Banana wine Recipe # 3

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gonzo46307

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I downloaded the recipe book off of winepress.org and used their banana recipe.

4 1/2 lb. bananas including peel WASHED!! and sliced.
1 (11.5 oz) welchs 100% white grape concentrate
1 3/4 lb. granulated sugar (SG to 1.090) My SG was 1.084
2.5 tsp acid blend (TA .65) I needed 3 tsp to get the TA to .65
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/8 tsp grape tannin
1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
6 1/2 pts water
1-campden tablet
Champagne wine yeast I used EC-1118

I also added the appropriate amount of yeast energizer

Slice the bananas and skins into 1/4" slices discard stems. Meanwhile, bring water to boil and in it dissolve sugar completely. Add bananas with skins to the boiling water and simmer for 30 minutes. Pour bananas and water through a straining bag into primary. Tie straining bag and leave in primary and add campden tablet (for larger batches use 2 bags if necessary). When cooled to room temp, add all remaining ingredients except yeast and stir well to dissolve. 12 hours after that add activated yeast. Ferment vigorously for two to three days then remove straining bag of pulp. Squeeze bag (with sanitized rubber gloved hands) to extract as much juice as possible and add juice back to primary. Discard bag with pulp. Continue primary fermentation until SG reaches 1.010, about 5-8 days depending on the yeast you use) then rack to secondary. Attach airlock and ferment to dryness. Rack, and stir in 1 campden crush per gallon, then top up carboy and refit airlock. Proceed to clear. Keep topped up with airlock in place. (At this point I added the sorbate and degassed using the mityvac) Age 2 months, stabilize with 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate per gallon, top up and refit airlock. After 60 days, taste, if you want a sweeter wine make a sugar syrup and sweeten to taste. When wine is completely clear add 1 crushed campden then rack into bottles and allow 6 to 10 months rest before drinking but it will be better in a year. [Adapted from Jack Keller’s Recipe]
 
I will say banana wine doesn't usually taste like bananas nor does pear wine taste like pears much. They are so light in flavor that most if not all of that flavor gets lost in fermentation. My pear wine came out more like a Chablis which was very nice and I typically use way more fruit then a recipe calls for as Ive been doing fruit wines for may years and learned this the hard way. Cant really explain or put into words what the banana wine tasted like but it was nice.
 
I will say banana wine doesn't usually taste like bananas nor does pear wine taste like pears much. ....Cant really explain or put into words what the banana wine tasted like but it was nice.

This kind of surprises me as my banana wine has a very definite banana flavor to it. While it's not like eating a banana , there's no mistaking the base component of the wine. In fact, I have found that if I am doing a blend, using the banana to add body to a wine, then I need to pair it with a wine that is bold enough to stand 'toe-to-toe' with the banana. I have used it as a blend for peach wine and also for cantaloupe wine, it completely overpowered the cantaloupe:db, the peach is still hanging in there....it's losing the fight, but it's not down yet!

here's my approach...not very different from others....



Ingredients
Bananas 18lbs
raisins 4.5lbs
Sugar 13-14lb
Acid Blend 4 tbls
Pectic Enzyme 2 tbls
Tannin 1 1/2 tsp
water to 7gal
Lalvin KI-V1116

Slice bananas into thin discs, leaving skins on fruit. Boiled loose in 4 1/2 qts water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 min. Pour through ferment-bag over sugar in primary fermentation vessel and stirring well to dissolve sugar, then place bag into bowl to catch drippings. Add acid blend, pectic enzyme and tannin, stirring again. When grain-bag cools, squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible and add liquid and drippings to liquor, discarding pulp. Put raisins in ferment bad and add to primary. Waited about 12 hrs then added yeast. Cover and set in warm place for seven days, stirring daily. Rack to carboy when SG reaches 1.04 , fit airlock, and move to cooler place, leaving undisturbed for two months. Siphon off sediment Ferment another four months. Rack and allow to clear. Rack again and bottle. May taste after six months, but matures at two years.
 
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