I don’t know about you, but I love being on the receiving end of homemade gifts from the kitchen. This Blackberry Merlot Wine Jelly is a very special gift.
There’s so many possibilities; jams, jellies, chutneys, mustards, salsas, sauces, pickled anythings, breads, cookies, cakes, candies. So far, I’ve whipped up a batch of sweet and spicy mustard, pickled beets and this wonderful Blackberry Merlot Jelly Recipe. I’m thinking my wine loving friends will enjoy this.
Actually, I pre-gifted one jar for quality control purposes to my friend Maralee, the jelly/jam queen. Her comments were: “Too good for toast…I could smell the wine when I opened the jar and I loved that…I’m thinking brie and a cracker for serving”. Then she promptly demanded the recipe.
This recipe comes from the folks over at Robert Mondavi Wines. Fruit forward Merlot and dark succulent blackberries…I’m smitten. Let’s take a look.
- 3½ cups Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Merlot wine
- 1 pouch Certo (liquid pectin)
- 4½ cups white sugar
- 4 ounces blackberries
- Blend berries and add to wine. Bring to a boil and then strain wine to remove blackberry seeds and pulp.
- In a large sauce pan add the sugar to the blackberry infused wine and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Let it boil one minute. Add Certo, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat. Skim foam off top, if necessary.
- Ladle hot jelly into hot, sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Tighten 2 piece lids. Process for 5 minutes in boiling water bath.
I’ve made two batches of this. The first, following this recipe above, took one week to jell. For the 2nd batch I used these ingredients and one package Sure-jell low sugar pectin and followed their directions on the insert for the process only. The 2nd batch jelled within a couple hours. Sure-jell has you mix 1/4 cup sugar with a packet of their powdered pectin. You bring that mixture and the wine and berries to a boil and then add the rest of the sugar. Bring to a boil for one full minute then pour into jars and water bath.
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Simply lovely! I am saving this recipe on Pinterest for ideas for next year when Blackberries are in season.
Thanks so much for stopping by and the comment. I’ll be heading over to CrockPotLadies for a look. AND a big thank you for the Pin. I’ll also be following you. And yes, this would be perfect for local blackberries, but for now Whole Foods has a pretty good selection.
Great photo Lea Ann – the white balance looks great and the berries really pop!
Thanks Michele.
yep, foodie gifts are my favorite, both to give and receive.
Good point, they’re as fun to give as to receive.
Can I be your good friend? I would LOVE a jar of that!
If you lived close by, I’d run a jar over to you Barbara.
Beautiful photo LeaAnn! This looks that a gift that anyone would love to receive. I’m going to have to give this a try.
Thank you Karen.
I’m with Maralee, too good for toast. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive such a fabulous gift.
My mother made blackberry jelly when I was growing up and anything with blackberries brings back memories of my childhood and the blue stained wooden spoons she used.
Sam
I do love memories like that Sam. I should have put the stained wooden spoon that I used in that photo. Darn.
I’m so excited about this recipe! Blackberries are one of my favorites and wine, well . . . .duh! I’m with you about homemade gifts and love giving them as well as receiving them. In fact, I’m making almost all my Christmas gifts this year so I am so stealing this idea for a couple of gals on the list. What a gorgeous photo!
I hope you do try this, I think you’re going to be pleased.
Just wanted to let you know how much I loved this! Mine ended up sort of soft-set, so I call it sauce instead of jelly, but WHO CARES! This is so delicious great licked right off a spoon. Yummm!
Before my first batch completly set up , my Jam/Jelly queen friend, Maralee, said that she’s had many batches not totally set up and she always gives it away as sauce.
I do love being the recipient of homemade gifts! And I can just imagine spreading this on some warm brie…heaven!
Heather, as soon as I can get to Whole Foods, you’ll find some warm creamy brie in my kitchen. I really think it will be great with this.
My best homemade gift is cold smoked cheese packs. I do about a half dozen varieties each year and vacuum pack them in variety packages. Then Alexis makes them all pretty with colored cellophane with crackers and a cheese knife & board.
Speaking of which, I will be doing that this coming weekend. The cheese needs at least 2 weeks to cure after smoking.
Chris, that sounds fabulous! What a nice gift.
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I love this! It sounds so good — who wouldn’t want to get this as a gift?
I’m hoping you’re right. All but two jars are ear marked for gifts.
That looks very tasty. I could sure see it on some crackers with a bit of goat cheese maybe? We’re starting our foodie Christmas gifts tonight by making up a batch of caramels.
mmmmmm like the sound of the goat cheese. Right now I’m addicted to a smear of it on an English muffin every morning. I’ve love caramels and have never made them. Maybe I’ll give it a try this year. Thanks for the comment Dave.
I’m going to add this to my “foodie gift guide” that I’m working on!
Fabulous!
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Looks great! I’ve been searching for something different to make this year and I think I found it! How many jars does this recipe make? And is this using 1 pint size jars? Thanks!
I’m so sorry I can’t be exact with answering your question. I used up a bunch of little mixed jars that I had on hand. I’m guessing 6 – 8 small.