concord grapes

[Steve B]

A friend at church has grapes and says I can pick as many as I want, so how many lbs do I need for a six gallon batch

 

[Wade E]

between 8-12 lbs per gallon is typical for these depending on acid and if they need diluting or you could cold stabilize it if acid needs to drop some.

 

[Steve B]

Thanks Wade, by the way my first ever batch, one gallon with store bought red grapes turned out pretty good after letting it sit for a couple months thanks for the advice.

 

[grapeman]

If you do an all juice batch you could need up to 90 pounds for 6 gallons. It depends on how ripe they got and what style wine you want to make. You can make a pretty good batch with about 30 pounds. That will come out a bit light in color, but if the acidity is really high because they aren't ripe, diluting will cut the acidity like Wade mentions. You can always add a couple cans of un silfited grape juice.


The more grapes you add, the more flavor, so if you aren't a big fan of Concord you will want to use less than the max. So there you go with an evasive answer- It all depends......................

 

[Steve B]

So when I do this and I am using the recipe from this site do I multiply the other ingredients, sugar, p. enzime, y. nutrient or just the sugar which I think it calls for 3-1/2 lbs per gallon

 

[grapeman]

The best thing before adding sugar is to check the specific gravity. Adjust it uip to the desire amount, say 1.085-1.090. If the grapes are ripe and you make a full bodied wine with all juice, you won't need near that amount. I would be shocked if you needed 3.5 pounds per gallon. That much in water alone will make a very hot wine. Checking the recipe, it calls for 3 and a quarter CUPS of sugar, not pounds. It takes about two cups per pound so you are adding about a pound and a half.


Yes you multiply the other ingredients, except the yeast.

 

[Deafcone]

So when I do this and I am using the recipe from this site do I multiply the other ingredients, sugar, p. enzime, y. nutrient or just the sugar which I think it calls for 3-1/2 lbs per gallon

Where is the recipe referred to in this post? I have 25 pounds of Concord grapes and want to make 5 gallons.

 

[sour_grapes]

Where is the recipe referred to in this post? I have 25 pounds of Concord grapes and want to make 5 gallons.

The post is 6 years old, so I doubt anyone remembers the context of the thread to know what recipe was being referred to. However, perhaps @grapeman will surprise me!

 

[dralarms]

Wow, that was before my time

 

[grapeman]

Here is a link to Jack Keller's site for Concord grape recipes. They will all work but give different types of wine. Depending on how ripe the grapes are will determine how many you need and if you need to add any water to reduce acid. Some years I need to reduce the acid levels but the ones we picked today won't need that and we will press the grapes and make wine from straight juice as they got up to 18 brix for us this year.

As far as 3 and a half pounds of sugar per gallon even added to water would result in almost 18% alcohol if you could get it to ferment that high.

 

[Deafcone]

Yeah, just realizing grapes are a different animal. Have made wines in past but elderberry or canned bases so assumed sugar addition would be same. Ended up adding just 1.5 pounds sugar for a 3 gallon batch using 25 pounds of crushed grapes. OG wa 1.070 but could be higher as cheesecloth bag with crushed grapes rook up most of bucket so stirring was not easy.
Appreciate all the help. Been 3 years since I made beer or wine and wife wants wine. Happy wife, happy home. LOL