Apple Wine

[Flafemina]

I tried making wine from apples. I cored and crushed and sifted pounds of apples to make 1 gallon of juice. Boiled the juice for 45 minutes let it cool. Added yeast and let ferment. I racked it once and it has been sitting for a month. I tasted it today and there is no flavor at all. It tastes like alcohol water. I tested the SG and I am at .998. What did I do wrong and how can I add flavor?

 

[Julie]

You shouldn't have boiled the fruit but I'm thinking the reason you don't taste the apple is because it is dry, adds omes sugar and see if that doesn't bring out the apple flavor. What was your sg when you started?

 

[Flafemina]

I never tested SG when I started. I should have. I will add sugar are what happens. Wonder if I should treat it like a beer and not a wine?

 

[LoneStarLori]

I was attempting a hard cider from fresh cider and cider concentrate. I started it in October and it has been dry for 2 months. It does not have much apple flavor at all, but I understand from reading other threads here that the flavor diminishes and tends to come back at about 4 months.
I bottled 4 pints out the gallon yesterday and added dextrose to them to carbonate it.(I've never done that so we will see how that works out.)
The rest I added kmeta and sorbate to and will back sweeten it with the cider concentrate in a few days and bottle it as a wine. It was only a gallon to start with so I consider it an experiment.

 

[BernardSmith]

I was attempting a hard cider from fresh cider and cider concentrate. I started it in October and it has been dry for 2 months. It does not have much apple flavor at all, but I understand from reading other threads here that the flavor diminishes and tends to come back at about 4 months.
I bottled 4 pints out the gallon yesterday and added dextrose to them to carbonate it.(I've never done that so we will see how that works out.)
The rest I added kmeta and sorbate to and will back sweeten it with the cider concentrate in a few days and bottle it as a wine. It was only a gallon to start with so I consider it an experiment.

I've been experimenting with hard cider over the last few months - making gallon batches and I think one of the issues is a lack of acidity. You really need to check the acidity after fermentation has ended. Traditional cider used to include crab apples. Sweet cider sold at farmers markets or in the supermarket tend to be made from culinary or table apples and they are short on acid. I would also treat the cider like wine and add tannin. I think both the tannin and the acid help bring out the apple flavor.