# Pear Wine



## Runningwolf

Today was the crush/press. I started with 257 pounds of pears. About 30 pounds were picked last week and put in the freezer as they were just ripe and I wasn't ready to process them. The rest were picked a few days ago. The majority of them were still firm. Ideally I would have liked to wait a week to press them but with harvest upon us I will be working every day for the next two weeks at least 10 hours a day. It's an exciting time of year for sure. So with that said I had no choice but to shred and press today.

The 257 pounds produced about 15 gallons of juice at 10 brix. 25 drops of Zymo-clear was added (super concentrated enzyme). Tomorrow I will add the 71B yeast followed up with Bentonite the next morning. 

I pulled the pears out of the freezer last night and they were mushy at press time this afternoon. I thought I would just press and not shred. It wasn't good enough and I emptied the press bag into the shredder after that press and ran it through the shredder. I will never freeze pears again before pressing if I don't have to. The other pears I just shredded into the paint strainer bags then pressed when I had three of them filled.

...and thats the way it was on September 14, 2013.

Thanks Turock and Bob (fivebk) for your suggestions.


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## Deezil

This oughta be a fun thread to follow..

Any chance you use additives like Booster Blanc or Opti-White?


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## Tess

Yep Im in, Keep us posted. I love pears. Those look like Buckets full of Morel Mushroom's lol


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## Runningwolf

Deezil said:


> This oughta be a fun thread to follow..
> 
> Any chance you use additives like Booster Blanc or Opti-White?



I do not use them but will check them out. I have to say when I tasted the juice it was even lighter than expected.


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## Deezil

Runningwolf said:


> I do not use them but will check them out. I have to say when I tasted the juice it was even lighter than expected.



I havent made a batch without them since I learned about them..

I have a bottle of MLF'd Apple-Pear w/ Booster Blanc + Opti-White + FT Blanc Soft (tannin) with your name on it, to make up for the lack-of-Peach.. Soon as I bottle a bunch, I'll be sending it all out


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## bkisel

I'm impressed. Way beyond my abilities and means but I'll happily follow along if you intend to keep us posted.


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## Runningwolf

Ok Manley I'm in on the Opti-White. I'm not sure if I can find the Booster Blanc locally. At what rate do you add it?


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## grapeman

My boys are doing some pear wine right now. I told them to run the pears through the Jaffrey shredder and put the pulp in the bags. They were afraid of the seeds so they hand cored bushels and bushels of pears and cubed them up.Let me know if the seeds affect the wine at all so I can show them your reply!


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## Runningwolf

I will do that Rich. I have a "Happy Valley" apple press and I left stems and core in place, just fed the entire pear in. I'm interested in knowing what your brix end up at and volume of juice vs starting weight. I'll add 16.5 pounds of sugar when I start fermentation tomorrow. Incidentally I did not see any broken seeds and I did look for them. Zero seeds made it through the strainer bags.


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## Deezil

Runningwolf said:


> Ok Manley I'm in on the Opti-White. I'm not sure if I can find the Booster Blanc locally. At what rate do you add it?



1.5 - 1.75g per gallon (i usually shoot for 1.75g, but its because I like what it does)

Manufacturer recommends 1.15 - 1.92g per gallon (7 - 12g per 6 gallon batch)


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## LoneStarLori

This looks delish already. Please keep the progress posted, I like making wine by proxy. 


I know I'll never own a press so I'll just have to watch and wish.


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## Turock

Dan--Be sure not to add the bentonite until the 3rd day of the FERMENT.


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## wood1954

my first ever batch of pear wine i ran the pears thru a blender seeds and all. The juice had a nutty smell to it from the seeds. After fermenting it disappeared. I also diluted the juice 50% and it tasted better than my last two batches of 100% juice.


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## Runningwolf

Turock, thanks for the clarification 

Today I started the fermentation with 18.57 grams of 71B yeast and the same amount of Goferm. In addition to the yeast starter that is pictured below I stirred in 16.5 pound of sugar. With regards of adding zero water I chose not to make a simple syrup for this fermentation.


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## Runningwolf

wood1954 said:


> my first ever batch of pear wine i ran the pears thru a blender seeds and all. The juice had a nutty smell to it from the seeds. After fermenting it disappeared. I also diluted the juice 50% and it tasted better than my last two batches of 100% juice.



Thanks for the info. I am planning on adding a very small amount of crabapple to this wine or a large a large blend of both. Just something I'm thinking about in the spring when they are finished. It's going to be fun doing bench trails.


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## spaniel

wood1954 said:


> my first ever batch of pear wine i ran the pears thru a blender seeds and all. The juice had a nutty smell to it from the seeds. After fermenting it disappeared. I also diluted the juice 50% and it tasted better than my last two batches of 100% juice.



If you have means to shred the pears, like a fruit chopper, I would use the whole pears. Those types of machines typically don't grind up the seeds. I have made apple and pear wines many times via this method -- I ferment in the primary with the fruit and press when it goes into the secondary.

I agree that a blender will be too harsh on the seeds.


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## Runningwolf

Just before I left for dinner I snapped this picture of the juice already rocking and a rolling 4.5 hours after introducing the yeast starter.


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## Arne

I envy you, Dan. The pear I made last year is some of the best wine I have ever had. It was great shortly after post ferment, thought it went south a month or two later. Left it alone and it came back to great. Time to bottle it, but it is really really good. Arne.


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## Deezil

Arne said:


> I envy you, Dan. The pear I made last year is some of the best wine I have ever had. It was great shortly after post ferment, thought it went south a month or two later. Left it alone and it came back to great. Time to bottle it, but it is really really good. Arne.



Yeah my Apple-Pear is hands-down my best batch to date.. I never knew I'd make a wine, of that caliber.

This thread is actually has me considering a Pear Melomel


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## wood1954

Can you post your pear recipe? I've almost given up on pear wine which is a shame as there are so many pears for free or cheap. Checking my notes last year i added 1.5 gallons of water to 90 lbs of pears and used D254 yeast which stopped at SG 1.010, tried getting it going with EC-1118 but no luck.


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## Deezil

wood1954 said:


> Can you post your pear recipe? I've almost given up on pear wine which is a shame as there are so many pears for free or cheap. Checking my notes last year i added 1.5 gallons of water to 90 lbs of pears and used D254 yeast which stopped at SG 1.010, tried getting it going with EC-1118 but no luck.



Freeze the pears
Thaw the pears
Mash the pears

I know this wine is better without water, but sometimes the work vs reward (lack of fruit) makes me add a bit of water - dont add more than 20% of the total volume of the pears though, you'll lose flavor.

Add K-meta, wait 12 hours
Add pectic enzyme, wait 12-24 hours
Add Opti-White & Fermaid-O

Measure SG/TA
Adjust SG (TA should be okay with pears)

Make yeast starter - D-47 (mouthfeel), 1116, 71B (fruity), etc
Pitch yeast

Add Bentonite on 3rd day of ferment

Rack @ 1.000 - 1.010
Rack onto Booster Blanc

Degas
Clear
Bulk age
Bottle age
Drink


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## Runningwolf

Opti White added tonight. Tomorrow is day 3. I will start my bento addition tonight and add in the morning.


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## Arne

I made mine like Dan is doing. Used pure juice. Took a lot of pears, but if you can get them it is worth it. I used a lot of green pears, but if you have the time, think I would just lay them out in the garage and let them ripen. Think you will get more juice out of them. Arne.


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## Runningwolf

This morning is freaking cold. I have ice on the windshields since my pear is in the garage and the car is outside.

The pear is 75° and the brix is down to 12°. I added the bentonite and super ferment today. My garage is intoxicating and the aroma quickly goes into the house when I open the door.

Arne I agree with you. My pears were hard and green also but I had to move quick since harvest is here and I'm working eveyday 10+ hours for the next two weeks straight before I get a day off. Possibly in addition to ripening them stick them in a large fermenter whole or in half with a heavy dose of enzymes for a few days util very mushy then press.


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## fivebk

Morning Dan,

I don't know how I missed the start of this thread. When I was looking at the pics I had to comment to myself that you did a great job in controlling oxidation in the juice ( beautiful color to start off with). Good luck with this project and don't work too hard during harvest. If I didn't live so far away i'd come help harvest.

BOB


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## Turock

I feel for you Dan. During turnarounds, we worked 12 hr. shifts for 2 weeks at a time before a day off. Real hard to work that much and manage a ferment. You're pretty crazy in the head by the time that 2 weeks is up!!!!! Good luck with the pear---hope it turns out nice for you.


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## Runningwolf

Thanks Bob and Turock. 11:30 pm and just got home. Tomorrow will be even crazier. Exciting times though. Two weeks before a day off but harvest is probably 5-6 weeks. Walk into my garage when I came home tonight and was practically knocked out by the pear fermentation. I'll check brix in the morning. Right about now I'm happy it is only 15 gallons rather than 25 like the crab apple.


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## Runningwolf

Day four and the temp is still 75° and the brix has dropped to 4.


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## Arne

Few more days and you can rack it, airlock it and fergit about it til the grape work is pretty well done. Not much for a pear crop around here this year, maybe next year. Good luck with it, Dan. Arne.


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## Runningwolf

Today is day 5 and brix is down to 3?. I racked over to carboys to protect it from anymore oxygen exposure. It looks like I'll probably end up with closer to 12 gallons after a few more racking's.


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## WI_Wino

Runningwolf said:


> I pulled the pears out of the freezer last night and they were mushy at press time this afternoon. I thought I would just press and not shred. It wasn't good enough and I emptied the press bag into the shredder after that press and ran it through the shredder. I will never freeze pears again before pressing if I don't have to..



I've been meaning to ask this for awhile. Why would you not freeze pears again? I thought all fruit could benefit from freezing before crushing or pressing?


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## Runningwolf

WI_Wino said:


> I've been meaning to ask this for awhile. Why would you not freeze pears again? I thought all fruit could benefit from freezing before crushing or pressing?



Why, because I was frustrated at the moment I posted as I was doing it myself until my wife came out at the end and I was about tired of hand turning the crank to shred them. Yes, freezing first I think for sure would produce more juice. Tomorrow I will be racking off the fermentation. It has an awesome color so far. Tomorrow will be day 9. I sat them on my wine bench yesterday leaning on 2 X 4's so all the sediment falls to the lower edge of the carboy.


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## ffemt128

Nice color Dan. Looks great as does everything you do...


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## fivebk

When that clears completely and is filtered it's gonna be beautiful!!

BOB


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## Tess

Clearing Nicely. I like what you do with the wood in front. I thought of doing this myself. Does it help with the racking a great deal?


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## Runningwolf

Tess it does help. I can rack from the higher corner since most of the lees has fallen to the lower side. As the wine get's to the end I remove the 2x4 and try to get as much wine as I can before the sediment flows over to that side.


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## Turock

Hey Dan-- Can you tell me how you work with crab apple? Did you run them thru the apple crusher? They're so small that it seems the crusher couldn't even touch them. These seem like a dry fruit--did you use water with them?


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## Runningwolf

Turock last year with no equipment I used a 2x4 to crush them and it stunk, never again I swore! Now I have an apple cider press that has a shredder. I shredded them into paint strainer bags then pressed. Yes you do get a fair amount of juice. I did took a wild a$s guess on the water addition and think I may have added a bit too much as it does not seem overly acidic in taste as I expected (I did not test it yet for acid). The water was added with sugar pre-fermentation. I prefer to keep a good amount of acid in it as this is a good wine for blending. It blended very well with Chardonnay.


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## Turock

How does it taste straight-up? Do the seeds get shredded??


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## Runningwolf

It has lots of flavor but bitter of course right now. Sweetened and blended with a bit of another wine it's good. Excellent blender with apples. It did not shred the seeds in the apples or pears.


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## jamesngalveston

runningwolf, if you used the whole pears, chopped and frozen would 15 lbs per gallon be enough to get the pear flavor and color.


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## Arne

Jim, 
Last year when I made mine I think I wound up using about 14 lb. per gal. and although I had a press it gave me pure juice to ferment with. The pear flavor is not real strong so you probably don't want to dilute the juice too much. Just my 2 cents worth. Arne.


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## jamesngalveston

thanks arne, i have to bottle two carboys today...think i may try some pear...sounds really good.


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## michjen

Could I juice the pears and ferment the juice?


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## jamesngalveston

of course you can...just add as little water as you can. but with light colored fruits, you need more fruit to get to the taste..
so ...as and example...10 lbs may make a 1 gallon batch but you need 30 for a three..etc.


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## michjen

Perfect!!! I am aiming for a 5 gallon batch tomorrow! Now can I add the same chemicals pectic enzyme and yeast, bentonite...


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## jamesngalveston

yes, according to the mfg specs, and after you add the pectin, let it sit a day so the fruit breaks down, you will get a closer reading of the sg. that way.


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## michjen

And how much pectin? A teaspoon?


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## jamesngalveston

1 tsp per gallon.


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## michjen

Ok!!!! I am on it


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## Runningwolf

ADD NO WATER AT ALL!! I have about 13 gallons from 270 pounds of fruit. If my pears were riper I probably would have got more juice. Also I did not freeze most of the pairs. Prefrozen, ripe pears and I think my yield would have been a bit better. ADD NO WATER!!!!


Did I mention.......ADD NO WATER!!!!


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## michjen

I just weighed in my pair load... 73 pounds I am going to juice them tomorrow!


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## Tess

Latest pictures Dan? I want to do a pear so bad. I will probably have to do juice though I cant see me getting this many pears at one time with out a pear orchard lol


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## jamesngalveston

I agree with you tess, i would like to do a pear batch also.
I can either get juice, are buy pears by the pound at store, which would cost a great deal, here there like a 1.50 a lb.


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## Tess

jamesngalveston said:


> I agree with you tess, i would like to do a pear batch also.
> I can either get juice, are buy pears by the pound at store, which would cost a great deal, here there like a 1.50 a lb.



Let me know where you get your pear juice. Im about ready to buy canned pears from Walmart and I have no shame in that!!


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## Runningwolf

Remind me Tess about pictures and I will this weekend. Just got home about 8 hours ago and back off to work again. You can get pear juice at Walkers.


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## jamesngalveston

Tess, I believe krogers carries this brand and types...

http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/just-juice..


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## GreginND

Dan, the color you have is fantastic! How is that possible from pears?


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## michjen

Ok here she is! 5 gallons of pear juice!!!


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## michjen

I woke up this morning thinking about this pear must! Do I need to add sugar to this? If so how much sugar for 5 gallons?


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## GreginND

michjen said:


> I woke up this morning thinking about this pear must! Do I need to add sugar to this? If so how much sugar for 5 gallons?



That depends on how much sugar was in the pears. Did you measure the SG?


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## Runningwolf

OMG yes! Tell me what your brix reading is or sg.


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## michjen

Stand by for reading!!! Doing it right now


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## michjen

Here's my SG reading I have not pitched the yeast yet...


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## Runningwolf

I would add 5.5 to 5.75 pounds of sugar to get you near 21 brix. Add it slow in a pail and stir real good and give it a stir every few days. 5.75 pounds of sugar times .075 will add about 4/10 of a gallon to your juice. When racking to your carboy just add any extra to a few wine bottles with air locks on or a 1/2 gallon jug.


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## michjen

Ok.... I will add the sugar now.... Pitch the yeast tonight? Once I know the sugar is dissolved?


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## Runningwolf

Greg this is a picture I just took. Pear is said to be a bear to clear. Turrock was adamant about adding Bentonite on third day of fermentation. As you can see his recommendation paid off big time. This is pear juice only with no water and without any clearing agents you can see it starting to clear nicely.

michjen, no need to wait till tonight. You can add the yeast right after the sugar.


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## michjen

That looks really gooooood!!!! Ok, I will add the sugar, pitch the yeast and add bentonite on day 3 I teaspoon souls do the trick?


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## Runningwolf

I add 1.25 grams per gallon. You do the math, LOL. Use very hot water when mixing it up and let it sit at least three hours (stirring occasionally) before mixing it in the pear juice.


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## michjen

Your awesome!!!! Thank you for the tips I will keep you posted!!!


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## GreginND

Dan, Thanks for the update. I've actually never used bentonite before now. I added it to a batch of Brianna I started a couple days ago. Thanks for the confirmation that it actually does work. I have a plum wine that is being very stubborn and is almost a year old. Maybe I'll try bentonite with that too.

Jen, before you pitch in the yeast, make sure the sugar is all dissolved and get a record a starting SG value. You need that to calculate your alcohol in the end. But I agree with Dan - don't need to wait until tonight to pitch - just get the sugar dissolved and measure it.


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## michjen

Sugar added.... Yeast added and letting her go!


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## michjen

I put the sugar and pear juice through the blender added 17 cups of sugar to get this reading.... And gave it a really good stir before adding the yeast


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## Runningwolf

Greg about 18 months after bottling my apple wine from cider I started to get someprotien fall out. I found out it was from not using bentonite. I now use it on all my fruit wines. Actually at work we use it on everything except the reds going into barrels.


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## michjen

Well then.... That makes me want to rack out my plum, blueberry, and blackberry and add it!!


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## pjd

I just started my Pear wine today. I started by mashing some very ripe pears then pressing with my antique press that I picked up earlier this year. I was not as fortunate as Dan when pressing, my paint strainer bags from Home Depot were popping like pop corn! I ended up double bagging everything, pressing slowly and still had some blowouts. I did end up with nearly 6 gallons of juice and it smells wonderful!


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## Runningwolf

Phil I fully expected mine to blow but not even close. This is the first time I even washed them. I just tied a knot and slowly pressed away. Some bags were rather full and some half full. I only did one bag at a time.


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## Turock

michjen---You can use bentonite in wines that are in the secondary. We've done it many times and it works well but it takes time. But here's something interesting that I found in an E C Kraus catalog---a product called Speedy Bentonite. The description is that it is a specially chosen bentonite and will "usually" clear wine anywhere from 6 hours to 2 or 3 days. 

Some people like Super Kleer---you could also use that if you wish. My only problem with Super Kleer is that it makes a white wine more golden in color. And we had a couple times where the Super Kleer didn't seem to work well. We just bentonite our primaries so that we don't have to spend time and more money trying to clear up our wine in secondaries when we're wanting to bottle.


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## Turock

Boy, that pear looks great Dan. Back in the "old days" we'd spend more than a year or two trying to clear pear until we wised up and started bentoniting our primary. We have alot of experience using it---and what happens when you DON'T use it---so I'm real happy you went with it!


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## michjen

Thank you turock! I am learning as I go here!! Get information! I love reading these post with my morning coffee I will rack out the blackberry and blueberry and add the benonite, I actually put down a Chardonnay yesterday and measured out how much benonite was in the package! So I know how much to add to the fruit wines!


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## Turock

Be sure not to over dose the bentonite because it can strip flavor if you use too much.


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## michjen

Thank you again!!! Learning something new everyday


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## Tess

James thanks!!! Im ready to break out the canned pears!! LMAO..I dont care how much it cost!! This will happen before I go on welfare. Welfare wine?? Hmmm .. I think Im just kidding these days and times but it might be a reality!!!


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## Tess

ready for latest picture update!!! lol


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## Runningwolf

Ohhhh Tes not much has changed in the last two day. Now it's going to just sit for a while.


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## Tess

well alright!! Just make sure you post pics of the carboys once a week!! I love to see the clearing. I just added Sparkloid today to mine and I go down and set evey couple of hours. Tell me Im not sick???


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## Runningwolf

You are sick. I bet you tuck each one in at night.


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## Tess

Damn you got me!! LMAO


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## Tess

Just post the pics!! lol


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## michjen

My pear must is bubbling away stirring it twice a day it looks disgusting! Hopefully it will turn out beautiful! Going to add the bentonite tomorrow evening))


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## phlogustus

Juicing this week should have pear wine started by Monday.


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## michjen

5 days into it! Starting SG was 0.0850!!! Adding bentonite this evening))


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## Hokapsig

After pressing at Doug's on Monday, I'm only 1 day into fermentation after adding sugar to 1.072. I did add about 2 pounds of crab apples to the mix when pressing, so hopefully this will help the acid content. The juice with the sugar tasted very nice. Nice fermentation as of today. Will add the bentonite on Friday after work. I'm looking to finish this as a cinnamon pear sweet wine.


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## michjen

Ooooooh! That sounds lovely


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## Turock

We make cinammon pear wine,also. A number of weeks ago, I used some to cook pork chops in a pressure cooker, replacing half the water with the cinammon pear wine. Boy, was that good.


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## michjen

Wish I could post a video of this pear ferment! This is so awesome!!! It looks like a active volcano in juice! That's the only way I could explain it!


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## jamesngalveston

how does it smell...good are bad


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## Poni

Im crushing and doin pear very soon! Ooooh boy!


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## michjen

It smells awesome!!!!


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## Runningwolf

Good luck Poni. This is one of the reasons I've been documenting each of my steps. After reading and some research it always boils down to what a few other members have succesfully done on this forum. After talking to Turock and fivebk I was able to come up with my plan as documented. I will have enough to play with maybe blending some crabapple wine with or some of my homemade cinnamon extract. Thanks to Joeswine, no more cinnamon sticks in my wines, from now on it'll be extracts!


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## Poni

Thanks! I am torn between 71-b and d-47. Which one do you folks suggest? I am leaning toward d-47 for the mouth feel, but im not sure


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## Turock

I totally agree with extracts---that's how we do the cinammon pear--and cinammon apple.

poni---Pear really needs the malic acid management that 71B provides. Otherwise, pear can be very harsh and it will take 2 years of bottle aging for it to smooth out. So use the 71B, and also use some opti-white for the mouthfeel.


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## Poni

Thanks turock,
The plan is to try to replicate mr. Wolfs' method (with the help of others) and see how it comes out. Ive made plenty of pear but always fermented on the pulp with water added to some degree. I really look forward to all pear, but it has always been a work vs. Reward battle as for adding water. But ive got enough in the cellar aged and aging to try this.

Thanks folks, this should be a good one!


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## Poni

I also plan to put 10-20% granny smith apples n with this batch too , just for the heck of it, yessss


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## Runningwolf

Hey Poni I think thats a great idea. I did pear because my sister had an over abundance of them and offered to pick them all for me. I couldn't pass that deal up. I was at Tractor Supply earlier this week and they had fruit trees for $20 so I picked up two pears, an apple and two peach. I planted them all behind my house on the neighbors property. I asked earlier and he had no problem with it. Not a bad deal, I buy the trees and get the fruit, he pays the taxes and gets the bees on the fallen fruit. LOL


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## Poni

oh and a pear mead is in order too, i was just waiting for the pears to soften up to do this. That should also be a good one too!


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## Hokapsig

I used D-47 and will do a cinnamon with liquid extract. Lot's of movement of the juice on the third day from the fermentation. I will add the hot water/bentonite solution tonight to aid in clearing. The pre-fermentation juice tasted Great and I don't even like pears....


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## Runningwolf

WOW, I just went to the basement to shake my extract jars and peaked over at the pear. I couldn't believe my eyes. It is the most beautiful color and crystal clear. Thank you Turock on the 3rd day plan. I will post pictures maybe tomorrow . Too tired to bother right now.


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## Poni

Hokapsig said:


> I used D-47 and will do a cinnamon with liquid extract. Lot's of movement of the juice on the third day from the fermentation. I will add the hot water/bentonite solution tonight to aid in clearing. The pre-fermentation juice tasted Great and I don't even like pears....



dont like pears? yer crazy! there i said it! ha! nah man, fruit of the GODS those things are!


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## Turock

You're welcome, Dan. Always happy to share what has worked very well for us.


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## michjen

My pear is still fermenting day 8 SG is now 0.030 starting SG was 0.085!


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## Runningwolf

Ok here is the picture I promised of my nearly clear Pear Wine.


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## michjen

Oooooooh that looks awesome!!!! Good job!


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## Deezil

That's what my pear did too, before I blended with the apple... Crystal clear about 2-3 days after fermentation ended; still dropped some more fine sediment, so expect that, but it was amazing 

That was sans Bentonite as well

Looking good, Dan!


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## Poni

Nice! Looks tasty!


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## Runningwolf

Thanks. Yes I am getting some fine lees. Manley, how soon was it before yours was ready to drink? I have another 25 pounds or so in the freezer cored and sliced to put through the steam juicer for additional flavor. My thoughts are to figure out exactly how much sugar I'll need for back sweetening. Since the juice will be so hot at that point it would be the ideal time to add sugar that I'll need for the entire batch.


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## Tess

Runningwolf said:


> Ok here is the picture I promised of my nearly clear Pear Wine.



wow, that really looks good!


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## Turock

Dan---I would not bottle until about the 9 month mark. Many times, a wine looks perfectly clear and you think early bottling is OK. But there are a number of micro-fine sediments in wine---proteins, potassium---and it takes time for these to fall free. Otherwise, you might find that the wine clouds up again under storage and refrigeration conditions. Plus, pear needs some bulk aging time for the flavor to come forward. And the CO2 needs to come out of the wine--sometimes CO2 is still remaining at the 6 month mark, which is another reason to wait at least 9 months. As you know--I am not a fan of manual degassing because of oxidation risk.

We sweeten our pear to about 1.014 SG

Michjen--I don't understand the SG readings. You can't start with such a low brix!! Did you make a mistake in what you said????


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## Turock

Deezil---SOMETIMES you get clear wine without bentonite. Then you do it the next year and your hobby becomes trying to clarify it. Sometimes large doses of pectic enzyme or Lallzyme C-Max will work very well to aid in clarification with no bentonite.

For years, we went back and forth with whites clearing just fine, and then---using the same techniques---- the following year was a disaster! So we just got smart and started bentoniting everything except red wines. Bentonite is so cheap--and easy to use in the primary. So we do it ALWAYS--just as a safeguard.


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## Deezil

Runningwolf said:


> Thanks. Yes I am getting some fine lees. Manley, how soon was it before yours was ready to drink? I have another 25 pounds or so in the freezer cored and sliced to put through the steam juicer for additional flavor. My thoughts are to figure out exactly how much sugar I'll need for back sweetening. Since the juice will be so hot at that point it would be the ideal time to add sugar that I'll need for the entire batch.



Well, I dont like young wines at all.. The MLF'd Apple-Pear was hard to stay out of at 7-8 months.. Just keeps getting better and better though



Turock said:


> Dan---I would not bottle until about the 9 month mark. Many times, a wine looks perfectly clear and you think early bottling is OK. But there are a number of micro-fine sediments in wine---proteins, potassium---and it takes time for these to fall free. Otherwise, you might find that the wine clouds up again under storage and refrigeration conditions. Plus, pear needs some bulk aging time for the flavor to come forward. And the CO2 needs to come out of the wine--sometimes CO2 is still remaining at the 6 month mark, which is another reason to wait at least 9 months. As you know--I am not a fan of manual degassing because of oxidation risk.
> 
> We sweeten our pear to about 1.014 SG



But like Turock said - wait 9 months - mine's still not bottled, although will be soon; just got bottles yesterday. If you think it's pretty now, wait until it's clear enough that it shimmers



Turock said:


> Deezil---SOMETIMES you get clear wine without bentonite. Then you do it the next year and your hobby becomes trying to clarify it. Sometimes large doses of pectic enzyme or Lallzyme C-Max will work very well to aid in clarification with no bentonite.
> 
> For years, we went back and forth with whites clearing just fine, and then---using the same techniques---- the following year was a disaster! So we just got smart and started bentoniting everything except red wines. Bentonite is so cheap--and easy to use in the primary. So we do it ALWAYS--just as a safeguard.



I know this is all too-true. My first batch of peach cleared right up, second batch still isn't clear ~13 months later. 

Very aware, I got lucky


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## Turock

Manley---if you hit that peach with some bentonite in the secondary, it will probably clear for you. Peach can suffer from protein haze, which is probably some of the cause of the cloudiness. Bentonite is very good at attacking protein haze. We've used it in the secondary, in the past, with great success. If it's not clear in 13 months, then it's time for intervention.


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## Deezil

Turock said:


> Manley---*if you hit that peach with some bentonite in the secondary, it will probably clear for you*. Peach can suffer from protein haze, which is probably some of the cause of the cloudiness. Bentonite is very good at attacking protein haze. We've used it in the secondary, in the past, with great success. If it's not clear in 13 months, then it's time for intervention.



On my list of To-Do's.. 
Unfortunately it's somewhere down the list sandwiched between balancing sweetness-acidity on ~21 gallons and getting it bottled, & MLF'ing ~13 gallons of various Blackberry-based wines, which you'd probably smack me on the back of the head for, but... I'm good at ducking

Then there's the Apple-Pear Bochet, that I'll be putting together shortly; whenever the pears soften up.


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## michjen

Just racked into carboy last night!!! Now for the clearing stage


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## Runningwolf

Looking good there Michjen


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## Sammyk

Dan the pear looks so clear at such a young age. Yes, I realize more sediment will fall out.....

In 2012, we did not use bentonite in primary for PEACH but used it later when it would not clear.
Now for the 2013 batch we used bentonite on the 3rd day in primary. The 3rd racking was 6 weeks ago and nothing has changed, still very cloudy. It is in the cellar at 62 degrees. Any suggestions for us?


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## wineforfun

I am going to start some pear wine on Sunday with canned pears. I hope all goes well. All your pear wine on here looks great.


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## michjen

It's amazing how much sediment has falling in 24 hours! Thank you runningwolf looks like I will be racking this in a few days!


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## Turock

Sammy---Don't expect the kind of clearing result ALL THE TIME that Dan got. Most of the time, it's going to take a little time to see results. Did you use the bentonite on the 3rd day of the FERMENT? If you used it earlier than that. you can inactivate the pectic enzyme and that could give you some clearing problems. Did you use enough bentonite? What was the dose? Has it cleared at all?


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## Turock

Deezil said:


> On my list of To-Do's..
> Unfortunately it's somewhere down the list sandwiched between balancing sweetness-acidity on ~21 gallons and getting it bottled, & MLF'ing ~13 gallons of various Blackberry-based wines, which you'd probably smack me on the back of the head for, but... I'm good at ducking
> 
> Then there's the Apple-Pear Bochet, that I'll be putting together shortly; whenever the pears soften up.


 
LOL. Well, I'm only here to help---there will be no smacking!!!


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## Sammyk

Turock

I did use pectic enzyme up front and bentonite on the 3rd day per instructions. I am not in a hurry but because I age for months but I would at least get it to clear. How much pectic enzyme per gallon, I will try that again. It did throw a ton of lees on second racking quite a few inches in each gallon so I racked again about 6 weeks later. There is only a small amount in the bottom of each gallon carboy now.


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## Turock

On a pulpy fruit like peach, it's a good idea to use 1 tsp of pectic enzyme per gallon. In fact, you could throw some into the carboy now--sometimes that helps. Another little trick that often works---get it under refrigeration if it refuses to clear. And of course, you could try some Super Kleer. But I don't like that stuff on a white style wine--it gives a more golden color to the wine. Once in a while, we have very slow clearing on some bentonited wines. Some fruits might need a little more bentonite--2 Tbs per 5 gallons instead of 1 Tbs. I wouldn't go over the 2 Tbs however because too much can strip flavor. 

In the future---there are better pectinases on the market now. The one we've used--and like--is Lallzyme C-Max. It is very good on viscous musts. It would be better to use on big, pulpy fruits like peach.pear,plum, and apple than regular pectic enzyme. It's designed for rapid de-pectinization and aids in clearing. We used it in the past---and are beginning to use it again because it just seems to work better.


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## michjen

This is what my room looks like!!! Haha just thought I would share


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## michjen

This is what I bottled yesterday 60 bottles down ready for thanksgiving weekend here in Canada!!!


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## RegionRat

michjen said:


> View attachment 11068
> 
> 
> This is what my room looks like!!! Haha just thought I would share



Lookin good. Watch out carboys multiply if you get em wet.

If I could ask. What are the two carboys on the right 2nd and third from the top.

RR


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## michjen

The pink one?


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## michjen

Looking at them from the closet forward on the right side is.... Blueberry, blackberry, pink plum, blackberry, semillon Chardonnay, and a Amarone


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## RegionRat

I guess it would be the blackberry, pink plum. The carboys look like they are not clear plastic, is that so? If so what brand are they


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## Poni

I just racked my pear wine, i got about 10 gallons, i plan to rack and bentonite tonight.. i will post pics n a few days...


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## michjen

They are Spagnol's


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## michjen

On the left side row I have a Liebfraumilch, Chardonnay (infused with hemp) Pear and a Barolo


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## Turock

Some of the carboys have a lot of headspace--you should top them up using sanitized marbles.


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## michjen

I am planning on doing that... After they are done fermenting


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## Hokapsig

Hey Dan, I know you like to filter, but did your pear clear just by the bentonite or did you filter too??? Looks great.


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## Runningwolf

It cleared on it's own. I only filter at the same time as bottling.


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## michjen

Ok.... So I am thinking of racking the pear in a couple if days, do I need to add anything to it at that time?


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## Runningwolf

If it is finished I would add some meta.


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## michjen

I just sat in front of it and the air lock is still bubbling.... I think I will just leave it!


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## michjen

Is that potassium metabisulphite?


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## Runningwolf

Yes that is correct


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## RegionRat

Runningwolf said:


> Thanks. Yes I am getting some fine lees. Manley, how soon was it before yours was ready to drink? I have another 25 pounds or so in the freezer cored and sliced to put through the steam juicer for additional flavor. My thoughts are to figure out exactly how much sugar I'll need for back sweetening. Since the juice will be so hot at that point it would be the ideal time to add sugar that I'll need for the entire batch.



I just juiced some fruit this morning to add to 2 gal I did yesterday. Based on the brix of the juice coming out of the steam juicer and the expected volume I added sugar to the collection pot to get my final sg. Worked out well. Thanks

RR


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## michjen

My dad has pick another 75 pounds of pears! He saw my wine and now wants to do his own!!! Haha guess what I am doing on Thursday.... Juicing pears and he's excited! Haha round 2 here we go!!!


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## michjen

Here we have the grapes that showed up on my door step! Racked today into the secondary and the Pear in the middle.... First rack today added potassium metabisulphite and back into the secondary... Had to add a **** load of marbles to get it up to the neck! And now we wait thought I would share a pic! Beautiful colours!!!


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## Runningwolf

That is a beautiful site. I was wondering what the heck was on the bottom of your carboy since you said you just racked. Looking good!


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## michjen

Thanks runningwolf I feel pretty proud of my babies lots of hard work and reading and the help you you guys have made this happen!!! Can't thank you enough


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## Turock

That's why we belong to these forums--to help others involved in the hobby. There's nothing tighter than the "Brotherhood of Winemaking."


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## Runningwolf

To conclude this thread I am posting the final product. The taste of this pear is outstanding.


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## Turock

I'm glad it turned out GOOD,Dan!!!!


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## buzzerj

My 2013 Pear wine turned out excellent. Everyone really enjoyed it. I did six gallons using 36 lbs. of Bartlett pears for a yield of 30 bottles. If I had to do it over again I'd use even more pears. The results using the ICV-D47 yeast were mighty good. My wine cleared on its own especially after a winter in the basement so it had a nice long cold crash. Cheers to the Pear winemakers!


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## burgar

Arne said:


> I envy you, Dan. The pear I made last year is some of the best wine I have ever had. It was great shortly after post ferment, thought it went south a month or two later. Left it alone and it came back to great. Time to bottle it, but it is really really good. Arne.



Would you care to share your Pear Wine Recipe?

Burgar


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## Arne

burgar said:


> Would you care to share your Pear Wine Recipe?
> 
> Burgar


 

Sure. Don't have all my notes, but all I did was shred the pears and put them in the apple press. Used pure juice and fermented it down. Don't have my notes handy, but k-metaed it, brought the s.g. up to 1.090 or so, nutrient, energizer, tannin and check the acid. I'll try and find my notes, if I did anything different will repost, but that should cover it. Arne.


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## WVMountaineerJack

Looks like marbles to make up for the airspace? WVMJ



Runningwolf said:


> That is a beautiful site. I was wondering what the heck was on the bottom of your carboy since you said you just racked. Looking good!


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## Runningwolf

Time to bring this post back to life again. I've added a motor to my shredder and will soon be making more pear wine.


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## Deezil

I'm in.
I've got plans for a Pear Mead this year..


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## Runningwolf

Thanks Manley, I was hoping you would join back in. Theres a lot of great information in this thread for future use if any members decide to make this wine down the road. I was reviewing it to see what I did two years ago to figure out what I am going to do this year.


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## Deezil

I was just out pricing pears today, found Bartletts for 99 cents / pound... C'mon payday!

Usually I do an Apple-Pear blend every year.
Last year was my first with honey; I made an Apple-Pear Bochet (boiled/burnt/caramelized honey)
So I haven't done the regular honey with each fruit individually, I'm excited to see the outcomes.

Trying to figure out which yeast to go with.. W15 for the Apple, but the Pear...?
Hmm..


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## WVMountaineerJack

RW, some pics and specs would be great, trying to get ours done, waiting for a bushing to adapt Euro shaft to American pulleys. WVMJ


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## Runningwolf

About 20% of my pears went bad before I got to them, bummer. I be lucky to get 6 gallons out of them. Below is the link to my updated press and shredder. https://youtu.be/2Hnq6plzyyM


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## Runningwolf

Some more pictures.


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## WVMountaineerJack

Ah Fingers!!! Looks like you got some good help RW! WVMJ


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## barbiek

Two years ago the pear tree got hit with lightening and nothing grew last summer got a few little spotted ones but that's it! This year it came back with a vengeance! Can't keep up with them! Still spotted but big and tasty this year! Been busy cutting out spots and coring them your lucky Dan to have that press and shredder I'm envious!


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## Thig

I cored and cut up 14 one gallon zip lock bags full yesterday, by hand. I definitely need another method.


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## Runningwolf

Thig, no need to core and cut up if pressing right away. You do need a way to coarsely grind them though before pressing.


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## the_rayway

Don't you guys/gals have places where you can rent a crusher and press like here? That's what we do with cider each year now, and it's awesome! (and you don't have to store the equipment!)


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## Runningwolf

the_rayway said:


> Don't you guys/gals have places where you can rent a crusher and press like here? That's what we do with cider each year now, and it's awesome! (and you don't have to store the equipment!)



Ray, we offer a crusher/destemmer and bladder press for free if you buy your grapes from us. There are not very many places that rent them out due to the condition they're brought back in. We will rent ours out but you have to bring your grapes to us. The equipment can't leave the premises. 

As far as apples go, I can buy fresh pressed cider at wholesale price if I get over 20 gallons. The professionals already made the blend and filtered the juice. It doesn't make sense for me to buy apples and guess at the right mix.

Now Grapeman on the other hand...his last handle was Appleman. He replaced his orchards for vineyards.


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## Thig

Runningwolf said:


> Thig, no need to core and cut up if pressing right away. You do need a way to coarsely grind them though before pressing.



I am old school by necessity. I am going to freeze, then thaw and crush with a 4x4 and ferment the pulp.


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## barbiek

Thig said:


> I am old school by necessity. I am going to freeze, then thaw and crush with a 4x4 and ferment the pulp.



Yep that's what I do! Although Can't go grocery shopping for meat that needs to be frozen good thing it's summer, mostly cold cuts for these hot days! Ray I will have to look into that!


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## barbiek

Putting my pear recipe together and curious how many lbs of pears do you guys use per gal?


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## knifemaker

barbiek said:


> Putting my pear recipe together and curious how many lbs of pears do you guys use per gal?



Pears are really light in flavor, so I always use straight pear juice, ferment, then back sweeten with freeze concentrated pear juice. I absolutely love pear wine, but like apple it takes a little kicking up, so use absolutely no water. Dale.


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## barbiek

knifemaker said:


> Pears are really light in flavor, so I always use straight pear juice, ferment, then back sweeten with freeze concentrated pear juice. I absolutely love pear wine, but like apple it takes a little kicking up, so use absolutely no water. Dale.



I Know it took me 2+ years to make my last batch of 3 gal because of adding water. I fixed the flavor after it was stable by adding jars and more jars of canned pears I had put up in the pantry, simmered down plus a gal of apple juice That's why I was curious to know how many lbs per gal you all use btw the pear wine was GREAT after all the additions. Thinking about just using all the pears and apples I have in the freezer there's at least 100 lbs in there I have only a few pears left on the tree


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## barbiek

Hey Runningwolf how many lbs of pears do you use for your pear wine? I used 56 lbs of pear and to add the needed acidity I also added29lbs of apples and have 5 lbs of pear for f pack froze them all


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## Runningwolf

Honestly I don't know. I press everything I get and use pure juice, no water. Later I might blend a little apple or crabapple into it. I don't make an fpack.


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## barbiek

K, I am going with straight pear juice that's the plan was just wondering how many gal I would get from the fruit. I filled 2 big strainer bags full of fruit couldn't.fit anymore then once they thawed was able to put the remaining in the 30 gal brute wish I had taken a pic of the brute filled with the fruit! The sg is 1040 before adding any sugar was able to squeeze the juice out with my hands today I had added some pectin enzyme to fruit before freezing to prevent browning and added lallzyme C-Max to the juice. I'll have at least 6 gal of pure pear juice if not more when said and done


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## chasemandingo

Hey all I had a question to run by you guys....I have 42lbs of cored, chunked frozen pears in a bag in the primary. I dosed them with meta, ascorbic acid and two separate doses of pectinase over the last two days.....they have given up enough juice to completely submerge the pears which has allowed for very little browning of the fruit and my juice is a beautiful pale straw almost colorless with an S.G. of 1.046 at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The pears have already given up around 2 gallons of pure juice but my chunks are big and spongey. After this latest pectinase addition I think I will need to grind them up. I'm wondering if you think a hand crank meat grind would work? I have a small food processor but that would literally take 2 hrs to go through all those pears.....


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## Turock

The best thing to do is to bag the fruit using paint straining bags that you can buy at Home Depot,etc. That way, you'll contain all the chunks. You don't want to just remove them because all that pulp has a lot of flavor to add to the resulting wine. Trying to grind them all up, as an alternative, is not necessary--just bag the whole mess.


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## chasemandingo

It is bagged in nylon straining bag, just really big chunks that are woody and sponge like. You think the yeast, pectinase and daily squeezing will result in enough liquid extraction? I would have returned the ground pears to the bag and primary for fermentation. I have blanc soft, fermaid o, booster blanc and go ferm ready to go with some 71b once my temp hits the mid 60s.


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## Zog

I have 7 gallons of pear fermenting in the cellar right now. Roughly equal parts Comice, Bartlett and Bosc. The Bartletts were ripe in early September so I froze them. When thawed and pressed they had a better yield than the fresh grated pears. I have a bladder press. Brix of the blend was about 11.5, which I brought up to 23 with sugar. Scottzyme, FT Blanc Soft and D47 added. Smells and tastes very promising.


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## Runningwolf

Why do you feel the need to grind them. If they are that soft and in a strainer bag, why not just squeeze them or press?


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## chasemandingo

I added sugar, booster blance and blanc soft tannin this a.m. and squeezed the pears. They are now soft enough to press as you suggest. Now I need to find a press to press them post fermentation. Gonna add yeast tonight when I get home.....I have QA23, D47 and 71B.....I was leaning towards 71B as it seems highly recommended.


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## Runningwolf

Most people press before fermentation is complete. If the pears are mushy can't you just squeeze the crap out of them and not get hung up on the press? I did that for several years.


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## chasemandingo

True....I could indeed and by the time the s.g. lowers to the point where they need to be squeezed I figure there will be even less material in the nylon bag having been broken down by the yeast/enzymes. In my rush I did add 7 grams of booster blanc to a wine that will end up being 3-4 gallons.....can you foresee any issues with this as it is essentially a double dose.


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## Turock

The fermentation, along with the pectinase, will break the fruit down to nothing. When we make pear wine, all we do is cut the pears and bag them. The ferment and pectinase break it all down. 

It's nice to have a fruit crusher for pears or apples, but the way you're doing it works too.

71B is a good culture for pear, especially if you're using Bartlett pears as the acid can be kind of harsh.


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## chasemandingo

I pitched my 71b starter last night. Had an S.G. of 1.084 at ~70 degrees. This a.m. I opened the primary and moved my bag around squeezing the fruit and mixing batch up pretty well....all good so far. Hey turock! I have a couple questions for you. Have you ever added malo culture to your pear? Does 71b handle concurrent mlf? Should I say forget it let the 71b reduce the malic then adjust p.H. with tartaric post fermentation? Are you named after the legendary dinosaur fighting native American video game character? So many questions!


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## Runningwolf

Turock, where have you been? The best Pear Wine I made was from following Turocks tips!!


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## WVMountaineerJack

I thought Turock Rule #1 was never to add water to anything We are trying to grow some chokepears to add to our pear ciders to give them a little bit more depth, like adding crabapples to a cider. WVMJ


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## Runningwolf

I agree with NO water!


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## Turock

I'm glad you liked the pear the way we make it!!!!! And I agree--no water!!

Well, it's been a BUSY summer. AND I had a few computer issues that took me off-line for a while. When you have a big piece of property to maintain, and dead ash trees falling everywhere-----well, the summer just disappears on you!!

If you use the 71B, you'll find that it needs no more acid reduction. I've never MLF'd pear, so I can't tell you how the flavor comes out. But I'm sure you're gonna love the pear just like it is with the 71B. We usually adjust the PH on pear to be somewhere around 3.3 to 3.4, if that's a help to you. We always PH adjust the must before fermentation but you can do it later---it's just easier to do it pre-ferment and we feel it incorporates better and you also don't have to fool around with the wine post-ferment. I like getting the wine all adjusted while we're at the primary. I hate adjusting wines later on.

Actually, Turock was an old comic book character---"Turock, Son of Stone." He was my brother's favorite comic book character from the old days. However, I'm a bit younger than him and I don't remember the comic book. I didn't know there was video game character with the same name--and I'm ashamed to say that---especially because I'm a big video game player, myself.


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## chasemandingo

Pears removed and squeezed yielded almost 4 gallons.


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## Runningwolf

awesome, keep us posted and post pictures.


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## chasemandingo

Will post pics tonight. I need to rack my Old Orchard cranberry/pom wine and top up with pure cranberry syrup then rack my pear to secondary. Next up is my Winexpert Sauvignon Blanc


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## chasemandingo

Well as I should have expected my 4 gallons of liquid in the primary turned into only 2 gallons of non sludgy wine in secondary. So I sucked up a gallon of sludge to make up the difference.


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## knifemaker

chasemandingo said:


> Well as I should have expected my 4 gallons of liquid in the primary turned into only 2 gallons of non sludgy wine in secondary. So I sucked up a gallon of sludge to make up the difference.



I hope that you didn't pour out the rest of the sediment, next time pour it into bottles or jars, and put it in the fridge. You'll be surprised just how much more wine there is in it after it settles. Dale.


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## chasemandingo

I did just that! I have 3 quart jars full! Hopefully ill get something out of it.....


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## chasemandingo

I might buy a gallon of Gerber brand pear juice and make some wine for blending......


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## StevenD55

Thanks to this thread I am giving pear wine a try now. I 

had 300# of pears this year on my 2 trees. A lot were bruised because the tree is too tall and I shook the rest out. Long story on the trees being so unmanageable. It wasn't really my doing. 

So anyway, I let them ripen and put them in fermenters in 2 batches. One is with Montrachet yeast and one is with EC-118 yeast. Both batches have been pressed now and are under air locks in fermentation pales at this point. 

So, we will see how it goes.


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## Turock

Montrachet is a good culture, as far as flavor goes--it was the first culture we used on pear. But you'll see how harsh the acid is with Montrachet on SOME pears and it can take a good 2 years in the bottle for that acid to mellow out. That's why we moved to 71B for pear made from Bartllets.


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## StevenD55

Turock

Can the acidity be neutralized with calcium carbonate?


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## barbiek

It can be but only to a certain point. I'll let Turock answer this for you as he will have a more precise answer good luck


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## barbiek

Cold stablelizing can contribute also


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## Turock

Steven---Yes, calcium carb should be used to adjust the PH. Otherwise, what's the alternative other than using water. You don't want to water-down your pear. Cold stabilization needs potassium carb AND cold stabilization is usually used for acid reduction. We don't CS any of our wines. But we DO use lots of calcium carb--which needs to be used pre-ferment. We like our pear to have a PH of 3.3 to 3.4


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## WVMountaineerJack

Chokepears, what we need in the US to make our pear wines into Perry, the pear version of crabapples! Pyrus ussuriensis WVMJ


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## StevenD55

I might be able to try CS this winter. 

Thanks for the info.


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