Back when I first started making wine, I made a one gallon batch with store bought apple juice and seedless blackberry preserves. I didn’t think it was all that good, however after it aged for a year it was very good. The bad thing was, by the time I figured out it was good, I only had one bottle left. So this week I went out around the farm and collected a six gallon bucket of apples from three different trees (don’t know what kind they were). I quartered and steam juiced the apples ending up with a gallon and 1/4 of juice. I added eight quarts of steamed wild blackberry juice. Then I heated up some sugar water and added enough to get the specific gravity to 1.085. A check of the pH showed 3.4 which couldn’t have been much better. I added the PE, YE and YN and 24 hours later pitched some Lalvin 71B-1122. I used 71B-1122 to lower the malic acid found in both apples and blackberries. The next day it had taken off like crazy. Four days later the S.G. was at 1.010 so I racked to the carboy. It’s now under airlock and waiting to go dry. In a year I’ll know if it’s anything like the first batch made with store bought apple juice and blackberry preserves.
First racking at S.G. of 0.996, added 1/8 tsp K-meta. At second racking (90 days) added K-meta and Sorbate and backsweetened with 2 cups of sugar. Also added 10 American House Toast Oak Cubes. Will rack off oak when I have the taste I want.
Country Fruit Wines 