Style Design History

la miscela dei frutti di bosco

(the blend of bush/forest fruits)

plum/damson/elderberry/blackberry/blueberry/banana blend

2000
(Bin 50)

Aims

A blend to give a complex amalgam of different aromas/flavours in a medium-bodied, fruity, red wine style.


Fruit

Fruit Content (g/l) Content (lb&oz/US gal.) Content (lb&oz/Imperial gal.) Type
Plums 540 g/l 4 lb 8 oz 5 lb 7 oz Laroda, Spanish 41/44mm
Elderberries 360 g/l (juice only) 3 lb 3 lb 10 oz small, wild
Blackberries 270 g/l (juice only) 2 lb 4 oz 2 lb 11 oz small, wild
Damsons 270 g/l 2 lb 4 oz 2 lb 11 oz typical UK Damsons
Bananas 160 ml/l (extract) from 310 g/l (no skins) 4 pints from 2 lb 9 oz 5 pints from 3 lb 2 oz very ripe (blackened areas removed)
Blueberries 100 g/l 13 oz 1 lb moderate size, whitish-blue skin


Crush and Must Preparation

All fruit was thawed at 7°C (43°F) for 11 hours. Following this, large fruits completed thawing at room temperature.

Bananas Boiled in water (860 ml water/kg fruit) for 20 minutes with a liquid reduction of 40%.
Plums Destoned and blended in an electric blender once with ~15 mg/l sulphite added.
Elderberries Hand crushed with half the banana extract. They yielded ~700 ml/kg pure juice after straining, with SG 1.040 (Brix 10.4). The pulp was discarded.
Blackberries Hand crushed with half the banana extract. They yielded ~550 ml/kg pure juice after straining, with SG 1.034 (Brix 9.1). The pulp was discarded.
Damsons Destoned (stones constituted 20%/weight) and roughly blended in an electric blender once yielding 750 ml/kg of pulp and juice.
Blueberries Hand crushed into pulp and juice.

The above components were combined and pectin destroying enzyme was added. Taking suspended solids into account, approximately 195 g/l sugar was added taking the assumed SG to ~1.096 (Brix 23) (the true SG was 1.114 (Brix 27)). Yeast nutrient was added.


Inoculation

The must was then inoculated with S. cerevisiae, Bordeaux SF strain (Gervin's Varietal A). A French aromatic yeast selected by INRA at Narbonne for red Bordeaux. It has a high glycerol yield, a temperature range of 18-35°C (64-95°F), and SO2 tolerance of 50 mg/l.


Fermentation

A four day pulp fermentation was conducted in small semi-sealed vessels under carbonic pressure at an average temperature of 21°C (70°F), and always within the range of 20-22°C (68-72°F). At `pressing', the pulp was strained. The strained liquid possessed a true SG of 1.010 (Brix 4). Fermentation had reached dryness within 7 days since inoculation.


Clarification and Racking

1st racking: Following dryness the wine was sweetend with sugar taking the SG to 1.034 (Brix 9) (exclusive of pulp) and ~20 mg/l sulphite was added.
2nd racking: A week later the wine was racked and pulpy sediment constituted 17% of the total volume. The sediment free wine had a SG of 1.022 (~Brix 6.4). Half of the loss due to pulpy sedimentary wine was replaced with some excess from the previous racking and the remaining half of the loss was topped with a sugar syrup to maintain the bulk SG at 1.022 (~Brix 6.4).
3rd racking: Three weeks later the wine was racked again. The SG was 1.018 (~Brix 5.6) and 20 mg/l sulphite was added. The sediment was still very pulpy and the racking was not very successful.
4th racking: A month later the wine was racked again. The SG was 1.012 (~Brix 4.2) and 25 mg/l sulphite was added.
Fining: Three months later the wine was bentonite fined at 0.21 g/l (28 oz/1000 US gal.).
Bottling: Three months later the wine was bottled at SG 1.010 (~Brix 3.8) with 200 mg/l potassium sorbate and 50 mg/l sulphite.


Deviations

The following comments regard procedures in the winemaking that would in future be avoided if possible:
  • The wine developed some H2S one day into initial fermentation. DAP was added and the wines aerated slightly and the problem dissipated.
  • The semi-sealed vessels used during pulp fermentation had poor seals (and were aerated slightly due to H2S development) allowing enough air access to cause some acetic acid development. This problem is a significant fault, however, many tasters cannot detect the fault unless they are made aware of it; and with time some of the acetic acid has formed ethyl acetate which actually adds to the aromatic profile.
  • The pulpy sediment present at rackings, causing some rackings to be unsuccessful, would be avoided in future by finer straining/filtering of the pulp and possibly a pre-fermentation maceration utilising pectin destroying enzymes. Stricter fermentation and racking regimes would be employed to ensure a cleaner and less violent processing of the wine in it's youth.
  • Total SO2 additions would be lower
    •


    Tasting

    After one month in bottle from first bottling (with a panel of 4 tasters):

    Colour: a light purpley red.
    Nose: a soft, yet fairly intense, `sweet' nose of ripe banana and plum; tropical, almost synthetic/artificial estery fragrances, roses, and a fragrant hint of lavender.
    Palate: begins sweet on the front palate with a filling impression of warm violets and rounded fruit (ripe plum/damson and blackberry) which then dissolves into an acid-tang (with banana and artificial tropical fruit); leading to a fruity finish of violets, plums and banana. Medium sweet, medium bodied and moderate length.

    Tasted with just over 2 years in bottle (with a panel of 3 tasters):

    Colour: a deep ruby red maroon coloured core with a rusty brown rim.
    Nose: briary fruit, autumn leaves and wild mint/thyme aromas.
    Palate: remains immediately crisp, with flavours of good concentration which have become completely integrated, finishing warm.


    Final Analysis

    Alc/Vol: around 12%
    Acidity: 6.1 g/l (as tartaric)
    pH: 3.4
    Residual sugar: SG 1.010 (Brix 4)

    Final product (in poor lighting)


    Conclusions

    The wine possesses a complex aromatic profile and proves that extensive pre-fermentation fruit blending results in considerably greater complexity.
    Future plans are to pull back on the elderberries and plums (and perhaps bananas), and increase the amount of blueberries and blackberries.


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