Right. Raspberry wine. Will this work?

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Athelstane

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I desperately need some freezer space back so am attempting a raspberry wine. Before I bugger this one up, I'd be grateful to anyone pointing out the flaws in this plan (for 3 gallons):

- last night, defrosted 5kgs raspberries, bunged in some pectolase and left overnight with 200g raisins and a banana
- today, added 4kgs of dissolved sugar
- in a bit, will add nutrient and yeast
- starting SG - 1.100
- rack after 5-7 days
- wait until SG under 1.000 and do small dance of relief and success

Will that work?

I haven't used tannin as raspberries are fairly tart anyway - is that a really stupid assumption?
 
They create the most god-awful floaty sludge if my cider was anything to go by...

It looked for all the world like someone up-chucked into my FV. :sick:
 
Excellent, thank you!

[4 whole extra people to blame when it goes **** up]

So no added extras - in a 5 gallon bucket in case it's too lively - raisins a good idea - Don't Look In The Bucket.

Off to put the yeast in now it's cooler - I'll let you know if it really is that lively.

Thanks again, really appreciate it.
 
Blimey - I've done a handful of attempts at wine before, but this is lively lively. Over 60 burps per minute - from 3 gallons in a five gallon bucket.

I am extremely relieved I didn't do a trial 1 gallon in the demijohn - it would have been on the ceiling and down the walls by now.
 
Well, somebody is doing a quick two step for me somewhere - as the wine is still thundering on here. Took a SG reading yesterday when I was breaking up the crust and it's already on 1018, with no signs of slowing.

That's in just 6 days! The fruit wines I've previously tried have all taken at least 5 or 6 weeks to meander down to this level.

I haven't really tasted it yet (OK, I licked the spoon) but it has lost it's raspberry jam taste for something a lot more subtle. Quite excited about this one now, and definitely reconsidering my decision to give half my raspberry canes away.
 
This sounds like a tasty wine. Will definitely give this a try when I get some more DJs or buckets :thumb:

Can I just use regular raspberries?
 
Erm, I should think so? I don't know what 'irregular' raspberries would be? Mine were just off the canes in the back garden and straight into the freezer (I was getting about a kilo a day off them for a few weeks and couldn't keep up even giving them away).

If you mean non-frozen, then yes - I only freeze to get as much juice out as possible when they defrost. If you mean shop-bought, then I can't see why they wouldn't work - I don't think fresh fruit is treated with preservatives (I may be wrong).

Mine weren't a fancy variety (just Tulameen), although it's possible later fruiting varieties will have more sugar in than the early Summer ones (if you want to get VERY pedantic).
 
Athelstane said:
If you mean shop-bought, then I can't see why they wouldn't work - I don't think fresh fruit is treated with preservatives (I may be wrong).
Click to expand...

Most fruit is irradiated to kill off any nasties. It is then stored at low temperatures, with ethylene (the ripening-fruit pheromone) carefully monitored to ensure that the fruit ripens just as it gets to the shop.
 
Opinions please!

Unbelievably, my raspberry wine has just about finished fermenting after one week! It's down from a starting SG of 1.100 to 1.000, and although it's still fermenting (2 to 3 bpms), initial tasting is very tart and measurements suggest it's just over 13.5%.

Now I don't want rocket fuel, I want decent, sensible, sober, grown-up wine. So should I try and stop it now at a sensible alcohol level, and never mind the natural progression. Or should I let it ferment out and then backsweeten because it will taste better that way.

Any ideas? I've not had this dilemma before; previous wines have always tottered and died around the 12% mark.
 
Well, if anyone's reading... the answer was I sort of did both.

As in, I let in carry on fermenting for another 3 or 4 days and then chickened out and turned it's life support machine off (the brew belt - it's FREEZING in this house). Since then I've let it settle, racked it once - it's clearing well so I may not bother chucking finings in at all.

My only issue is that it is as tart as predicted. TART! So now I have something else to dither about - should I leave it to age for a year (or 20) and assume it will mellow, or do I need to sweeten it first. Does tartness even mellow with time, or is that only 'roughness' and tannins? And if it doesn't, what to sweeten with? It does taste of pure, wonderful, raspberryness so I don't want another fruit flavour in there (so no grape juice etc).

Oh I don't know!!!!! I've not had this problem before - usually my fruit wines have died before they've fermented out all the sugar. Help!
 
oooh, ISTR! Good.

(is that 'ISTR', as in 'indisputably, solidly, truthfully, reliably', or 'ISTR', as in 'in some tenuous results'?)

Actually, someone donated to me a bottle of excellent, highly expensive, white wine. And as it is a very long time since I have had a bottle of excellent, dry white wine I had rather forgotten how puckery it can be. I am beginning to imagine how my raspberry might taste like this (only more raspberryish) with 12 months' mellowing.

Unless anyone else says otherwise I think our jury of two carries the day. Leave it alone. I will taste and update and make you all insanely jealous in 12 months' time...
 
Yep, leaving it alone is a good idea, and I did do the chuck an experimental gallon into a DJ and it did explode making my motherinlaws kitchen look like a murder scene. :whistle:
 
I Seem To Remember

Give it time to clear, de-gas and stabilise, bottle it a bit after that, see what the bit you get off the siphon tastes like. 3 months in bottle may well be enough, but no doubt longer would be better.
 

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