.122) - I like my wines to finish dry and backsweeten if I want.

So anyways, the wife and I were talking about what wine to make next with a recently freed carboy, and we came up with the great idea of making this same recipe, but with honey instead of sugar. So we mixed it up the other day, fermented, racked and now have two carboys full of mixed-berry wine/mead sitting next to each other, tempting me...

*edit* We strained out the floating fruit after they had fermented out, bagged them, and froze them. The wife is going to make a pie or two for thanksgiving.

Sirthomas42 said:

*edit* We strained out the floating fruit after they had fermented out, bagged them, and froze them. The wife is going to make a pie or two for thanksgiving.

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That's what I always do. sooooooooo good.

We had the "Wineberry Pie", as it's now been christened, last night for Thanksgiving. It was amazing. Still had a strong taste of alcohol -- it apparently doesn't all bake out.

haha yea I find that to get that out you have to do kinda simmer the filling in a sauce pan for a lil while. It helps get off some of the alcohol and if you add some sugar and cornstarch it really helps tighten it up so it's not so soupy.

We bottled this last night. In the pic, the wine is on the left (sweet 1.020, 13.3%), mead on the right (medium 1.008, 14.7%). They're both delicious. Both very hot tasting, but I can pick out all the flavors that went into making the wine. Can't wait until they age some to cool off that hot taste

awesome! I give it away rather frequently as gifts and my friends keep telling me it ages well... I wouldn't know I drink it too quick haha.

This will be my first wine, please help me understand something . Your number 10 you say rack and treat as other wines? What is the half gallon I rack seperartly for?

When you rerack from one carboy to another you'll loose a little bit to yeasty yuck at the bottom. The half gallon is what I keep aside for topping up. You want to keep the level of the wine up to the neck of the carboy.

How long in secondary?

Until it's clear. If it gets too much gunk on the bottom re-rack gain.

I ended up only racking twice. I racked it out of the primary bucket, and 3 months later I racked it off the lees. A month or two later it had been clear for several weeks, so I bottled it.

how'd it turn out? I've got a 5gal batch i'm going to bottle up soon as i get home from visiting family.

Just started a batch of this over the weekend. It is fermenting like crazy. The sweet scent of this fermentation is filling the house. Hopefully this comes out as sweet as it is smelling.

Oh it will. Never had it be under-sweet.

Been going now for 2 weeks. Started at 1.118 now sitting at 1.032. The wine is VERY sweet, but also very cloudy yet. I know it has a ways to go yet....

You're just about at 12% so sounds lie it's going to be tasty and strong.

Could someone post a picture of the finished product? I'd love to see it. I imagine it looking as great as it tastes, and look forward to starting a batch!

So I just got a batch of this together. I had to make some slight adjustments because there was no cherry pie filling at my local grocery store. So I substituted red raspberry filling for the cherry, and I used 2 grape concentrate, and 2 white grape raspberry. Hoping it turns out well. Thanks for the recipe!

Do we need to throw in any campden tablets? Also, do we need to degas before bottling?

a) not really. Campden is used at the beginning of a batch to forestall any yeast already present on fresh fruit from taking hold, and used at the end to help prevent from oxidation during bottling. Because there's no fresh fruit, as long as you don't splash a lot and use a bottling wand you should be fine. But then again, it wouldn't hurt anything if you added them.

b) I find that if your wine still has that much carbon dioxide dissolved in it, then it can stand to sit a while longer in the carboy anyways. But I don't degas even when I do rush a batch along. It loses a lot of the carbonation racking to the bottling bucket and what is there is already at equilibrium with the outside air pressure at room temperature so it doesn't pose a bottle bomb/rocket risk.

Enjoy!

Thinking about trying this as my first wine mostly a beer Brewer. .. do I need a 5 gallon carboy for the secondary or will a 6.5 be alright?

I know this thread is old, but I do not see another related to this wine.

Here is my rather screwed up story of making this wine.

I started the recipe on 11/25/12 with a O.G. of 1.114 and used a Lalvin D-47 yeast. Life promptly got in the way and I walked around the primary fermenter for two years (yes, years). I did not pull off the fruit or rack the wine off the lees. On 11/6/14 I finally racked to a 5 gallon carboy and half filled a 1 gallon carboy. On 11/26/14, I bottled the wine and parked it in boxes. The final gravity was 1.034, so the fermentation must have stuck. I used zorks to cap the bottles. I had very low expectation for the finished product. The small taste at bottling was decent for a sweet wine, but tasted a little thin. On Wednesday (12/3/14) I opened a bottle to taste. I was surprised to find a clear, clean, sweet berry wine with no off favors detectable through the residual sugar. (They are probably there, but the wine is sweet enough to send a diabetic into a coma.) In spite of this, the wine is very drinkable. I have included a couple pictures.

Not sure what the moral of this story is -- Never give up until you've drank at least one bottle?



Cody

Crystal clear! Love it! Inspired me to make a batch this weekend.

Bottled my second batch of this wine today. Started on December 7, 2014. Original Gravity was 1.117. Final Gravity was 0.988. Thought it might be too dry, but the hydrometer sample was quite good. Pleasantly sweet, clear, and smooth. I am anticipating what it will taste like in a couple months.

Here is a picture of the hydrometer sample with a bottle of acid blend to demonstrate clarity.

Wouldn't you want to use Campden before for sterilizing the juices and what not?

Weaves said:

Wouldn't you want to use Campden before for sterilizing the juices and what not?

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Weaves,

Since all the ingredients of this recipe are processed and prepared for human consumption, the need for campden at the beginning is negated. There is simply no wild yeast of any number present in the ingredients. I added about 50 ppm of sulfite solution at bottling just for preservation, but brazedowl has indicated this is not necessary. If you want to add campden at the beginning - for your own peace of mind - have at it. It is better to do it and not worry.

Whatever you decide, this is a great recipe for those who like slightly sweet fruity wines. I give quite a few bottles of this away to friends and family. It is also a great recipe for a learner like me. There is little financial risk and the result is fun to drink.

Good Luck,
Cody

Thanks! Ps stated my batch today, the must tasted so good I can't wait

Started some raspberry wine on Aug 2 and it's done fermenting on Sep 22. The alcohol is 18%. The stuff has too much 'fire' from the alcohol and too much 'acid' and a little tannin. Hardly any raspberry flavor comes through. Put in about 3/8 cup sugar (in 2 gal) and didn't help any. Anybody have suggestions to fix this batch. Bottle it and hope? Throw it out?

Been my experience that it mellows out.

FishGuy2 said:

Started some raspberry wine on Aug 2 and it's done fermenting on Sep 22. The alcohol is 18%. The stuff has too much 'fire' from the alcohol and too much 'acid' and a little tannin. Hardly any raspberry flavor comes through. Put in about 3/8 cup sugar (in 2 gal) and didn't help any. Anybody have suggestions to fix this batch. Bottle it and hope? Throw it out?

Click to expand...

I am very much a beginner in the realm of wine making, but here is my limited experience:

Wine and patience go together. Bulk age in a carboy for six months to a year, then bottle it and wait. Try some in a three months, six months, and a year. The harshness will fade, the sweetness surface, and the whole thing blend together. All you need is time.

We think of beer in terms of days and weeks. Wine is made in terms of months and years.

Good Luck,
Cody

Thanks for the encouragement. Added a cup sugar in two gallons and that seemed to tone down the acidity somewhat. Aging in a carboy now. Will see what happens in a few months.

A question on back sweetening.

So we're about to rack to secondary to age, our wine at this point is pretty dry, which I enjoy, my significant other likes it sweet. When it comes time for bottling I was thinking about bottling about 2 gallons dry and back sweetening the rest. I was thinking of getting a half gal of cranberry pomegranate juice for some extra fruitiness and sugar.

Is this a good idea (with the juice) or should I stick with sugar?

A halfgallon into three gallons will not contribute much to sweetness. Ive back sweetened with frozen concentrate that works well and doesnt dilute the abv as much.

How much would be a good amount for a three gallon?

Bottled the raspberry wine on the 17th of November. It had mellowed some in the carboy. Next year I'll try to adjust the pH with calcium carbonate before fermentation and see how that works.

What kind of yeast did you use?

Used LALVIN EC-1118 and had a real nice constant and active fermentation at 70 degree F.