Advice on Strawberry Wine

[james_makes_plonk]

I'm looking into starting my first batch ever of strawberry wine. I found a recipe in this forum that I think looks pretty good:

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/grocery-store-strawberry.3516/

3.5 lbs. very ripe Strawberries
appr. 2lbs. sugar SG=1.085
1/4 tsp. wine tannin
1/4 tsp. Pectic emzyme
1 1/2 tsp. acid blend
Yeast nutrient as directed on bottle
1 campden tablet
Champagne Yeast


I intend to deviate a bit from the instructions in that post. First of all, I wanted to use frozen strawberries rather than fresh ones. The recipe makes no mention of a mesh straining bag for the berries, but I'll be using one. Here's my process:

Heat half the water and dissolve sugar into it. Place the berries in the straining bag and put that in the primary fermenter. Pour the hot water over the berries and then mash them in the bag. Add the rest of the water to bring the temperature down. Add acid blend, tannin, yeast nutrient, and crushed campden tablet. Next day, I'll add pectic enzyme. The day after, I'll check SG and add yeast. I'll be using Lalvin EC-1118.

I'll ferment it dry then transfer to the glass carboy, degas and add bentonite to help clearing. Rack in a few weeks, then age in the carboy until 3 months. Add potassium sorbate and bottle. Age another 9 months then call it ready to share with friends.

Any feedback on that would be appreciated.

A few questions:

• I'll be getting my first ph meter in a couple days. When do I check ph? Same time as SG? What ph should I be aiming for?
• Would it be better to add potassium sorbate right after transferring out of the primary? I've heard to use it before bottling.
• Is 3 months long enough to age in the secondary or should I rack it again and go for longer?

 

[cmason1957]

Strawberries - prepare for a somewhat higher than expected level of loss due to lees during primary fermentation. When I have made strawberries in the past, I have often started with 1.5 gallons (scaling everything appropriately) or 2 gallons. There is that much loss on the first racking.

On to your questions - ph - you check prior to fermentation starts, for all wines 3.2-3.7 are generally considered the values to be within. You can go a bit higher or lower, like 3.0 - 4.0, but I would not go much beyond that, those are the levels yeast like to work in. And the values that generally taste good to us humans.

I don't add potassium sorbate until and unless (and you will be with strawberry, probably) I am ready to backsweeten. That means I have a clear wine and I would let my picky neighbor drink it and I am almost ready to bottle. If you aren't going to backsweeten and your wine fermented to dry (0.998 or lower) no potassium sorbate is needed. It acts as birth control for your yeast and prevents refermentation later.

I don't have a good answer to you aging question, my general experience is longer aging is better, but you can probably bottle around 3- 6 months.

 

[winemaker81]

I agree with everything Craig said.

Regarding aging, I was originally taught to never bottle a wine before 4 months, and practical experience has confirmed that.

The big tells are clarity and if it's still dropping sediment. If the wine is not clear and/or if it's still dropping sediment, it's not ready to bottle.

I base bulk aging on the heaviness of the wine. My personal guidelines are:

• 4 to 6 months - white grape, light fruits, and light reds
• 6 to 9 months - heavy whites, heavy fruit (like Elderberry), and medium reds
• 10 to 12+ months -- heavy reds

These are my guidelines, not rules. A high ABV wine might go longer, a lower ABV (< 11%) may be shorter (but not < 4 months). Also, each wine is unique so a given batch may go longer or shorter, and my free time has an impact.

When in doubt, go longer. A month longer won't hurt the wine, but a month too short may result in sediment in the bottle, which is not fatal, but does mar the presentation.

 

[james_makes_plonk]

The raspberry wine I started in March was a learning experience; there was a lot of lees and I lost a lot in the first racking out of the fermenter. Checking my notes on that one, I added 1.25 gallons of water and ended up with 1 gallon in the carboy after racking. I'm expecting the strawberry to be similar, but based on the advice here, I will bump up the starting volume.

Thanks for the guidlines @winemaker81. How often do you rack when bulk aging?

 

[winemaker81]

How often do you rack when bulk aging?

The short answer is I don't.

From my research, gross lees (fruit solids) drops within 24-72 hours of the end of fermentation. I typically rack 2-3 weeks after pressing. Anything after that is fine lees (yeast hulls).

That first racking is into barrels where my reds age for 12+ months, and I don't rack until the new wine is ready for barrel, which is when I bottle last year's wine.

Rack only when necessary.

 

[james_makes_plonk]

I got this started. Here's what's in the bucket...

• 4 lbs strawberries
• 6 quarts water
• 3 lbs sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp acid blend
• 1/4 tsp tannin
• 1 crushed campden tablet

It's sitting around 29 C (84 F) and when I measured the ph it was 2.95. Do I panic immediately or just wait until I'm closer to pitching the yeast to see if I need to make an adjustment?

Also, I scaled up the sugar for the extra 2 quarts water, but not the fruit. Should I have? I have another straining bag and could toss in another 2 lbs if that would end up with better results.

 

[winemaker81]

It's sitting around 29 C (84 F) and when I measured the ph it was 2.95.

The pH is low, but the yeast will probably handle it.

Also, I scaled up the sugar for the extra 2 quarts water, but not the fruit. Should I have?

Low fruit means low aroma and flavor. I'd probably go with at least 6 lbs of fruit to 4 quarts water, so you definitely want to add at least 2 more lbs.

What is the SG?

 

[james_makes_plonk]

I haven't measured SG yet. Was going to wait for the temp to come down just a little for a more accurate reading.

I'll add more fruit.

You think I'd have better results leaving the ph alone rather than adding something to deacidify?

Edit: checked SG and it's also a bit low at 1.070. What's the best way to deal with that? The sugar should be dissolved so I can't just stir more in but I don't want to add muchore water either.

 

[winemaker81]

You think I'd have better results leaving the ph alone rather than adding something to deacidify?

I'm more cautious than a lot of folks when adjusting acid, so I'd leave it as-is. Yours is lower than I like, but it's do-able.

Edit: checked SG and it's also a bit low at 1.070. What's the best way to deal with that? The sugar should be dissolved so I can't just stir more in but I don't want to add muchore water either.

I'd stir in sugar, a bit at a time. Do this before you add more fruit, as more fruit will make it thicker.

 

[james_makes_plonk]

I already added 2 lbs fruit. I'll check it again tomorrow when I'm adding the pectic enzyme

 

[winemaker81]

I already added 2 lbs fruit. I'll check it again tomorrow when I'm adding the pectic enzyme

Think of the stirring as an aerobic workout ...

 

[Rice_Guy]

the ph it was 2.95. Do I panic immediately

wine is a food system! You should never panic with a pH of 3. You can be concerned with a pH of 2.8 and ignore it. You can be concerned with pH 2.6 that the yeast will get stuck as alcohol builds up and you produce a sweet low alcohol cider.

The color In strawberry is not 100% soluble and falls out with the lees. I like to add 1% of a dark pigment fruit like aronia or black raspberry to keep the color intensity.

 

[james_makes_plonk]

thanks @Rice_Guy. I'm not sweating it too much. I liked your advice about color and threw in 4 oz of blackberries to add some tint.

I stirred in another 8oz of sugar and the SG is reading 1.086. I've added the pectic enzyme and will see where the must is at tomorrow morning for measurements. I expect to be pitching the yeast then.

On another note, I have some Fermaid O I picked up since some recipies I've been looking towards call for it... has anyone used this before? The package suggests tossing some in partway through the primary fermentation. The lower ph risks having the fermentation get stuck? Could something like this help?

 

[Ohio Bob]

thanks @Rice_Guy. I'm not sweating it too much. I liked your advice about color and threw in 4 oz of blackberries to add some tint.

I stirred in another 8oz of sugar and the SG is reading 1.086. I've added the pectic enzyme and will see where the must is at tomorrow morning for measurements. I expect to be pitching the yeast then.

On another note, I have some Fermaid O I picked up since some recipies I've been looking towards call for it... has anyone used this before? The package suggests tossing some in partway through the primary fermentation. The lower ph risks having the fermentation get stuck? Could something like this help?

Absolutely add the Fermaid at 1/3 sugar depletion, so at an SG of 1.060. The yeast is still replicating itself as well as making alcohol. It’s at a point where it needs a boost to keep going.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have used Fermaid O (organic) and K exclusively for three years. It is recommended for giving smoother growth with a lower chemistry lab nitrogen analysis. New recipes seem to be pushing dividing the nitrogen dosage into several smaller treatments to create smoother growth. Staggered nutrients will be smoother if you use organic and/or chemical nitrogen. A Staged nitrogen recipe puts in all the nitrogen by 1/3 sugar depletion.

 

[james_makes_plonk]

An update on this...
I pitched the yeast on Monday (May 6) and have been taking daily readings while stirring the must. On Tuesday evening, it was reading 1.080, then Wednesday around noon, 1.050. I added the Fermaid at that point. It's Thursday evening and it's down to 1.002 already! It's still fizzing pretty well.

At what point should I pull the fruit? I was thinking to leave the fruit in for a week from start (so pulling it out Saturday) then give it another couple days to setting before racking it into the secondary. If I do that and rack on Monday, I think I should be able to leave most of the gross lees in the primary. And with the way this fermentation is going, I wouldn't be surprised to see an SG around 0.990.

Does this sound right?

 

[Ohio Bob]

An update on this...
I pitched the yeast on Monday (May 6) and have been taking daily readings while stirring the must. On Tuesday evening, it was reading 1.080, then Wednesday around noon, 1.050. I added the Fermaid at that point. It's Thursday evening and it's down to 1.002 already! It's still fizzing pretty well.

At what point should I pull the fruit? I was thinking to leave the fruit in for a week from start (so pulling it out Saturday) then give it another couple days to setting before racking it into the secondary. If I do that and rack on Monday, I think I should be able to leave most of the gross lees in the primary. And with the way this fermentation is going, I wouldn't be surprised to see an SG around 0.990.

Does this sound right?

Sounds like a good plan. Everything seems to be on schedule.

 

[Jusatele]

I like doing strawberry wines
I pull the fruit after 1 week. It is my finding tat I get nothing else from it after that and can run the risk of something funky attacking the fruit.
Also I find that strawberry wine has a ton of lees so I run a filtering funnel at first rack.

 

[james_makes_plonk]

I pulled the fruit after it had been in the primary for a week; that was Saturday. I don't have a filter so I'm just hoping I'll get enough off the top to fill the 1 gallon secondary. I tossed 1.5 gallons of water in to start, so we'll see.

I'm not sure what's going on here... It looks like some flakes appeared on the top in the last 24 hours or so