Frozen Strawberry Wine

[BDKS]

From FVW recipe page. (Planning on 4 gallon Batch)



Makes one gallon.


Ingredients:
<t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<t><tr>
<td>3-1/2 lbs. Strawberries (fresh or frozen)</td>
<td>7 Pints Water</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2 lbs. Sugar</td>
<td>1 tsp Acid Blend</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme</td>
<td>1 Campden, crush</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1 Pkg Wine Yeast</td>
<td>1 tsp Yeast Nutrient</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1/4 tsp Tannin</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</t></table>


Starting S.G. - 1.090-1.095


Keep your acid tester and hydrometer handy. As with all
wild fruit the sugar and acid content varies greatly from
year to year and even from one location to another. The
recipe above is a general recipe to use which you may have
to adjust.


Directions:

1. Pick berries when they are fully ripened but not moldy.
   Remove any stems, leaves and foreign matter (bugs).
2. Wash and drain the berries using nylon straining bag
   (or press), mash and strain juice into primary fermenter.
   Keeping all pulp in straining bag, tie top and place in
   primary.
3. Stir in all other ingredients EXCEPT yeast. Cover primary.
4. After 24 hrs., add yeast . Cover primary.
5. Stir daily, check hydrometer reading (S.G.) and press
   pulp lightly to aid extraction.
6. When ferment reaches S.G. 1.030 (about 5 days) strain
   juice from bag. Syphon off sediment into clean secondary.
   Attach lock.
7. When S.G. reaches 1.000 (usually about 3 weeks), fermentation
   is complete. Syphon juice off sediment into clean glass
   container. Re-attach airlock.
8. To aid in clearing, syphon again in 2 months and again,
   if necessary, before bottling.
9. Allow the wine to age.

If a slightly sweetened wine is more to your taste, add
1/2 tsp. of stabilizer and 1/4 cup of dissolved sugar at
bottling.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My questions:

1) I have 12 pounds of frozen strawberries. Will this be enough?
2) Would two white grape juice concentrates be good to add?

3) One post suggested adding ascorbic acid to keep color. Y / N?
4) Another post suggested 1.085 target for starting SG.
5) Add bentonite at beginning similar to wine kit to help this one clear?

Any other tips?

Thanks for the help. Will start this one over the weekend.

It will be my first fresh-fruit attempt.

 

[Bert]

Questions
1] that's closes go for it
2] sounds good go for it
3] would be good
4] that's a good place to start a fruit wine
acidblend may be low, if you can check it would be good, if not more can be added later....good luck

 

[whino-wino]

My questions:

1) I have 12 pounds of frozen strawberries. Will this be enough?
2) Would two white grape juice concentrates be good to add?

3) One post suggested adding ascorbic acid to keep color. Y / N?
4) Another post suggested 1.085 target for starting SG.
5) Add bentonite at beginning similar to wine kit to help this one clear?

Any other tips?

Thanks for the help. Will start this one over the weekend.

It will be my first fresh-fruit attempt.

How "hot" do you like your wine? Personally, and it's just my preference, 1.090 - 1.095 as a starting S.G. is a tad high. I tend to go 1.080 - 1.085 on fruit wines. They always seem to have more alcohol than the really do. This will probably taste like rocket fuel for the first year.


Answers to questions:


1.) Yes, but it will be just a tad lighter than what the recipe intended but there's nothing wrong with that.


2.) It should add some body so I'd say yes. You could probably do 4 if you wanted. I usually use 1 per gallon if I add any for body.


3.) Ascorbic acid would be good to add, but add it when the fermentation is done and before you clear your wine (second racking).


4.) I guess I already covered that one.


5.) Yes. I usually don't add bentonite at all. Super-Kleer works great all by itself. Buy yourself about 10 packets of this stuff if you plan on doing lots of wines from scratch and maintain your supply.


Other tips:


Strawberry and Peach will test your patience like no other wine. No matter how fine of a filter you use or how brilliantly clear your wine seems, wait a MINIMUM of 6 months after clarification before bottling. I guarantee you it's going to throw a bunch of sediment if you bottle it right away. It took 3 tries for me before I learned that lesson.


Never, ever, EVER rely on a recipe for the amount of sugar. Add half, check with the hydrometer and add in small increments after that, checking again with the hydrometer each time. Make sure you stir the heck out of it before each hydrometer reading so that you are sure the sugars are dissolved. This little rule is especially important if you stray from the recipe and add grape juice concentrate or something along those lines.


Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[BDKS]

Just finished cleaning up. It is on its way. Starting SG 1.085. Too bad you can't smell it. It should have a good flavor. I expected less with them being frozen.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Yummmm...Dessert in a glass.

Actually frozen fruit is pretty good....Usually harvested at their peak and processed fast....Probably better than fruit that has been on a journey and spent a lot of time before it reached your store shelves.

Up here the fruit looks like it's had a birthday by the time we get it on our 'fresh' shelves....

 

[Wade E]

I agree, most fruits fresh in stores are picked ay to early with the thinking hat it will ripen on the way to the shelves cause if they picked it at optimum ripeness it would be bad by the time we get it. Being picked not rip means that the sugars will nevr reach their peek in the fruit.

 

[BDKS]

68 degree must. Pitched the yeast. Think this one is going to be good if it ends up as good as it smells.

 

[Wade E]

You really should pitch yeast on a much warmer must as its hard to get it started at that temp. I would put the primary in a warm tub of water and once it gets started move it back to those temps. I always make up my batches with warm water and keep the temp around mid to high 70's until the yeast starts to do its thing then move it to cooler temps.

 

[BDKS]

I did not consider that. Will get some heat going.

 

[uavwmn]

bdks, did you say this was a 1 gallon batch?

 

[uavwmn]

Wade, I would like to branch out and do a fruit wine. I have the JAO mead going right now.


Would this strawberry wine be a good recipe for me as a beginner?

 

[BDKS]

bdks, did you say this was a 1 gallon batch?

It is a 5 gallon new food grade bucket. With a 4 gallon batch.

 

[BDKS]

Wade, I would like to branch out and do a fruit wine. I have the JAO mead going right now.


Would this strawberry wine be a good recipe for me as a beginner?

This is my first from fresh fruit. It was fairly cheap to make. Estimated price

(4) 3 lb bags of frozen strawberries $18.00
(4) Cans white grape juice concentrate $6.00
Misc. Wine making ingredients. (amount used) $6.00
Sugar $4.00
Misc Cleaner and sanitizer. $2.00

Total $36 / 20 bottles = $1.80 per bottle.

(edited, forgot few sugar and cleaners)

 

[Tom]

I think he stated a 4 gallon batch in his 1st message.

 

[Wade E]

I think it would be a good recipe for a beginner. You should get a fermenting bad for this as those little seeds are a PITA. I would use the grape concentrate and I personally would go a little heavier on the strawberries myself and go no higher then 1.085 as flavor can be lost too easy on strawberry wine.

 

[uavwmn]

bdks, the top thread states this is for a 1 gallon batch. the bottom thread says 4 gallons. I guess I need a clarification.

 

[Wade E]

I think he posted a 1 gallon recipe but is making 4 gallons.

 

[BDKS]

I think he posted a 1 gallon recipe but is making 4 gallons.

Correct, the recipe is for one gallon. I am making 4 gallon batch. Just multiply everything except yeast times how many gallons you want to make.

 

[uavwmn]

bdks, I am still confused on a couple of things. Where does the grape juice concentrate come in to this recipe?
Also you have in your text SG reaches 1.030. Is the starting SG 1.085?? And then it drops down to 1.030?
And what type of fermenting bucket are you using? The regular 6 gal bucket?
Sorry for the questions.

 

[uavwmn]

Great pictures bdks. Is that a straining bag or another type of bag?
This will be my first venture away from a kit, so I am excited. haha