{"id":651,"date":"2009-05-25T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2009-05-25T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.washingtonwinemaker.com\/blog\/?p=651"},"modified":"2009-05-25T06:00:02","modified_gmt":"2009-05-25T13:00:02","slug":"cherry-wine-recipe-bottled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/washingtonwinemaker.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/25\/cherry-wine-recipe-bottled\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Wine Recipe: Bottled!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sweet<\/a>Two years ago I set out to make wine from cherries<\/a> the way you would make red wine from grapes. I bought 43 lb (19.5 kg) of Bing Cherries from Safeway, put them in a large picnic cooler, and crushed them the old fashioned way. Adjusting the sugar was a little tedious, but I was off to a great start. It turns out that the acidity of cherry wine<\/a> is tough to get right, though, and in the end I sweetened it to balance tart tasting wine.<\/p>\n

About the label<\/h2>\n

LouGarou<\/a> is a talented photographer, and he was kind enough to let me use his photo<\/a> in my wine label. He’s taken many exceptional shots, but the warm tones in this one made it just the thing for my label – thanks Lou!<\/p>\n

I labeled it “Sweet Cherry,” and included alcohol content, TA, pH, and final gravity. Instead of a vintage (not too many people are going to be raving about “Safeway’s 2007 Bing Cherries”) I put a date range. The first date is the day I started and the end date is the day I bottled. You’ll know how long it bulk aged, how long it’s had in the bottle, and yes, when the cherries were grown – that date range says a lot without saying<\/em> a lot.<\/p>\n

How does the cherry wine taste?<\/h2>\n

I think I managed to balance the wine. The acidity is noticable, but it’s lively and not too tart. Sweetness is there too, but people who “don’t like sweet wine” liked it and didn’t think it was too sweet. I don’t notice the astringency that comes from tannin. This makes it an enjoyable red table wine, but unlike the dry reds that I’m used to. The flavor and aroma are different as well. I wouldn’t say it “tastes like cherries,” but there is something familiar from tasting commercial cherry wine (yes, there is such a thing).<\/p>\n

Thoughts on my next cherry wine<\/h2>\n

This was a learning experience, and I’ve got a to-do list for the next one.<\/p>\n