AlbertaGuy
Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2014
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 2
Hello, anyone else ever try making seabuckthorn wine? We planted a pile of them for wildlife habitat and decided to try using the fruit. Very labor intensive to pick but we managed around 7 lbs and decided to start a wine (and a mead but that's for another time). Its been an interesting adventure.
Recipe I used:
2.2 pounds berries/ gallon
1/2 tsp acid blend/ gallon (could have skipped)
1/2 tsp pectin enzyme/ gallon
nutrient
campden as per usual
EC1118 yeast
sugar to sg of 1.092
I started this back in September by combining the fruit with the campden and pectin enzyme. Note the nuclear orange color, berries are high in fat which has led to issues.
I just racked it a second time yesterday, getting rid of the "fat" was a challenge to say the least. Next time I plan on trying to separate the fat/ juice prior to fermentation. It is clear when in a glass but is very orange.
As for taste, its very very sour and tastes like the fruit prior to fermentation minus any sweetness. I am trying to decide if I should back sweeten it a touch or just enjoy it dry. Seabuckthorn has a very unique flavor, and none of it has been lost. I definitely could have got by with less fruit but would rather have too much flavor.
Anyone else ever tried a wine with these berries? Any other ideas out there? Enjoy it dry or sweeten?
Recipe I used:
2.2 pounds berries/ gallon
1/2 tsp acid blend/ gallon (could have skipped)
1/2 tsp pectin enzyme/ gallon
nutrient
campden as per usual
EC1118 yeast
sugar to sg of 1.092
I started this back in September by combining the fruit with the campden and pectin enzyme. Note the nuclear orange color, berries are high in fat which has led to issues.
I just racked it a second time yesterday, getting rid of the "fat" was a challenge to say the least. Next time I plan on trying to separate the fat/ juice prior to fermentation. It is clear when in a glass but is very orange.
As for taste, its very very sour and tastes like the fruit prior to fermentation minus any sweetness. I am trying to decide if I should back sweeten it a touch or just enjoy it dry. Seabuckthorn has a very unique flavor, and none of it has been lost. I definitely could have got by with less fruit but would rather have too much flavor.
Anyone else ever tried a wine with these berries? Any other ideas out there? Enjoy it dry or sweeten?