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NorthernWiner's Apple wine

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  • NorthernWiner's Apple wine

    For several years running I made Apple Wine from 100% juice. It's quite easy to do and nothing like turbo cider (which is just hootch, in my opinion). I stopped making it a few years back. I don't know why, because it's actually quite good.

    Below is the basic recipe (sorry, it's in US measurements. I will be happy to convert it to metric, if anyone would like). It usually comes out pretty good just by following the instructions, although I prefer to use a hydrometer to gauge the sugar level rather than simply adding what the recipe states. 1.085 is a good starting SG for this wine. I also omit the cranberries and raisins.

    Apple Wine From Juice


    This recipe makes 1 US gallon. All ingredients, with the exception of yeast, may be multiplied for larger volumes. 1 packet of yeast is sufficient for up to 6 US gallons.


    Ingredients:


    1 gal apple juice, preferably pasteurized and without preservatives
    2 cups sugar
    1-1/2 tsp malic acid (may substitute tartaric acid or acid blend)
    1 tsp pectic enzyme
    1/4 tsp grape tannin
    1 tsp yeast nutrient
    1 tsp bentonite
    1 cup dried cranberries (optional)
    1/2 cup raisins (optional)
    1 campden tablet, crushed
    1 pkt yeast (Lalvin ICV-D47 or Red Star Côtes des Blancs recommended)
    Super Kleer KC (optional)


    Method:


    Add 1/2 cup hot water and bentonite to blender. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes to make a slurry. Leave covered and set aside until needed.


    If using dried fruits, put into a bowl and pour just enough boiling water over to cover. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow fruit to rehydrate. After 30 minutes, put fruit and liquid into a blender or food processor. Pulse several times to chop up fruit. Set aside.


    In a mixing bowl combine 1 cup warm water, 2 cups sugar, acid, pectic enzyme, tannin, yeast nutrient, and crushed campden. Mix well. In fermenting bucket, combine the apple juice and sugar mixture. Add bentonite slurry. Stir vigorously for two minutes.


    Add chopped fruit mixture to bucket. You can also put the fruit into a small muslin straining bag or clean nylon stocking if desired.


    Cover primary and allow to sit overnight. The following morning, uncover mixture and give one final stir. Rehydrate yeast according to package directions and pour into juice. Do not stir.


    Cover primary loosely with lid or plastic tarp. Once fermentation begins, stir daily. If possible, try to ferment on the cool side; 60-65° F is ideal. After 5-7 days, rack into a carboy, leaving most of the sediment and fruit pieces behind. Do not worry about topping up completely at this stage. Add rubber bung and airlock, and allow fermentation to complete.


    Once the SG reaches .996 or less, fermentation is finished. Rack off of the sediment and top up the receiving container (any cheap commercial white wine will work fine for this purpose). Allow wine to finish clearing. If it takes longer than 30 days to clear, Super Kleer KC can be used to accelerate the process. Follow the package directions. It will generally work in 7-10 days.


    When wine has finished clearing, rack into a clean container, top up, and add 1 crushed campden tablet. Filtering is recommended if you have the equipment available. At this stage you can also sorbate and sweeten if desired. Sweetening is a matter of personal taste. I prefer apple wine with residual sugar around 3%, but feel free to adjust it to your liking. To sweeten to 3%, mix 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate with 1/4 cup hot water. Mix thoroughly and stir into finished wine. Allow to set two weeks after sweetening to ensure fermentation does not start again, then bottle.
    Steve

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