Apple Wine

[rantan]

Has anyone made apple wine from 100% supermarket apple juice?
Did it turn out like that turbo stuff or does it mature into something a lot better and more palatable drink?
If so how long does it take to mature?

thanks in advance

[lockwood1956]

find apple juice on its own to make an ok wine, but 100% juice isnt always good, sometimes less is more, and personally I think that the wine no1 is a better wine than pure apple juice, try making both and seeing which you prefer afterwards...

regards
Bob

[NorthernWiner]

Has anyone made apple wine from 100% supermarket apple juice?
Did it turn out like that turbo stuff or does it mature into something a lot better and more palatable drink?
If so how long does it take to mature?

thanks in advance

Yes, it's one of my favorites. I've used both pasteurized store juice and fresh raw juice from an orchard.

The store juice wine is ready to drink practically as soon as it's in the bottle. The wine made from fresh juice takes 6-12 months to mature. The fresh juice is really the best.

I've won several ribbons in competitions the last few years with apple wines.

[rantan]

thanks for the replies, well thats really made it clear then!

i had not thought of 100% apple juice wine until i read about it in the recipe pages

APPLE WINE (4) [Heavy bodied]
· 1 gallon pure apple juice (no preservatives)
· 1 lb. granulated sugar
· 1-1/2 tsp. acid blend
· 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
· 1/4 tsp tannin
· 1 crushed Campden tablet
· Champagne yeast and nutrient

i guess it's my own fault for reading

[Holly]

I met a guy down the pub the other week who makes a lot of wine.

He's won a few competitions with his apple wine made from juice. He gave me a bottle, dated the beginning of 2011. I tried it about a month ago, 2 sips in and a massive rash popped up all over my face, had palpatations and everything.

Now, i'm definatly not allergic to apples and have spent many a summer downing my parents home made cider. I'm keen to make my own apple wine, juice and fresh, but i'm a bit nervous now. Anyone any suggestions about what happened? Can the wine be aged too long? the guy said he used cheapie juice so maybe it had additives in it, could that be it?

The same guy, he really is lovely, has also given me rhubarb, hawthorn flower and hamburg red grape to try. The rhubarb was given to a wine enthusiast who came to fix the heating, but the other 2 bottles are waiting for me to make a decision.

[joelw94]

Do you have any allergies such as fish or egg? If you had a severe allergy to one of these and he'd used isinglass or egg white as a fining agent that could be the problem, but as finings are meant to end up as lees and are discarded it would take a strong allergy to have that kind of reaction to such a small trace of the allergen. Unless he sucked up some lees at bottling time. Plus you'd probably have experienced a reaction before from commercial wines that use these fining agents, although most commercial wineries filter. Did it taste ok? If there was way too much sulphite that could cause some problems (not sure whether it could cause the reaction you had though), but only at a level you would taste.

[Delmonteman]

I've done a 4.5l batch with just 3l of shop bought apple juice and sugar to 1.080. Only pectolase, nutrient and yeast required. no additional acid/ tannin needed if you are planning on having it dry/ medium dry. I liked it and would make it again.

[Cellar_Rat]

Holly - have you had this eaction to ANYTHING else. ?

I have made apple wine from fresh apples - frozen - then pressed. Brilliant.

[Holly]

Holly - have you had this eaction to ANYTHING else. ?

I have made apple wine from fresh apples - frozen - then pressed. Brilliant.

Nope, never had this problem before, I pride myself in not being allergic to anything!

The wine itself tasted lovely, with a nice hint of apples. He won a couple of competitions with the same batch. I'm going to make some apple and see how it goes. I was just wondering if any of you had come across the same problem.

Looking at the hawthorn flower, there is some green on the cork, could that have been the problem?

Does anyone want a bottle of hamburg red grape and a bottle of hawthorn flower?!

[NorthernWiner]

I've heard of people having reactions to apples, and in fact, a woman that my wife and I know well has such an allergy. She can't eat apples (do you know how many products contain apple juice as a sweetener?) or even smell apple blossoms without having sneezing fits or breaking out in hives. But if you've never had this reaction before, then you could probably rule that out.

A more likely cause would be something that was added to the wine, perhaps a fining agent, nutrient, or even a reaction to the particular strain of yeast used.

Or it could be just a one time thing. I remember years ago having an allergic reaction to penicillin. It was added to my physician's records as an allergy. However, I was mistakenly prescribed penicillin in another form last year, and had no reaction at all.

[Holly]

Next time I see him I'll get the recipe and pin down exactly what yeast he would have used and extra bits. Then I think i'll just have to avoid them.

Can you imagine making wine and not being able to drink it?!

[lockwood1956]

Can you imagine making wine and not being able to drink it?!

I would rather not even contemplate that

I hope you find the cause....

regards
Bob