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msfgroup

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My wife and I had lunch recently and had a glass of Pinot Grigio (don't remember the name sorry) but the waiter said it had a finish taste of grapefruit. Has anyone experimented with adding Grapefruit to their Pinot Grigio kits? If you have how much fruit and how long in the primary not to be too much.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Mike & Sherry
MSFGROUP
 
My wife and I had lunch recently and had a glass of Pinot Grigio (don't remember the name sorry) but the waiter said it had a finish taste of grapefruit. Has anyone experimented with adding Grapefruit to their Pinot Grigio kits? If you have how much fruit and how long in the primary not to be too much.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Mike & Sherry
MSFGROUP

Look at @joeswine threads, he uses the zest of grapefruit.
 
I have done it with other whites, not PG. My suggestions:
Peel, don't zest. Way easier to rack off of the peel. Also you have a little more control over the amount. Make sure you have no pith.
Keep a close eye on it, it can sneak up on you. I used 1 whole grapefruit, and although it was a smaller batch, I had all the grapefruit hints I wanted after only 2 days.
 
SIZE="4"][/SIZE] Now in my opinion us just the zest of the grapefruit the pith is the bitter side not a good additive to the wine,the zest however addresses the acidity in the wine and create a bond in the base this is how I have always done it . Whether in the primary or secondary it works and works well.The amount you use depends on the bite you want,usually 1/2 or 1 zest of a grapefruit per 6 gallons ,1/2 a grapefruit for 5 gallons.g o to a thread entitled Zesting you'll see what your looking for.
 
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Joe told me the same thing....I looked at that little pile of zest and wound using the zest of a whole grapefruit. After almost a year, it is starting to settle down.

Like most things you add to wine, it is easy to add more later....but you can't take it out if you use too much. It is potent stuff.
 
I see my post was not clear. I don't mean use the entire thickness of the peel. Use a sharp knife or potato peeler and shave off just the outermost part. If you get the white pith, you are peeling too deep. Maybe "shavings" is a better term.

By zesting, you can easily avoid the pith, but you have hundreds of little bits of grapefruit. Doing it my way gives you the same stuff as zesting but in great big pieces which you can fish out of the carboy if you need to and which won't get sucked up while racking.
 
Or easiest yet use the zest to make an extract. Using a glass jar with tight fitting lid fill partway with vodka or everclear, add the zest and let it sit for a month or two. The zest settles to the bottom, and you can pour the clear liquid on top into another clean container. That's is your extract, and since it is cleared you can use it at any time during the wine making process.

This is all info from one of Joe's threads. I've made coconut, cinnamon, orange, Grapefruit, lime, cocoa nibs, chocolate, coffee, and a few others that have slipped my mind.

thanks again Joe!

Pam in cinti
 
Thanks

Thanks everyone now I know I wasn't crazy when I thought it was grapefruit. I never thought of just using the zest of the grapefruit. I make gallon batches so I am "thinking" of zesting one and putting it in for about 2 days in the primary. What is everyones thoughts? And also, what about putting in a bag for easy removal

Thanks Again
Mike and Sherry
MSFGROUP
 
If you're taking about a1 gallon batch of wine then only a teaspoon of zest is enough.as far as removal goes,rrally isn't a problem for your style wine making us it in the secondary it will settle out along with everything else.Try not to over think it.Have fun.
 
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Having used zest, I agree with @joeswine, it takes about 30 seconds to zest a piece of fruit, dump it into the carboy, and leave it behind at your next racking. Easy as it could be.
 
Or easiest yet use the zest to make an extract. Using a glass jar with tight fitting lid fill partway with vodka or everclear, add the zest and let it sit for a month or two. The zest settles to the bottom, and you can pour the clear liquid on top into another clean container. That's is your extract, and since it is cleared you can use it at any time during the wine making process.

This is all info from one of Joe's threads. I've made coconut, cinnamon, orange, Grapefruit, lime, cocoa nibs, chocolate, coffee, and a few others that have slipped my mind.

thanks again Joe!

Pam in cinti

Or make a big batch of that extract with everclear, then top it up with simple syrup to make limoncello. ;)
 
Or make a big batch of that extract with everclear, then top it up with simple syrup to make limoncello. ;)

OK you guys shamed me into starting my first extract....zested 10 of those little Cutie oranges and used vodka. Want to do a vanilla and coffee...at least those.

Neat idea about the limoncello...why not!
 
Thanks everyone now I know I wasn't crazy when I thought it was grapefruit. I never thought of just using the zest of the grapefruit. I make gallon batches so I am "thinking" of zesting one and putting it in for about 2 days in the primary. What is everyones thoughts? And also, what about putting in a bag for easy removal

Thanks Again
Mike and Sherry
MSFGROUP

I like fishing...I put it in a small bag and tie a string on it. I pull it when I think that is enough flavor....same with oak sticks. Then I can rack when I want to.

Fixing to try Joe's liquid extract method...just hope I don't over it...I am rather ham fisted.
 
Espresso Cello
What we used:
9 cups espresso (this is your base) (1 ball jar)
½ ball jar simple syrup
½ ball jar coffee bean extract
½ cup everclear

What to do:
Add your base (all the espresso, dump in the pot.)
Next , add the coffee bean extract (little at a time, to taste).
Then, add simple syrup to taste, a little at a time.
The, taste to see if the alch. Is good. Most likely, it will need more.
Add everclear to taste, make sure to not put too much that it overpowers.
Once you are happy with the results, pour back into (2) clean ball jars and put the lids back on. It should sit a day or so to blend. Then you are ready for bottling.

1 Our Espresso base.jpg

2 add coffee bean extract slowly.jpg

3 don't add the beans.jpg

4 stir up good.jpg

5 add a little more extract to taste.jpg

6 then add simple syrup to taste.jpg

7add more everclear to taste.jpg

IMG_20141010_143748806_HDR.jpg

5.jpg

6.jpg

7.jpg

P1030100.jpg

P1030104.jpg
 
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Joe and Jim, thanks for posting this. I never really understood what cello was. Now i have a whole new batch of flavors to experiment with.

Pam in cinti
 

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