Plum Wine.....extra info (TVM Luc)!

[Duffbeer]

After reading some of the horror stories in trying to clear the wine, I decided not to make any plum wine – Until I came Johns post and the link to Luc Volders blog, so thought why not give it a go.

Absolutely, plums make splendid wine if done correctly just avoid boiling water and ensure their ripe, have made some great plum wines with many different varieties.
I must however agree with Luc's point and something I have alway's done is not stick to recipes, every must is different due to ripeness and seasonal conditions. Hence why I never keep notes, each wine is made on the condition of the fruit at the time, crazy ? maybe, but it works for me, a tasty well balanced must will often result in a good wine.

[fatbloke]

Then came the hardest part....getting the stones out!!

Don't forget that you can always just freeze them and then defrost, then the stones just "squish" out of them, then add them to the water/pectolase solution.......

Once they've had a day or two on the pectolase, make up the must to a gallon in a bucket with water and sugar, aim for 1080, so that the integral sugar in the fruit won't take it that much higher (as you've already got a fair amount of the integral sugar out with the water/pectolase solution).

Then you can add the rest of the bits that the recipe suggests, and ferment on the pulp for a few days, stirring at least once a day, then when it's down to 1020 or something like that, strain the pulp out and airlock the must down - if the ferment is still going strongly, then fine, but if it looks like it's slowing a bit, you could add a tiny amount (1/8th or 1/4 of a teaspoon) of nutrient (be careful to check the gravity in the bucket and add any extra nutrient there as well - as it'll likely to foam like hell), then you can put it in a DJ with airlock. When you're happy that it's not likely to foam any more, you can top it up to finish.

As Karl said, that's not an exact recipe or method but it's what I'd be doing......

regards

jtfb

[alex000]

I've got a few stone of damson(and there's plenty more hohoho), can any one recommend me a yeast? Then I can get started this week

[lockwood1956]

Lalvin 71B-1122 or Gervin Varietal D (same yeast ...Narbonne strain)

its great for musts containing a lot of malic acid, as it can metabolise some of it, making the finished wine smoother.

[Duffbeer]

Lalvin 71B-1122 or Gervin Varietal D (same yeast ...Narbonne strain)

its great for musts containing a lot of malic acid, as it can metabolise some of it, making the finished wine smoother.

Absolutely perfect, my choice of yeasts with any plum based wines, and that includes...
any plum wines...
wild cherry...
damson...
bullace...
sloes...
all have a tendancy to be high in malic acid, these yeasts will help to reduce/smooth this during fermentation.

[solly]

Ok the plums have been sitting in the Water / Pectolase solution for some 40 hours now, so got me hands dity and squished the mushed up plums to get as much juice as possible out of them.

Then added 245g of red grape concentrate and another 4 pints of water (now have 6 pints of water in total) then added 600 gms of sugar to take the SG upto
1.080 also added 1/4 tsp tannin, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient, but as our local homebrew shop is closed on a bank holiday and I cant get down there for another couple of days, I used a tsp of Ritchies Wine Yeast.

Didnt want to add to much water as there is lots of juice from the plums and the level in the bucket is reading just under 8 lts but that should come down when transfered to a DJ as there is a large bulk of plums in the bucket making the level seem much higher then it really is.

[lockwood1956]

You have done Luc proud

I'm sure he will approve (he visits occasionally, but hasnt registered yet)


c'mon Luc....you know it makes sense

[fatbloke]

Ok the plums have been sitting in the Water / Pectolase solution for some 40 hours now, so got me hands dity and squished the mushed up plums to get as much juice as possible out of them.

Then added 245g of red grape concentrate and another 4 pints of water (now have 6 pints of water in total) then added 600 gms of sugar to take the SG upto
1.080 also added 1/4 tsp tannin, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient, but as our local homebrew shop is closed on a bank holiday and I cant get down there for another couple of days, I used a tsp of Ritchies Wine Yeast.

Didnt want to add to much water as there is lots of juice from the plums and the level in the bucket is reading just under 8 lts but that should come down when transfered to a DJ as there is a large bulk of plums in the bucket making the level seem much higher then it really is.

The only thing you seem to have done differently from Luc's suggested method, is that he has the luxury of a refractometer, so he can get an average reading of the sugar levels of the plums in the first place.

The pulp will probably still have some integral sugar that you can't measure with a hydrometer, so if the hydrometer is reading 1080 then the actual gravity will probably be a little higher, but I shouldn't think it's enough to worry about.

The last mixed fruit melomel I made, I basically got as far as your quoted post Cash, and then I made sure that it got a good stir every morning until it was giving me a gravity of 1020, when I added a tiny amount of additional nutrient in the morning and then in the evening I racked it into a DJ.

I was using steamed juice, whereas you'd have to strain the pulp if you're thinking of following a similar technique....

Otherwise, brilliant....... looking good.

regards

jtfb

[solly]

looking good.
jtfb

Hope so m8.....been giveing the goods (plum wine lolol) a good stir twice a day now........but you need to make sure that you are using at least a 2 gallon bucket (that what I am using) as the yeast is foaming a lot....hence why Bob and Karl said use Lalvin 71B-1122 or Gervin Varietal D as the yeast is low foaming.

Will post some more in a few days when its gets transfered to a GLASS (lolol) DJ

[lockwood1956]

hence why Bob and Karl said use Lalvin 71B-1122 or Gervin Varietal D as the yeast is low foaming.

the recommendation was for its ability to metabolise Malic acid which is a harsher acid, and can be quite "rough" this yeast softens that roughness....

[solly]

the recommendation was for its ability to metabolise Malic acid which is a harsher acid, and can be quite "rough" this yeast softens that roughness....

I Stand corrected Bob - Just phoned our local home brew shop and they dont sell either the Lalvin 71B-1122 or the Gervin Varietal D

So going to place my first order at Hobbywinesupplies

[mctoon]

I have just been given approx 9lbs of plums and about to clean/ prepare them,,, never done anything like this before!!!!,,, i have only made carton juice wine,,,Here goes my first question of many,,,,,

Approx how many gallons will 9lbs make?,,,, Cheers Mal

[lockwood1956]

1.5