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Cherry Port

Background: I'm a new wine maker and have successfully completed and been pleased with a couple of wine kits. I have really enjoyed many of the cherry products from the region and while in Traverse City, MI I attained ~130 LBS of IQF (individually quick frozen; no pits) tart cherries. They are still frozen and I have around 90 LBS left after making 5 Gallons of cherry infusion, an excellent cherry ale, and quite a few pies.

Inspirations: Chateau Chantal Cerise A sweet cherry desert wine from the peninsula. From the bottle: "Beginning w/ whole, tart cherries we distill the fruit to its essence (156 proof), then blend it with partially fermented cherry wine."

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Homemade Cherry Infusions

2 Cups Sugar, a sun tea jar full of tart cherries and about 1 Liter of either bourbon or vodka. It's been a big hit at my house for years (we served 2 gallons of it this New Years Eve 2007 and the entire 5 gallons of cherry ale).

Research: As this is my first "scratch" batch I've taken a lot of time to review and research this ng, the incredible Home wine makers manual at

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as well as notes from a class I took here in Cincinnati, Oh taught by Walt Huber.

I spent a lot of time browsing online;

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is incredible, and I think that the recipe discussed on this ng here:
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is the one I'd like to go with (not the first recipe) the Berry Port recipe from:
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The discussion leads me to believe this is a very promising recipe.

Recipe: BERRY PORT (Makes five gallons, US measurements)

6 lbs Blackberries 6 lbs Loganberries 6 lbs Blueberries 6 lbs very ripe bananas 2 lbs dried dates 2 lbs dried figs 4 1/4 gallons of water 10 lbs white granulated sugar 1 level teaspoon yeast energizer 6 level teaspoons acid blend 2 1/2 level teaspoons grape tannin 1 level teaspoon pectic enzyme 5 Campden tablets

Questions: Should I swap all of the fruit with cherries; 24 LBS?

I'm using tarts instead of sweet cherries; obviously a lot of the process is to taste. I think I'd like to try and make a sweet viscous port. I'd like this to be a real crowd pleaser- something you would almost pour over ice-cream or cake. Changes you'd suggest to the initial recipe?

Would glycerol help to get me that full body mouth feel? I realize this is putting the cart before the horse..

I've read that cherries are extremely high in malic acid; would it be worthwhile to try and balance out w/ citric acid from another fruit; for example blueberries as 10-20% (20 LBS Tart Cherries / 4 LBS Blueberries)? If so, source suggestions for blueberries- would frozen bagged from the grocery be ok?

To calculate the fortifications is it simply solving for X, where .15% would be my calculated alchohol %,.45 is a 90 proof liquor, and .20 is my target alcohol %? .15(5 gallons) + .45(x gallons) = .20(5 gallons +x gallons) x = 1 gallon that seems kind of high

I'd like to fortify some of the resulting wine with bourbon instead of everclear to 20%; that explains the above selection of a 90 proof liquor. Is this going to be worthwhile? Are any of the bourbon flavors going to come through? I suppose if it's a actually a gallon addition per above they sure would. Would it be worth using something high end like Blantons?

I would also like to do a chocolate cherry port, but have been unable to find a way to add some chocolate flavoring to the wine. The best lead I found from this ng was the recipes starting with 16 boxes of chocolate covered cherries. Any suggestions here? Ideally I'd split the batch at some point and infuse somehow?

Any other comments or input on the recipe?

Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts and comments on this recipe. Regardless of what direction I finally choose I'll be sure to post the process and results to the new group; this place is an invaluable reference!

Liam

Reply to
Liam Randall
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Liam - So many questions! Here are a few comments, FWIW:

You can use cherries instead of the other berries, but I think I'd keep the bananas, figs and dates. I think they contribute some flavors to the port that complement the berries, so I'd keep them and use 18 lbs (or perhaps more) cherries in place of the other berries.

Worry about whether to add a bit of glycerin after you've finished the wine and are about ready to bottle.

It may well be true that cherries are high in malic acid, but I'm not sure why that would be a problem. Presumably you are not going to put this wine through MLF. You could certainly use some proportion of other fruit, which might increase the citric acid relative to the malic, but then it wouldn't be as focused on the cherry. I don't see why you'd bother, if what you are aiming for is something that is distinctly cherry-flavored.

I think your calculations are correct. There is a tool called the Pearson Square that is intended to simplify this type of calculation. Personally, I find using a bit of high-school algebra works just as well, and is (to me) less confusing.

Yes, you could use bourbon instead of Everclear. I usually use high- proof rum (e.g., Bacardi 151) as I can't buy Everclear in Minnesota. Using higher-proof spirits cuts down substantially on the amount you need to add (and dilution of the wine flavors). No, in my opinion there is no sense in using premium bourbon for something like this -- I'd lean toward Heaven Hill or something similar - drinkable but inexpensive. With all the other flavors in there, plus some sugar, you'd never be able to taste the difference. At least, I'm sure I couldn't.

I can't give you any insights on the chocolate cherry stuff. I've read posts from folks who have done it and seemed very pleased. Personally, I've always thought that chocolate and fermentation didn't really go together very well. There are (were) kits available for making Chocolate Orange Port (RJ Spagnols) and Chocolate Raspberry Port (WinExpert) that have pretty much received rave reviews -- you might want to see if you can find one of them, they'd be a lot more fool-proof.

Happy fermenting --

Doug

Reply to
Doug

Doug-

Thanks so much for your prompt suggestions.

I thought I might like the bananas in there anyway. One of my favorite bourbons, Van Winkle 12 year reserve has a distinct mushed banana undertone. Was planning on keeping the figs and dates.

As far as the blending goes, it seemed to be a very popular suggestion in many of the recipies and guides that I've looked at. Specifically, pg.31 of kitwines.pdf:

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As this is my first batch, I fell like I've got a lot vested in it- I want it to be as good as it can be.

I suspected as much on the bourbons. I've tried making the infusion w/ high end Vodka and Bourbon and after 3 months you can hardly tell the difference between good or "bad" vodka. After a year it's kind of tough to distinguish between bourbon and vodka period. I may experiment anyway and post up some results. Perhaps just a bottle or two. :)

In my research I saw lot's of good references to both of the kits you mentioned. While I didn't exhaust all possibilities all of the links I followed and suppliers I checked were sold out of both kits. Ideally, I'd like to be as close to the "bean" as possible; I suspect that some of the flavor that's transferred from the Forrest Gump method (Boxes of chocolate covered cherries) is additive based flavors- cherry and chocolate alike (ever read Fast Food Nation?). I believe I've seen a chocolate flavor additive at my local brew shop. I'd prefer not to go that route, but will consider it if all of my other options are exhausted. I've had so much luck with my cherry infusion recipe I may give that a shot, however read many negative comments about using cacao powder period I'm somewhat hesitant.

Questions, questions. You should see my log books!

Thanks!

Liam

Reply to
Liam Randall

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