Blackberries bring plenty of flavour but little sugar, so most of the alcohol comes from the sugar you add. Enter your berries below for the exact amount.
Hydrometer targets
White sugar to add for a dry wine, using a typical amount of fruit and average ripeness. Ripeness changes these figures, so use a hydrometer for an exact amount.
| Strength | 4.5 Lwith 2.93 kg fruit | 10 Lwith 6.50 kg fruit | 1 US galwith 5.4 lb fruit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% ABV | 685 g | 1.52 kg | 1.27 lb |
| 12% ABV | 864 g | 1.92 kg | 1.60 lb |
| 14% ABV | 1.04 kg | 2.32 kg | 1.93 lb |
Above about 13%, add the sugar in stages. The calculator shows you how.
Use fully black berries. Red ones are sour and thin. Freeze them for a day or two first: it breaks the cells so they give up juice and colour more easily, and any insects from wild-picked fruit are dealt with. Frozen berries can go straight into the fermenter.
Recipes usually call for about 2.7 to 3.2 kg per 4.5 L (5 to 6 lb per US gallon). Less gives a lighter wine, and more gives a fuller one that may need longer to soften.
Add pectic enzyme to help the wine clear, usually about half a teaspoon per gallon, but follow your packet. Strain the fruit off after 5 to 7 days and press gently, since the seeds can add a bitter edge if crushed or left too long.
Most fruit has far less sugar than wine grapes, so country wines need added sugar. How much depends on the fruit and how ripe it is. That is why the result shows a range. A hydrometer reading of your must removes the guesswork.
Target gravity = 0.996 + ABV ÷ 131.25. One gram of sugar per litre adds about 0.384 gravity points. Fruit sugar uses typical values per fruit. Acidity is a rough estimate from typical fruit acid, so measure it with a kit if you can.