Hi folks, my girlfriend decided to make some blackberry wine with blackberries picked from her mam's garden, she doesn't know how many she got, but she covered them in boiling water then mashed them up, then strained them into a bucket. I would say there is about 2 liters in there, what would be the next steps? I have some wine yeast and nutrient. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
blackberry wine, help needed
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IainM
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Do you have a hydrometer? That would let you know how much sugar is in there, and whether you need to add more to get it to wine strength.
Have a look at this - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=55577
Robin54
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My old recipe book gives 3 pounds of fruit gives 1 gallon of wine....this will keep you picking for weeks so assuming you have 2 pounds
top up with some concentrated grape juice..maybe 8floz.. and you will have a very nice wine, I've made loads in the dim and distant past.
You don't need any fancy kit...just volume.
top up with some concentrated grape juice..maybe 8floz.. and you will have a very nice wine, I've made loads in the dim and distant past.
You don't need any fancy kit...just volume.
Some pectolase will break that fruit down to get you a lot more juice, you will need more sugar unless you want blackberry "light" wine, acidity may be needing some adjusting (citric acid or a slight squeeze of lemon juice), tannin for some bite (use 1/2 mug of boiling water with a few teabags in it). You could bulk it out a bit more by adding a litre of apple or red grape juice, other than that add your nutrient and yeast and you should be good to go.
So should I add pectolase and sugar to it while its in the bucket and let it break down first? How long for if so? Then would it be a case of transferring it to a demijohn and topping up with grape or apple juice, then adding yeast and nutrient?
I do have a hydrometer, what kind of reading should I be aiming for?
I'm used to brewing beer, never touched wine, hence the complete noob questions....
I do have a hydrometer, what kind of reading should I be aiming for?
I'm used to brewing beer, never touched wine, hence the complete noob questions....
Don't know how I missed this just now, thats exactly what I was looking for! She has already strained it out, would adding the bits and bobs after it's strained give the same results? I assume it would....?
IainM
Landlord.
How long was it left before straining?
Did you add a crushed campden tablet?
Robin54
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please let the OP know how many pounds of fruit he needs please..lets be fair here...only because most of the old books and they were old ...sorry
3lbs of fruit provided 1 gallon of wine. Obviously one can use some grape juice as a substitute if one only has half the amount of fruit needed. Hope this makes sense. I don't think you need to add tannins ( T bags) to blackberries or any red fruits in fact,,thats why they are red. Been making blackberry wine since the '70's.
A bit of grape juice to make up the difference is good.
If you're making wine from fresh fruit, we recommend that you add one Campden tablet per gallon before the fermentation. This is the standard dose. If you are making wine from a packaged juice, this step is not necessary.
Be sure that you wait 24 hours before adding the wine yeast, or the Campden tablets may kill the wine yeast. Also during this 24 hour waiting period, be sure the fermenter is not sealed. Leave the fermenter open to the air. If you like, you can cover it with a very thin towel or netting to keep bugs and fallout from getting to it. The sulfur dioxide from the Campden tablets need the opportunity to dissipate into the air during this time.
Be sure that you wait 24 hours before adding the wine yeast, or the Campden tablets may kill the wine yeast. Also during this 24 hour waiting period, be sure the fermenter is not sealed. Leave the fermenter open to the air. If you like, you can cover it with a very thin towel or netting to keep bugs and fallout from getting to it. The sulfur dioxide from the Campden tablets need the opportunity to dissipate into the air during this time.
She mashed it, strained it straight away, then covered it up and its been sitting for about 24 hours....
Did you add a crushed campden tablet?
What Do Campden Tablets Do?
The original reason these tablets were used in wine making was to keep the wine from spoiling after it had been bottled. By adding these tablets at bottling time, you could virtually eliminate any chance of your wine falling victim to mold, bacteria and other foreign enemies.
Since their introduction into wine making, they have also become routinely used for sterilizing the juice prior to fermentation. By adding Campden Tablets a day before adding your wine yeast, you can start your fermentation with a clean slate, so to speak. All the unwanted micro organisms will be gone.
- See more at: http://www.eckraus.com/blog/campden-tablets-what-they-can-and-cant-do#sthash.2KL9sc4R.dpuf
What Do Campden Tablets Do?
The original reason these tablets were used in wine making was to keep the wine from spoiling after it had been bottled. By adding these tablets at bottling time, you could virtually eliminate any chance of your wine falling victim to mold, bacteria and other foreign enemies.
Since their introduction into wine making, they have also become routinely used for sterilizing the juice prior to fermentation. By adding Campden Tablets a day before adding your wine yeast, you can start your fermentation with a clean slate, so to speak. All the unwanted micro organisms will be gone.
- See more at: http://www.eckraus.com/blog/campden-tablets-what-they-can-and-cant-do#sthash.2KL9sc4R.dpuf
I will leave it to those that make "proper" wine to advise further.
If you want to make great tasting, quick and cheap wine that you "can" drink in a fortnight have a look at this - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49462
.
If you want to make great tasting, quick and cheap wine that you "can" drink in a fortnight have a look at this - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49462
.
Heh without the OP knowing what he started with its hard for any of us to know where he is at in regard to quantities, i typically add 1 litre of water to the boil for 1.5kg (3lbs fruit) and can end up in the region of 2-3litres of must from that, this at least gives me a rough idea of juice to water ratio if its nearer 1 litre juice i bulk it out with something else. Tannin levels will depend on the fruit and how long skin contact is with the must, if its just been boiled and strained i would hazard it will be quite low.
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