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  • Damson/Plum wine

    The first recipe below makes a dry table wine. The second one makes a high-alcohol sweet (dessert) wine. With both wines, sulfite initially and after every other racking.

    PLUM WINE (1)
    6 lbs plums
    sugar to SG of 1.080 (1-1/2 lbs approx)
    1 campden tablet
    Water to one gallon
    1-1/2 tsp acid blend
    1 tsp pectic enzyme
    3/4 tsp yeast nutrient
    1/4 tsp yeast energizer
    1/8 tsp grape tannin
    wine yeast

    Wash the fruit, cut in halves to remove the seeds, then chop fruit and put in primary. Add water and campden tablet, Add acid blend, pectic enzyme, tannin, nutrient, and energizer, cover, and wait 24 hours before adding yeast. Recover primary and allow to ferment 5-7 days, stirring twice daily. Strain, transfer to secondary, and fit airlock. Rack after 30 days, top up, refit airlock and repeat every 30 days until wine clears. Wait two additional weeks, rack again, stabilize wine, bottle. This wine can be sampled after only 6 months. If not up to expectations, let age another 6 months and taste again. I have aged plum wine up to four years and the result was exquisite, but that was only because the wine got covered with blankets and was forgotten. I suspect it was ready long before it took on its heavenly quality. [Jack Keller's notes and adaptation from Dorothy Alatorre's Home Wines of North America... tweaked to remove hot water in the process by Bob]

    PLUM WINE (2)

    6 lbs plums
    sugar to SG 1.080 (approx 1-1/2 lbs)
    Water to one gallon
    1 campden tablet
    1-1/2 tsp acid blend
    1 tsp pectic enzyme
    1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
    1/2 tsp yeast energizer
    1/4 tsp grape tannin
    wine yeast

    Wash the fruit, cut in halves to remove the seeds, then chop fruit and put in primary.Add half the sugar Add campden tablet Add acid blend, pectic enzyme, tannin, nutrient, and energizer, cover, and wait 24 hours before adding yeast. Recover primary when S.G reaches 1.010 remove pulp and add sugar to 1.030, ferment to 1.010 and add sugar to 1.030, repeating untill fermentation ceases and S.G stays at 1.030. stabilize wine, and bottle. This wine can be sampled after only 6 months. If not up to expectations, let age another 6 months and taste again. I have aged plum wine up to four years and the result was exquisite, but that was only because the wine got covered with blankets and was forgotten. I suspect it was ready long before it took on its heavenly quality. [Jack Keller's notes and adaptation from Dorothy Alatorre's Home Wines of North America....tweaked to remove hot water in the process by Bob]
    Last edited by lockwood1956; 26-08-2008, 07:43 AM.
    N.G.W.B.J.
    Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
    Wine, mead and beer maker

  • #2
    de-stone or not

    Has anyone made a plum/damson wine without removing the stones and if so what was the end result. Or must the stones be removed first and if so is there such a thing as the easy way!! I have just been given 12lbs of plums and I was told cut then in half and freeze them which it what I have done all the recipes I read say to remove the stones. only started making wine the last couple of months, I mainly did beer from kits.

    Comment


    • #3
      Definitely remove the stones. It's a bit of a chore but if you don't, you'll have ruined wine. They leave a bitter taste.
      Let's party


      AKA Brunehilda - Last of the Valkaries

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by morris minor View Post
        Has anyone made a plum/damson wine without removing the stones and if so what was the end result. Or must the stones be removed first and if so is there such a thing as the easy way!! I have just been given 12lbs of plums and I was told cut then in half and freeze them which it what I have done all the recipes I read say to remove the stones. only started making wine the last couple of months, I mainly did beer from kits.
        The stones are normally removed to prevent any "off flavours".

        Just the freezing could have done the job as it's likely that you'd have just needed to squidge the fruit to get the stones out. Not forgetting to rinse them and remove any stalk that might still be attached before putting them in the freezer.

        You're in the right place here at WAH, if in doubt, ask. There's usually someone who's encounted the same or a similar problem

        regards

        JtFB
        Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

        Some blog ramblings

        Comment


        • #5
          Normal plums I destone, for Damsons or any smaller plums I simply freeze and thaw, putting them whole into a straining bag, it is regarded as better if you remove all of the stones, but I did that the first year and it was a pain, however i'm taking a chance, because if one of the stones splits, then I could end up with a harsh tasting wine. there are some harmfull elements in stoned fruit stones (and apple pips) but you would have to eat a ton of them before you came to any harm.

          regards
          Bob
          N.G.W.B.J.
          Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
          Wine, mead and beer maker

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks all, so I know what I will be doing soon then

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by morris minor View Post
              Thanks all, so I know what I will be doing soon then
              It'll keep you out of mischief
              Let's party


              AKA Brunehilda - Last of the Valkaries

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Mamgiowl View Post
                It'll keep you out of mischief

                I often sit watching telly while I de-stone or de-berry stuff, (doing Elderberries at the moment) it makes a BORING task a lot easier to bear...and the outcome is well worth all the labour that goes into preparing stuff the right way.

                Another lesson I've learnt, is to bag stuff and freeze it in 1LB bags, it makes thawing easier and storing them flat takes up less space too. It's also useful if you find a recipe that needs just 2 lbs of fruit... (and you then you remember that you froze 4lbs in one go coz they fitted nicely into an old ice cream tub...)
                HRH Her Lushness

                Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

                Comment


                • #9
                  mistakes so far collected apples and quartered them, stuck them in freezer (not washed or de-piped) did the same with the plums cut cut them in half and put in freezer. Not looking forward to de-piping or de-stoneing I think I would rather get into mischief as thar seems a whole lot easier to do will know better next time

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    You have no probs now. Freezing will enable you to squeeze all the stones out as the fruit will defrost all squidgy
                    Let's party


                    AKA Brunehilda - Last of the Valkaries

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Dumb questions

                      Hope you all will bare with me but I have a few bumb questions to ask regarding the reading the scales on a hydrometer. The one I use to use was quite simple to read and I went and stood on it a few weeks ago and I am not sure how to read the new one at the bottom of the scale there are 4 white sections 1st one sg next 120,110,1-100 next there are 5 blue sections 90 to 50 with the words start wine the a narrow white the a red 40 and start beer, then 2 white again30,20 1 black with a 10, 2 yellow one saying bottle and the other 1-000 and lastly 2 white with the last one has 990. this is my question when starting from scratch and I put a sample of wine in the test tube in which area would I be expected to read the starting sg .When I put the brew in I got a reading 990 ie the hydrometer almost sank I added more sugar and it rose to the red area 40.its a stevenson reeves hydrometer like I said its a dumb question to those in know. The old grey matter is getting more everyday. Should I read from the bottom up or from the top down. Question 2 how does one start a new topic on here

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        To answer your second question first. In the area of the forum that you wish to start a new thread, click the button that says new thread.

                        Ok, hydrometer time. You are not on your own by having trouble reading a hydrometer. I have just read a post on the subject on another forum written by Fermenting Tom, he said:

                        Patience--put the hydrometer in a trial jar of water --read it write it down
                        remove hydrometer--add 2 tsp sugar to water dissolve--read it write it down repeat again.
                        Empty trial jar rinse- fill with any spirit read it write down , return half spirit to bottle top jar up with water, read it write it down--drink content of trial jar.
                        If you remember what you're doing fill trial jar with a sweet wine read it write it down, drink content of trial jar fill trial jar with a dry wine read and write down, if you remember where you put the pencil and paper, think about the readings you've got--when you wake up you will remember how to read a hydrometer, or you won't care.


                        My advice, forget all the coloured bits and just read the numbers. An average starting gravity for a wine is 1.080, the hydrometer will be sitting high in the must due to the sugar content making the liquid thicker (more viscous). A reading of 0.990 tells you that the sugar has been converted to alcohol, the hydrometer sits low in the wine because the liquid is now very thin (for the lack of better wording).

                        To sum this up, at the start (high sg) your hydrometer will sit high, at the end of fermentation (low sg eg 0.990) your hydrometer will sit low and almost sink.

                        The hydrometer is a vital tool to a wine maker, try Tom's experiment, you will get there in the end.

                        There is also tutorial on the forum, click the link.

                        Last edited by Richard S; 06-09-2008, 08:55 PM.
                        National Wine Judge NGWBJ

                        Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

                        My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

                        Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thanks Richard as for the new thread bit are talking about where it says new post as tI do not see the wording new threads or should I change my glasses and just stick to the full ones
                          Jimmy

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            You are posting within a thread, what you need to do is start a new thread.

                            Go to the main forum page, select the winemaking area then click general winemaking. You will then be able to create a new thread (assuming you want to be in the general winemaking area). If you have a question/comment etc on fruit winemaking, then instead of the gen winemaking area, you would select the fruit winemaking forum and start a new thread from there.

                            Have a bash.
                            National Wine Judge NGWBJ

                            Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

                            My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

                            Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thanks again Richard as you can see I know as much about forums as I do about wine making but I suppose with everyone help I will get there in the end, not quite got the hang of these new fangled gizmo's yep your right just found it thanks again

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