First attempt at fruit wines

[PawsAlaMode]

After successfully making carbonated hard lemonade with a friend, I realized I was about to become hooked on a new hobby! I had 20 pounds of really lovely organic strawberries and decided to try this recipe: http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-strawberry

I have two 5 gallon carboys, so I decided to try an apple/pineapple wine in the other carboy. I followed a recipe from a prepper on YouYube for that, but also added cinnamon sticks and whole cloves as well as a half gallon of pineapple juice, thinking it might impart a nice touch to the finished wine.

Everything went as expected, with serious fermentation the first week, and as it started to settle into a steady "boil" (please forgive me if I use the incorrect terms, and am brand spankin' new at fermenting) I moved them from their primary fermenters (which were just 5 gallon food grade buckets with a loose lid) to their secondary fermenters, the carboys with airlocks. They continued at a steady boil for about 7-10 days more, and then seemed to die off. I'm not sure if that is normal or not?

Three weeks after the start date, I racked them into a new container to remove the sediment, as there was still a lot in the strawberry batch (I used whole berries, whereas I used juices in the apple/pineapple, which only had a little yeast sediment.) I let them sit another two weeks, and racked them again today. There was very little sediment today, but the wine is still quite cloudy, and as I've been reading this forum all afternoon, my understanding is that they need time to sit and clarify? How much time?

I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do next. The instructions I was following seem to say that these wines should be ready to bottle in 6-8 weeks, but everything I'm reading says it must be clear. Would adding a Campden tab and potassium sorbate at this stage help speed the clarifying stage? These will definitely need to be back sweetened. I also read that dropping the temp can help the particles to settle, so I racked a gallon off into a 1 gallon carboy with an airlock to set in the fridge to experiment and see how that goes.

Now here are my biggest concerns (assuming I'm on the right track with everything else so far): The apple wine taste a little bitter. Maybe acidic? Maybe the pineapple? I pulled a cup off, made simple syrup, and sweetened it lightly, and it does taste somewhat better, but it has a slight smell of vinegar. Is that normal or did I do something wrong? On the other hand, the strawberry wine smells lovely, but tastes like very strong alcohol, even with back sweetening. I know I added too much sugar in the beginning because I couldn't get the SG where I wanted it, and added too much and then far surpassed my target. Should I dilute it with some distilled water? Will I lose the strawberry-ness if I do?

Apple Wine: starting gravity = .1045 / PA 6% - today 0.990
Strawberry Wine: starting gravity = .1030 / PA 17% (I was shooting for 12%) - today 1.000

Thank you kindly for any input or advice.

 

[sour_grapes]

I cannot answer all of your questions, but let me make a few comments. Please understand that I have no experience with fruit (non-grape) wines.

Yes, decreased fermentation activity (your "boil") after about a week is normal. The yeast will have eaten most of the sugar by then, and are starting to shut down.

Your racking protocol seems fine. As for how long it takes to clarify, there is a wide range. If you have minimal solids (like your juice batch) and you use a fining agent (clarifier), it could clear pretty well in a couple of weeks. If you have lots of solids and do not use a clarifier, it would be more like 6 mos. or longer. There are a number of fining agents; the most common go by the brand names SuperKleer and Sparkolloid.

Neither a campden tablet nor sorbate will help to clarify the wine. However, adding the campden at this point is probably a good idea. It serves to prevent microbial spoilage and oxidation. You should add sorbate after the wine is clear and prior to backsweetening. Opinions vary on how long before, but I would do it at least a day or two before adding sugar, personally.

I cannot help you with the bitter taste or the vinegar smell. Hopefully they get better on their own!

I would not add water to dilute the alcohol. You will, indeed, thin out the taste and mouthfeel of the wine. It would be better to blend it with a low-alcohol wine, if the alcohol is simply too much.

Strawberry Wine: starting gravity = .1030 / PA 17% (I was shooting for 12%) - today 1.000

I assume you mean the starting gravity was 1.130?

 

[WineYooper]

When fermenting you should stir the top two thirds of must to release co2 and impart oxygen to help the yeast do its thing one to two times a day. Before transferring, when sg is around .990 or close to it, stir top 1/3 to release more gas and this will help the wine clear but it will still take time. I bulk age my wine for approximately 11 months and rack two or more times depending on what lees I'm seeing drop to bottom. Adding campden and sorbate at the same time is the proper way to do it, I normally add the two when I rack for the first time from secondary to new carboy, the first campden tab I add at transfer from primary to secondary only to let ferment finish further if not completely dry. It will still ferment that way in secondary but be protected from oxidizing.

 

[WineYooper]

I'm not an expert, I can see that from reading more posts in different areas. The post I read said to not add campden when transferring from primary to secondary, has not caused me a problem that I am aware of but I guess I need to read more to be sure. The senior members may have better info on this. I would sooner be safe than suffering the oxidation issue.

 

[PawsAlaMode]

I assume you mean the starting gravity was 1.130?

Yes, sorry!

I was reading about F-Pacs last night, and I'm thinking that might help smooth out the apple wine. I think the strawberry wine will taste okay when back sweetened, but at 17%, it's going to knock everyone on their butts!

What happens if I blend the two, the apple at 6% and the strawberry at 17%?

 

[PawsAlaMode]

When fermenting you should stir the top two thirds of must to release co2 and impart oxygen to help the yeast do its thing one to two times a day. Before transferring, when sg is around .990 or close to it, stir top 1/3 to release more gas and this will help the wine clear but it will still take time. I bulk age my wine for approximately 11 months and rack two or more times depending on what lees I'm seeing drop to bottom. Adding campden and sorbate at the same time is the proper way to do it, I normally add the two when I rack for the first time from secondary to new carboy, the first campden tab I add at transfer from primary to secondary only to let ferment finish further if not completely dry. It will still ferment that way in secondary but be protected from oxidizing.

Thank you for all the info! I did stir it once or twice a day in the primary, but left it alone in the secondary. I didn't know to take a reading to determine when to transfer to secondary, the recipe said after a week, so that's what I did.

When you say you bulk age your wine for 11 months, does that mean you just leave it in the carboy with an airlock? Do you stir it during that time or do anything will it, other than occasionally rack it to remove the lees?

I'm impatient, I want to drink some of it soon so I know what to do differently the next time. I guess wine making is a hobby for patient people.

 

[jh0330]

Hi, I'm no expert but I've been told you should only rake 2-3 times.
Too often is actually not good as it introduces the must too oxygen more often then necessary.

If too sugar what do you do?
I had the same question on my thread (Blackberry Wine--first time), I was told adding water may dilute the flavour too much so add fruit juice instead!
(I just added some myself haha )

 

[Stressbaby]

Hi Paws,

Apple, genus Malus, is high in malic acid and malic is one of the harsher acids we deal with. So that may be the "bitterness" you are sensing. Personally, I just don't like apple wine...probably due to either the malic acid or maybe something my mother fed me when I was two.

If you haven't added kmeta, you probably want to do that now. Don't add sorbate yet, and don't backsweeten. You want to do this when the wine is clear if possible. I've had fruit wines that cleared on their own in 6 weeks, but most of them had a bentonite addition in the primary on day 3. The others either cleared over weeks or months in the secondary (yes, with an airlock), required a clarifying agent, or both. As WineYooper said, degassing will help with clarifying the wine, just be careful to expose it to as little air as possible. I don't generally stir the wine in the secondary.

Make some Dragon Blood if you want something do drink in 6 weeks.

 

[WineYooper]

The 11 months is from start of ferment to bottling. I normally rack the first time about a month in from racking from primary to secondary, but I let the sediment tell me when to rack next. When I see heavy deposits on the bottom I usually rack, and I let it splash rack instead of running down the side of the carboy, this seems to help release the gas which in turn will allow more lees to settle out. I never stir in the carboy unless I have lots of gas still in suspension, which normally I don't see. If you are using better bottles you can see fine lees settling on the ribs and by just tapping on the sides you can see it dropping off, like a curtain going down, with a glass carboy there is nothing for them to settle on so it all goes to the bottom. After my rack from secondary to new carboy I just observe what I see collecting on the bottom and when I rock the bottle slightly I can tell how firm it is getting. The apple wine is the hardest for me to clear, even when it looks clear and I have bottled I have still noticed fine lees in the bottles, which will not hurt taste but only appearance to others. I normally rack the last time about 30 days before bottling and start adding simple sugar or f-pack to get the wine to my final sg, most people I share wine with like it about 1.005 which is about neutral, by my terms, not real dry and especially not sweet.

 

[Stressbaby]

The "falling film" method of vacuum racking and degassing is felt by most to degas better than splash racking which also probably has a greater risk of oxidation. My observations certainly seem to confirm. 2 or 3 rackings with the Ai1 and the wine is completely degassed using this method.

Here is the original link on the falling film method.

 

[Loner]

Was the SG on the strawberry really 1.030 ?? That's going to be a really really low abv.

 

[sour_grapes]

Was the SG on the strawberry really 1.030 ?? That's going to be a really really low abv.

See posts #2 and 5

 

[PawsAlaMode]

Sorry, it was my first time reading a hydrometer. It said 17% potential alcohol, but I wrote down the wrong sg. It's very alcoholic, which surprises me because I thought the yeast I was using only had a tolerance to 13% ABV.

I started a batch of hard Cider today. I think next time I'd like to try mead.

 

[PawsAlaMode]

I ordered Sparkaloid and added it to the carboys. How long does it generally take to clear?

 

[PawsAlaMode]

I wanted to come back with an update. I just bottled my first two batches of wine. I made a Strawberry with an undertone of blueberries, and an apple with pineapple, cinnamon, and cloves. The strawberry wine is gorgeous, beautiful strawberry smell, drinks well already, though a little higher ACV than I had planned, so you have to sip slowly. The apple is not my favorite right now, but it's much better than it was two weeks ago. They have both been very clear for more than a week now, so I went ahead and bottled them. Hoping the apple improves with age. The strawberry won't last long, I'm sure! I got about 24 750mL bottles from each 5 gallon batch.

 

[rustbucket]

That is a good looking strawberry wine. The clarity is amazing.

I haven't tried making a fruit wine yet; but I hope that when I do, it comes out like yours.

 

[PawsAlaMode]

I highly recommend it! For such a young wine, it finished very nicely! I'm afraid it won't last long enough to age for very long. I started a new batch, this time a plum wine, and I hope to try peach or cherry next. But I will be making another batch of strawberry very soon!