plum wine recipe differences

Campden Tablets / Sulfites - Some older recipes may omit this because it wasn't readily available years ago. Others, like you indicate, consider this part of the process and assume that you will add it at the right time. Sugar - Recipes differ because of different assumptions they make on the sugar content of the fruit in question, and also due to the desired outcome (sweet, semi-sweet, off-dry, and dry wines). Yeast Energizer/Nutrient - Differences may be due to preferences of the wine maker (recipe maker), recommended yeast, or simply what was available when the recipe maker was working on the recipe.

Generally, it's best to understand the chemistry and biology of winemaking, and have the tools in hand to test for acid, pH, and gravity (sugar). I consider a recipe as a starting point.

Greg

Another difference may be the fruit that is grown in the area where the recipe was developed. Not all fruit is the same with regards to sugar or acid content or even flavor. You may need to adjust for your fruit. Consider the recipe a sugestion but adjust for your fruit using a hydrometer and an acid test kit.

Ray

so I should ignore the fine points untill i have the fruit, do a SG and pH test and adjust to suit? I'll explore this in other topics, but i think i get the gist.....

That would be the best approach. You could also throw caution to the wind and skip the testing. I made several batches of assorted wines and meads before I started testing pH and SG. I still don't test for acidity. pH and acidity are generally closely (inversely) related, however, in some cases you can end up with a high acid and high pH. Jack Keller's web site

has more information on this. If you haven't already, I suggest you read his articles on this and other wine making subjects.

Greg G.

Yes, that is about it. One thing that I sometimes do is check the acidity of the fruit and then just add enough water to dilute it down to the level of acidity I want in the final batch. That is a way to determine how much fruit per gallon to use and you do not need to add extra acid. It give you the maximum fruit flavor. Of course with some fruit you might find that you get more flavor than you want but that is a personal thing.

Ray

hmmm i was wondering about the fruit/water ratio. I'll keep this in mind.

ok, so lets see if I understand the basics

fruit, as much as i can get(rid of) water, enough to match acidity sugar, enought to get desired SG

yeast, 1 package per five gallons

other ingredients i'll do some re-reading in my books, i am sure they explain them in detail enough fo rme to de some more estimates.

BTW, for fruit, the intent is to get rid of it, so I am planning on going fruit heavy on my batches. comments?

did some reading, hoepfully someone will clear me up if I got something wrong

fruit, as much as i can get(rid of) water, enough to drop acidity sugar, enought to get desired SG acid blend, to raise acidity peptic enzyme, to clear wine yeast nutrient, yeast food campden, to kill off any "bad" yeast yeast energizer, super yeast food Tannin, to add "zest"

those last two are left off on some recipies, and i think i can see why. I'd assume that some think the energizer shoud only be used on hard-to-ferment stuff or for stuck fermemntations, and the tannin is a matter of taste.

Now you are getting into developing your own recipies. Much more fun. And if it turns out you really have reason to brag. And it will turn out good. Always think positive.

Ray