Hi,

I'm on day one of a blackberry/blueberry fermentation. I'm using Lalvin
71B-1122. My goal is a dry wine with about 13 % alcohol. Fermentation
is going strong. Room temperature is at 74 degrees F. Does anybody have
any comments on what temperature produces the best results? I was going
to use the same precepts as for a regular red wine: 70-80 deg for
primary, then lower the temperature as the fermentation subsides, but I
don't know if that is applicable to a blackberry wine. Thanks in
advance for any suggestions.

Franco

Franco ,

That will work fine. Blackberry wine works just like a red grape wine,
and can often be mistaken for one. The blueberries might slow down the
fermentation a bit, though, as they contain some benzoate. A moderate
amount will probably have no noticeable effect on the speed.

What weight of fruit did you use?

--
Mike MTM, Cokesbury, NJ, USA

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8 lbs of blackberries, 4 lbs of blueberries, almost 2 gallons of water,
4 lbs of sugar. There's about 3 gallons of must. When all is said and
done, I will probably end up with a little more than 2 gallons of wine.

Just a few comments on your recipe. I have not made a blackberry/blueberry
blend but have often made blackberry or dewberry wine. The amount of fruit
you cite will probably make a fairly light bodied wine. I have found that
for a medium bodied wine I need 5 to 7 lbs of berries IN a gallon not added
to a gallon. You have about 3 lbs of black berries and 1-1/3 lb of
blueberries. If you could get them I would suggest adding another 4 to 6
lbs of blackberries. If you were going to do this, it might be good to add
them to the secondary. You might get more flavor that way. Incidentally,
dry blackberry wine is my favorite of all fruit wines.

Ray

"Franco" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>8 lbs of blackberries, 4 lbs of blueberries, almost 2 gallons of water,
> 4 lbs of sugar. There's about 3 gallons of must. When all is said and
> done, I will probably end up with a little more than 2 gallons of wine.
>

Franco ,

I second Ray's comments on all counts. To make a really good blackberry
wine, you probably need 6-7 lbs of fruit in a gallon of must. And fully
ripe fruit at that. You can make blackberry wine at 3-4 lbs in a gallon,
and it's OK, but it's not nearly as good. Try it at the higher level &
I'll bet you'll be convinced.


--
Mike MTM, Cokesbury, NJ, USA

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Franco wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm on day one of a blackberry/blueberry fermentation. I'm using Lalvin
>71B-1122. My goal is a dry wine with about 13 % alcohol. Fermentation
>is going strong. Room temperature is at 74 degrees F. Does anybody have
>any comments on what temperature produces the best results? I was going
>to use the same precepts as for a regular red wine: 70-80 deg for
>primary, then lower the temperature as the fermentation subsides, but I
>don't know if that is applicable to a blackberry wine. Thanks in
>advance for any suggestions.
>
>Franco
>
>
>
74 degrees sounds about right. I do blueberry between 65 to 80 degrees.
The yeast also generates some of its own heat.