Phivtoosyx
Junior
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
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Hi,
This is my first post here although I have been reading a lot. I have a huge fig tree in my yard that produces an overabundance of fruit every year. This year, we decided to use all this fruit and wine making seemed liked a good way to do it. After researching the subject over the summer I think I've found a new hobby!
So I now around 25 pounds of figs frozen in my freezer, a fruit wine making kit with all the essentiasl, three books, and a few questions I am hoping to clear up before I start. I have copied the recipe I will be using at the end of this post. It is from "101 Recipes for making Wild Wines at Home" by John Peragine. In my research I have found that not too many people seem to make fig wines and this seemed to be the best recipe I could find out there. I'm open to any changes suggested by more experience members. So here are my questions:
1. The recipe is for one gallon and but I will be making five gallons. Should I multiply everything but the yeast by five? What about the campden tablets? The recipe calls for two campden tablets, so that would equal ten tablets for a five gallon batch which seems high.
2. So I have 25 lbs of figs I have to thaw out...any tips on how to do this? Do they have to be completely thawed before putting them in the primary fermenter?
3. The instructions do not say anything about covering my primary and attaching an airlock. Can I? Should I?
3. One book I was reading explicitly stated not to used bruised or rotting fruit. The figs I'm using aren't rotted but some are on the very ripe side. Figs are a fruit where there is a thin line between not ripe and very ripe. Will this be a probelm?
4. I've read not to use the inside of the rind of a orange, lemon, etc. (the white stuff). As it can add bitterness to the wine. The recipe I'm using calls for a lemon and a orange "juice and rind". Should I use the whole thing or is just calling for the zest and juice?
5. This question deals with how to sweeten the wine (this is way down the road but I thought I would clear up my confusion now). The recipe states the following:
"For a sweeter tasting wine, mature wine for three weeks, then rack into another vessel. Dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup wine and pour the sweetened wine back into the fermentation vessel. Repeat until at least two hydrometer readings are stable or every six weeks. Rack the wine every month until clear, then bottle."
Now this is where I'm confused. I thought that you have to add a stabilizer to the wine before trying to sweeten it or otherwise you just end up restarting the fermentation and the end product is high alcohol and no sweetness. Am I wrong? Is there something I'm missing?
Thanks for reading through this monologue! Here's the recipe for one gallon.
Ingredients:
4-6 lbs of fresh figs
2 campden tablets
1 tsp pectic enzyme
2 cups honey
5 cups brown sugar
1 lemon, juice and rind
1 orange, juice and rind
1 tsp nutrients
1 packet wine yeast
Water
OG = 1.110 FG = 1.014 ABV = 8%
Here's my version of the instructions with the recipe...I've shortened them to save time.
1. Dissolve honey in water, bring to boil, skim off foam, cool
2. Boil qt water, pour over figs and campden tablet, drain into ferment, chop figs, pour 8 cups of boiling water over them with other campden tablet, drain into fermenter, place figs into clot and put into fermenter for 24 hours.
3. Squeeze liquid from bag, discard. Add pectic, sugar, honey mixture, nutrients, lemon/orange, pitch yeast. Add water.
4. 3-5 days starin wine and rack into carboy, attach air lock.
5.For dry wine, mature for >= three weeks, rack, mature 1 month, bottle when wine is clear and hydrometer readings stable.
6. For sweet wine, mature 3 weeks, rack, dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup wine, pour back into wine, repeat until at least two hydrometer readings are stable or every six weeks, Rack every month until clear, bottle.
7. Allow to mature one year.
This is my first post here although I have been reading a lot. I have a huge fig tree in my yard that produces an overabundance of fruit every year. This year, we decided to use all this fruit and wine making seemed liked a good way to do it. After researching the subject over the summer I think I've found a new hobby!
So I now around 25 pounds of figs frozen in my freezer, a fruit wine making kit with all the essentiasl, three books, and a few questions I am hoping to clear up before I start. I have copied the recipe I will be using at the end of this post. It is from "101 Recipes for making Wild Wines at Home" by John Peragine. In my research I have found that not too many people seem to make fig wines and this seemed to be the best recipe I could find out there. I'm open to any changes suggested by more experience members. So here are my questions:
1. The recipe is for one gallon and but I will be making five gallons. Should I multiply everything but the yeast by five? What about the campden tablets? The recipe calls for two campden tablets, so that would equal ten tablets for a five gallon batch which seems high.
2. So I have 25 lbs of figs I have to thaw out...any tips on how to do this? Do they have to be completely thawed before putting them in the primary fermenter?
3. The instructions do not say anything about covering my primary and attaching an airlock. Can I? Should I?
3. One book I was reading explicitly stated not to used bruised or rotting fruit. The figs I'm using aren't rotted but some are on the very ripe side. Figs are a fruit where there is a thin line between not ripe and very ripe. Will this be a probelm?
4. I've read not to use the inside of the rind of a orange, lemon, etc. (the white stuff). As it can add bitterness to the wine. The recipe I'm using calls for a lemon and a orange "juice and rind". Should I use the whole thing or is just calling for the zest and juice?
5. This question deals with how to sweeten the wine (this is way down the road but I thought I would clear up my confusion now). The recipe states the following:
"For a sweeter tasting wine, mature wine for three weeks, then rack into another vessel. Dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup wine and pour the sweetened wine back into the fermentation vessel. Repeat until at least two hydrometer readings are stable or every six weeks. Rack the wine every month until clear, then bottle."
Now this is where I'm confused. I thought that you have to add a stabilizer to the wine before trying to sweeten it or otherwise you just end up restarting the fermentation and the end product is high alcohol and no sweetness. Am I wrong? Is there something I'm missing?
Thanks for reading through this monologue! Here's the recipe for one gallon.
Ingredients:
4-6 lbs of fresh figs
2 campden tablets
1 tsp pectic enzyme
2 cups honey
5 cups brown sugar
1 lemon, juice and rind
1 orange, juice and rind
1 tsp nutrients
1 packet wine yeast
Water
OG = 1.110 FG = 1.014 ABV = 8%
Here's my version of the instructions with the recipe...I've shortened them to save time.
1. Dissolve honey in water, bring to boil, skim off foam, cool
2. Boil qt water, pour over figs and campden tablet, drain into ferment, chop figs, pour 8 cups of boiling water over them with other campden tablet, drain into fermenter, place figs into clot and put into fermenter for 24 hours.
3. Squeeze liquid from bag, discard. Add pectic, sugar, honey mixture, nutrients, lemon/orange, pitch yeast. Add water.
4. 3-5 days starin wine and rack into carboy, attach air lock.
5.For dry wine, mature for >= three weeks, rack, mature 1 month, bottle when wine is clear and hydrometer readings stable.
6. For sweet wine, mature 3 weeks, rack, dissolve 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup wine, pour back into wine, repeat until at least two hydrometer readings are stable or every six weeks, Rack every month until clear, bottle.
7. Allow to mature one year.
