Good year for wine

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Butterbean
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Good year for wine

Post by Butterbean » Sat Jul 07, 2018 20:48

I believe this will be a good year for wine. A load of blueberries was turned down by a grocery chain because they claimed they were too sweet. Too sweet? Taste fine to me but whatever they say I guess. Being one to help out I agreed to dispose of these foul berries. I wish I could have helped more but its all I could fit in the bed of my truck but I could go back and load up again but after spending the day juicing and processing them I'm wondering if I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.


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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Sun Jul 08, 2018 14:53

It's amazing what gets thrown away isn't it? I used to get cases of mushrooms in a similar way. Takes awhile to can that many mushrooms but worth the effort.....and you can't beat the price
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Post by bolepa » Sun Jul 08, 2018 16:00

Dispose them just because they are too sweet??!! Amazing.... First I though this is a joke.
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Post by Butterbean » Sun Jul 08, 2018 16:07

I would love to find a source for mushrooms. I love them.

Fingers crossed, but before long I hope to have a source for truffles. Friend of mine should have picked up a truffle dog this weekend and if it works out I'll let him hunt truffles in my orchards on shares. So maybe in the future you will have a friend in the truffle business. Though they are said to be worth $400/lb I don't plan on monetizing them and plan on thinking of them as free scroungeings. Maybe you and Redzed could come up with a good truffle infused salami and I can send you the truffles - free of charge of course - except of course for the mandatory sample stick so I can be sure they meet quality standards. :mrgreen:

BTW - I worked my tail off yesterday juicing and processing the berries. I'd give my pinky for a few more carboys and about 430 empty wine bottles. :mrgreen:
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Post by Bob K » Mon Jul 09, 2018 14:02

Butterbean wrote:BTW - I worked my tail off yesterday juicing and processing the berries.
Aww quit (wine)ing :grin: :grin: :grin:

BriCan was working on a truffle salami, he never said how it turned out.
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopi ... t=truffles
Butterbean wrote:and about 430 empty wine bottles
I bet restaurants would save you some
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Post by redzed » Wed Jul 18, 2018 06:42

Hi Joe,
I was away camping and off grid when you posted this. You mention juicing the berries. Why not crush and ferment on the skins. That is where the colour, tannins and additional flavour is. While I have never made wine from blueberries, I have tasted some excellent ones made by guys in the winwmaker's club I belong to.
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Post by Butterbean » Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:50

Blueberry wine is one of my favorites.

That is how I normally do it but I had recently bought a Mehu Lisa steam juicer and gave this a try thinking it would be simpler than having to deal with the bag of pulp. I also thought using this would aid in clearing the wine. As is often the case with my thoughts I was wrong as I have since learned when that when this much heat is applied to the berries the starches change and become long strings which create a terrible pectic haze. Think jelly.

Thankfully, I only have about 20 gallons of juice and the rest of the berries were vacpacked and frozen whole so I'll be going back to the "old way" once I use up the juice. I may use the blueberry juice for making syrup since this is a big hit with people. A little sprinkled on vanilla ice cream is heavenly.

Seems bentonite will clear the wine pretty well of this haze so its not a total train wreck but with so much haze I fear clarifying this much stuff out of the wine might also strip some flavor. What's puzzling to me is how these companies can sell wine kits with a fruit syrup in a bag and these syrups don't seem to have this haze problem. I guess maybe they juice things mechanically. So much to learn.
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Post by redzed » Wed Jul 18, 2018 16:39

Use some bentonite right at the fermenting stage, but to avoid the pectic haze, add pectic enzyme, it works really well and is a must with fruit wines. Frozen blueberries will produce a very good wine, possibly even better because you won't need to crush or cold soak the must to get better colour and flavour extraction. Get a good yeast and some yeast nutrient and ferment on the skins then press out.

I subscribe to the Wnemaker Magazine which is the best and most credible source on winemaking. They also have website with a ton of useful info. And this month there is an article in there just on this subject. https://winemakermag.com/1761-enzymes-in-country-wines
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Post by Butterbean » Fri Jul 20, 2018 21:04

Thanks, that's a good read. I agree about the pectic enzyme and do use it but I was doing an experiment and ended using a steam juicer. What I learned is the high heat from this process restructures the pectin and makes it bond together which creates a problem in clarifying. I used Bentonite and it cleared it pretty well but I don't think I'll be patient enough to wait long enough for it to clear properly. I won't be using the steam juicer for the rest of them. BTW - my experiment worked pretty well and the blueberry wine - though will probably not clear properly - is going to be the best I've made in years.
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Post by redzed » Sun Jul 22, 2018 14:58

I look forward to a report on the results of the bluberry wine. Right now local Blueberries are available and I'm tempted to make some, but time might not permit. This week I will be bottling 75 litres of 2016 Syrah and Pinot Noir made from Okanagan grapes. The wine has been barreled and bulk aged up to now. The Pinot will be ready to drink in a few months after it recovers from bottle shock and the Syrah will age for a couple of more years.
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Post by Butterbean » Mon Jul 23, 2018 02:04

Sounds like you are going to be busy. I'd like to get a barrel and give barrel that a try. I racked the blueberry the other day and tested a little of it. I think its going to be really good if something doesn't go wrong. Its straddling the fence between semi-sweet and dry. I don't really like dry wines nor do I care much for sweet wines. So this is straddling the fence. Terrific body and a really nice blueberry flavor but I'm wondering with this much body if its not adding a sweetness to it even though the numbers would indicate otherwise. Still learning. Next batch I think I'll back the specific gravity back 3/100's and see what this does.
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