First-timer with pear question...

[TomMonger]

Hello!

I made 3 gallons of pear wine about 6 weeks ago. It is around 13% abv. I made it with winter pears from a neighbor's tree. Unfortnately, it doesn't have much pear flavor. The wine is fairly clear now and hasn't had any fermentation action in a few weeks now. Can I simply add some 100% pear juice to the carboy to sweeten it up and add some pear flavor? Then leave it set for a couple more weeks to make sure fermentation doesn't start again?

Or should I use campden and sorbate, then add concentrated pear juice and sugar?

Thanks for any help!
-Tom in Scranton, PA

 

[Tom]

1st, Whats the gravity?
Have you racked yet?
Where do you get 100% pear juice and concentrate?
I would add concentrate AFTER you added the proper amt of K-Meta and Sorbate.
Then in a couple of weeks backsweeten with simple syrup.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Light flavor is quite common with pear. I've made it several times and it makes a very nice wine; it just doesn't set fireworks off in your mouth or anything. What I did is I made it with a bit higher alcohol content and then sweetened with pear juice and sugar after treating it with sorbate and sulfite. I used Gerber baby pear juice. It's all natural, it's clear, and it's in the babyfood section of the grocery store. The addition of the juice diluted the alcohol some and added flavor at the same time.

 

[St Allie]

I'd go with Minnesotamakers solution personally..if you have 13% already, dropping that down slightly with a pear concentrate addition will be a good thing.. plus the sweet addition will help bring out your pear flavour.

Allie

 

[TomMonger]

Thanks for the quick replies! My SG is .995 and has been that low for over 3 weeks. The wine is clearing nicely and was racked only once.

Lon, I have the Gerber pear juice! That's the juice I was talking about in my original post So, I should still use the sorbate and kmeta? And I should still add more sugar?

(Tom, by concentrated pear juice, I meant simmering it down by 50% on the stove.)

Thanks again! Love this forum!
-Tom in Scranton, PA

 

[St Allie]

Hey Tom,

Rack when clear then add the sorbate and k-meta, wait a week to two weeks..then sweeten with the pear concentrate f-pac to your own taste.

Allie

 

[Tom]

Hey Tom,

Rack when clear then add the sorbate and k-meta, wait a week to two weeks..then sweeten with the pear concentrate f-pac to your own taste.

Allie

Yep sounds good. So, for stronger reduce by 2/3rds

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Thanks for the quick replies! My SG is .995 and has been that low for over 3 weeks. The wine is clearing nicely and was racked only once.

Lon, I have the Gerber pear juice! That's the juice I was talking about in my original post So, I should still use the sorbate and kmeta? And I should still add more sugar?

(Tom, by concentrated pear juice, I meant simmering it down by 50% on the stove.)

Thanks again! Love this forum!
-Tom in Scranton, PA

Comment about reducing: will the heat used to simmer change the flavors at all? I don't know the answer to this question but heat can break down certain flavor elements. It's one of the reasons that some concentrates are made under vaccum or using semi-permiable membranes instead of heat. Check it out before heating your juice. I used the juice exactly as it came out of the bottle.

If this were my wine, I'd clear it to my satisfaction, rack, sulfite and sorbate, add the pear juice and then taste. Add sugar and/or more pear juice while tasting until I found the finished product I was looking for.

 

[St Allie]

Comment about reducing: will the heat used to simmer change the flavors at all? I don't know the answer to this question but heat can break down certain flavor elements. /QUOTE]

I have never found pear to be prone to off flavours when heated.

What the heat can/will do when reducing with high pectin fruits.. is create a haze after adding the f-pac. So you think you have cleared your wine.. stabilised it and add an f-pac.. and BANG.. instant haze... you have wine that is opaque and unattractive. ( tastes good though!)

Don't panic if you do get a haze.. just add pectinase ( pectic enzyme)at the recommended rate per gallon ( 1 teaspoon of powder) and wait.. the haze will go.

Pectic enzyme is not inhibited after or before fermentation, it is pretty much useless in the presence of an active fermentation, so use it before adding yeast, or after the fermentation is complete, to clear a pectin haze.

( if you are using root vegetables, carrots, beetroot, potatoes etc..you need a different enzyme called amylase to clear a haze, it has a limited shelf life and needs refrigeration.. just ask if you need to know about root vegetable hazes.. happy to help)

Allie

 

[Savana123]

Light flavor is quite common with pear. I've made it several times and it makes a very nice wine; it just doesn't set fireworks off in your mouth or anything. What I did is I made it with a bit higher alcohol content and then sweetened with pear juice and sugar after treating it with sorbate and sulfite. I used Gerber baby pear juice. It's all natural, it's clear, and it's in the babyfood section of the grocery store. The addition of the juice diluted the alcohol some and added flavor at the same time.

I did the same as you did and I got very light flavor of peer. When I tried it for the first time I didnt got any flavor due to some mistake but, when I prepared for the second time I got very rich aroma. I was looking for preparing plum wine and I was not getting the recipe and soon I got the better recipe that I posted as a reply in my thread http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=88754#post88754

 

[Tom]

Comment about reducing: will the heat used to simmer change the flavors at all? I don't know the answer to this question but heat can break down certain flavor elements. It's one of the reasons that some concentrates are made under vaccum or using semi-permiable membranes instead of heat. Check it out before heating your juice. I used the juice exactly as it came out of the bottle.

If this were my wine, I'd clear it to my satisfaction, rack, sulfite and sorbate, add the pear juice and then taste. Add sugar and/or more pear juice while tasting until I found the finished product I was looking for.

1st simmering will not affect the flavor (boiling will) just concentrate it
2nd do not clear your wine before adding the pear juice or concentrate. When adding any f-pac you will cloud up the wine. So, plan early on the process to add the f-pac. Once added then make your 1st addition of clearing agents

 

[TomMonger]

Thanks again for all the responses!

I decided to rack the pear wine and added the k-meta and sorbate. I will wait a week and add the pear juice to taste, wait, then clear.

-Tom in Scranton, PA