Easy cranberry wine?

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treacheroustexan

treacheroustexan

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Hey guys, I was just gifted a 3 gallon carboy from a friend and I do 5 gallon batches of beer, so I was going to just use the 3 gallon and start some wine making per the request of the lady. We were interested in doing a cranberry wine, so any tips on a good recipe for 2.5 gallons or so? All of the juice I seen at the store the other day had a bunch of preservatives and what not in it. The only ones I found with 100% juice was grape & apple juice. Any tips appreciated! Thanks.
 
Wait until the week after Thanksgiving and load up on cranberries on the cheap, then make cranberry wine.

Take advantage of the fruit available in season now. Peach wine?
 
treacheroustexan said:
Hey guys, I was just gifted a 3 gallon carboy from a friend and I do 5 gallon batches of beer, so I was going to just use the 3 gallon and start some wine making per the request of the lady. We were interested in doing a cranberry wine, so any tips on a good recipe for 2.5 gallons or so? All of the juice I seen at the store the other day had a bunch of preservatives and what not in it. The only ones I found with 100% juice was grape & apple juice. Any tips appreciated! Thanks.
Click to expand...

How about using bottled apple juice for the base and adding fresh or frozen cranberries? Pure cranberry juice is awfully tart and doesn't have much sugar.
 
z-bob said:
How about using bottled apple juice for the base and adding fresh or frozen cranberries? Pure cranberry juice is awfully tart and doesn't have much sugar.
Click to expand...

I didn't really think about that. Might be worth giving that a shot!
 
Where do you shop?
Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail is 27% Cranberry Juice, and the perfect mix for straight usage in winemaking! I've made several batches, it's great for gifts! Perfect balance for a semi-sweet to sweet wine. Yum!
You should be able to get this anywhere. Ascorbic Acid is not a preservative that will inhibit fermentation. Go for it!
 
lukebuz said:
Where do you shop?
Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail is 27% Cranberry Juice, and the perfect mix for straight usage in winemaking! I've made several batches, it's great for gifts! Perfect balance for a semi-sweet to sweet wine. Yum!
You should be able to get this anywhere. Ascorbic Acid is not a preservative that will inhibit fermentation. Go for it!
Click to expand...

I shop at giant eagle market district. I'l take a look! Do you add anything else to it? Or just yeast?
 
Last autumn, after the fresh fruits weren't available, I met my brewing addiction by making about many, small batches of cranberry wine or cranberry wine-apple-pomegranate mixes. I usually used the 100% Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice rather than the cocktail and diluted to desired pH with apple juice. When the fresh cranberries were available, I also put them in the Ocean Spray mix. I even used the canned cranberry sauces in a couple of mixes per pointers in the archives. Just watch the pH and have some Lalvin 1118 handy for helping stalled fermentations. Lol.

All the mixes turned out well, and a couple were drinkable at 6-7 months. Great fun and a good learning experience for a newbie like myself
 
BendOrnewbie said:
Last autumn, after the fresh fruits weren't available, I met my brewing addiction by making about many, small batches of cranberry wine or cranberry wine-apple-pomegranate mixes. I usually used the 100% Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice rather than the cocktail and diluted to desired pH with apple juice. When the fresh cranberries were available, I also put them in the Ocean Spray mix. I even used the canned cranberry sauces in a couple of mixes per pointers in the archives. Just watch the pH and have some Lalvin 1118 handy for helping stalled fermentations. Lol.

All the mixes turned out well, and a couple were drinkable at 6-7 months. Great fun and a good learning experience for a newbie like myself
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 100% OS CJ is really just 27% CB Juice (but 100% Cranberries!). Check it, you'll see! There is no 100% CB Juice. It'd be undrinkable.

I've done the same as you, added fresh CB's as available, and made my own crapple blend with finished apple wine.

No need for any of those though, just use the juice, add sugar to your potential abv level, and all your other chemicals, and go!!
Don't finish it dry, just backsweeten for best yum yum taste!
 
z-bob said:
How about using bottled apple juice for the base and adding fresh or frozen cranberries? Pure cranberry juice is awfully tart and doesn't have much sugar.
Click to expand...
That's basically what I did....used apple juice, found organic cranberry juice at my grocer, bought some fresh berries and froze them - thawing to make the batch - some honey, and water to top off....it's been bulk aging in a carboy for over a year, tasted quite nice at last gravity sampling....should be drinkable this Thanksgiving :)
Oops, just realized this was the wine forum, not the mead forum .... mine's a mead, but, close enough to call it wine to family members who still don't "get" mead ;)
 
Yeah, the 100% OS CJ is really just 27% CB Juice (but 100% Cranberries!). Check it, you'll see! There is no 100% CB Juice. It'd be undrinkable.
Click to expand...

You can buy 100% cranberry juice. I think Trader Joes has it, and I know I bought some once at Krogers when I was visiting the folks in Texas. It is undrinkable unless you mix it with something.
 
Just checked on a few bottles I have stashed, it's R.W Knudsen organic Just Cranberry juice (they have organic, and non-organic Just Cranberry, I guess) - reconstituted from organic cranberry concentrate, and, yeah, it's pretty undrinkable on it's own.....LOL....fixing to make a cranberry wheat beer here for fall, if I ever get around to it.
 
Plan on making cranberry-apple wine with fresh cranberries. Wondering if anyone out there has an idea of what ratio of apple juice? plan on using 4 pounds of fresh cranberries per gallon. Thought maybe using 1 qt. of apple juice per projected gallon. Want the cranberry to be the main focus.
 

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