Apple Cider or Apple Juice -- What's the diff?

[davew]

Fall is coming here in Minnesota so that means the apple orchards will be making cider in full force. I've seen a lot of posts about making apple wine and it sounds pretty good.

My question is: What's the difference between apple wine and apple cider wine? Does it matter if the cider is pasteurized or non-pasteurized?

Also, I'd like to try my hand at a hard cider, so do I need to gather any more equipment to make cider? I'm assuming I will need some bottles, and a capper ( I can get the capper attachment for my sweeeeet champagne floor corker)

 

[St Allie]

Apple wine has a higher abv around 11-12 percent, it has water and sugar added. For a stronger apple flavour you could use pure juice with sugar added. Wine uses a wine yeast.

Fermented cider is a lower abv usually 5 to 9 percent, it is pure juice only .. no sugar or water and is fermented out on the natural sugars. To get a higher finished abv you 'mellow' the apples before pressing. Mellowing involves leaving the picked apples to sit for up to 3 weeks before pressing.. it reduces the water content and increases the sugars. Cider uses a bread, cider or wine yeast depending on what the maker is trying to achieve with flavour.

As far as my understanding goes, in the US, apple juice is also called cider.. where as in NZ, only fermented apple juice is called cider.

I keep my cider in 1 gallon glass carboys til required .. then bottle up 6 at a time. Mine is made from my own apples and is not pasteurised, I added a campden tablet per gallon and a teaspoon of citric acid for clarity and to prevent oxidation.

any questions just ask ..

Allie

 

[Wade E]

As Ned Flanders (Simpsons) would say, If its clear and yellow you have juice there fellow, if its murky and brown your in cider town!

 

[davew]

Doh! But which makes better wine?! I guess I'll just have to make both! AND hard cider! I'm gonna need more carboys!

 

[Dirtydog420]

What would happen if you used cider to make wine? As in add sugar and make it like you would a wine instead of regular hard cider?

 

[Wade E]

I have made both into wines and choose cider myself.

 

[St Allie]

I prefer cider as well.

 

[Nubz]

seems to me if you used cider you would have a sweeter crsiper apple flavor to it

 

[Wade E]

TRUE! When I made it from juice it started with an sg around 1.030, with the cider it was more like 1.055

 

[davew]

So with cider wine would it make sense to add sugar up to PA of 11 - 12 % ?

 

[St Allie]

yes, if that is what you prefer to make..

using all juice and no added water will improve the flavour.. you can add raisins for more body also.

Allie

 

[Wade E]

If you plan on shelving any for awhile yes. Its your product but it will last much better at a higher abv.