Got any good Ideas

[Laurie]

Hey there, I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas of what to add to these. My friend brought me about 25 lbs of a late harvest wine grape. Don't know what kind. I was just getting over the flu and didn't want to think about them too much at the time but now I am getting the itch to do some thing. The grapes are in the freezer. There are not enough obviously for a 5 gallon batch so I was wondering what would be good to add to them to make something dilish. Any ideas are appreciated. thanks and Merry Christmas
Laurie

 

[BobF]

Hey there, I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas of what to add to these. My friend brought me about 25 lbs of a late harvest wine grape. Don't know what kind. I was just getting over the flu and didn't want to think about them too much at the time but now I am getting the itch to do some thing. The grapes are in the freezer. There are not enough obviously for a 5 gallon batch so I was wondering what would be good to add to them to make something dilish. Any ideas are appreciated. thanks and Merry Christmas
Laurie

If they're red, I think apple would be good to make a rose. In fact, I have a 3 gal batch of this going now. Unfortunately, nobody brought me real fruit though ... :-(

 

[Laurie]

Apple is a good Idea. You think I should just buy some juice and mix the two or would it be better to buy fresh apples? I don't have a press and the last time I did apple I sliced them and added water. It turned out really good but it took forever to clear and finally had to add super klear.

 

[BobF]

Apple is a good Idea. You think I should just buy some juice and mix the two or would it be better to buy fresh apples? I don't have a press and the last time I did apple I sliced them and added water. It turned out really good but it took forever to clear and finally had to add super klear.

If it were me ...

I would do the primary on the grapes first, then strain/squeeze the approx 2 gallons you'll get (maybe less) into a mixture of 2 gallons Old Orchard 100% apple juice plus water to make 5 gallons plus sugar to my target abv; prolly 12%. I would have sugar already added to the apple juice -water mixture already along with the other additions like acid blend, pectic enzyme, etc.

Or something like that. If it were me Keep in mind that if I were to do this, it would be an experiment rather than a proven recipe.

 

[Laurie]

Bob. So when you say the grapes in the primary first, you mean you would not add anything to the grapes but yeast and let it firment in the primary till... and then add all the rest of the stuff, juice water and what have you? What about more yeast? Not sure I'm advanced enough in this wine making adventure to wing it.

 

[Wade E]

Id probably cut the grapes with apple juice if you dont have an acid test as these might have a pretty high acid content right now. So me, Id probably do the blend in primary. If I had a acid test kit(meaning you) and they were in range then Id ferment each separately and blend at the end.

 

[Luc]

Bob. So when you say the grapes in the primary first, you mean you would not add anything to the grapes but yeast and let it firment in the primary till... and then add all the rest of the stuff, juice water and what have you? What about more yeast? Not sure I'm advanced enough in this wine making adventure to wing it.

I would test the grapes for acidity. Next I would make some juice from the apples and test that for acidity.
When the blend is within line I would certainly not add any water.
Wine made from pure juice is better. Only water down when acidity demands it.

Luc

 

[BobF]

Everything together in the primary is certainly the easiest approach. As to adding water ... I personally find pure apple juice to be too heavy for my tastes. So consider your preferences for heavy/medium/light body when deciding whether or not to use water.

If you want light and crisp, use water and add acid (if necessary).

If you want bold and heavy, don't use water unless you need to and then only as much as you need to.

 

[Laurie]

Guess I need to go get an acid test kit. Thought I would eventually,( if this wine making hobby turned out.) lol Any recomenations for a decent kit?

 

[Wade E]

Depends on your budget. A PH meter is the best way to go especially when making red wines as the strip test kits are very hard to distinguish color changes with but these work OK for most other wines.
http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=217-10