Post date: Oct 11, 2012 12:21:3 AM
I was in Trader Joe's the other day and saw tart cherry juice cheap (3.29 a quart). I got three quart bottles, and figured I'd fill out to a gallon with the Kedem grape juice I got at Star the other day. I'm interpolating between a recipe for black cherry juice wine I saw on jackkeller.net and a pie cherry recipe from Joy of Home Winemaking.
2-3/4 quarts Trader Joe's Tart Cherry Juice (SG 1.048)
1-1/4 quart Kedem Light Grape Juice (SG 1.032)
532g sugar (the amount needed to raise the mix to about 1.090), calculated using Fermcalc
1/2 tsp citric acid
1/4 tsp malic acid
1/4 tsp tartaric acid
1/8 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme.
1 tsp Red Star Pasteur Red yeast.
10/10/12 7PM
Started. Heated the sugar in the grape juice (meant to use 1 quart, seem to have used a little more). Put 2 quarts of cherry juice in sanitize gallon jug, swirled in the hot grape juice/sugar mixture. Put acids, tannin, yeast nutrient and Campden tablet in 1/2 quart of cherry juice, shook to dissolve, and added to must. Topped off to bottom of the neck of the jug. SG is 1.092 at 95F (corrected SG is 1.097). Looking at Fermcalc, I didn't account for the added volume of the liquid when dissolving the sugar. Looks like this will be around 13-14.5%, depending on where it ends.
10/11/12 7AM
Added pectic enzyme dissolved in 1/4 c water
10/11/12 8PM
Pitched yeast
10/13/12 11AM
Bubbling away
11/3/12 10AM
Racked into a gallon jug and topped up. Taste is nice enough, but kind of sour. Will probably improve with time.
11/12/12 10AM
Racked and stabilized with 2 Campden tablets. Flavor is a little better, but there is something odd in it. Hopefully it will smooth out. FG is 1.004 at about 66 degrees. ABV 12.6%.
12/1/12 9PM
Racked. Still somewhat cloudy, and very sour. Hoping this will improve in a few months.
1/2/13 4:30PM
Racked. Very little yeast on the bottom - wine is still somewhat cloudy. Still very sour - will definitely have to sweeten.
1/2/13 4:30PM
Racked. No visible yeast on the bottom - wine is still somewhat cloudy, but clearer. Seems a little less sour, but there is an odd taste to it. Don't know if that will age away. Still wondering if I should blend with the 30-day wine to balance it.
3/11/13 8PM
Racked. I don't think this wants to clear, although it's better than it was. Bentonite time, I think. The funny taste is still there - I think it may be a "cooked cherry" taste, since the juice was pasteurized. Not sure this is going to improve - something to bottle and hide, forget about, and discover in a year or two.
7/20/13 2PM
Racked. I decided I'm going to blend it with the Concord grape wine that is too sweet. Did a quick test and I think that will work - it won't be great, but it will be drinkable.
8/24/13 2PM
Bottled with the 30 day concord grape wine. See that page for the notes.