Homemade grape concentrate?

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Brewgrrrl

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My uncle just gave me a half a bushel of concord grapes. I plan to make most into wine, but I'm going to have some left over even after making an F-pack. I was thinking about ways to use the rest, and I was wondering if anyone has ever used these either as a substitute for grape concentrate (say in a fruit wine recipe) or if anyone ever made their own grape concentrate using concord grapes?

Any ideas? I'd hate to end up just eating these (ha ha ha).
 
You can dry them and make raisins or make grape juice. Also look in you wild wines & meads book, page 114. I would be careful using them as a replacement for grape concentrate because Concords can overwhelm the other fruit in your wines.
VC
 
A half bushel isn't many of them. When you press them, it takes about 14 pounds of Concord for a gallon and there are only about 25 pounds or so in a bushel of grapes, so you have less than 2 gallons of juice. You sure are stretching them out good!
 
I was only going to make a gallon, but now - thanks vcasey - I will make a gallon AND a gallon of Concord pyment. I have exactly enough for both and they are all washed and destemmed (and de-spidered and de-slugged - EEK!) so I'm good to go.
 
De-spidered and deslugged..... there goes all the flavor
smiley4.gif
 
vcasey said:
I would be careful using them as a replacement for grape concentrate because Concords can overwhelm the other fruit in your wines.
VC


Concord is the main grape used for Juice Concentrate. The boughten concentrate from wine supply houses contains other variety grapes, but most red grape juice is made from Concord grapes. That's why there are thousands of acres of them grown in NY,Pennsylvania and some of the midwestern states. You are correct though, the flavor can overwhelm light fruit wines.
 
Appleman I was thinking of WE's Red Grape Concentrate. I can't imagine they would use concord in the mix.
VC
 
Brewgrrrl said:
I was only going to make a gallon, but now - thanks vcasey - I will make a gallon AND a gallon of Concord pyment. I have exactly enough for both and they are all washed and destemmed (and de-spidered and de-slugged - EEK!) so I'm good to go.

I have a bunch of 1 gallon wines to bottle in November and will be trying this as well so I am looking forward to hearing about yours.
VC
 

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