Category: Brewing

Jill and I finished a batch of blueberry wine today. Nothing but blueberries, sugar, water, and champagne wine yeast (Lalvin EC-118). My brewing is minimalist due to laziness and the desire to control variables.

Right out of the primary it tastes amazing. Fairly sweet, as all my blueberry wines have been, and a distinctive flavor and beautiful color (it dyes things a bluish purple):

I’ve also had problems in the past with blueberry wine being cloudy. I was very careful this time not to disturb the fermenter, and even gave it a few days in “racking” position to let it settle completely. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t even rack to a secondary. Yes, I’m that lazy, and don’t have a lot of room for another five-gallon container in our small place. I just filter and bottle right from the primary. It seems to work fine!

After years of trial and error, I’m getting pretty good at this. Not because I’m an expert (I know very little), but because I’ve learned what works for me. Like many hobbies, it starts by leaning on the foundation of other helpful experts, and then gradually branching out. Imitation -> Assimilation -> Innovation

My winemaking is simple, like my other crafting hobbies. Just champagne yeast, fruit, and sugar in the correct proportions. No additives, no preparation of fruit, no boiling anything, no backsweetening, no sulfites, no pectin. I don’t even rack into a secondary fermenter, I just filter and bottle right out of the primary.

Because my recipe is so darn simple, I can vary the kind of fruit I use. I can use grape juice right from the grocery store, as in this example, or frozen fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or peaches. As long as the amount of sugars remains the same, the resulting wine has the same amount of sweetness every time!

My latest completed batch came from a frozen fruit mixture of cherries, raspberries, and strawberries. It’s delicious! The sugar content of the fruit is right on the label, so I don’t have to guess when I calculate proportions.