I want to try making a very small batch of wine. I have some grapes
frozen in my freezer from a while ago when they came into season.
Since I don't have a press and am just making probably a bottle or two
my plan is to just thaw them out in the refridgerator for a day or so
and then use a blender. I 'll strain the blended grapes through a fine
mesh so I just get the juice and then proceed from there.
Any problems with that idea? My only thought is that the seeds would
likely be broken in the blender and introduce an off flavor?

"TheGist" > wrote in message
...
>I want to try making a very small batch of wine. I have some grapes
> frozen in my freezer from a while ago when they came into season.
> Since I don't have a press and am just making probably a bottle or two
> my plan is to just thaw them out in the refridgerator for a day or so
> and then use a blender. I 'll strain the blended grapes through a fine
> mesh so I just get the juice and then proceed from there.
> Any problems with that idea? My only thought is that the seeds would
> likely be broken in the blender and introduce an off flavor?

I would think broken seeds would be a concern.

I can't confirm this, but broken seeds in your must are generally
considered a "very bad thing". They may introduce bitter compounds that
will ruin your wine.

Greg

I can confirm it, it's a very bad idea. You never want to scar or
break the seeds. That said, this is an easy job, just use your hands
to crack the skins and mash them through a sieve or strainer with a
soft spatula since you are making so little.

Joe

wrote:
> I can't confirm this, but broken seeds in your must are generally
> considered a "very bad thing". They may introduce bitter compounds that
> will ruin your wine.
>
> Greg

I do all my fruit from the freezer and when they come out they are very soft
so in my opinion I would just squeeze them by hand in cheese cloth. No you
may not get all the juice out but you will get most of it. I have made some
very good wine this way.


--
"The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. This explains why
some people appear to be bright until they open their mouth."

As stated above, do NOT use the blender. The seeds will ruin the wine.

I do not know what type of grapes you have but the easiest style to make,
especially without a press, is the red wine style. It will work with white
but it will just taste more like a red with a lot of tannin. Just crush the
grapes by hand. Do not press at this time, just mash them all. Put pulp
and all into a bucket that is at least 1/3 larger than the juice. Ferment
in the bucked for 5 to 8 days. Pour the entire mess through a straining bag
and press by hand. By this time the pulp will be soft or broken down and
easy to press. Now put it in a carboy and finish the fermentation. Hand
pressing is not something you want to do with a 15 gallon batch but it works
fine with a few gallons or less.

Ray


"TheGist" > wrote in message
...
>I want to try making a very small batch of wine. I have some grapes
> frozen in my freezer from a while ago when they came into season.
> Since I don't have a press and am just making probably a bottle or two
> my plan is to just thaw them out in the refridgerator for a day or so
> and then use a blender. I 'll strain the blended grapes through a fine
> mesh so I just get the juice and then proceed from there.
> Any problems with that idea? My only thought is that the seeds would
> likely be broken in the blender and introduce an off flavor?

I have made beer plenty of times before but never wine so I have a few
more questions...
Do you need to add sugar for the first fermentation? If so, in what
proportion to the juice?
When you move to a carboy to "finish fermentation" does additional yeast
or sugar or anything else need to be added?
How long should the wine stay in the carboy to finish?
At what point should it be bottled? When put into bottles does it need
additional yeast/sugar to "prime" as with beer where you add additional
sugar to restart the yeast to get carbonation?


Ray Calvert wrote:
> As stated above, do NOT use the blender. The seeds will ruin the wine.
>
> I do not know what type of grapes you have but the easiest style to make,
> especially without a press, is the red wine style. It will work with white
> but it will just taste more like a red with a lot of tannin. Just crush the
> grapes by hand. Do not press at this time, just mash them all. Put pulp
> and all into a bucket that is at least 1/3 larger than the juice. Ferment
> in the bucked for 5 to 8 days. Pour the entire mess through a straining bag
> and press by hand. By this time the pulp will be soft or broken down and
> easy to press. Now put it in a carboy and finish the fermentation. Hand
> pressing is not something you want to do with a 15 gallon batch but it works
> fine with a few gallons or less.

Jack Keller explains everything in great detail on his website.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

On Nov 10, 7:24 am, "Ray Calvert" > wrote:
> Hand
> pressing is not something you want to do with a 15 gallon batch but it works
> fine with a few gallons or less.
>
> Ray
>

Actually, I did just that 3 weeks ago - 15 gals of Malbec hand pressed
in about 2 hrs, including cleanup. It's not so bad, really, as long as
you're not trying to squeeze out every last drop.

What I'd never do again is destemming and crushing by hand, without any
tools.

Pp