Homebrew RecipesRecipes for all kinds of home brewing – lager, wine, stout – the works

Cherry wine, especially black cherry wine, can be a problem because most cherries lack sufficient acid balance to carry them into age and tend to be protein unstable. But acid balance can be treated in any number of ways and proteins eliminated with bentonite treatment. Before I get into that, however, let’s look at Brad’s particular problems.

• 6-8 lbs black cherries
• 2-1/2 lbs granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
• 1/2 tsp citric acid
• 5-1/2 pints water
• 1 crushed Campden tablet
• wine yeast and nutrient

By email exchange I learned that Brad had used C.J.J. Berry’s recipe for black cherry wine and that he is more or less wedded to the black cherry by ownership of six trees. The first recipe listed below is, essentially, Berry’s recipe corrected for excess malic and insufficient citric acids. The second is my own, and the third is adapted from Brian Leverett.

An improved cherry wine can be made using a blend of black cherries and sour cherries. This wine ages better than black cherry alone.