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@BernardSmith
It was nice to see your comment about the quality of wine fermented from juice, without the seeds and skins. I was debating this very subject when I was squeezing some recently acquired Concord grapes into juice. I planned to freeze them as my garden harvesting didn't allow me the time to start the fermentation process. When I did this I was wondering what the ratio of juice to normal "pounds of fruit" would be. I also was wondering if it was a good idea to not ferment the skins and seeds. With this is mind I did save the skins and seeds in freezer bags. I was thinking that I might ferment the juice with the skins & seeds in a fruit bag in the fermenter for a shorter amount of time than the full ferment as I am reading that the Concord grape can be a bit acidic as well. I have the juice is 1 gallon size freezer bags as well as 1 gallon size freezer bags of seeds and skins. Any recommendation as to what percentage of each to add in? Lets say I would like to ferment a six gallon size batch.
Thanks for the help!
I know nothing about concord grape wine - I dislike the favor of that grape - and others with far more experience than I may have a different position, but I would argue that the amount of skins (and seeds) you use should be the amount of skins and flesh and seeds that came from the grapes. That is what anyone crushing and fermenting grapes would do with every variety of grape wine that I have some familiarity with. You want the flavors and the color that the skins provide and the tannins that they and the seeds offer. I would assume two weeks maceration if the wine is not white. If white, virtually no skins and no maceration time...
 
I was thinking that I might ferment the juice with the skins & seeds in a fruit bag in the fermenter for a shorter amount of time than the full ferment as I am reading that the Concord grape can be a bit acidic as well.
The acid is going to come with the juice -- you'll get color, body, and tannin from the skin and seeds. Let those the the factors in limiting how much skin time you give the wine.

1. Country wines don't really age as well as red grape wines and I think that that is because they may not be able to inhibit oxidation in as robust a way as red grape wines given the lack of tannins that are inherent to the fruits used.
Looking back through my fruit wine notes, I noticed that a lot of recipes call for the addition of powdered tannin. I used plain 'ole "tannin" as that was what was available at the time, but especially for light colored fruit, the addition of tannin powdered designed for white wine will probably produce a good result.
 
I know nothing about concord grape wine - I dislike the favor of that grape - and others with far more experience than I may have a different position, but I would argue that the amount of skins (and seeds) you use should be the amount of skins and flesh and seeds that came from the grapes. That is what anyone crushing and fermenting grapes would do with every variety of grape wine that I have some familiarity with. You want the flavors and the color that the skins provide and the tannins that they and the seeds offer. I would assume two weeks maceration if the wine is not white. If white, virtually no skins and no maceration time...
I know nothing about concord grape wine - I dislike the favor of that grape - and others with far more experience than I may have a different position, but I would argue that the amount of skins (and seeds) you use should be the amount of skins and flesh and seeds that came from the grapes. That is what anyone crushing and fermenting grapes would do with every variety of grape wine that I have some familiarity with. You want the flavors and the color that the skins provide and the tannins that they and the seeds offer. I would assume two weeks maceration if the wine is not white. If white, virtually no skins and no maceration time...
Thanks Bernard, I am thankful that I save the skins and seeds, kind of sorry that I went through all the hard work of the squeezing! Lesson learned.
 
The acid is going to come with the juice -- you'll get color, body, and tannin from the skin and seeds. Let those the the factors in limiting how much skin time you give the wine.


Looking back through my fruit wine notes, I noticed that a lot of recipes call for the addition of powdered tannin. I used plain 'ole "tannin" as that was what was available at the time, but especially for light colored fruit, the addition of tannin powdered designed for white wine will probably produce a good result.
Thanks winemaker81!, I will be fermenting with the skins and seeds. As far as the tannin, I have read that crab apple has quite a bit of tannin, I came into a nice amount of them this fall so I might just add that to pick up the tannin. I have read that you can either ferment with the grape or blend later. I am leaning toward the latter as then I have a batch to blend with other wines as well.
 

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