Post date: Jan 12, 2013 9:29:48 PM
I wouldn't have thought of this as a wine, except that Star was selling Ocean Spray White Cran-Strawberry juice for something like $3/gallon. It's actually a mix of white grape, white cranberry, strawberry and carrot juice, with beet sugar. No HFCS or preservatives, so, what the heck? OG is 1.048.
I'm going to start from the apple juice wine recipe, since that has a very similar OG, and was wildly successful. Two modifications - I'm going to cut the sugar by 1/8 of a pound to lower the ABV a tad, and I'm going to cut the acid by 1/4 tsp, since cranberries are a bit tarter than apples
Up to 1 gal bottled juice (Ocean spray White Cran-Strawberry, OG 1.048). The whole gallon doesn't fit due to the volume of the sugar.
1-1/8 lb granulated sugar
3/4 tsp acid blend
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/2 crushed Campden tablet
1/4 tsp tannin
1-1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
3/4 tsp 71B-1122 yeast
1/12/13 3:30PM
Started. Mixed acid blend, tannin, yeast nutrient, and Campden tablet into the sugar, put the power into the carboy with a funnel, added juice (pouring from great height and splashing int the funnel) to make the carboy half full, then dissolved sugar in juice directly at room temperature (the juice is pasteurized, and I don't imagine there are a lot of critters on the granulated sugar) by shaking very vigorously for about a minute. This dissolved the sugar and aerates the must. Shook the rest of the juice in a half full container to aerate before using it to top off the carboy the the point where the neck starts to constrict. OG 1.102, pH 3.2-3.6. Put on an airlock.
1/13/13 8AM
Dissolved peptic enzyme and 1 tsp sugar in 2 oz. juice, mixed in.
1/14/13 5:30PM
Pitched yeast
1/14/13 11PM
Wine is bubbling. Aerating really helped speed up the start, I think.
1/17/13 10PM
Still bubbling away. Smells very nice - strong strawberry aroma.
1/25/13 8AM
Fermentation is still going, albeit slowly. Will probably rack over the weekend.
2/2/13 10AM
Racked. Tastes quite nice and pretty balanced, not too sour. A bit of sweetness, although gravity is 1.004 @ 63 degrees, so it probably has not too far to go (currently 13.3% ABV). Topped up with about a cup of the juice that I saved in the fridge. Very cloudy. Nice sort of bubble gum color.
2/12/13 8PM
Racked. It was kind of strange - VERY fizzy - I had to keep restarting the siphon because bubbles were forming in the racking tube and stopping the siphon. Tastes kind of like a prosecco at the moment. A little sweet, tart, and fizzy. Not bad, but I've never had a wine this gassy before.
3/11/13 8PM
Racked. Very clear now, beautiful color. Still fizzy, but not nearly as extreme. I kind of like the fizziness.
4/7/13 11AM
Bottled. Wine is very clear. The color is much less intense in the bottle - a very light blush. The taste is nice - a little sweet, but not very. This is really a wine to drink cold on a hot day outside. I made no effort to degas it - I like the fizz. 4 750ml and a very scant 2 375ml bottles. I'm thinking of a name that suggests something flighty and fun loving.