Blackberry wine brewbitz recipe

[soupdragon]

Keep us posted.
This is my first attempt at a wine from actual fruit rather than some form of compound or fruit juice. If it works out I'll be so impressed but I don't get the opportunity to forage so relied on friends and family for this batch

Cheers Tom

 

[soupdragon]

Just racked off the sediment into a clean bucket, cleaned out the demijohn and got the wine back in. Looked crystal clear Will leave it another month or so then bottle. Resisted the urge to have a sample but it smelled absolutely lovely

Cheers Tom

 

[soupdragon]

Left this longer than I was expecting to but that's no bad thing really.
Racked off what little sediment was in the demijohn into a clean 5 litre jug then from there into bottles. Wine is as clear as a bell and a touch lighter than the bottle I was gifted.
I didn't have a taste as I'll be driving presently but the aroma was heady. Even Mrs soupdragon commented. If time permits I'll have a glass of this tonight and report back.

Cheers Tom

 

[user 41945]

As it happens, I racked and tasted my blackberry wine today. Slightly less dry than I had expected, but very pleasant.

 

[soupdragon]

Managed to have a glass earlier.

Very sharp but not too sharp, not acidic. Got some tannin in there too. Rather tasty, plenty of red berry type flavours going on (it's blackberry wine, why wouldn't it?). I don't think the flavour is as strong as the aroma though. Colour is a nice mid red, maybe a very dark rose and not pink at all. Certainly not as deep a red as the kits I do but I wouldn't expect it to be. Overall I'm quite impressed by it. I wonder if it'll improve much more over the coming months?
I'll definitely do this again and if I can blag enough fruit I'd happily do a 5 gallon batch rather than just the one.

Cheers Tom

 

[WinBase]

i have just started to drink the blackberry wine i made last april, and for 2 gallons + a 2 litre 'topup' which produced 13 bottles in the end, i used 3.3kg frozen blackberries from farmfoods for £10, along with 3kg sugar & EC1118 yeast, and that turned out at 13.7% after full fermentation and backsweetening. i was quite surprised at the abv as well compared to other fruits, but it's turned out great, and expect it to only get better with time. GL

 

[Irishwizard]

Good news WB - IMO country fruit wines take at least a year to come good. The blackberry is a wonderful gift and so it should be!

 

[soupdragon]

Would an extra few months smooth out the sharpness do you think?

Cheers Tom

 

[Nicks90]

Definitely.
The difference between the BB wine I have made when bottled at 6 months and then drunk at 12 months is quite startling.
At 6 months it's sharp and the dryness is almost raspy on the back of the throat. Give it another half year and it really mellows out and becomes quite smooth

 

[soupdragon]

I've only ever made kit wine before and am perfectly happy with the results. This is my first go at making wine from fruit so wasn't really sure what to expect, I've read about "real" wine needing months or even years to come good. Now I realise what that difference can actually be. The blackberry is drinkable, and I have enjoyed the half liter or so I've had. As you say though, it's very sharp and a few days after finishing that small bottle I've noticed a slight soreness in my throat. I'll forget about it until around Christmas when I'm sure it'll have mellowed.

Cheers Tom

 

[Tommo 2]

I have every year made five gallons of blackberry wine and never drink any of it until at least 18 months old ( need to have a rolling stock ). So I will store in bulk in demijohns for twelve months, racking twice in that duration, then back sweeten if necessary then bottle and leave a further six months , this process irons out any rough edges and always turn the wine into something dry drinkable. Lucky to have a lot of blackberrys on our allotment in a very large fruit cage

 

[WinBase]

Would an extra few months smooth out the sharpness do you think?

Cheers Tom

It's generally fair to say the longer the better IMHO. when i first started i didnt want to make just quick student bedsit booze, i wanted to try make it as good a quality as i can, and knew that i wouldnt have anything for the first year or therabouts, but once you get rolling and make regular batches it's worth the initial wait i feel. I also dont use kits, only fresh or frozen fruit, i sort of consider kit's 'cheating' lol, even though i know they are often not, and i take pleasure in researching different recipes and techniques, & there's always something new to learn. GL

 

[Nicks90]

And if you have access to an elder tree, elderberry wine is superb! But that definitely needs at least a year.
It's also really good to cut your blackberry with 50% elderberries as that gives you a really deep luscious red wilst retaining a good B/berry nose.

 

[soupdragon]

And if you have access to an elder tree, elderberry wine is superb! But that definitely needs at least a year.
It's also really good to cut your blackberry with 50% elderberries as that gives you a really deep luscious red wilst retaining a good B/berry nose.

I'll remember that one when I get my next donation of fruit got my daughter and her mate on the case as well as an ex work colleague (got an allotment) when the next season comes around.

@WinBase I know what you mean about kits. I brew beer too and continually switch between grain and kits. Been doing a few more kits of late though. Getting lazy in my old age

Cheers Tom

 

[Tommo 2]

couldnt agree more about beer kits, the thing is now days there so good , a far cry from the old boots kits when I first started and good for quick turnaround and the fact is with a lot of them you just can’t tell that there made from a kit ( muntons hazy ) I just sometimes swap out the yeast and add extra hops and with a two hour brew day it’s a no brainier for me. Still enjoy all grain too just so hard to find the time and the impetus with so many other things going on

 

[user 44889]

I've made the Blackberry and Elderberry one in Jan last year. 2.2lb BB and 2lb EB. Also 1ltr red grape juice. Country Crossmyloof yeast, 2.25lbs suger. Bottled in August so a time to wait yet. Came out at 13.23%. Probably wont crack a bottle untill this time next year.

 

[soupdragon]

Right.........

Just cracked open a bottle of the blackberry. The sharp acidity has subsided, the taste is still red berry fruit. It's maybe a little lacking in body/mouth feel but that's the only thing I can "complain" about.
Didn't get any fruit from this season or I definitely would have made another batch. The fruit is too expensive to purchase so need to rely on friends/family to do the foraging thing. If I can get my mits on more fruit I'd try adding some elderberries as suggested in a previous post.
Might have to do some investigation into foraging areas myself and see how lucrative the yield can be.
It's a very tasty wine that deserves to be made again, I just wish the fruit was more readily available

Cheers Tom

 

[user 41945]

If you can find the right open areas, even alongside roads (maybe not main roads), 6 or 8 lbs is viable around here. Next time I might top up with Aldi "wonky" or price matched blueberries if I'm just short a small amount.

 

[soupdragon]

I'm tempted to give a couple of kilos of these

https://groceries.morrisons.com/products/morrisons-wonky-berry-mix-395372011
a go. Might not be very dark but if it works out well enough it'd be a good base to work from

Cheers Tom