I am a grape wine maker, but want to try blueberry. I found some unpreserved juice in BJ's, made by Wyman's ( who also market frozen wild blueberries) yesterday and will start a small 1 gallon batch. Any advice? Can I ferment dry or will it taste weird? I don't like sweet wines and hate the taste of potassium sorbate. Here goes nothin'
I made a mixed berry wine (that included blueberries) last summer, and it is just off-dry now. It still has a very fruity nose and taste. I think it may taste better sweet, so I intend to sweeten and fortify it to make a port-style wine, after it has aged a wile over oak. That's just a heads up for you now. Grapes have been bred selectively for centuries to provide a complex flavor profile with aging in oaken barrels. Other fruits will probably always have a more simple taste.
I bottled a dry blueberry about three months ago - it's very nice and not at all weird. My fermentation stuck, and from what I've read many people have trouble getting blueberry to ferment out. To minimize the risk of a stuck ferment, I suggest a higher than normal dose of nutrient and keeping the wine, which you should stir daily, in your primary fermenter longer than normal.
I don't have precise numbers for "higher than normal" or "longer than normal", but the next time I make blueberry wine, I intend to double the amount of nutrient and leave the wine in the primary for up to two weeks (or until dry, if that happens first).
I think the risk of a stuck ferment outweighs the increased risk of oxidation in this case.
Good luck and do let us know how it turns out,
Erroll
Hi Lou,
I bought frozen blueberries at Sam's Club for what I thought was a reasonable price - $2 per pound. I have several 5 gallon batches of blueberry wine going now. I agree with others who relate that blueberry produces a wine that is very similar to grape wine, but also that blueberry is difficult to ferment. I had one fermentation that stuck, and I had to add yeast energizer and another packet of yeast. Also, with grape fermentations, they typically are over in one week, but my blueberry fermentations have lasted over one month. You have to be patient, but I think the end result is worth the wait. I have followed recipes by Jack Keller and Gene Spaziani, but I think the best recipe is from Stanley Anderson. He makes the case that lower concentrations of fruit produce more grape-like wines. Also, Anderson provides helpful information on 2nd and
3rd fermentations. I have a 2nd fermentation of blueberry going now that is tasty and extremely cost-effective - basically it it just the cost of 10 pounds of sugar, and I end up with another 5 gallons of wine - lighter color and body than the original, but quite palatable.Best regards for success with blueberries.
Gary
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