2003 Blueberry - stats

ninevines 23 years ago

Hello all,

I thought I'd post a data point for those interested in volume of liquid from weight of fruit. I am making blueberry wine from fresh New Jersey blueberries, just in season.

I purchased 3 trays, containing 36 pints plus overage, or about 37 pints total. The total weight of berries was about 30 lbs. I added 2 US gallons (7.57L) of water, plus about 5 lbs of sugar.

After fermenting on the skins for 3 days, the must was first strained of free run liquid, and then the berries pressed in a basket press (3x) to yield a total liquid volume of about 20.8L.

My calculation is this:

Water 7.57L Sugar 1.89L (half US gallon) Blueberry juice 11.34L (about 3 US gallons) ------ TOTAL 20.80L

So there you have it. Roughly 10 lbs (12.3 pts) blueberries per gallon, or

2.65 lbs (3.26 pts) per liter. Just thought someone would be interested. I certainly would have been, before I started making this wine!

Regards, Roger Quinta do Placer

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ninevines 23 years ago

Nope, it leans towards a plum color - reddish blue. The more skin exposure, the darker it is. It is similar to a light red grape wine, like a Beaujolais Nouveau.

Roger Quinta do Placer

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ninevines 23 years ago

I froze them first for 2 days. You *could* just add them, but I think freezing helps them break down and become easier to crush. I didn't crush them perfectly, just mashed as much as practical with a potato masher. The yeast and pectic enzyme did the rest.

No. I was able to reclaim an additional 3L from the berries this way. However, I would have had almost 5 gal even if I didn't. I did squeeze the berries by hand in a straining bag though, and that's important to do or you waste a lot of potential liquid.

Best? Dunno. Probably in the south where you can pick your own. I got them up north at a pick your own place (too north for blues), freshly shipped from a farm in the south. Price was not great - $2.25 a pint! Ouch.

Lalvin 71B. It's rockin'. No problem with sluggish blueberry as I've read about.

I have, but this year I am doing it totally differently so I can't judge the method yet. I only know I love dry blueberry wine. Total sugar was actually 5 lbs + 5 cups. The must before chaptalizing was about 1.030. After addition, starting SG was 1.095. I added acid blend to TA .65%.

Roger Quinta do Placer

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