Mustang Red Wine

[e-wine]

At the start of 4th, my wife and I picked about twenty pounds of mustang grapes. We had planned to use the grapes for the madeira but twenty pounds seemed a bit light given that we would only use the inside of the grape, no skins. This would have kept the madeira as a "white" and would have kept the "wild" flavor Jack Keller describes for a red mustang wine from overpowering the fig and banana. So we are now using the mustang grapes to make a sweet red wine with the recipe given on Keller's web site. If you ask my wife, Jack's assessment of the acid content is spot on. Both of us noticed some burning between our fingers from handling and de-stemming the grapes although she was bothered to a much greater degree than I was. We completed everything and had the pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient ready by 10:00 last night. We added yeast this morning and are waiting for signs of fermentation. We used a started for the yeast which is the first time we've done this.

Some interesting points of this "adventure" were:

The mustang grape vine was very heavily loaded and would have been a gift had it not been for two things. First, this "volunteer" vine sprouted up in the middle of a friend's cactus garden. This limited where we could step but, realistically, cactus is predictable and you can work around them to some degree. Also sharing space in this cactus garden were two rather large wasp nest. My wife "found" the first one when she dropped a cane clipping into her bucket. The wasp nest was on the underside of a leaf on that cane and the former occupants were furiously combing the airspace around us. Break time. We never actually saw the other nest but we knew the relative location based on the nest emptying several times when we moved the wrong cane.

After we finished picking the grapes, de-stemming, cleaning and were waiting for the mixture to cool, I mentioned to Barb that the wine would not be ready for a least a year, preferably two. Barb could not believe it. She was use to the sweet potato wine which she will drink even before it finishes clearing. "You mean I did all this for 10 bottles of wine that I will not know if it is any good until two years from now? Now you know why I prefer to just buy the wine!" Now I'm still waiting for Barb to cool. I guess I had better start a batch of sweet potato wine soon.

Basic recipe:

10 pound of Mustang grapes
2 pounds sugar
1/2 gallon of water
1 tsp Pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Monstrachet yeast

We have two batches going using this same recipe.

e-wine

 

[e-wine]

I checked both of my batches and they do show signs of fermentation. I'll keep you posted.

e-wine

 

[e-wine]

I did want to add one other bit of information, followed by a question. The initial specific gravity was 1.040. If you read Keller's procedures, half of the sugar and water are removed before introducing the grapes so this low reading is not a surprise. I will top each batch with the sugar water after each rack and the maximum period between racks is three weeks. Based on what I read with the mulberry wine, this extends fermentation but why do I what to do that?

Also, I will not acid test until I transfer to the secondary (7 days.) I will then adjust based on my reading. I did neutralize the acid in the mulberry wine with CaCO3 without adding any chalky flavor so I will keep you posted on this as well.

e-wine

 

[e-wine]

When I looked in the primaries this morning, it looked like someone had added way too much soap to a purple load in the washing machine. This is in sharp contrast to the fermentation bubble in the Crystal Light wine which break as soon as the hit the surface. So I assume this is an indication of the body the wine will have as a finished product. You have to remember, I'm still just a rookie.

e-wine

 

[JohnT]

Sounds like you are having a lot of fun. This is what it is all about.

About preferring to buy wine in the store... You skip the cool part... enjoying good home-made knowing that you made it yourself. I always get a big kick out of this. I also smile knowing that I managed to avoid some taxes!.

I know that the 1 to 2 year waiting period is a bit much, however, you should at least taste the wine every couple of weeks to make sure that you are not heading into any problems. Hydrogen-sulfide and oxidation can be dealt with if caught early.

The foam you get is normal. I hope that you left a good amount of room (did not fill the primary all the way up).

What type of sugar did you use?

johnT

 

[e-wine]

JohnT,

Thanks for the response. I started to feel like I was talking to myself which has happened before. We did leave enough headspace for both batches. They are progressing well and have that nice yeast smell. I know the yeast smell will change within the next few days and will become an issue with Barb. Unfortunately, the last few days are over the weekend while we are both home. So we plan to visit a couple of wineries on Saturday. That will help.

We used the pure cane sugar we bought at Sam's. It's the same sugar we've used in all of our fruit wines. If there is something else we should consider, please let us know. We will harvest the Blanc de Bois in less than ten days and I plan to start the madeira and maybe something else, depending on the harvest. Unless we hear something different, we will use the cane sugar then as well.

One last comment. I did end up with poison ivy type blisters between all of my fingers. I just notice them this morning because they itch like crazy. I never had this type of reaction when I bought a bottle of wine.

e-wine

 

[JohnT]

Try using corn sugar. This is used at times to prime beer. It desolves better and also is better for clarity.

You could also try to make some simple syrup. Heating cane sugar will "split" the sucrose into glucose and fructose sugars and are easier for yeast to devour and ferment.

when the yeast smell changes, do a racking immediatly. This is the best way to avoid a variety of problems.

johnT.

 

[e-wine]

JohnT,

Thanks for the information. We'll have to try the corn sugar sometime in the future. We did heat the sugar to disolve it. Also, we will check the s.g. when the yeast smell changes. If the s.g. is fairly low, we'll check the acid and proceed from there. Perhaps this is part of the reason the recipe removed half of the sugar water before adding the yeast. Take care.

e-wine

 

[e-wine]

While I was peeling figs for the 7th day in a row, I realized they are most likely the cause of the blisters between my fingers. I thought 4 days was a long delay for the blisters to appear from mustang grape exposure.

e-wine

 

[e-wine]

I measured the total acid on these two batches on Sunday. I got 1.365 on batch #1 and 1.310 on batch #2. My target is 0.700. I've split both batches and added CaCO3 to half of each. I aggitated the portions with the CaCO3 and placed them in the refrigerator to settle. The rest were placed in two, one gallon carboys where fermentation continues. All bottles were marked to identify the batch. I will reunite the halves after one week and will test again after two more weeks when I rack.

e-wine

 

[Wade E]

Why are you going to reunite them beore using the calcium on the other half?

 

[e-wine]

Wade E,

The calculation for the amount of CaCO3 to use is based on one gallon but it is added to one half gallon. So basically, I'm adding a base wine to an acidic wine with the target being a neutral wine. This allows the acidic half to continue with fermentation while the cooled half clears in the refrigerator. This helps remove the CaCO3. The yeast colony is kept active in the acidic wine and when I reunite them, I'll add more of the sugar water I reserved at the start of the process and a bit more yeast nutrient. So for batch #1, I have a carboy currently fermenting, a half gallon in the fridge clearing plus a one quart quantity of sugar water. Maybe a picture will help.

e-wine

 

[Wade E]

Never heard of it being done this way. Usually its done pre or post fermentation all at once. To each their own.

 

[e-wine]

Wade E,

I appreciate your question. I've done it pre-fermentation and had good results. I've done it this way before and also had good results. I think it depends on what type of fruit you're using. Because the mustang grape is so acidic and with the acid levels in the skins, I think this is the best method. If you make a white wine without the skins, you proceed differently. I will know more when I pull the cork on this one but that may be two years from now. Take care.

e-wine

 

[Rock]

While I was peeling figs for the 7th day in a row, I realized they are most likely the cause of the blisters between my fingers. I thought 4 days was a long delay for the blisters to appear from mustang grape exposure.

e-wine

Peeling figs gave you blisters?Man my family has been growing figs for years and they are the most delicate fruit to peel when ripe.What was your ph on this very acidic wine?I see your acid level was through the roof,but i have never made a mustang grape wine before.

 

[e-wine]

Rock,

I should have up-dated the blister part. I continue to peel figs but the blisters have gone away so it was the mustang grapes. I just can't believe it took 3 - 4 days for the blisters to appear.

e-wine

 

[JohnT]

The high acid level may explain why you needed to add so much sugar. The grapes may not have been ripe enough.

 

[e-wine]

JohnT,

We picked them at the end of the their season. Mustang is a wild grape and that's about what you get - high acid and low sugar.

e-wine

 

[e-wine]

We're recombined the wine and it is busy fermenting. We'll get a new total acid reading on the next rack.

e-wine

 

[stdkls28]

Great stuff e-wine! I'm lookin into starting batch of Mustang Grape next if i can find some fruit or even plant my own. I'm just West of Houston if you know where i may find some!