Gifts from the Kitchen are very special for the Holidays. Take a look at this Blackberry Merlot Wine Jelly Recipe.
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 a fun wine jelly.
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.
Recipe for Blackberry Merlot Wine Jelly
I hope you give this wine jelly recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give it a star rating and leave a comment with a review. I value opinions from my readers.
And if you have a wine jelly recipe, please let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
A jelly recipe that is great for gifts, made with wine.
- 3 1/2 cups Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Merlot wine
- 1 package certo
- 4 1/2 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 1/2 inch head space. Tighten 2 piece lids. Process for 5 minutes in boiling water bath.
Wine Jelly using Sure-Jell
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. 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.
Heidi @ CrockPotLadies.com says
November 19, 2011 at 8:20 amSimply lovely! I am saving this recipe on Pinterest for ideas for next year when Blackberries are in season.
Lea Ann says
November 19, 2011 at 8:38 amThanks 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.
Carman Gisler says
September 12, 2019 at 12:02 pmWhat kind of certified do you use in the Blackberry Merlot Wine Jelly and how much?
Lea Ann Brown says
September 12, 2019 at 12:26 pmHi Carman. Sure Jell. And I believe I pouch is 3 ounces.
Cooking with Michele says
November 19, 2011 at 8:46 amGreat photo Lea Ann – the white balance looks great and the berries really pop!
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 5:32 amThanks Michele.
pam says
November 19, 2011 at 6:27 pmyep, foodie gifts are my favorite, both to give and receive.
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 5:32 amGood point, they’re as fun to give as to receive.
Barbara says
November 19, 2011 at 7:08 pmCan I be your good friend? I would LOVE a jar of that!
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 5:31 amIf you lived close by, I’d run a jar over to you Barbara. 🙂
Karen Harris says
November 19, 2011 at 8:47 pmBeautiful photo LeaAnn! This looks that a gift that anyone would love to receive. I’m going to have to give this a try.
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 5:31 amThank you Karen.
Sam@My Carolina Kitchen says
November 20, 2011 at 5:15 amI’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
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 5:30 amI do love memories like that Sam. I should have put the stained wooden spoon that I used in that photo. Darn. 🙂
Vickie says
November 20, 2011 at 7:32 amI’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!
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 10:06 amI hope you do try this, I think you’re going to be pleased. 🙂
Vickie says
January 3, 2012 at 7:47 pmJust 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! 🙂
Lea Ann says
January 4, 2012 at 6:24 amBefore 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.
Heather @girlichef says
November 20, 2011 at 8:48 amI do love being the recipient of homemade gifts! And I can just imagine spreading this on some warm brie…heaven!
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 10:07 amHeather, 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.
Chris says
November 20, 2011 at 11:06 amMy 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.
Lea Ann says
November 20, 2011 at 1:11 pmChris, that sounds fabulous! What a nice gift.
Jo says
November 20, 2011 at 7:07 pmHi there,
I’d like to introduce to you a new website http://www.foodepix.com that we have
just recently launched. Foodepix is a photo gallery of delicious and mouth
watering food.
We’ve seen your blog and we love your pictures and recipes. We would love
to invite you to register with foodepix.com and upload your images.
Hope to see you there. 🙂
Thanks.
Fresh and Foodie says
November 26, 2011 at 5:29 pmI love this! It sounds so good — who wouldn’t want to get this as a gift?
Lea Ann says
November 28, 2011 at 6:01 amI’m hoping you’re right. All but two jars are ear marked for gifts. 🙂
Dave says
November 29, 2011 at 2:58 pmThat 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.
Lea Ann says
November 30, 2011 at 5:32 ammmmmmm 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.
Robyn Lindars says
December 4, 2011 at 6:52 amI’m going to add this to my “foodie gift guide” that I’m working on!
Lea Ann says
December 4, 2011 at 8:29 amFabulous!
Kelly says
December 15, 2011 at 10:32 amLooks 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! 🙂
Lea Ann says
December 17, 2011 at 6:10 amI’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.
sharman lanctot says
November 9, 2014 at 1:54 pmHas any one tried this with frozen blackberries?
Lea Ann Brown says
November 12, 2014 at 8:02 amI have not tried it with frozen blackberries. And I’m not a canning expert. Perhaps you can visit the Ball Canning site for tips.
Sarah Copeland says
August 30, 2016 at 6:48 amI have. I used 2 – 12oz bags of frozen blackberries (thawed). I blended them with 1/2 cup wine, strained to remove seeds, then followed the rest of the directions. I wanted a good blend of blackberry flavor with the merlot.
Jennifer B says
May 31, 2016 at 5:58 pmI can’t wait to make this! I make homemade cheese and this is a perfect match with the Brie!
Lea Ann Brown says
June 12, 2016 at 9:14 amI agree on the Brie idea Jennifer. Let me know how you like it.
Lisa J says
January 6, 2017 at 11:06 pmCan you substitute blackberry juice instead of using blackberries? This would allow making when blackberries were not in season and would also prevent the straining process. If so, how much juice should be used and should amount of wine be reduced? This sounds wonderful!!!
Lea Ann Brown says
January 8, 2017 at 8:08 amOh how I wish I could answer this. I’m not an expert at all about jelly making and substitutions. With that said, this jelly is special. Let me know if you sub and how it works.
Jewel says
December 17, 2017 at 3:00 pmSo to clarify, you use the Sure-Jell and the Certo?