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Taste Notes

ABV is not 18%. More like 11%-14% Early tasting is iffy at 6 months (bottling) but after 1 year it is very good. Patience pays off. Wonderful black cherry flavor with some alcohol notes.

Notes

Six 3lb bags of Costco's frozen Black Cherries pitted and sliced. (seasonal) If using fresh cherries (Wash, destem and remove stones from cherries, discarding any that are unsound and blemished.) Chop the fruit, add three pints of water and bring to low boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Drain through nylon jelly-bag. Reserve drained juice and seep jelly-bag in 6 pints cold water for 15-20 minutes. Squeeze jelly-bag thoroughly to extract residual juice and color. Discard pulp and combine juices, sugar, pectic enzyme, citric acid, and nutrients in crock or bowl. Add remaining water, stirring well to dissolve sugar. Test total acid and reduce to 0.85% if necessary. Pour into secondary and cover with cloth. After 12 hours, add bentonite and yeast starter and fit airlock. Move to cool (55-60 degrees F.) place. Rack every three weeks until no new deposits form, topping up each time. Bottle and store in dark place to preserve color. May taste after 6 months but improves with age to 18 months. [winemaking.jackkeller.net] Jack Keller's personal recomendation: An improved wine can be made by mixing sweet and sour cherries. Use 70% black cherries and 30% chokecherries, Montmorency cherries or morello cherries, but reduce total cherries by 25% and do test for and reduce total acid. (personal note: Jack is a traditional wine lover and likes the tartness of added tanin but in this recipe he doesn't add any. Your tastes may vary.)