Oaking blackberry?

I hope you can still find some blackberry in that wine you are making. I have tried adding bananas but did not really feel it did much. I had a batch oxidize and I have sweetened and fortified it and added some oak to see if I can turn it into something like a sherry. It is in the works so I will let you know in a few months. I generally like my blackberry to be blackberry but it should blend well with most things. It has a robust flavor but it tends not to keep long. Maybe all that blending will help in that regard.

Ray

To that last question, I've always thought that oak would be nice on blackberry. I'd use French oak.

As for all the rest of all that stuff, what the *hell* were you _thinking_? ;^)

I could see adding bananas (for mouthfeel) and honey (for body+), but forget all the concentrate - especially Labrusca (Welch's). Raisins tend to add a ...well, _raisiny_ flavor, and I don't know what figs would add, but I'll bet it'd be better in a _white_ wine. IOW, I'd leave both of those out too.

Just get the best, ass-kicking blackberries you can find, add bananas and honey if you must*, set the Brix to ~23 and the pH to ~3.4, and hit it with yeast and a generous dose of oak beans. A double handful of oak is nice for ~10 gallons of must.

Save the beans at the first racking, wash them off and dump them back into the wine in an amount you're comfortable with. A little extra won't hurt, but none is OK too.

If the wine seems too oaky, you can adjust that via fining later, if necessary.

Tom S

If you ask me, adding all of these ingredients will just add to the complexity and quality of the final product. There is nowt wrong with experimenting!!!