1st apple try

[WineYooper]

Some questions on apple wine from fruit. Pressed out 54# of previously frozen, cored, wedged apples of different varieties and got 4 ga. of juice. I'm trying to get 5 gallons as my aging bulk with 6 ga. to start. I was going to add in 2 gallons of H20 to the mix and of course all the other ingredients. I don't have any citric acid right now so will have to get tomorrow. One question I have is do you add the pressed bulk in a mesh bag for flavor from the skins or just discard? Lots of the fruit has oxidized, turned brown on the outside but not inside, is this a ruination? I have looked around for a recipe and have not settled on one yet. The ones I have seen have been mixed on discarding or adding to the must. I have read that the skins add to the flavor. Opinions? The one thing I learned today is the new fruit press I bought online does shed shavings you need to think about when using. I even sprayed with food grade silicone and it did not help. It was a lot of work!

 

[Green Mountains]

i believe too much skin will add a bitterness that you may not want but I'd put the pulp in a mesh bag and add peptic enzyme to break down more of the fruit. 24 hours later I'd pull it out.

DON'T add water, why water down a perfect juice that you worked so hard for. At the least, make a smaller batch than you'd planned on.

 

[ewanfish]

I just started my 1st gall of Apple Spiced wine today to & in the recipe it never said to take the skins off just not to add the pips or stork which i had to dive back into the bucket to get the pips & cores out, at least my hands smelt nice afterwards

 

[Luc]

I make a lot of apple wine each year, so I can speak from experience.

http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2009/10/appel-vlierbessenwijn-apple.html

I core them, slice them and then pulp them in a kitchen machine.
Pulp-ferment them with the skins on. That gives the best flavor.

Freezing is however the best option for getting the most juice out. However most of the time my freezer is top-loaded so that is not a real option for the quantities I am processing.

The browning is due to oxidation.
That will vanish in due time when you use sulphite or extra citric acid (when needed).
Read my story on that here:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/03/bruin-worden-van-appels-browning-of.html

If you want some recipes look at this story:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/03/bruin-worden-van-appels-browning-of.html

This story links to 4 other apple wines I made.

Luc