Pear Wine

[Waldo]

Started a wine this morning I have never made before and that is Pear. Research I did after my son requested this wine told me that the best Pear wine was made from a blend of different varities soI I decided to forego waiting on the crops to come in this fall and went with the Vintners Harvest which is made up of a blend of select Pears. This batch will be a 6 gallon and my final recipe is as follows:


2 cans Vintners Harvest Pear ( This was all juice..No Fruit)
10 lbs Sugar
1 lb Golden Raisins (Chopped)
1 Tsp Grape Tannin
3 Tsp Yeast Nutrient
1 Tsp Yeast Energizer
8Tsp Acid Blend
2 tsp Bentonite
K-Meta
Pectic Enzyme
Added the Pectic Enzyme about 6pm and will be pitching the yeast in the morning with a beginning SG of 1.104

 

[Wade E]

Surprised you went that high with the sg on a Pear wine Waldo, do you have plans on sweetening this wine to hide the higher abv?

 

[Waldo]

WILL HAVE TO WADE. THEY REQUESTED IT TO BE OFF DRY WITH A GOOD "KICK" TO IT



Anyway, we will see how it turns out. Has a good fermentation going and is emitting wonderful aromas

 

[Waldo]

Preliminary label design for my Pear wine...Hey, that rhymes doesn't it

 

[u01dtj6]

Looking great Waldo!

 

[First250]

Great label. Is this a 10 GL batch?

 

[Wade E]

Love the label pal!

 

[Waldo]

Thanks all......It is a 6 gal batch First 250

 

[Goodfella]

Looking good Waldo...


One day I want to start a fruit wine recipe when you do, so I can follow along side your instruction in the same time frame.


You know.... Follow the jedi master


I am trying tolearn andabsorb all this stuff, But I get a little confused.

 

[Waldo]

Any way i can help you out Goodfella you just let me know. If i don't have the answer we will find somebody that does.

 

[Waldo]

Racked, stabilized and began degassing my Pear wine this evening. My ending SG was 1.010 so it is going to be a bit over 12% ABV. I am going to oak this one too with an American Medium Toast. Will get a couple of pictures maybe in the morning...pooped right now

 

[Wade E]

Im not sure I would go there and if I did it would be very faint.

 

[Waldo]

The Pear wine has cleared nicely. It is a dark honey color which looks somewhat like a badly oxodized wine. Will be letting it bulk age for a couple of months on the oak and will probably backsweeten a tad before bottling

I also started me a Peach last Saturday ( SG1.088)and I racked it to glass yesterday evening at an SG of 1.010

I had used bananas in the mustto add some body to my Peach and had a lot more bananas than I needed for the wine so I whoope up a couple of loaves of Banana Nut bread with the extra overipe bananas.

 

[fivebk]

Waldo, those loaves of bread look every bit as good as my wife's peach pie ( and you seen what I did to it. YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

BOB

 

[Waldo]

Going to be giving that pie recipe a try out this weekend Bob

 

[peaches9324]

hey waldo I've started my wine making hobbie with pear wine made from the fruit that fell on the ground from tree in yard- really good tasting fruit I might add. 4 days into the fermentation but I didn't mark down the proof/trail scale I started with. my hydrometer nowreads 5% is this a usual reading for the time that has past? And the recipe I made this must from just said to add sugar at different times not all at once but it didn't say to melt the sugar in water first. Should I melt the sugar in water then cool befor adding to the mixture? I messed up I know by making a 10 gal of must I would hate for all that wine be a mistake! but then again it said that there shouldn't be that much empty space bt the liquid and the rubber stopper I have a 5 gal carboy I plan on using to do my first racking.. is this a good secondary?and when is a good time to use the degasser I bought? I have so many questions that come up every day as this process progresses. All your input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Waldo]

peaches
If you are just 4 days into fermentation that is probably a pretty close reading. You really need to take and record your SG readings from the beginning to know what your ABV will be at the end. I would like to see the recipe you are using. Is it from a book or online? How much fruit did you use for this batch? I guess you have already figured out that yes, you need to completely dissolve the sugar in boiling water and let it coolbefore adding it to your must. As for the headspace, during initial fermentation your wine is being protected by the gases produced from fermentation and I am sure they are speaking of when fermentation has ended is when you need to be sure to keep your headspace at a minimum.How much sugar have you added to your wine thus far and how much more, based on your recipe do you intend to add? Whatever the remaining amount is, I would go ahead, dissolve it and get it in there now.

 

[peaches9324]

thanks waldo for getting back to me so soon. I got the recipe from the winemakers toy store but I was following the instructions on ec kraus site.But I messed up big time!I did a wonderful job at racking it and then I used the degasser. then I put an airlock on it I went upstairsand started reading the instructions again to make sure I did everything and it says after racking a must that has completed its fermentation it is recomended that a 1/2 dose of camden be added to wine etc etc then under it has a NOTE: that I had over looked NOTE: do not add sulfites to an active fermentation. this will cause the fermentation to slow down and become sluggish. It may even stop the fermentation all together! The key words being after it has completed the fermentation!

would it be in my best interest to dump the wine and call it experience? Cuz there are alot more pears on the ground and I have all the ingredients on hand I had used 10 lbs of pears and 10 lbs of sugar that was stirred in at intervails I wanted a not so sweet semi dry wine and sorry it took some time of getting back to you I had the notice preferences to email me when I get a reply don't know what happened again sorry and thank you for all your help! And a plus is if I start over I can use the hydrometer properly also!

 

[grapeman]

Just so you understand the basic procedures I will give you a few pointers to follow as a rule of thumb.


1:Mix up your must according tho the recipe you use. Record the Specific Gravity example 1.085 not 22%(that is brix level)
2: Pitch the yeast and it will begin to ferment within 12 hours to a few days
3: Let the must ferment in a covered primary fermenter-usually a bucket for the homeowner (4-10 days typical).
4: Rack to secondary glass- usually a glass carboy for home winemakers- Take another SG reading before transfer. DO NOT ADD CAMPDEN OR K-META NOW, also DO NOT DEGAS NOW.Attach an airlock.
5:Allow to proceed with secondary fermentation to finish using up the sugar. Verify a reading of around 0.992 - 0.996 for at least two days in a row.
6:Rack off the lees into a clean carboy. Now you may degass the wine. Be sure to keep the carboy a bit low so it doesn't overflow. Add the Campden or K-Meta now according to recipe. Stir it in well, use the degassing paddle is a good way as this may remove some more gas. If you plan on sweetening add potassium sorbate according to label instructions.
7: You may also want to add a clarifier agent.
8:Let set for a few weeks to allow the wine to clear.
9: Rack into a clean carboy or bucket, and bottle when clear.


Obviously things may vary from this, but it gives you a few basic steps to follow fo a fruit wine.


Good luck and I hope your first batch is OK. What is the SG reading of the wine now? it should be a reading such as 1.025 as an example, not 5%.

 

[peaches9324]

Thanks alot I do appreciate the pointers I needed that direction! I think I'm starting a new batch today and just throwing that one away but I will take a reading befor doing so. And thanks for letting me know when to degas! All the info is highly appreciated! I may end up btleing a couple of this batch to see how it turns out thow
thanks again!