Dragon Blood Trial & Error

Back on May 21, I racked my first batch of Dragon Blood and did a taste test.  My notes say everything that needs to be said:

"Taste Test:
Dry, slightly acidic, and the taste was like diesel.  There is something in it that doesn't taste right.  Perhaps one of the fruit components like pomegranate or cherry?"

It is early, and the taste may evolve over time.  However, I am now a little cautious about experimenting with out-of-the-ordinary frozen fruit mixes such as the one I used on this particular batch.  Dragon Blood is usually made with common triple berry mixes (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry).

With that cautionary lesson, I went ahead and purchased a frozen triple berry mix and used the same basic recipe as the previous batch:

Dragon Blood v.2

3 gallons distilled water
17 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp peptic enzyme
2 tsp yeast nutrient
1.5 tsp acid blend (tartaric, citric, malic acids)
3 campden tablets (crushed)
2 kg of "Triple Berry Blend", in a nylon mesh bag (tied-off)

(The only differences are in the slightly higher amount of sugar required to get to the same starting s.g., and the larger mass of berries - which is simply because that was the amount in the bag!)

I started this one week ago.  The starting specific gravity was 1.087.  It is now 1.048.  I'm going to wait a couple of days, check the s.g., and rack to a carboy.

Fruit Wine Blends

Let's face it - you can ferment just about fruit that you can pick out of the garden.  My favourite starting material (I am a chemistry after all) is Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). The fruit is large and juicy, and if you don't mind getting scratched to hell, one can pick 10 lbs in about 90 minutes.

I generally pick/freeze at least 100 lbs every summer and put them in the freezer - along with the other fruits from my garden and our neighbours. Once fall comes, it is time for making wine!! The advantage of freezing the blackberries is that they break apart into mush upon thawing, making it easier for the fermentation.

Here's a rough schedule of a batch of blackberry wine I made in August 2012.

18 lb of frozen berries plus 1/2 tsp metabisulfite allowed to thaw in the primary fermentation container (which was first washed with Javex solution and well rinsed). This was on Aug 17th.

The next day, 2 Tsp yeast nutrient, 1 Tsp pectic enzyme, 1/2 tsp grape tannin and 2 Tsp acid blend was sprinkled on top of the fruit. A total of 15 lb of sugar was added, followed by sufficient warm water (~18 L - with stirring) to bring to total volume up to ~ the 5 gallon mark (the fruit will be floating at this point).

This gave me a SG reading (hydrometer) of ~1.090.

One package of wine yeast is then sprinkled on top of the pulp and allowed to sit (with a cover on) overnight. Depending upon the room temperature, the top of the fruit will be bubbling/frothing the next day and I then stir the yeast into the solution, and stir up the pulp twice a day after that.

I racked the juice off the pulp (on Aug 22nd) into the secondary fermentation container and added a bit of water to bring the volume close to the top of the container (watch out for frothing over the first couple of days) and put on an air lock (containing a bit of metabisulfite solution). The rate of bubbling gradually slows as the amount of residual sugar in solution decreases.

I racked the wine into another secondary fermentation container (containing a bit of bentonite and some gelatine) on Sept 18th and replaced the air lock.

On Oct 12th I racked the wine a final time and then bottled it

The final result was 29 bottles of a dry, full-bodied wine.

I have also included a picture of some of the various fruit wines I currently have aging. 

Feel free to experiment on your own …. have fun and happy sipping.

Fermenting Port Alberni grapes

Today I racked 4 batches of wine:
a) the juice from 57 lbs of green grapes
b) the juice from 45 lbs of purple grapes
c) the skins from the green grapes plus 5 lbs of blackberries
d) the skins from the purple grapes plus 5 lbs of blackberries

Each batch had the following ingredients added:
2 Tsp acid blend
2 Tsp yeast nutrient
1 Tsp pectic enzyme
2 tsp metabisulfite 
1/2 tsp grape tannin

9 to 10 lbs of sugar and water to bring the SG up to 1.085

The mixtures were allowed to ferment for 4 days in a primary container and then racked into the glass secondary containers … great aromas and rapid evolution of carbon dioxide. In the above picture at the back we have the purple grape juice, the green grape juice, the green grape skins plus blackberries and in the front the purple grape skins and blackberries.