Blueberry/blackberry wine

So I have about a pound of wild blackberries in the freezer from this summer. The plan was to collect enough to make a batch of blackberry wine, but the birds decided they wanted the berries more than I did. My question is has anyone ever done a blackberry/blueberry wine? I'm thinking of using frozen blueberries from grocery store that comes in 5lb bags for a gallon of wine. The blueberries have a good taste when thawed so I figure what the heck and go for it. Suggestions? Concerns?

Search for Dragon Blood. It's a variant of skeeter pee. It uses a triple berry blend. Really any berry will work. If done it as is and also using cherry and also one with blackberry. Makes a nice fruit wine.

FROM DANGERDAVE'S EASY PEESY (SKEETER PEE) RECIPE



Ingredients: For a six gallon batch:



Step 1: To a cleaned and sanitized seven gallon primary, add---in this order:

2 bottles (48 oz each) 100% Lemon Juice (ReaLemon in the green bottle): if you want to recude the acid level use one bottle.

Water to about five gallons

20 cups of white granulated sugar (looking for a SG btw 1.085-1.09 after filling to 6 gallons*): use less sugar for lower final ABV. Stir sugar until completely desolved.

1 tsp. tannin (stir)

4 tsp. yeast nutrient (stir)

2 tsp. yeast energizer (stir)

3 tsp. pectic enzyme (stir)

Top water to six (6) gallons* (looking for a SG btw 1.085-1.09) and stir well

6 lbs. of Triple Berry Blend (raspberry/blackberry/blueberry--available in most grocery store freezer sections), frozen then thawed, in a nylon fine mesh bag (tied shut), placed in primary: Give the bag a couple of squeezes to work in pectic enzyme. May also toss fruit directly into primary, but this makes for a "messier" fermentation and subsequently will require more clearing time and racking.

Cover primary

Place brew belt: Keep temp in 70F-80F range.

Let sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours...



Step 2: To the primary fermenter, add:

1 packet of EC-1118 Yeast (starter, per yeast directions): Sprinkle yeast into one cup of warm water (100F), let sit for 15 minutes (no longer), stir and add to primary. Other yeast strains may also work well.

Stir Primary Vigorously!



Step 3: Each day, do the following, in this order:

Check temp

Check specific gravity

Squeeze juices from fruit pack into fermenter---remove friut pack: Temporarily place in sanitized bucket.

Stir primary vigorously: To introduce oxygen into must.

Replace fruit pack

Cover primary



Step 4: When specific gravity (SG) reaches <1.000, do the following:

Squeeze juices from fruit pack into fermenter---remove friut pack: Discard fruit.

Rack to cleaned and sanitized six gallon carboy

Add 1/4 tsp. Potassium Metabisulfite (stir)

Add 3 tsp. Potassium Sorbate (stir)

Degas very thoroughly: I cannot emphasize this enough!

Add Sparkolloid* (or other cleaing agent): *1 tbs in one cup of water simmered for about 30 minutes. Add hot mixture to carboy.

Allow to clear undistrubed for no less than 1 week



Step 4: When wine is clear:

Carefully rack off of lees into cleaned & sanitized six gallon carboy

Add 4-5 cups of white granulated sugar (stir until sugar is completely disolved): Add more or less sugar to taste. Remember! The sugars will blend with the berry flavors over time, and the sweetness will come forward. Do not over-sweeten!

Allow wine to clear free of all sediment: This may or may not require more racking over the next few weeks.



Step 5: When wine is completely clear:

Bottle in clear bottles

Note: Never bottle cloudy wine! NEVER!

__________________________________________________________



Starting SG was right at 1.085. Yeast was EC-1118---no slurry. I did not filter.



Yikes is right! I still can't believe it. I have two more batches going just to see if this was a miracle (Well, Jesus made wine, lots of it, and very quickly, too!) :dg

For my blackberry I only used 1 bottle of lemon juice and 12 lbs. of frozen blackberries.

So here's the direction I went because it's what I could get my hands on today.....found this recipe for a one gallon batch that I liked. 4lbs frozen blueberries and my small amount of blackberries, a can of grape concentrate, a cup of OJ, 1.5 pounds of sugar. I steeped the fruit after I dissolved the sugar. Will add pectic enzyme and check gravity tomorrow and pitch yeast.

browning348 said:

So here's the direction I went because it's what I could get my hands on today.....found this recipe for a one gallon batch that I liked. 4lbs frozen blueberries and my small amount of blackberries, a can of grape concentrate, a cup of OJ, 1.5 pounds of sugar. I steeped the fruit after I dissolved the sugar. Will add pectic enzyme and check gravity tomorrow and pitch yeast.

Click to expand...

I have a few ponds of bilberries, which are the smaller variant of blueberries. I wondered how your brew turned out as I don't quite have enough for a batch and need to add some other fruit - say either blackberries or raspberries and blackberries ( dragonblood wine) to get enough fruit per gallon.