# Making wine from fresh fruit



## Zookeeper (Sep 7, 2006)

Any winemakers out there? We have made wine from kits in the past but now DH wants to make some out of all these blackberries. I have found some websites with winemaking info but the reading seems cumbersome. Is making wine from real fruit really that complicated??

I guess if we are going to have to spend hours researching and reading that is what we'll do but I was hoping maybe someone here had experience who may be able to give me the basics in a less rambling format :help:

I think we were naive in thinking that making wine this way would actually be simpler than from a kit!


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

DH did a lot of research on line and now is making his own wine. We have made muscadine, strawberry, blackberry and when we get enough of our pitiful peaches we will try that. We bought a Mehu-Lisa to juice all the fruit and purchased several 5 gallon glass jars. DH keeps track of everything he does as far as how much sugar and has gauges for checking several things. I just juice the fruit for him. 

The juicer, and the wine bottles and the yeasts etc. cost a little but I like wine and so does he and since we like knowing what goes into what we eat and drink we both enjoy it quite a lot. 

Do a search for Winemaking.jackkeller that is what DH uses
Nancy


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2010)

There was someone who posted here who blogged and one of the things she made was "Prison Hootch". I remember reading it and thinking it sounded easy. 

Now that I have an abundance of blackberries, I wish I had the recipie! A nice glass of blackberry wine sounds really good!


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## rb30909 (Dec 25, 2006)

Here is Dana's recipe. I make it all the time, simple and good!

http://homesteadinghousewife.blogspot.com/2007/11/homemade-wine-101-hiccup.html

Cheers!


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## mullberry (May 3, 2009)

Tonya said:


> There was someone who posted here who blogged and one of the things she made was "Prison Hootch". I remember reading it and thinking it sounded easy.
> 
> Now that I have an abundance of blackberries, I wish I had the recipie! A nice glass of blackberry wine sounds really good!


Dang our black berries have been all gone for2 months. I want more


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

The next best thing to using pure fruit juice is the fruit. For the quantity of fruit required to make 5 gallons of wine, print out the basic recipe chart from Kraus.

www.eckraus.com/wine-making-recipes.html

Martin


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

How about wine out of zucchini?


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

steff bugielski said:


> How about wine out of zucchini?


LOL if you make it, I will try it.
Nancy


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

steff bugielski said:


> How about wine out of zucchini?


It's done in England. Look for marrow squash wine recipes. 

Martin


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## Rockytopsis (Dec 29, 2007)

Yep, sent a link on that link to DH's computer. Squash is done for this year, maybeeee next year.
Nancy


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## Puddin (Mar 31, 2003)

I have made wine for many years....
After looking at the "prison wine" recipe... well, that's what I make! 
Cept I add a bit of brewers yeast to the mixture to start it off. In 5 gallons of liquid I would add 1 packet of yeast.
I also taste test it, when I feel it's done (or after the 30 days) and if I feel it needs more sweetener, I dissolve some sugar in water and add it, let the mixture ferment some more until it stops bubbling.
Yes, I store my wine in any ole bottle that I can get a good seal on. VERY clean, of course.
I have added herbs and spices to my wines as well. Pear wine with cinnamon... delicious! Dandelion wine with sliced lemon added.... mmm.....Lime isn't quite as good. 
Oh... don't make pumpkin wine.. it's nasty! Even made with brown sugar... nasty nasty!
Gloria


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## Zookeeper (Sep 7, 2006)

Well...DH has two batches of blackberry wine going, using the recipes/information on the Jack Keller website.

I am going to try the "prison wine" recipe 

Can't wait to compare!!


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## Ryan NC (Jan 29, 2009)

I make blackberry every year, some are better than others! I find that BBwine turns out better for me in wetter years where i live and i think it has something to do with the natural sugars in the fruit.

My basic per gallon of wine is:
4lbs blackberries 
1 lb banana's (half with peel on)
roughly 2.5lbs sugar (I use hydrometer to 12.5%)
1 tsp pectic enzyme 
1/3 pound berries juiced and frozen to back sweeten with later. 

I boil about half my volume of water i.e. 3 gallon batch would boil 1.5 gallons water and pour it directly on the fruit in a five gallon primary to help kill any nasties. After it's cooled a bit i mash the berries as best i can and campdon the batch. cover in plastic wrap overnight to cool and pitch yeast 12-24 hours later.

I personally like DC-12 and e-1116 yeast on blackberry. DC-12 is slow as molasses but I think it brings a nice spicy/earthy tone to the end product that is hard to describe and is generally what i use.

Biggest thing I've found with blackberry wine is to get it off the seeds after 2-3 days... in off years you'll get a tanic bite that can't be removed later if you go much past 3 days.

I sulfate and back sweeten to 2-2.5 residual sugar (semi sweet) after racking 2-3 times every 30 days. I bulk age and allow to clear for a year and then see if it's worth bottling or not. If you aren't happy with the wine at 12 months (slightly off but not contaminated) blackberry wine makes for a killer sangria base. 

Best wishes,
Ryan


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## deb_rn (Apr 16, 2010)

Check out Winepress.us.... great info on winemaking. I started 2 yrs ago... free fruit makes the BEST wine...

Debbie


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

Blackberry wine is second only to blueberry. Put some raisins or grape concentrate (the wine making kind not Welch's) in for some body and complexity. 
Just finished last year's last bottle.


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## lunagardens (Jul 17, 2005)

I have 3-1 gallon batches of blackberry I made from this years crop. Each one w/ a different yeast. I used a montrachet in one batch and it has been reading as a semi sweet where the others are a bit more dry.
As for the seeds, they have nylon mesh bags at brew suppliers- I put my berries in there and squeeze the heavens out of it with my hands.I have had just a few seeds get through those holes. I highly recomend this route.I'd say I invest about 10 minutes work with that process.-a small mesh bag about 1/2 full of berries.
It is kinda like when your squeezing juice for making jelly. As a matter of fact, that is why I began this hand squeeze process from not having a jelly bag- I just grabbed the nylon mesh bag- put a colander in a bowl (mine is a metal with a taller round base). I start squeezing, pressing it into the colander. They were almost as dry as my 12ton press does for the apples. My tabletop press takes longer with the smaller batches. I prefer doing the hand squeeze.
I never used a kit. I jumped right in and use the packet yeast, nutrient & campden tablets for my recipe. not confusing process. But I like drinking mine in under a year or two. Not sure if that really affects long term storage. 
Happy wine adventures!


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## chuckhole (Mar 2, 2006)

We have made wine from blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and mulberries. My favorite has been the blueberry. But blackberry and raspberry make the most wonderful vinegar. If you want to expand your wine making horizon, look into obtaining some mother of vinegar bacteria for turning some of that wine into vinegar. This will add some real splash to the salads from the garden and it stores and ages just as well as wine. I like to experiment with infused oils using fresh herbs and some different types of vinegar. If you want to get some ideas, just see what Williams Sonoma has to sell and try and make it yourself. By the ounce, vinegars will fetch a premium dollar over a decent table wine.


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## chuckhole (Mar 2, 2006)

Ryan NC said:


> Biggest thing I've found with blackberry wine is to get it off the seeds after 2-3 days... in off years you'll get a tanic bite that can't be removed later if you go much past 3 days.


We found this to be a reall pain also. Just a few years ago, we were researching strainers for tomatos and grapes and came accross this item. It has about 6 different screen sizes, one of which is excellent for getting those seeds out of the berries. It is excellent for jelly making too.

http://www.everythingkitchens.com/back_to_basic_foodstrainer.html


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm really cheap, and so I do it cheaply. A gallon of water from WM, pour some out. Drop in two cups of sugar, a bunch of fruit, a package of yeast (just plain bread yeast). It's best to kind of dissolve the sugar into the water before you add fruit and yeast. Stick a balloon on the top of the jug and prick it with a pin. Leave it sit in a cool, dark place for three weeks or even longer if the balloon is still full, if it's limp then it's ready to move.
Pour the wine through a coffe filter into quart jars, and store for 3 months in a cool dark place. Do the same, just pouring off the top and leaving the dregs, or siphon it into new jars. Leave sit another three mo. Do it again, leaving the dregs, and siphon again into clean qt jars. Store another 6mo.
In about a year with 3-4 siphoning, you have about 3qt of decent wine that only costs a tsp of yeast and a couple of cups of sugar. You don't really have to buy the gallon of water to start, but it's just easy to use that jug, and it's less than a dollar.


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