Mesquite Bean Wine

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snowgirl812001

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I am trying to find anyone who has made mesquite wine. I have found a few old threads from people who haven't been on here in years, but they didn't have much info. I am wondering how it tastes, what recipe you used, before i attempt to make it. Any help would be appreciated. :D
 
snowgirl, here is the recipe that i am using off of Jack Keller's website.

Native Americans have long used mesquite beans to make numerous delicacies and a few staples. The dried beans were ground into a flour that in turn made bread, cakes and bisquits. The beans also yielded candy, pudding and a wine-like beverage. Today mesquite jelly and mesquite wine are more common by-products.

The green mesquite bean pod, according to Euel Gibbons, contains a high percentage of natural sugars and makes a high energy survival food. This sugar would explain why the bean is known to naturally ferment under appropriate conditions. Once cattle taste fermenting mesquite beans, they will go to any length to get more if they smell the ferment.

Mesquite bean pods are typically 6-12 inches long and turn from green to yellow to brown. Gather the bean pods when starting to turn from green to yellow-brown, but before they start falling. They may be slightly freckled with dark red or may be plain. If the pods have already begun falling, check fallen ones carefully for boring insects.


Mesquite Bean Wine

3 lbs mesquite beans
11 oz can Welch's 100% White Grape Juice Frozen Concentrate
1-1/2 to 2 lbs finely granulated sugar (to s.g. 1.090)
water to make up one gallon
1-1/2 to 2 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Champagne wine yeast
Wash the bean pods and break them into one-inch pieces. Put them into a large cooking pot and cover them with about 3 quarts water. Simmer slowly for one hour, covered. Strain the beans off and discard. Pour the water into a primary and stir into it half the sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar, then add grape concentrate. Cover with cloth and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, add acid blend, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme. Stir to dissolve these ingredients and set aside, covered, for 12 hours. Add activated yeast and recover primary. Stir daily for 7 days. Stir in remaining sugar until dissolved, transfer to secondary, top up, and fit airlock. Rack into clean secondary, top up and refit airlock every 30 days for next 4 months. Stabilize, bottle and allow to age one year before drinking. This wine will keep well, getting better as it ages.


That recipe of for a one gallon recipe, but I am making a 5 gallon recipe for my first attempt at this since we have so many mesquite beans in West Texas. I am pretty much following his recipe, just boiling 3 quarts of water in 3 quarts of mesquite beans to get the juice that you add to the grape juice concentrate to make a gallon. In this case I just multiplied the beans and water by 5 and got the must I wanted for the 5 gallon batch. I have not made this before so i do not know how it will taste...but I did make one recipe very similar to his using the Texas Sand burrs instead of mesquite beans. It turned out to be a very nice dry white wine that aged very well. I am hoping this wine will turn out very similar in body and taste. Good luck with yours and I will keep you updated on how mine is going.
 
Thanks! That recipe sounds better than the one I have. I already have the hard work done, I have the mesquite juice frozen in the freezer:) I have always made jelly but wanted to try the wine. We have an unlimited supply of mesquite trees too lol. I think I will be attempting a 5 gallon batch too, and I will definately keep tabs on how yours is going:)
 
The only change I made to recipe was since it is a 5 gallon batch and I had room in the fermenter, I added all of the sugar at once. Still stirring daily, but I wanted to make sure my starting SG was 1.850 so I will end up with about an 11% alcohol level. Look forward to seeing how yours is coming along as well.
 
Just racked it from the primary to the secondary fermenter this weekend. It looks good and smells good, but I resisted tasting it yet. Will keep it bulk aging for 4 months, then filter it and bottle so it can age another 6 months at least. Really anxious to try this one after a year. Good luck with yours!
 
That looks almost exactly what mine looked like when I started. It is in the secondary fermenter now and still bubbling very lightly after two weeks. I will rerack it at the end of this month and then let it finish out and bulk age it for probably about 6 months. It is already clearing up alot on its own. I will update my pictures when I rerack at the end of the month.
 
I dont think it ever hurts to use them since they do kill any bacteria. I didnt use them this time since I had just steamed the juice and I knew it was pasteurized well. I would use the camden tablets if I had the juice sitting in the fridge for a few days before I started the must.
 
Sg hit .990 so racked on campden/sorbate & added clearing agent. Is it better to do that & let age, or do you wait to add clearing agent right before you bottle?
 
the clearing agent helps right away after fermentation stops so you did it correctly, its looking good
 
It's coming, still have it clearing/aging. Trying to decide how long to let it sit for...
 
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