Re: Bananas

Hey Bill,
I won't be much help re bananas or fruit wines in general as I haven't done
any work in that area.  I have read that bananas are frequently used to add
body, particularly for the heavier wine, e.g. port style.

Another source of info regarding cranberry wine would be our friend Del
Unruh.  He has made some that my wife & I thought was very nice.  It was,
admittedly, a light wine which made it a fun wine for us.  Del has also done
a fine Chokecherry wine and some other fruit wines..

Fred

"William Frazier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> I made a cranberry wine to serve at this year's Thanksgiving dinner.  Used
a
> recipe from Jack Keller's site that called for 2# cranberries and 1#
> currants (plus Jack's other ingredients) per gallon.  I used raisins
instead
> of currants and fermented with Cote Des Blancs yeast.  The wine finished
up
> at pH 3.38 and TA 1.0%.  It was tart, like I think cranberry wine should
be,
> but it was a bit too sweet for my tastes.
>
> I'm going to try a new cranberry wine for next Thanksgiving.  I think I'll
> eliminate the raisins in this new batch to see if I can bring out more of
> the cranberry flavor and finish dryer.  I'll use a starting specific
gravity
> that will result in an alcohol content similar to German Rhine Wines.
> Without raisins I believe the wine will be too thin and I'm considering
ways
> to build body in a fruit wine.  I read where bananas are used for this
> purpose.  For those who know, how many pounds of bananas should you use
for
> a five gallon recipe of wine?  Any other ideas on ways to build body into
> fruit wines will be appreciated.  Thanks.
>
> Bill Frazier
> Olathe, Kansas
>
>