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wineberry recipes / advice?

Now that I know I have wineberries (thanks everyone), I'll be ready to start a new batch soon. I made some last year and it's still a bit tart. This year I was careful to follow someone's advice in picking only the very ripest berries. I have 10 lbs of berries, and I'm still picking.

The only wineberry recipe I can find is Jack's. (Not complaining!) Jack's recipe is for:

# 2-1/2 lbs ripe wineberries # 2-1/2 lbs granulated sugar # 1 tsp. acid blend # 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme # 1/4 tsp. tannin # 7-1/2 pints boiling water # 1 crushed Campden tablet # 1 tsp. yeast nutrient # wine yeast

Last year I used 3 lbs berries, and the TA was 0.5%. Checking Jack's site again, he advises: "wines possessing less than the recommended windows of acidity may, due to imbalance, seem too acidic to enjoy". Since 0.5% is at the very low end of acceptable acidity, should I aim for a little higher, contrary to what I would instinctively think?

Would reducing the tannin a bit be wise?

I'm just looking for opinions before I start with this big batch of berries. Otherwise, I'll probably follow the recipe above, and maybe it just needs more than 1 year aging. (Last year's batch is not bad).

PS. I'm just beginning my 2nd year at this. Thanks...

Reply to
Joe
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Hi Joe

About the only thing(s) I might change in Jack's recipe would be to reduce the sugar to just 2 lbs, and make the tannin optional. But such things are just personal judgment calls, so go with your instincts. HTH

Reply to
frederick ploegman

I posted a similar picture last year only to find out that I had wineberries as well. I used Jack's recipe and as of 7/28, I have a gallon that is just about a year old, still a bit tart so will leave it another year and see what it does. Just finished picking enough berries for another batch and hope to make this one soon.

Reply to
Dave M

Here is the quoted recipe:

My comments:

If you used 3 lbs berries with a measured TA of .5% and then added 1 tsp acid to a gallon of liquid, you raised your TA to about .65%. Normally this could be fine, but it might be high for a dry wine from a tart citric fruit. Why add acid when you can use more fruit for that and get flavor for free?

Next time, simply use more berries until TA is .6%, and omit the acid blend. Make sense?

Roger Quinta do Placer

Reply to
ninevines

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