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Re: frozen concentrates

Hello, Just wanted to update those who were interested in making wine out of frozen concentrates other than Welch's. I have tried making wine out of Old Orchard 100% frozen fruit juices. Yesterday, I opened a bottle of Apple, Kiwi, Strawberry made in December 2002 at about 10% Alcohol. I was very happy with it - light, fruity smooth taste. The only problem I've had with making wine from these Old Orchard frozen concentrates, is that they are sometimes difficult to get to finish fermenting to dry - they sometimes stick. I've had better luck adding yeast nutrient to the regular recipe, or treating the must like a regular fruit wine by fermenting in my plastic primary bucket, rather than in a glass jug with airlock & bung. My feeling is that Old Orchard puts something in their frozen concentrates which Welch's doesn't, but I'm not sure what it might be. Anyway, the wines are worth trying, and I'm definitely going to make this one again. I have an Apple, Strawberry, Banana wine, and an Apple Raspberry to try in the next month or so. Darlene Wisconsin USA

Reply to
Dar V
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In making sugarmash for distillation, turbo yeasts with nutrient will ferment straight sugar water. Even with a 1118 yeast and some good nutrient, it still can be quite difficult and a long process to ferment plain sugar water.

A turbo yeast will ferment it guaranteed and it will work fast on anything. :-) My biggest worry might be that the fast ferment might strip some of the finer character that a fruit juice might provide.. just like a 1118 could strip some charater as opposed to using other yeasts.. however, loads of people still use 1118 in regular winemaking and it's not entirely undrinkable either.. so I think turbo yeasts could potentially be used in this sort of winemaking as well.

I also wonder about the acid level perhaps not being quite right with the concentrates as opposed to fresh juice.

LG

Reply to
LG

LG, I've been very pleased with the wine I've made from frozen concentrates, and so have my friends and family who have tried them. I think they are pretty balanced, and especially good if you can wait until they are a year to a year and a half old. I've used Montrachet yeast, which is a very fast yeast. Having said that though, I have not made wine from regular juice, so maybe juice is better. Darlene

Reply to
Dar V

Hello all,

I did a little R&D on the issue of stuck fermentations, as several of my former associates were having one of those sugar-and-water kits come out stinking badly. They were sweet and tasted like bad cider...when they should have been dry and neutral.

Anytime any must looks like it might be sticking (stays muddy but no other signs of fermentation), give it a good stir every day. Of course it needs to be in the primary with a wide mouth. I left the spoon in and used a big trash bag as a cover--never had any trouble with wild yeasts.

This works with icewine as well as any must with either high alcohol or high acidity. Many commercial juices are adjusted at the factory for constant TA as the natural TA will vary with crop and type of fruit: read the labels if you really want to know.

Also, since even the (wlo alcohol) wine coolers are fermented very effectively in buckets, why would you even try to do a primary fermentation in a jug? You can get one gallon food grade plastic pails for those smaller batches. Yeast is definitely a living entity with a need for fresh air...like all of us...

Good luck this year--Irene

Reply to
Irene

I too ran into the same problem with concentrate wines fermentation ending too quickly. The result, as Dar V has mentioned, is that they never seem to ferment out and end up being too sweet. When I look back, I realize that these were one gallon batches fermented solely in a one gallon jug. This is one method as suggested by Jack Keller's site. I am wondering if maybe I am covering the top too tight and therefore not allowing sufficient air in during the initial 10 days or so before I attach the bung and airlock.

Reply to
Paul

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