Blueberry-Elderberry Port
- 6 lb. blueberries
- 6 oz. dried elderberries
- 1 cup red grape concentrate
- 1/2 cup light dry malt
- 1-1/2 lb. granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
- 1-1/2 tsp. acid blend
- 1/2 tsp. USP glycerin
- 1/2 tsp. yeast energizer
- 4 pt. water
- 63 ml brandy
- 2 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablets
- port wine yeast
Wash and crush blueberries in nylon straining bag and strain juice into primary fermentation vessel. Add dried
elderberries to bag, tie closed and place in primary. Stir in dry malt, sugar, acid blend, yeast energizer, water,
and one of the Campden tablets. Stir well to dissolve sugar and other solids. The starting s.g. should be 1.118 to
yield 16% abv. Cover the primary, set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme and cover for another 12 hours. Add
yeast, cover again, and daily stir ingredients and press pulp in nylon bag to extract flavor. When specific gravity
is 1.030 (about 5-7 days days), strain juice from bag and rack liquor off sediments into glass secondary. Fit
fermentation trap and ferment to dryness. Rack in three weeks and again in two months. When wine is clear and stable,
add red grape concentrate, brandy, the second Campden tablet, and glycerin. Let wine rest another two months, rack
again and bottle. Allow a year to mature. [Author’s own recipe]