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Hi,
This is my first question so I hope it ends up in the correct place and apologise for it being so long.
I've been trying to maximise the amount of wine I make during August and September due to the availability of fruit , especially plums and blackberries, and the temperature which allows for a rapid initial fermentation.
I've tried to keep the recipe as simple as possible and only use the fruit. (Last year I was happy with the wine I made - despite the fact that once finished it didnt get the chance to age!)
I've been trying to make a quantity to fill a primary fermenter but keep ending with more than the recipe suggests.
My latest example is using the recipe taken from traditional home winemaking by Paul and Ann Turner (slightly modified by me) I used the CJJ Berry recipe last year but prefer this one as there is no need to boil the water.
Quantities for 4.5 l so I multiplied them all by 4 which just about filled the primary,
2kg blackberries, 4.5l water, 4 tsp pectolase, 1campden tablet, 1 kg sugar, 1 sachet yeast (I used Gervin wine yeast no. 2 strain), 1 tsp yeast nutrient.
Method briefly - mash fruit, add water, pectolase, and campden tablets , leave 24 hrs, add sugar, yeast and nutrient, cover for 6 days stirring daily.
OK all good so far, ferment took about 24 hrs to really get going but then really strong. After 6 days strained through fine mesh bag into another primary - heres my problem I've got 25.5l about 5 1/2 gallon rather than the 4 gallon I expected from the recipe.
Quick decision needed so I've added a further 2 kg of sugar and left in the primary estmating that I'll rack into demijohn after the ferment dies down in a few days.
Similar problem with the plum - should I perhaps be adding less water initially or do the recipes allow for extra so the demijohns can be topped right up for bulk aging?
As an additional question what is the best method to strain a large batch, I found that a siphon tube gets blocked and have used a sanitised pyrex jug to pour through the straining bag that I hold with the other hand (I try to work when the house is empty and clean up afterwards as the kitchen tends to look like the site of a massacre once I've finished) but I do fine that inevitable some of the liquid does not pass through the bag (I bought a strainer and stand which is OK for small batches of jam but not the sort of quantities I'm using).
Thanks for bearing with me until the end.
Simon
This is my first question so I hope it ends up in the correct place and apologise for it being so long.
I've been trying to maximise the amount of wine I make during August and September due to the availability of fruit , especially plums and blackberries, and the temperature which allows for a rapid initial fermentation.
I've tried to keep the recipe as simple as possible and only use the fruit. (Last year I was happy with the wine I made - despite the fact that once finished it didnt get the chance to age!)
I've been trying to make a quantity to fill a primary fermenter but keep ending with more than the recipe suggests.
My latest example is using the recipe taken from traditional home winemaking by Paul and Ann Turner (slightly modified by me) I used the CJJ Berry recipe last year but prefer this one as there is no need to boil the water.
Quantities for 4.5 l so I multiplied them all by 4 which just about filled the primary,
2kg blackberries, 4.5l water, 4 tsp pectolase, 1campden tablet, 1 kg sugar, 1 sachet yeast (I used Gervin wine yeast no. 2 strain), 1 tsp yeast nutrient.
Method briefly - mash fruit, add water, pectolase, and campden tablets , leave 24 hrs, add sugar, yeast and nutrient, cover for 6 days stirring daily.
OK all good so far, ferment took about 24 hrs to really get going but then really strong. After 6 days strained through fine mesh bag into another primary - heres my problem I've got 25.5l about 5 1/2 gallon rather than the 4 gallon I expected from the recipe.
Quick decision needed so I've added a further 2 kg of sugar and left in the primary estmating that I'll rack into demijohn after the ferment dies down in a few days.
Similar problem with the plum - should I perhaps be adding less water initially or do the recipes allow for extra so the demijohns can be topped right up for bulk aging?
As an additional question what is the best method to strain a large batch, I found that a siphon tube gets blocked and have used a sanitised pyrex jug to pour through the straining bag that I hold with the other hand (I try to work when the house is empty and clean up afterwards as the kitchen tends to look like the site of a massacre once I've finished) but I do fine that inevitable some of the liquid does not pass through the bag (I bought a strainer and stand which is OK for small batches of jam but not the sort of quantities I'm using).
Thanks for bearing with me until the end.
Simon
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