Berry wine

[Coriba]

I have an abundance of fruit; raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, huckleberry, salal berry, and some Oregon grape. Salal and huckleberry is destined for apple/perry ciders. I want to make wine out of blackberry and raspberries. All of the recipes I see are mostly water and sugar with berries added. Can you just crush and press the berries and ferment that without the water addition? Is there not enough sugar in berries alone?

Coriba

 

[RPh_Guy]

Fruit varies a lot, but they're probably relatively low in sugar and high in acidity. ... Two things that are fixed by using sugar water.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Most Berry’s will be too acidic if you used just fruit. As a base guideline for berries, I go with 3-6lb of fruit per gallon, added to ~3qts of sugar water per gallon of wine you want to make. However you can varie that drastically all based on the fruit your using. I’m making a mead that starts at 50% black currant juice by volume, then added 3lbs per gallon of fruit.

 

[Coriba]

Can you ferment on the skins like in red wine, pushing down the cap as it rises? Would that extract more colour and flavour? Twenty pounds of berries in a straining bag seems unwieldy.

 

[Seamonkey84]

The bag will make it easier honestly. But you can do it either way. The fruit will still float up with the bag, and the whole thing needs to get punched down. But then you can also hold the bag to the side and degas the must without the fruit bits making a mess of the whole deal. I just mashed 18lbs of grapes in the bag, and about to just pitch yeast to the straigh juice. When I go to remove the fruit from the brew after a week, I’m going to slowly lift the bag out and squeeze it till it doesn’t drip anymore. There will be plenty of dissolved CO2 to prevent oxidation at that point. It will make racking into carboy less wasteful and you won’t get all the big fruit bits going into the siphon.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Dissolved CO2 doesn't prevent oxidation (or off-flavors developing from wild microbes).

Wine can only successfully purge its vessel of oxygen if it's actively fermenting

 

[Seamonkey84]

Dissolved CO2 doesn't prevent oxidation (or off-flavors developing from wild microbes).

Wine can only successfully purge its vessel of oxygen if it's actively fermenting

Good point, but my batches are usually still dropping points when I move them into carboy, I just transfer lees and all to let it finish in a carboy instead of the bucket.

 

[Bubbles2]

Ph Meter and Potassium Bicarbonate before ferment. I do not think you could ever use enough fruit to get enough sugar to get a high enough gravity start, or Sugar Start ie 1090 without sugar or the likes, eg,. Honey.

 

[Bubbles2]

The bag will make it easier honestly. But you can do it either way. The fruit will still float up with the bag, and the whole thing needs to get punched down. But then you can also hold the bag to the side and degas the must without the fruit bits making a mess of the whole deal. I just mashed 18lbs of grapes in the bag, and about to just pitch yeast to the straigh juice. When I go to remove the fruit from the brew after a week, I’m going to slowly lift the bag out and squeeze it till it doesn’t drip anymore. There will be plenty of dissolved CO2 to prevent oxidation at that point. It will make racking into carboy less wasteful and you won’t get all the big fruit bits going into the siphon.

PLUS you want the skins out sooner then later. I quoted because these are the steps, some remove skins within 3-4 days to keep Tannins down, ie., "not so dry"

 

[Blacksmith1]

Dissolved CO2 doesn't prevent oxidation (or off-flavors developing from wild microbes).

Wine can only successfully purge its vessel of oxygen if it's actively fermenting

Again, I did not know this.....
Seriously, I thought if there was enough CO2 in suspension it would keep O2 out. I get that the surface would want to exchange just like a pond or fishtank, I just never thought that far onto it.

 

[Seamonkey84]

PLUS you want the skins out sooner then later. I quoted because these are the steps, some remove skins within 3-4 days to keep Tannins down, ie., "not so dry"

I guess I like it a bit more tannic. I like wines like Cabernets, and I left my first few batches in for 10 days and liked it. They were melomels with black currant juice plus 3lbs per gallon of mixed berries.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I keep tannin to a minimum in my wines as SWMBO doesn't care for the astringency. A little goes a long way for her.

 

[Bubbles2]

I guess I like it a bit more tannic. I like wines like Cabernets, and I left my first few batches in for 10 days and liked it. They were melomels with black currant juice plus 3lbs per gallon of mixed berries.

I too like Cabs, but I add tanins (From the few batches I've done) at the end if needed. You can add but you cannot remove. I am too new to rate or advise, only suggest, if indeed someone did not know that tannis are stronger if skins and seeds are left in longer... (learned that from a white I made) Which was going to be a Chard, but more of a Blanc...