Blackberry Crush into Wine

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SoCalBrewing

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My girlfriend has turned me onto Blackberry Crush from Trader Joes. I just looked at the ingredients and its made with Apple, White Grape, and Blackberry juices. There are no preservatives, and its 100% juice. It looks like it has 29 grams of sugar per 8oz, which apple juice alone is about 30. I figured this would make a perfect juice to turn in to alchol. I was going to use the standard apfelwein recipe (5 gallons of juice, and 2 lbs dextrose, pluse the montrachart yeast), only substituting this juice for the apple juice.

Any thoughts on what to expect, or recommendations for changing the recipe?

Thanks,
John
 
I would imagine this might be better received if you skip the sugar addition. It would make a nice drink with the straight juice. I just feel you will lose a lot of the flavor you enjoy in the juice, by adding the sugar and drying it our further.

Though it will most likely turn out great either way! so enjoy!
 
I already have the extra sugar laying around, so Ill make up a batch tonight with that. Ill see how that goes, and if its as tasty as I hope it is, Ill try varying the recipe a bit.

Ill keep you all posted :mug:
 
So weird, I've often thought the same looking at all of the juices Trader Joe's has. What kind of yeast did you use, montrachart? I know nothing of wine making, but I'd like to try.
 
Yes, I used the montrachett. Its fermenting good now too. I had the sulphur funk smell now :)

I figure it will be ready for a taste around May 1st.

If you try another juice, let me know how it turns out.
 
Montrachet is notorious for that sulfur smell and its typically from lack of nutrients causing a stressed yeast. After it is done fermenting and after stabilizing the wine, if you want to sweeten it back and bring back some of the lost flavor, get some more of that juice (say 2 quarts if you are making a 6 gallon batch) and simmer it on the stove top in a pot until it is about 1/4 the size it was, let it cool to room temp and add t to your wine. This is what i do with all my fruit wines.
 
Wade E said:
Montrachet is notorious for that sulfur smell and its typically from lack of nutrients causing a stressed yeast. After it is done fermenting and after stabilizing the wine, if you want to sweeten it back and bring back some of the lost flavor, get some more of that juice (say 2 quarts if you are making a 6 gallon batch) and simmer it on the stove top in a pot until it is about 1/4 the size it was, let it cool to room temp and add t to your wine. This is what i do with all my fruit wines.

Why simmer? Does it bring out the flavor, kill off bacteria, get some of the sugar out?
 
It reduces the amount of liquid you will be adding but keeps all the flavor and sweetness (It concentrates it) so that you dont dilute it too much. this also helps so that you dont have to extract to much wine in the carboy to add this.
 
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