Cranberry Wine

Cranberry Wine 2008

by Mel Smith

I received about 25 lbs of Cranberries from a friend that works in the cranberry bogs during harvest (picked up and delivered to me by another friend) on Thursday evening October 23, 2008.

On Saturday evening, I cleaned the berries. I spent two or three hours rinsing and picking stems and leaves from the berries. The weather was cool, probably in the thirties or even the twenties at night, so I left the pale of berries outside during this time.

On Monday evening October 27, 2008 I spent another 5 or 6 hours sorting out the white or light colored berries and putting the good ones through the food processor. I tried to chop them as course as possible while still making sure every berry was cut some. They were about the coarseness of coleslaw and I placed them in my 15-gallon fermentor.

(The picture of the white berries in the bucket are the ones I threw away. I kept the redder berries and the ones with no soft spots but with all of those berries, I wasn't overly particular.)

This is approximately the recipe I used.

20-24 lbs of fresh Cranberries (Stevens variety) coarsely chopped

6 lbs. of Golden Raisons whole

21 lbs of granulated sugar

8 campden tablets - crushed

7 teaspoons of yeast nutrient

5 teaspoons of yeast energizer

2 teaspoons of pectic enzyme

9 teaspoons of acid blend

7 gallons of water

Everything was placed in the primary fermentor and stirred well. The picture of the blue fermentor with a few berries in the bottom as I began my project of sorting, chopping and adding the other ingredients to make the cranberry wine.

24 hours later, I added

Lalivin K1-V1116 Champaign yeast, 2 packets

The following evening 10/28/2008 23:30 pm I hydrated 2 packets of Lalivin K1-V1116 Champaign yeast by pouring them into a bowl of 101 degree water and leaving sit for 45 minutes. I had planned for only a 15 minute hydration, but at 15 minutes and then at 30 minutes I still had a little pile of dry yeast floating in the water. Each time I jiggled the bowl until I thought the yeast was all wet, and then set my timer for another 15 minutes. That’s how it ended up taking 45 minutes to hydrate the yeast. I then poured the hydrated yeast into the primary fermentor and stirred the mash briskly.

I had stirred the must before adding the yeast and tested the specific gravity. It was slightly lower than I wanted 1.104 instead of the 1.110 to 1.115 that I was shooting for, but I think that is O.K., as I will have to have more sugar additions anyway. I’m using a Champaign yeast but know people prefer a sweat wine, so it will take a lot more sugar and be a high alcohol wine before it becomes a sweat one. Also, I have heard that if the must is too sweat, the yeast might have problems taking off, so I am O.K. with the 1.104 original gravity.

During the next five to seven days, I will stir the must daily, watch for signs that fermentation has began, and try to plan how to squeeze all the juice from the fruit when its time, but that is all for tonight. I'm going to enjoy a glass of mead I made in January of 2007 and turn in for the night.

Visit a Vineyard.

Did you know that Wisconsin has 33 wineries? I'm sure there are countless more little private vineyards, but 33 are listed at Catch wine's web site. Every other State's wineries are listed there as well for those not living in Wisconsin.

Catch Wine's web site is pretty neat in that it gives directions to each winery, tells a little about it, and how far you are from the next one! They also offer you the option leaving reviews of a Winery after you visit. Write some stuff in a journal or leave a photo for others to see. I plan to start doing a few reviews of the wineries around me.

I had a great time a few weeks ago when my daughter took me on a tour of three of the local wineries. I bought some great local wines and plan to go back now and make it my business to visit and post my reviews of a few of the vineyards in my neighborhood. I know, it'll be a dirty job but someones got to do it! Now that I've had a little introduction I know more what to look for, what to remember to take along (note pad and camera), and maybe hook up with some others from the DUFF club that would like to begin this labor of love.

I'll let you know when and how to join me. This weekend from August 21st through the 26th will include a few excursions for anyone that wants to join in. I'll try to add my plans here at least 24 hours in advance. Tomorrow I'll start mapping, planning, and posting but it's too late tonight.