Blackberry wine, not much blackberry taste?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Slowninja

Active Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
30
Reaction score
1
Location
Oklahoma City
I've got 3 gallons of blackberry wine that's been through the primary and secondary. Just racked it off and pulled a sample, it basically tastes like a water-y wine?

Can I stabilize and macerate some fresh (or frozen) blackberries to increase the flavor?
 
I'm not an expert for sure, in fact I'm about to start my first blackberry wine this week, just curious what was your recipe?
 
Wines don't usually taste like the fruit all that much, when you think about it.

I mean, chardonnay doesn't taste like grapes. Some wines do pick up "fruity" notes, but my apple wine doesn't taste like apples exactly- more like a hint of apples, or a "finish" of fruitiness that has an apple-like quality. Blackberry wine doesn't scream "blackberry" any more than grape wines scream "grape". There is a berry finish and aroma, but not a distinct blackberry flavor- it's not like eating fresh blackberries, but instead a wine made of blackberries has an essence of blackberry if that makes sense.

If the wine is watery, though, that seems like not enough blackberries and too much water was used.

What was the recipe?
 
I've had better luck, flavor-wise, from blackberry cider and cordials. High alcohol levels (over 5-6%) in fruit/berry wines seem to overwhelm the fruit flavors. The cordial I made is blackberries, frozen, then soaked in 80 proof vodka for a month. Filter and bottle. Very good flavor.
 
Canned blackberrys, recipe is from Jack Keller. This is the 1 gallon recipe:

2 16-oz cans blueberries or blackberries in light syrup
1-3/4 lbs granulated sugar
3-1/2 qts water
2 tsp acid blend
1/8 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
Montrachet wine yeast

It does taste more watery then anything. Very slight hint of blackberry but not what i anticipated. I made a blueberry wine with the same recipe and it had a much more pronounced flavor. In fact, all I was able to keep for aging was one bottle, the rest didn't last more then a month.
 
Back
Top