Winemaking (rec.crafts.winemaking) Discussion of the process, recipes, tips, techniques and general exchange of lore on the process, methods and history of wine making. Includes traditional grape wines, sparkling wines & champagnes.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, Help!

ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).

How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
add too much.

got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in

  #2 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
jim jim is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 276
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, Help!

1) Dont Panic
2) Always know where your towel is
3) That fine, I double bag but hey... Follow the hydrometer and try
to keep clear of too much much mud.

Remember what Terry Garey said man... Do your best and don't worry.

My advice. Try to get the acid right, the nutrients right and the
sugar right and then you are on planet janet. You just have to wait
for the good wine to roll in. I say this cos I got two out of three
readings right and last years plum now smells like sewerage

Jim

On Sep 2, 12:27 am, Tater > wrote:
> ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
> to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).
>
> How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
> and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
> add too much.
>
> got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
> hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in



  #3 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default ok, no need to panic, was starting fist batch of plum wine, Help!

On Sep 1, 6:27 pm, Tater > wrote:
> ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
> to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).
>
> How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
> and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
> add too much.
>
> got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
> hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in



update.

plum pulp did not seep thru the strraining bag like i would have
guessed. needed to add 1 gallon of water to top up for 6 gall of wine,
all is fine.

currently re-reading acid test kit to confirm that i do understand
it's method. then the sugar to up the SG, then yeast and yay off we
go......!!!

  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, wheeee!!!!

well pitted and readied 30lbs of wild plums, acid tested them and they
was waaaaaay off the scale. scanned someof the recipies i had and
decided to go with one that needed less plums (I.E. add water) tasted
tart to sour. measured SG and calculated needed sugar (THIRTEEN
POUNDS!!) found I was short added all i had and got it up to 1.085 and
consider that fine for a first batch. tasted again. Much better!!
added camden, nutrient, enzyme, and am now waiting 12-24 hours to
pitch yeast, as recommended in recipies.

only Issues I have is that I had to add water to reduce acidity(which
matched in some recipies) but that means I am trying to ferment 7
galoons of wine in a 10 gallon primary, which if i recall gets you
close to foaming over, so I guess it'll sit in the bathtub till I am
confident that overflowing issues are resolved.

all in all, everything looks good, finally tastes good, and will
probably change somehow over the next 12 hours so i'll have to re-
adjust again. not worried. thanks to Gary and Jim for the handholding.

BTW, I had to start this batch today. freezers were getting full, yes
plural. plum trees look like they havent been touched, so I'll have to
hope that this batch finishes fermenting before the freezers get full
again. Might have to buy, borrow, or beg another primary and a few
secondaries to keep up with everything. barring any failures will have
100 bottles easy, maybe 200 when done. and i dont like wine much


On Sep 1, 8:54 pm, Tater > wrote:
> On Sep 1, 6:27 pm, Tater > wrote:
>
> > ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
> > to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).

>
> > How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
> > and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
> > add too much.

>
> > got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
> > hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in

>
> update.
>
> plum pulp did not seep thru the strraining bag like i would have
> guessed. needed to add 1 gallon of water to top up for 6 gall of wine,
> all is fine.
>
> currently re-reading acid test kit to confirm that i do understand
> it's method. then the sugar to up the SG, then yeast and yay off we
> go......!!!



  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 61
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, wheeee!!!!

Try adding honey instead of sugar. Plums make a wonderful melomel (mead).
Steve
"Tater" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> well pitted and readied 30lbs of wild plums, acid tested them and they
> was waaaaaay off the scale. scanned someof the recipies i had and
> decided to go with one that needed less plums (I.E. add water) tasted
> tart to sour. measured SG and calculated needed sugar (THIRTEEN
> POUNDS!!) found I was short added all i had and got it up to 1.085 and
> consider that fine for a first batch. tasted again. Much better!!
> added camden, nutrient, enzyme, and am now waiting 12-24 hours to
> pitch yeast, as recommended in recipies.
>
> only Issues I have is that I had to add water to reduce acidity(which
> matched in some recipies) but that means I am trying to ferment 7
> galoons of wine in a 10 gallon primary, which if i recall gets you
> close to foaming over, so I guess it'll sit in the bathtub till I am
> confident that overflowing issues are resolved.
>
> all in all, everything looks good, finally tastes good, and will
> probably change somehow over the next 12 hours so i'll have to re-
> adjust again. not worried. thanks to Gary and Jim for the handholding.
>
> BTW, I had to start this batch today. freezers were getting full, yes
> plural. plum trees look like they havent been touched, so I'll have to
> hope that this batch finishes fermenting before the freezers get full
> again. Might have to buy, borrow, or beg another primary and a few
> secondaries to keep up with everything. barring any failures will have
> 100 bottles easy, maybe 200 when done. and i dont like wine much
>
>
> On Sep 1, 8:54 pm, Tater > wrote:
>> On Sep 1, 6:27 pm, Tater > wrote:
>>
>> > ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
>> > to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).

>>
>> > How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
>> > and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
>> > add too much.

>>
>> > got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
>> > hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in

>>
>> update.
>>
>> plum pulp did not seep thru the strraining bag like i would have
>> guessed. needed to add 1 gallon of water to top up for 6 gall of wine,
>> all is fine.
>>
>> currently re-reading acid test kit to confirm that i do understand
>> it's method. then the sugar to up the SG, then yeast and yay off we
>> go......!!!

>
>





  #6 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, Help!

On Sep 1, 6:27 pm, Tater > wrote:
> ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
> to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).
>
> How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
> and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
> add too much.
>
> got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
> hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in


as per spud, I'll keep my questions about this batch on this thread to
keep things neat.

as per the other thread, my yeast isn't taking off like i thought it
should. i'll hold off as others have mentioned, although i do think i
killed my yeast in my too cold freezer(maybe not completely killed it
off, so some hope)

anyway, here is data about this batch.

30lbs wild plums
water to 6 gallons produced a tartartic acid level of .9%, added
approx 1.5 gallons to drop it to .7% (ideal listed on box was .6% but
also listed white grape as .75%) decided to let it go as 10 gallon
primary looked too full.
initial gravity was 1.010. needed 13 lbs of sugar, only had a ten
pound bag partialy open dumped that in and got 1.060. bought more
sugar and upped it to 1.100. added enzyme, nutrient, campden. let sit
for 16 hours. took sample of liquid to mix yeast in. pitched in last
night, went to bed. morning no activity, posted about that and waited.
at noon very very little activity, possible bubbles could be yeast,
could be outgassing of disolved air.

once I know yeast *is* active, i'll probably pull 2-3 gallons into a 5
gallon pail to primary in, until i am sure foam is nto an issue. might
put it back then, not sure. sg at 18 hours (about) is 1.095 and temp
is 72 degrees

  #7 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, Help!

Just a thought - some of my batches of fruit wines took up to 72 hours
to start. And some yeasts almost show no foam or "head". I agree with
other posters - check temperature of must, and give it more time. In 72
hours, you need to consider re-pitching, maybe with some nutrient
energizer, not much.
DAve

Tater wrote:
> On Sep 1, 6:27 pm, Tater > wrote:
>> ok, started pitting and such, noticed that the plum material is a bit
>> to fine to stay in a straining bag(looks like mush).
>>
>> How will we measure the SG? the stuff is like mud. I'll assume that
>> and addition of some water might help things out, but i Don't want to
>> add too much.
>>
>> got about half a batch of plums ready, pitting contnuing on the rest.
>> hoepfully everyone is not on vacation and can chime in

>
> as per spud, I'll keep my questions about this batch on this thread to
> keep things neat.
>
> as per the other thread, my yeast isn't taking off like i thought it
> should. i'll hold off as others have mentioned, although i do think i
> killed my yeast in my too cold freezer(maybe not completely killed it
> off, so some hope)
>
> anyway, here is data about this batch.
>
> 30lbs wild plums
> water to 6 gallons produced a tartartic acid level of .9%, added
> approx 1.5 gallons to drop it to .7% (ideal listed on box was .6% but
> also listed white grape as .75%) decided to let it go as 10 gallon
> primary looked too full.
> initial gravity was 1.010. needed 13 lbs of sugar, only had a ten
> pound bag partialy open dumped that in and got 1.060. bought more
> sugar and upped it to 1.100. added enzyme, nutrient, campden. let sit
> for 16 hours. took sample of liquid to mix yeast in. pitched in last
> night, went to bed. morning no activity, posted about that and waited.
> at noon very very little activity, possible bubbles could be yeast,
> could be outgassing of disolved air.
>
> once I know yeast *is* active, i'll probably pull 2-3 gallons into a 5
> gallon pail to primary in, until i am sure foam is nto an issue. might
> put it back then, not sure. sg at 18 hours (about) is 1.095 and temp
> is 72 degrees
>

  #8 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, wheeee!

On Sep 3, 3:16 pm, Tater > wrote:
>
> once I know yeast *is* active, i'll probably pull 2-3 gallons into a 5
> gallon pail to primary in, until i am sure foam is nto an issue. might
> put it back then, not sure. sg at 18 hours (about) is 1.095 and temp
> is 72 degrees


yeast is active in both primaries now, both with big heads of foam. SG
dropped to 1.070 and has the fizzy taste expected at this stage.

anybody know when the threat of foaming ends? I'd like to get the two
back into one primary. I need that 5 gallon bucket for processing the
next batch of plums.

Speaking of which, plum ripening went into overdive. picked enough for
another 5 gallon batch, just this afternoon. lucky this weekend i'll
be spending on more carboys and maybe another primary. plan on aging
in the carboy so I'll need as much big glass as little.

  #9 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.winemaking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 127
Default starting fist batch of plum wine, wow, that was quick

On Sep 4, 9:40 pm, Tater > wrote:
> On Sep 3, 3:16 pm, Tater > wrote:
>
> > once I know yeast *is* active, i'll probably pull 2-3 gallons into a 5
> > gallon pail to primary in, until i am sure foam is nto an issue. might
> > put it back then, not sure. sg at 18 hours (about) is 1.095 and temp
> > is 72 degrees

>
> yeast is active in both primaries now, both with big heads of foam. SG
> dropped to 1.070 and has the fizzy taste expected at this stage.
>

yikes. checked after i got home today and it has dropped to 1.040.
still foaming, but i think it had stopped for the most part. will
probably rack and airlock tommorrow and clean everything for the next
batch.

tastes like fizzy wine. very acidic fizzy wine. any suggestions?

Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
plum wine p k Winemaking 7 22-10-2004 03:41 PM
Plum wine Alex Winemaking 11 22-09-2004 06:45 AM
plum wine surfbum Winemaking 6 27-07-2004 09:34 PM
starting off with a kit wine Theresa Winemaking 14 11-01-2004 06:14 PM
Plum Wine [email protected] Winemaking 2 24-12-2003 01:42 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:48 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 FoodBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Food and drink"