New at this and was wondering what the experts thought.

I'm making my first batch of wine. It's a batch of peach/mango fruit wine.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49467

I'm thinking it is going fine. But, since this is my first batch I was hoping for some comments so I know if I doing this correct.

On 4/11/2015 at 18:20 PM: Yeast was pitched
On 4/11/2015 at 18:29 PM: SP was 1.080

On 4/12/2015 at 18:16 PM: SP was 1.078

On 4/13/2015 at 18:36 PM: SP was 1.078

On 4/14/2015 at 18:44 PM: SP was 1.068

On 4/15/2015 at 10:47 AM: SP was 1.062

On 4/16/2015 at 08:25 AM: SP was 1.058
On 4/16/2015 at 19:18 PM: SP was 1.051

On 4/17/2015 at 19:15 PM: SP was 1.044

On 4/18/2015 at 17:26 PM: SP was 1.038

On 4/19/2015 at 19:33 PM: SP was 1.032

On 4/20/2015 at 16:17 PM: SP was 1.029

On 4/21/2015 at 19:53 PM: SP was 1.022

On 4/22/2015 at 08:57 AM: SP was 1.017

I have the must in a 6.8 gallon plastic bucket, in my kitchen. The temperature fluctuates daily from about 74 degrees during the day and about 68 degrees at night.

The lid is NOT snapped down; rather it is resting on the rim and the air hole is left unobstructed.

I stir it vigorously using an up and down motion to pull everything from the bottom for about 15-30 seconds once in the AM and once in the PM. When I get finished stirring it, there is a layer of bubbles that completely cover the top.

I taste the sample I use to take the gravity reading. I'm noticing that the peach/mango flavor is diminishing. I'm thinking that once the SP gets down around 1.000 there will be little flavor left. I will probably have to add some flavor concentrate and perhaps some sugar to get a stronger peach/mango flavor.

Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks;
Anthony

Seems to be progressing nicely.

Yes,,, seems to be progressing well. I'd expect the flavor to become more subtle as the sugars deplete. It is no longer a sweet fruit juice but you certainly can add some flavoring to your taste after fermentation.

once settled and cleared try some bench trials with sugar syrup it may improve the flavor.

Sal is absolutely correct, and you will find this with nearly all fruit wines. If you sample again before you finish up, just sprinkle some table sugar into your glass after your initial sip. Keep adding a bit more for each successive sip. You'll find the sugar brings the fruit flavor back up, and you'll find the place where you like it.

If you have retained some of the fruit juice or have access to more, you may wish to use potassium sorbate to stabilize your wine before bottling and add some of the juice mixed with sugar to raise the flavor profile again. This is loosely defined as an f-pac (fruit pack). Just add it in until it reaches your desired level of flavor and sweetness.

But I have found that just adding sugar (either granular and stirring or in a water solution) usually does the trick, provided you loaded up the front end with a lot of fruit per gallon and are not trying to overcome a deficiency there.

Always use sorbate before adding sugar. It inhibits the yeast from re-fermenting with the new sugar.

Please note this: No matter the form, liquid or granular, sugar will increase in sweetness as it goes into solution. So, when you back-sweeten, add it to just short of where you think would be ideal. If you let the wine sit a couple days after that and test, you will find it tastes sweeter than before.

You should let the wine sit a few days after back-sweetening, to be sure the sorbate has indeed arrested the yeast and all is well for bottling.

BTW, it pays to pump as many pounds of fruit per gallon into the front end as you can afford.

Best of luck!

I have never made a peach/mango, but I have made several batches of peach that are very much in demand in my circle. I generally backsweeten to 1.005. Doesn't take much to bring the flavor out.

peach mango

if I were you I just follow the direction and I think you'll find it's sweet when adding the fpac if one came with it.

My opinion isvthat you are taking WAAAAAAY too many SG readings. Once a week until it stops dropping and thats all you need.

joeswine said:

if I were you I just follow the direction and I think you'll find it's sweet when adding the fpac if one came with it.

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Joe, it's not a kit.

Not a kit maker, I normally take SG and Temp twice a day when I punch down (once in the AM and once in the PM).

peach /mango fruit

okay I,didn't get that ,how many lbs. of fruit per gallon did you use? what type yeast and or was pectin enzymes' also added for clearing and digestion? what is your expected abv.?
STARTING SG-1.08 =10.5 ABV.

Did you use nutrient? A fruit wine shouldn't take that long to complete unless you're doing a cool ferment. Lack of nutrient results in a slow and sluggish ferment and you run the risk of H2S production. You should use a nutrient program where you split the entire nutrient dose, needed for the ferment, in half. The first half goes in when the yeast becomes active, and the second half when you get to 50% sugar reduction.

Thanks for the feedback.

I tested SP this morning. It's at 1.003. It was stuck at 1.010 for a few days, so yesterday I added a teaspoon of nutrient.

I'm guessing my next step will to be transferring it to a carboy and adding potassium sorbate to let it begin to clear.

Ants_Elixirs said:

Thanks for the feedback.

I tested SP this morning. It's at 1.003. It was stuck at 1.010 for a few days, so yesterday I added a teaspoon of nutrient.

I'm guessing my next step will to be transferring it to a carboy and adding potassium sorbate to let it begin to clear.

Click to expand...

Transfer it yes but leave it finish fermenting before adding any chemicals

agree with sal and jswordy, to bring some fruit flavours back out and terroir on a final sg of around 1.005 ish after sorbate, or there abouts.

back sweetening and some ageing will help the flavor alot!

barbiek said:

Transfer it yes but leave it finish fermenting before adding any chemicals

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I transferred it to a carboy this afternoon, Before doing so, I stirred in a tablespoon of Sparkolloid that had been dissolved in a cup of boiling water.

It's still fermenting nicely, blowing bubbles in the airlock.

I scooped some out to test the SP. Afterwards, I sweetened the test portion a bit and the flavor was pretty good. I had already ordered some natural peach and natural mango extracts that should be here in a few days just in case.

Overall I'm pretty excited. I never realized how easy it is. On to the second batch. I picked up 12 pounds of frozen fruit mix yesterday. That batch will have strawberries, cherries, raspberries & blueberries.

I'm thinking I need to switch to the 6 or 6.5 gallon carboys. I had to dump about a gallon down the sink as it wouldn't fit in a 5 gallon carboy. I figure if I start with around 6-6.25 gallons, by the time it clears and the sediment is racked off I'll end up with about 5 gallons.