It's summer here in Georgia, and this means that all sorts of berries are in season. Being originally from Austin, Texas, the idea of fresh picked blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, figs.. etc et was completely and utterly new to me. And absolutely delightful. I asked my boyfriend what he would like my first batch made from, and after thinking of what is in season, he decided he would like for me to try a blackberry wine. So here goes!
The first step was to find a recipe. A co-worker of mine pointed me towards Mr. Jack Keller and his website (http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/). Firstly, this is an AMAZING resource for the beginner winemaker.. as well as for the more experienced one. Secondly, his recipes are astounding. If it's got it's own sugar, Jack Keller has a recipe for it. Except for perhaps durian. But who would want durian wine? The thought makes me shiver.
Quickly searching gave me Jack's blackberry wine page: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/blackbr2.asp
Now my boyfriend and I are very much alike normally, but in wines, we can't be more different. He loves the bold, deep, full bodied dry reds. I like the light, sweet, fruity whites. But as I was asking him what HE wanted, I decided to do a full bodied dry red. So I'm choosing to do #5 on this list, even though we don't really have Brazos blackberries out here. I have faith though!
The second step was to make 100% sure I had all supplies. So I inventoried what I had bought a year ago:
1 primary fermentation bucket - can hold up to 6 gallons
1 siphon with hose
1 airlock
yeast energizer
yeast nutrient
pectic enzyme
campden tablets
acid blend
citric acid
grape tannin
jumbo mesh nylon bag
3 different strains of yeast
Ok... almost there. I didn't have any secondaries, and the yeast I had wasn't really going to be good for blackberry. I went to my local wine store and got three P.E.T. "Better bottle" carboys (3 gallons), along with the bungs, and another airlock. I also bought some Red Star Montrachet yeast, as that is a common one, as well as one that will make a good red wine from blackberries.
(Why three secondaries and the extra airlock? Because I plan to do at least another batch relatively soon! I'm planning ahead).
With all my supplies in hand, it was fruit time. Store blackberries are expensive. Frequently $5 for 10oz, or more. I was going to need 15-18lbs of them. At store prices, that was going to run me near $150. Not something I wanted to spend for my firs batch. So I researched U-Pick markets, and hit gold.
The boyfriend and I headed to Weaver Berryland Farms in Jackson, GA. (http://www.weaversberrylandfarm.com/) where we picked 3 gallons of gorgeous blackberries (ok, and 1 gallon of blueberries... because BLUEBERRIES!). Each gallon held around 5-6lbs of blackberries (or blueberries). So 3 was perfect. $30 got me what would have cost $150 in the store. And I had the absolute joy of picking it all myself, and getting some exercise while doing it. And I know exactly where these berries came from, and their growing practices. Plus the whole "made from locally grown produce" just feels so good.
Don't they look amazing?
Once home, it was time to wash all 3 gallons, and get them in the primary. All were washed VERY well to make sure no bits of leaves, stems, or bugs were fermented along with the berries. After washing, they were put in my primary bucket that I had lined with my giant nylon bag.
Then the fun began. Time to MASH! My kitchen looked like a crime scene after.
Delicious berry juice. My potato masher apparently did not survive my move, so I had to improvise, as well as get quite dirty.
Afterwards, this is what the must looked like:
The berries used to be pretty. But I'm sure they'll make pretty wine!
And then, as this is a x3 recipe based on Jack's, I added 21 pints of boiling water directly to the must.
This will steep for the next two days as the hot water pulls as much sugar as it can out of the berries.
Whew! It's been an exciting day! But so much fun! I am SO excited to finally be starting!
No humans, but many many many berries were harmed in this venture.... so far.
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