"Pure" wines

[Brewtrog]

I've noticed that most recipes for wines call for the addition of extra fruit, mainly raisins, sultanas etc. Is this just for flavour balance, or is it giving other nutriants/whatever to the brew? I'm just interested in trying to get single fruit/flower/veg wines and was wondering if this is possible, or if I might as well give up the idea.

 

[alanywiseman.]

You can make straight berry wines but flower wine really need the addition of rasins or saltanas for body. The general consensious I have seen online is that mixing the fruits like a elderberry and blackberry wine give a more complex flavour.

 

[Mark1964]

just use fruit the juice from fruit and yeast. You will need campden and potassium sorbate though if you want to kill off the yeast before bottling

 

[Brewtrog]

just use fruit the juice from fruit and yeast. You will need campden and potassium sorbate though if you want to kill off the yeast before bottling

I recognise I'm going to have to put nutriants, acids and (if I want to kill off the yeast) sorbate and campden. What I mean is When you get a recipe that says X kg of fruit (or veg or pints of flower), 500g raisins, 1 banana. Is it possible to not bother with the raisins, banana and any other fruit, so that it is just the flavour of the fermented primary ingredient.

 

[Mark1964]

you mean make wine with just one fruit? It can be done ive done it with cherries

 

[fermentall]

Hi BT,single fruit wines are made all the time by many. Gooseberry,redcurrant,dandelion,plum,cherry etc & many more are all good, people add raisins etc to add a bit more body to wines & make them more appealing to people but it all comes down to choice.Some of the best wines i have made have been Raspberry, Redcurrant,Pear & Apple all as singular fruit.If you make a wine & it comes out a bit "thin" add fruit like raisins/sultanas next time & compare. Usually the recipes that say add alternative fruit have been tried & compared & they are normally worth following as it saves months of fermenting & racking to find out the hard way.Happy Fermenting : ken.

 

[oldjiver]

I did go through the stage of wanting to make single fruit wines, as I thought adding commercial grape juice was "cheating" in homemade wines. I made blackberry, elderberry gooseberry apple pear and others. They all made pleasant alcoholic fruit drinks. But they werent like "proper" wine. They lacked the thing called "vinosity". People would say "yes very pleasant" but never asked for a second glass. :sulk: . Then I started adding supermarket grapes, just a pound a gallon, the result was so much better, it was REAL wine. Now I just add a 1ltr carton of Tescos grape juice to whatever I am making and it is usually very good.

 

[bobsbeer]

In my experience adding raisins, sultanas or currants adds that extra vinosity. Banana does add to the body of a wine so depending on style adds that bit extra to the finished wine. To me wine is wine and it doesn't matter if the ingredients are guava or grape. The end result is what matters, and how it tastes. But I'm not a purist, so I will understand if others disagree.

 

[kentmark]

I think this is one of those situations in home brewing where if it works for you then go for it!

I have nothing but respect for people who have developed this hobby way past my knowledge or production capacity and if you have the space/time/equipment to brew over a long time good luck and fair play to ya!

Me? Personally i want something that tastes nice but with an acceptable compromise against the time/space/kit needed to brew.

Each to their own and good luck to you all!

 

[tonyhibbett]

Depends on main ingredient. For example black cherries are fine on their own whereas apples generally require other ingredients. In theory, grape juice should be all you need, but in practice, white with orange juice and red with elderberries give better results. In most cases, time is the important factor, transforming the wine into something beyond the flavour of the ingredients.

 

[nilotic]

I did a straight elderflower and it's good, complex, no need for raisins.
I didn't use finings or campdens or stabilisers and it's still improving now at 6 months.
It's slightly hazy but it really is a nice drop. :)