Fresh Fig Wine

[winemaker81]

Kits add bentonite before fermentation. It starts the clarification process earlier, and is part of why kit wines can be bottled so quickly. It's not a bad idea, but IMO there's no compelling reason to do it.

Edit: fixed what better proofreading would have caught.

 

[Handy Andy]

I am assuming you meant Bentonite not wine, to aid clarification
Could it affect the flavour to add bentonite before fermentation?

 

[winemaker81]

To the best of my knowledge, bentonite does not affect flavor, it removes proteins and strips color to some extent.

 

[Fencepost]

I went through this thread again this morning. I think the reason my wine was bad originally was my wine making skill and knowledge was lacking. The batch I made this year is 6 months old and drinkable now. I look forward to seeing if this wine continues to improve. With regard to CO2, I age my wine about a year and all co@ is gone at that time. I generally do not splash rack, I add the wine to the new carboy via subsurface addition. Just a measure I take to minimize air introduction into the wine. Getting back to the fig wine, I tend to use a blend of the Brown Turkey and the LSU fig variety.

@NoQuarter, @Handy Andy, I am in the "stinky, not fit to drink" fig wine category... I made one batch and swore not to do it again, but from reading the forum, everyone said "wait and see", "have patience" and it has gotten better... now at 2 years if not good, it's ok. But I would like to do one that is good right out of the gate... or with a little less time waiting. I saw the tip about VERY well ripened figs, and I can try that (if birds don't get them first) but is that all you do? Can you share your recipe? other tips or tricks? I have a couple of big fig trees and thought it would be a good use of them... but only if I can get a good recipe. Thanks.

 

[NoQuarter]

@NoQuarter, @Handy Andy, I am in the "stinky, not fit to drink" fig wine category... I made one batch and swore not to do it again, but from reading the forum, everyone said "wait and see", "have patience" and it has gotten better... now at 2 years if not good, it's ok. But I would like to do one that is good right out of the gate... or with a little less time waiting. I saw the tip about VERY well ripened figs, and I can try that (if birds don't get them first) but is that all you do? Can you share your recipe? other tips or tricks? I have a couple of big fig trees and thought it would be a good use of them... but only if I can get a good recipe. Thanks.

I can get my recipe in a couple of days. I am currently putting up a new bluebird trail and have several miles to go. When I get back to the house I will post it.
Ripe figs was my big improvement. As last ng as the caustic sap is still in the stem the wine will not taste very good.
When the little fig stem bends over and the skin wrikles up the brix gets very high. That's when they make a good wine.
I also grow 3 varieties and they all three taste very different.

 

[Handy Andy]

@NoQuarter, @Handy Andy, I am in the "stinky, not fit to drink" fig wine category... I made one batch and swore not to do it again, but from reading the forum, everyone said "wait and see", "have patience" and it has gotten better... now at 2 years if not good, it's ok. But I would like to do one that is good right out of the gate... or with a little less time waiting. I saw the tip about VERY well ripened figs, and I can try that (if birds don't get them first) but is that all you do? Can you share your recipe? other tips or tricks? I have a couple of big fig trees and thought it would be a good use of them... but only if I can get a good recipe. Thanks.

Sorry Ive been having boat problems and been away.

I did nothing special except follow instructions. I picked the figs as they came ripe, chopped them into quarters, stored them in the freezer until I had enough to ferment. Then I put them in the fermentation barrel, with by volume 50% figs and 50% water. I waited for the figs to thaw out. Then added sugar and yeast. With 25 litres (6.6US Gals) of both water and figs making a 50 litre mash. I added sugar and yeast, as per the instructions on my packet of Turbo Yeast, bought from alcotec which includes nutrients. I was aiming at a pudding wine, so added 9kg (20lb) of sugar to the fermenting barrel. Once the fermentation was over, I racked the wine into another barrel, added sulphates let it settle and bottled it. With the remaining mash in the barrel I added a little water and distilled it. Distillation isnt illegal in Portugal yet. for other purposes

I have also had extremely good results with oranges, using exactly the same method.

 

[NoQuarter]

@NoQuarter, @Handy Andy, I am in the "stinky, not fit to drink" fig wine category... I made one batch and swore not to do it again, but from reading the forum, everyone said "wait and see", "have patience" and it has gotten better... now at 2 years if not good, it's ok. But I would like to do one that is good right out of the gate... or with a little less time waiting. I saw the tip about VERY well ripened figs, and I can try that (if birds don't get them first) but is that all you do? Can you share your recipe? other tips or tricks? I have a couple of big fig trees and thought it would be a good use of them... but only if I can get a good recipe. Thanks.

Sorry, I forgot about this post till it popped up this morning.
I have been using about 21 lbs. of figs for 6 gallons. Like I said, I pick them very ripe and mushy then freeze them till I get enough.
Thaw them in my bucket and smash them up with just a potato masher. add my water / sugar to get near 13.5-14%abv. 18-20 cups, depending on brix levels of figs .4-5 tbl of acid blend to get my PH right. Add 1/2 tsp of pectic enzyme and 1/2 tsp of wine tannin.
2 tbl yeast nutrient. I have used k1v1116 and ec1118, never noticed a difference. I use a straining bag until around 1.020 then strain out pulp.
nothing fancy. takes a while to clear it. I will sometimes use eggwhites to remove last of suspended sediment ,that is why I add the tannin. Eggwhites always remove some of the natural tannin in the fruit. Like I mentioned before, fig varieties are like mango in that the varieties can have a totally different flavor... Hope this helps. if not, figs make great preserves.

 

[Handy Andy]

Figs, Ginger, and Chillies make a very nice chutney

Sounds like you know more about wine making than me.

 

[Fencepost]

@NoQuarter, thanks for the info, sounds pretty straight forward. ... what pH do you shoot for on your fig must? I'm thinking I will give it another shot.. with riper figs... I have some bird netting I can put over the tree which may help them get to the riper stage you mention. (will picking and holding for a few days work? will they continue to ripen?)

Also, what kind of figs do you use? I have a Brown Turkey... very sweet... but could possibly get some LSU Purple or LSU gold (if you know those varieties).

Thanks.