Fruit wine

[little white rabbit]

Just wanted to ask if someone has experiences with making wine from fruits.

i have more greengage plums than i need so i was thinking about making wine out of them, already made marmalade and stewed fruit and still had more than 45kg left.
i started today with half of it and i'm going to do it with the same method we make must around here. mixed about 20kg mashed fruit with 4kg of suggar and added water until the 25l barrel was full. now it's going to stay for about 2-3 days until it has foam on the top which i get off before sealing the barrel (it has a device with lets the CO2 evaporate but no oxygen in, i don't know how you call this in english)

i'll let it sit for two weeks, get out the flesh and let the juice ferment for some more weeks


What do the ones who made things like this before think? only fruit i have experience with are apples so i would be interested in your oppinion and maybe you have some tips for me how i could get a better product with the rest of the fruit

i'll take pictures tomorrow, it's already dark now

[Hippie3]

(it has a device with lets the CO2 evaporate but no oxygen in, i don't know how you call this in english)

we call it an 'airlock'
you could steam extract the juice for a clearer product.

[little white rabbit]

sry, i didn't notice there is also a forum for alcohol until now

i was thinking about steam extraction too, but i don't really like distilled alcohol.

just took pictures of the barrel with the mash and how it looks after sealing it
more to come when i get to the next step

[SilvrHairDevil]

I have made 1000’s of liters of fruit wines and I have some tips.

First your sugar addition is a bit on the low side. You could go to 5 lb but another idea would be to add a liter of Concentrated Grape Juice, which will add more sugar (=more alcohol) and give the wine a “vinosity” which is lacking in straight fruit wines.

Second, you would get better results using a wine yeast made for fruit instead of relying on the wild yeast on the fruit skins. Lalvin 1118 or 1122 would work.

Likely too late for this batch, but to keep in mind for future – saving work in prepping the fruit, you can freeze it instead of mashing it. The ice crystals will pierce the cell walls of the fruit, allowing the yeast access to the sugars.

Adding pectic enzyme, pectinase, to the fruit before adding the sugar and water will break down the natural pectin ( there is a lot in plums), which could make your wine cloudy.

You should also add some potassium (or sodium) metabisulfite (Campden tablets) which will protect your wine against bacteria and also assist the fermentation pathway in the correct direction for aroma and taste.

Any other questions – just ask.

[little white rabbit]

thanks a lot, this is some very interesting info

First your sugar addition is a bit on the low side. You could go to 5 lb but another idea would be to add a liter of Concentrated Grape Juice, which will add more sugar (=more alcohol) and give the wine a “vinosity” which is lacking in straight fruit wines.

i did add 4 kg (~8lb) of sugar, so it's to much i think
i'll try to find concentrated grape juice for my next batch

Second, you would get better results using a wine yeast made for fruit instead of relying on the wild yeast on the fruit skins. Lalvin 1118 or 1122 would work.

where do you get this yeast? if it's also used in regular grape wine i could just ask the winemaker i get my wine from if he could get me some

Likely too late for this batch, but to keep in mind for future – saving work in prepping the fruit, you can freeze it instead of mashing it. The ice crystals will pierce the cell walls of the fruit, allowing the yeast access to the sugars.

good idea... could have thought of this myself after the extractions i made using the same method to crush the cells

Adding pectic enzyme, pectinase, to the fruit before adding the sugar and water will break down the natural pectin ( there is a lot in plums), which could make your wine cloudy.

really interesting. i don't care about the first batch being cloudy, but i'm sure after some patches i want to get a perfect result...

You should also add some potassium (or sodium) metabisulfite (Campden tablets) which will protect your wine against bacteria and also assist the fermentation pathway in the correct direction for aroma and taste.

how much do you add? isn't it also bad for the yeast?


and in the end one more question: how long would you ferment the mash? do you think two weeks is ok? i read about to much time will make the wine bitter


again thanks a lot for taking your time helping me

[abaca]

Campden is added at one pill per gallon. This is allowed to sit in the must for 24 hours before the yeast is added.

Time on fermentation really vary. The bulk of it should be done in a few weeks but it might take a few months for it to cease. Bulk aging the beer/wine doesn't make it bitter but leaving it on the dead yeast can. This is why it is important to rack it often.

[SilvrHairDevil]

"i did add 4 kg (~8lb) of sugar, so it's to much i think"

My bad. I didn't notice kg and took it as lb. As to the yeast - yes, your winemaker should be able to fix you up. Ask him about a hydrometer, too. This will tell you if you have too much sugar in there by measuring the specific gravity of the must.

As abaca pointed out, the Campden is used for protection of the fruit at the beginning of the process. If you put in too much, the yeast will not be able to start. This is the time to use the pectic enzyme, also.

I would rack when the first vigorous bubbling in the airlock slows down. Add about 2 Campdens at this time, then one each time you rack afterwards.

Another tip - get several glass carboys of graduated sizes ( 23 liter, 18 liter, 12 liter and some 4 liter jugs) so that when you rack, you can fill the carboy to the top, avoiding extra air space at the top. Some people just put sterilized marbles in the carboys to bring up the level.

[abaca]

Thanx for the tip about marbles! I brew mostly beer and don't run into this problem often. The few wines and meads I've brewed though I topped off with sugar/honey water after racking. This can be problematic if you don't want fermentation to kickback up.

[hahaha2]

I make regular wine if that helps

[SilvrHairDevil]

Originally Posted by hahaha2

I make regular wine if that helps

It helps mostly in the area where you have the equipment and the know-how, or should I say, the TEK.

Making wine from grapes/grape juice is somewhat different from fruit wines in that grape juice makes the perfect wine must. Fruit wines almost always need sugar additions and can benefit from chemical additions as well.

These would be the pectic enzymes, the yeast nutrient/energizer and perhaps some acids, depending on the fruit type.

Also depending on the fruit type, the choice of yeast can make a considerable difference. For instance - the Lalvin 1122 I mentioned earlier reduces the malic acid that you find in apples (especially green apples) and blackberries, thus making them drinkable earlier instead of waiting a couple years for the malo-lactic secondary fermentation to occur.

Many of these problems don't arise when making grape wine.