Trying some mystery grapes.

[Arne]

Recieved a call from a friend. Said his grapes were ready and did I want them. We went over and picked, the grapes were small and pretty sweet. Got them destemed and crushed last night, now in the frig. Only had about 22 lbs, a fairly full 5 gal. bucket. Going to get a s.g. reading today. This vine came from the old country, not sure where. Was planted here over 30 years ago. Nobody knows the name of the grape, tho. Seems like these really came ripe early. Anyway, looks like I will have a bit over a gal. of juice. Going to leave them in the frig. til Sunday nite or monday. Would you try adding something to make a slightly bigger batch, or just use the straight juice. I am just kind of feeling my way along here. Kind of a fun project, but desteming by hand is a time consuming job and not much fun. Last year said I am not going to do that again and somebody said free grapes. Things happen, lol, Arne.

 

[Rocky]

Hey Arne, sounds like a fun project. If it were I, I would not add anything else and keep the wine "pure whatever." You may eventually find out what the variety is and then you can name the wine. You should end up with about 1.5 gallons or a little more than 7 bottles. Which "old country" was the source of the vine? Are the grapes red or white?

Keep us up on your project. I would be interested to know what the SG is, the acidity, etc. Good luck.

 

[JohnT]

I got to agree with Rocky. I would not add anything.

Judging from what you said, that the grapes were small and very sweet, you are in all likelyhood dealing with wine grapes and not table grapes. Lucky you.

I look forward to hearing the specifics. If possible, post the SG and also the ph/acid levels.

 

[Arne]

They are supposed to be a wine grape. They are a red grape. S.g. is at 1.060. With that gravity do you add more sugar or just leave it on its own? I would think maybe get it up to 1.090 or so. My acid test kits are outdated, usually just go by the taste method. By that the acid is not very high. Mite add a touch to it. And I think you talked me into it, I was also leaning toward just fermenting the juice. I believe the fellow said the vine was from Italy, but will find out for sure.

I am not going to pitch the yeast til Monday. Looking ahead to the end of the ferment, if I was to try a second run with this, would you take the wine out of the primary, squeeze what juice I can get from the pulp and place in the secondary with the wine, then leave the ferment bag with the lees. Then maybe add some storebought juice of some kind with added sugar. Would that leave some of the flavor from the origional ferment. Probably try for a couple gal. or so. Also, what kind of juice mite you use? Grape, Apple, maybe cherry? Just looking for your opinions. Arne.

 

[Julie]

I agree with you and up the sg to 1.090 and I think cherry for the seconds sounds pretty good.

 

[Arne]

It is warming up and about to receive the yeast. Arne.

 

[jswordy]

I would go 1.085-1.090 and I would not add any acid to it until the ferment is over. If it lacks the acidity you wish then, you can add it.

If it's not too late and you are fermenting on the skins and you can do it, it is a good idea to reserve 10% of the juice but use all of the skins. This old commercial winery trick makes a better structured wine.

You can add in the reserved juice at the end, ferment it separately for topping off, keep it for flavoring other batches or just drink it as juice.

 

[Arne]

I would go 1.085-1.090 and I would not add any acid to it until the ferment is over. If it lacks the acidity you wish then, you can add it.

If it's not too late and you are fermenting on the skins and you can do it, it is a good idea to reserve 10% of the juice but use all of the skins. This old commercial winery trick makes a better structured wine.

You can add in the reserved juice at the end, ferment it separately for topping off, keep it for flavoring other batches or just drink it as juice.

I looked at the acid bottle and decided to wait.
The yeast has been pitched, so kinda late to reserve any of the juice. This batch is pretty short anyway, gonna use all the juice. Just didn't get enough grapes. All there were, tho.
Should be fermenting when I look at it later today. Will keep this thread going. Arne.

 

[Arne]

Been sitting in secondary for a while. Snuck a small taste last night. Now have to find out what the garpes are. Has a great flavor. Think I have tasted wine that tastes about like this before, but have no idea what it is. Going to do some more research, if nothing else, think I will talk the guy that has the vines into some cuttings next spring. Reallly wish there was more than a gallon down in the cellar. This stuff is really good and so young too. Arne.