Blackberry Wine - is it REALLY this easy??

Thanks Cosmic. I was hoping for some views on the currently running periodicals like Wine Maker (http://www.winemakermag.com/). I can get that MEN article though, so will have a look. I have a few books I refer to as well that talk about basic recipes for everything you can think of.

I haven't tried grapes though, just pears, apples, blackberries, elderberries and mixed fruit.

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Those magazines are OK for ideas once you have the techniques down how to make it. They tend to be more about "Secrets" and selling something. Most aren't there to do very cheap homebrew. Nice to read if you don't mind the subscription prices.

For the grapes most folks never will be able to get the quality grapes needed for free. Just about kills it. Better to cut out the middleman and just buy good quality wine in bottles at the store. In the bigger cities can find stuff from all other the World for fair money.

Everything I did was using home scronged stuff for the containers. Had a lot of the glass and big plastic spring water bottles. Got all the wine bottles from parties and stuff I bought. Only really ever bought sugar, the hydrometer, wine locks, test kits and additives. Had the stuff for like 3 cents a bottle.

I tried the cherry, had lots of cherries. Made a poor wine. Never got to try a plum, hear those can be good. Tried a wild grape, whoa was horrible. #9 paint stripper. Same with Concord grapes, makes a poor wine. Even the Siebels I grew were poor. Nice in the juice stage, poor wines. Some of those tomato wines, folks made were interesting. Not very high on the list of finished great ones but sure can get the raw products cheap. One neighbor did make a dynomite dandylion brew. Lot of work. Dandylion and raisin is nice. Nice, lite and good for parties as the opener. We used to sip it playing cards.

Fun to get labels or make your own. Way back then, used to go to Treasure Island in Frisco Bay a lot. Wound at Fisherman's Wharf at this watering hole called The Cannery. They sold huge amounts of wine that were drank at tables. Top stuff, got a ton of labels off the empties. Pasted on my stuff and gave them for Xmas. Laugh, lot of folks thought they got the real stuff.

Made some really powerful stuff. 18% that was frozen to concentrate the stuff even more. Tasted about like a mild jet fuel. Bottled some with my own labels for gifts. Such brands as O' Bee Joyful, Olde Pop Skull, ---- Red, Fallen Hero.

Think it is a wonderful hobby but a fellow has to understand you are probably not going to create any World prize winning brews.

Nice to make batches and keep them for a lot of years. The fruit stuff does get a lot better with age. Don't bottle it, keep in bulk on its dregs. Peach and pear can get pretty mellow. Was good to just take an idea and run with it, didn't cost much. I did learn don't try to blend away bad wines by using your good ones. Throwing good after bad. Make your friends drink the bad.

Well, I took them up on their "free issue" offer, which won't come for about 2 months since it is a bi-monthly magazine. But if it stinks, I won't keep the subscription. They have some stuff on the website as well, inlcuding methods and ingredients lists, etc.

I agree about dandelion wine. Picking the dandelions for a gallon batch was tedious. It is of course still aging now.

Yes, brewing wine and beer are fun hobbies and I really enjoy doing it.

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Cosmic did say<<"I tried the cherry, had lots of cherries. Made a poor wine. Never got to try a plum, hear those can be good. Tried a wild grape, whoa was horrible. #9 paint stripper. Same with Concord grapes, makes a poor wine. Even the Siebels I grew were poor. Nice in the juice stage, poor wines. Some of those tomato wines, folks made were interesting. Not very high on the list of finished great ones but sure can get the raw products cheap. One neighbor did make a dynomite dandylion brew. Lot of work. Dandylion and raisin is nice. Nice, lite and good for parties as the opener. We used to sip it playing cards.">>


Hi Cosmic & Y'all,

FME, the problem with the straight cherry juice might have been the type cherries you used. Pie cherries make bad wine because of high acid. That'd be the problem with wild Grapes or Concord Grapes too. The same could be said for Catawba Grapes or Niagra Grapes. They have way too high acid content andmake very sour or bitter wine. They are not like "Wine Grapes" at all. Different genus of Grape.

With all these it is a lot better to cut the juice by half or two-thirds, to get the acid content down. Then add a lot more sugar.
Of course those pits or grape seeds contain lots of tannin that's bitter too.
Best to get those out at the very beginning.
I like to use corn sugar in mine. It seems to ferment easier than regular table sugar.

I use to make a lot of wine. But I haven't for several years. I mostly make Mead, in any of it's styles. I like Sack, or Sweet Mead and Braggot/Brackett,
which is Mead made with the addition of Malt. Usually the Malt is about
20% to 25% of the total sugars. The rest being Honey.

Mead is just Honey, Water, & Yeast, with a bit of lemon juice or tea,
added to give it character/bite. Many Folks add a yeast nutrient also, though to speed up the process.

But, nowadays, I brew way more Beer & Ale than anything else.
It's quicker, to make. Quicker to drink too.
Only a couple more steps than Wine or Mead.

Hey, It's All-ll-ll Fun.
Here's to Brewing & Brewers!

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could someone please tell me if I could make blueberry brandy using the same method as the blackberries...or are blueberries "too different?"

We've got a bumper crop!

Yes. May have to watch that it does not get too dry but can be sweetened later to taste.

Update re: Wine Maker magazine.

I got my free issue and it just isn't for me. Lots of info re: traditional grape wines and buying the right grape juice kits, etc. A bit stodgy. I am more of a country wine maker, starting with fresh fruits I have on hand. They do have a back issue that addresses this that I might order sometime. Their website is interesting and worth looking at, but you might not want to subscribe depending on your level of committment (I personally am not striving to make a Rhone wine similar to the imports).

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There is a winemaking book called "Successful Wine Making At Home" by H.E. Bravery. Easy to follow instruction on various types of wines. We have made a very nice plum wine and currently have 10 gallons of blackberry brewing. All the things you need can be found at Nichols Nursery in Oregon. It can be a fascinating hobby. Hope your efforts are favourable.

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I have made some very acceptable wine using Euell Gibbons recipe in his book Stalking the Wild Asparagus. I like it because it is simple and as I'm not a wine connoiseur (sp) it suits me. I can't find the book right at this time. Rita in TN

Heres a site I use. Everyone from beginers to pros. Fruit wine to wine kits and wine grapes.
www.winemakersworld.com

it is important to let a proven strain of yeast get the first crack at the must, that's why people add yeast.

Just a quick note: blackberries can stick in fermentation and end up too sweet. This can be nice, like a low-alcohol blackberry cooler, but if you want it to ferment the whole way, balance your acids and tannins and make sure there are nutrients. A squeeze of lemon and a shot of black tea always helps my meads.

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Hi Y'all,
I was reading through this thread & came to the part about making Brandy.

Brandy is NOT a wine. Brandy is a Liquor. It is made by *Distilling* wine, made from grapes or other fruit. Brandy generally contains closer to 40%
alcohol by volume, about 80 Proof. No way to make it without some form
of distilling.

You can call wine, "Brandy" but they are two different things.
Cognac is a type of Brandy, very good Brandy.
Have fun.

__________________
Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

I canned mulberry juice with sugar added, can I use this to make brandy or wine?

Yes.

By the purest/some definitions you are correct.
However, brandy - or so called brandy can be made by fortifying wine with alcohol usually a cheap brandy.
Also the french only consider that which is made from grapes to be wine and all other is termed or called something else.