This year I picked some wild grapes. I was not sure if I would try to make wine or jelly so I froze them.
My question is how should I go from the frozen grapes to the first fermenting stage for wine.
Steve South Texas
Freezing is a good way to improve yield in fruit. My recommendation is to go to Jack Keller's site. He has lost of wild grape recipes and hints for making it. You can use whole frozen fruit or fresh fruit in exactly the same way.
In general if you press grapes and do not ferment on the skin you will get a light or white wine. Some red grapes will yield a white wine, others have some color in the meat and will give a rose'. If you soak the skins in the juice for even a few hours you will pick up some color. This is how white Zen is made from dark red zin grapes. Having frozen the grapes will have broken down the skin and will increase the yield of color. My guess is you can crush and just use the juice and get a rose' or you can use the skins and get a red.
Ray
In 1999 I made (poorly) a wine from wild "fox" grapes. As the bulk of stems and seeds probably exceeded the bulk of fruit we put ours in a hot steamer/juicer. The finished wine is almost black. Even a clear bottle held up to a bright light is hard to see through.
No comment on the flavor though. They probably have enough tannin to survive for some time.
Art S.
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