Red WOW

[jansman]

I hope this doesn't come across as a dopey question. I have made plenty of WOW this year, as per the 'how to' here. What ingredients could I use to make a red version please.

 

[bobsbeer]

Unfortunately you can't. Even if you use red grape juice. It will come out a deepish rosé. Some have tried by using concentrated grape juice, beetroot and the results are a reasonable dark red, but still not really a deep red. Your only option is a kit. I would recommend Beverdale, Cal Con etc. You get what you pay for with red kits, So the more you spend the better the final wine. For most of my house reds I spend around £50 for the 30 bottle kits. Which is still not bad for a bottle of decent red.

 

[Boatbrewer]

As bob says. Not really, but you can have a lot of fun trying

 

[bobsbeer]

The main reason is the lack of grape skins. Which made me think. :hmm: While red grapes in the supermarket are not the correct wine variety, I wonder if the skins would work. Crush the grapes, drink the juice, and add the crushed skins into the FV. I must give this a try. Tanin may be an issue, but that can be adjusted for. Anyone tried this?

 

[tonyhibbett]

Dried elderberries give a deep red colour. Although I use red grape juice concentrate rather than juice, it might be worth a try. I also include apple juice, but no orange. If using dessert grapes, which are expensive, select black, rather than red ones.

 

[bobsbeer]

I rarely use OJ as I think apple is a better base juice. I will try it with a couple of bunches in a 1g DJ. I usually never make 1g batches, but in this case I think it's worth starting small. My plan is to crush, then put the skins in the blender. Then pour into the FV. 1 lt red grape and 1 lt apple. Probably still come out rosé due to the apple, but worth a try. I may back off the tannin addition to 1/2 tsp. I doubt eating grapes have the same tannin in the skins as do grape varieties so it will need an addition. Also I will add 1 campden for 48 hours before adding the yeast. Don't want to start a wild yeast fermentation. Although the grapes are probably irradiated so that may not be an issue.

 

[jansman]

Thanks for all that. It has given me food for thought.

 

[mwestin]

hmm what about adding something like sloe skins? or would that alter the flavour completely? or Damsons was another that went quite dark

 

[bobsbeer]

Grapes are on the shopping list. I plan on doing 2 dj's. One just Red grape and apple as the control, the other with the skins. That way I can compare when done.

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Unfortunately you can't. Even if you use red grape juice. It will come out a deepish rosé. Some have tried by using concentrated grape juice, beetroot and the results are a reasonable dark red, but still not really a deep red. Your only option is a kit. I would recommend Beverdale, Cal Con etc. You get what you pay for with red kits, So the more you spend the better the final wine. For most of my house reds I spend around £50 for the 30 bottle kits. Which is still not bad for a bottle of decent red.

I did a red WOW last year using about 1.5Lbs of fresh blackcurrants alongside 2L of red grape juice and some oak chips and black tea. The end result was very definitely a red wine and was (IMO) rather delicious - fruity and slightly sweet, despite fermenting down to .993. A mixture of blackcurrant and elderberry should also work well, and is a wine I intend to make this year, using 250g of elderberries alongside the other ingredients, minus the tea.

hmm what about adding something like sloe skins?

Sloe wine comes out a light purplish pink, has a very strong flavour and takes a long time to mature, so I wouldn't recommend using them for a red WOW unless you want them for flavour, in which case be sparing.

 

[jansman]

Now there is a plan! Where would I get oak chops from?

 

[bobsbeer]

Where would I get oak chops from?

A butcher? :lol: But you can get Oak Chips from most HB shops and online. They come in various depth of toast and french or american.

 

[chrig]

I've got some elderberrys in the freezer which im considering for the next wow type drink. In a low enough quantity so that the tannins don't take years to mellow (like the other 8gallons under the stairs) but enough for some nice colour. Probably rose still rather than red though

 

[jansman]

Where would I get oak chops from?

A butcher? :lol: But you can get Oak Chips from most HB shops and online. They come in various depth of toast and french or american.

That really IS Typo! Reason being I am a Butcher! :thumb:

 

[bobsbeer]

:lol: :lol:

 

[tonyhibbett]

Don't put skins in blender. After crushing, put the whole lot, except stalks, in the brew with some pectolase and ferment for 3 days then strain.

 

[mwestin]

Actually thinking about it - use some blueberry juice - that would quite likely give you a deep red colour. but it would obviously give flavour too and i'm not sure how winey it would taste. Bilberry (same thing but wild version) is on offer in on of the deliver at home supermarkets - a brand called progenic, looks like it's a "not from concentrate" - we stocked up and are intending on making a 5 gallon or more batch. Only drawback it's not super cheap (2.66 for 0.5l), but will still be cheaper than your average cheap bottle of wine. - I was originally intending on using 1.5l/gallon and no red grape juice, but i may now do a bit more and use soem grape juice / gallon instead, running the risk of a less dark red.

(brewed a gallon of bilberry cordial, picked from home, used about 1 1/2litre bilberry cordial and 1/2 litre or so red currant, it ended up a very deep red colour but was a bit sweet. Nice flavour though, i'd aim to ferment out drier with the 5+gallon batch)

 

[chrig]

Twinnings blackberry burst tea bags give a lovely red colour now I think about it not a full red but it might help with some other additions.

 

[tonyhibbett]

According to Berry, bilberries make a better wine than elderberries. Does anyone have a source for dried bilberries?

 

[tonyhibbett]

According to Berry, bilberries make a better wine than elderberries. Does anyone have a source for dried bilberries?