# Pecan Wine Recipe?



## CellaredGnome

I have three large Pecan Trees in my yard and I happen to love most pecan based recipes (Pecan Pie, Pecan Turtles, ect.) Does anyone have a good recipe for Pecan Wine? I have considered using an almond wine recipe I have and simply substituting Pecans.


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## kiljoy

Check out this thread

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4385


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## DesertDance

I was the same as you. Wanting to make Pecan Wine but only finding almond wine recipes. From what I've read any oil on the top will be siphoned off at subsequent rackings. I read on Jack Keller's site about some winery in Texas that makes a Mocha Pecan wine that is killer!! We should all put our heads together to come up with that recipe. I think I'll use a combination of my Triple Toasted Pecan Wine And Jack Keller's Coffee wine with the addition of cocoa. Any suggestions will be welcome!
My recipe:
Speakeasy Cellars Triple Toasted Pecan Wine

Recipe file created Sunday, January 10, 2010


INGREDIENTS


• 1 1/2 cup whole pecans

• 1 1/2 pounds unsulfured red flame raisins

• 1 Cinnamon Stick

• 2 Cloves

• 1 lemon, juice and rind

• 1 Orange, juice and rind

• 5 cups packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

• 1 crushed Camden tablet

• 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

• 1 package Red Star Montrachet wine yeast (any wine yeast will do)

• water


METHOD


1. Toast pecans at 300F for 10 minutes in a single layer, then pour into a paper towel lined paper bag to sit out till cool, getting some of the oils out of them. Roll and squish the paper bag, and you should see greasy spots on the bag.

2. Smash roasted Pecans (meat mallet) to break them up a bit, and roast about 10 minutes at 400F till slightly smoking. Pour into another paper towel lined paper bag, roll and squish trying to get more oil out and let rest till cool. 

3. Smash roasted Pecans to break them up and roast Pecans at 350F for about 10 minutes, again, just until slightly smoking. Repeat the rolling and squishing in a new paper bag to get MORE oil out!

4. Rinse Raisins, cover with water, bring to boil, and let soak all night. Chop soaked raisins, reserving water for the next step.

5. Add chopped raisins and roasted pecans to a large pot and cover with more water. Simmer for 1 hour, adding water periodically to prevent scorching.

6. Let hot mixture sit for a few minutes. Any oil should rise to the top. Try to skim off as much as you can with a tablespoon or a turkey baster.

7. Add sugar into hot liquid and stir till it melts.

8. Strain out solids and add along with the cinnamon, lemon and Orange rinds into a nylon straining bag weighted with a few marbles, and place into liquid in primary fermenter.

9. Add water to make up to 1 gallon and add crushed Camden tablet, Yeast Nutrient, and Pectic Enzyme.

10. Start Yeast Slurry (recipe below)

11. Let sit overnight. Check specific gravity -- it should be between 1.090 and 1.100. If it’s higher than 1.100, add water. If it’s below 1.090, add sugar.

12. Add yeast slurry. Stir daily for five or six days, until frothing stops. This may be slow to start fermenting.

13. Remove nylon bag, and strain. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.

14. Observe the liquid on the top of the secondary. If there is oil, try to siphon or skim most of it off, continuing this process throughout. At bottling time, there should be no oil floating on top.


For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.


For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle. 

Suzi


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## rocket man

Looks like a very good recipe. I'll have to give it a try. I'm glad you're sharing your recipe instead of keeping it a secret.


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## DesertDance

rocket man said:


> Looks like a very good recipe. I'll have to give it a try. I'm glad you're sharing your recipe instead of keeping it a secret.



 It's my first attempt at this recipe. It has a lot of citrus flavor, and if I did it again, I might use acid blend instead of actual orange/lemon so the pecan would predominate. The boiling raisins and pecans smelled very toasty and nice even before I added the citrus.

I pitched the yeast slurry into the primary last night, and this morning it's got a raging ferment going on. You can hear it sizzle from a few steps away.

I'll keep you posted on how things go!

Suzi


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## rocket man

I'm curious about boiling the raisins. Is this to get rid of the sulfites? The only time that I used raisins I just soaked them overnight. Or does boiling them do something else to them.


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## DesertDance

rocket man said:


> I'm curious about boiling the raisins. Is this to get rid of the sulfites? The only time that I used raisins I just soaked them overnight. Or does boiling them do something else to them.



I'm not sure what boiling does. I just followed the almond recipe's instructions blindly without questioning. Maybe you should make this pecan wine without boiling the raisins, and we can have a taste test after a year. How about that?

Suzi


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## rocket man

DesertDance said:


> Maybe you should make this pecan wine without boiling the raisins, and we can have a taste test after a year. How about that?
> 
> Suzi



Sounds like a good plan to me.


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## DesertDance

It would be fun if a bunch of us tweaked that pecan recipe in a few ways, posted our recipes, and then shared our addresses (privately of course), so that we can ship small bottles of our pecan wine to each other. I'm going to start saving small screw top glass bottles for that purpose. We can all decide which recipe makes the BEST pecan wine, and then the "secret" will be out!

Today I discovered a new grocery store called WinCo. Oh my!! They have bulk pecan pieces cheap, bulk brown sugar really cheap, and I am going to start a new batch with no raisins. Just good ole Welches White Grape Concentrate. It cost me $3.39 for 3 cans! Unbelievable!! I think I'll use a pound of pecans, and no orange or lemon. Just triple toasted pecans and acid blend to replace the citrus fruits. I'll post my recipe when I come up with it. 

The one I have going now tastes great! The raisins give it a lot of body, and the toasted pecans give it a toasted buttery flavor. I sneaked a shot glass of it. It's going to be a goodie!!

Good luck with yours!!
Suzi


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## Midwest Vintner

good luck! this is why i actually spit out reason to try. it's good. won't be like ours, but good none-the-less.

you can be mad at me for not sharing the recipe, but would you if you came across something different for commercial purposes? i have more "firsts" but don't need any more "flaming" on here. more secrets? i guess i should be banned! rofl


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## DesertDance

*Dear Mr. Midwest Vintner*



Midwest Vintner said:


> good luck! this is why i actually spit out reason to try. it's good. won't be like ours, but good none-the-less.
> 
> you can be mad at me for not sharing the recipe, but would you if you came across something different for commercial purposes? i have more "firsts" but don't need any more "flaming" on here. more secrets? i guess i should be banned! rofl



Hahaha! Nobody is mad at you for not sharing. Stuff like this becomes fun. It's a challenge! I'm one of those "anything you can do, I can do better," kind of girls! 

You should have posted your recipe and left out a major step or ingredient, like your Aunti Mary would do, and everybody would have been happy!!

I will NEVER compete with you commercially, nor would I purchase any pecan wine from you. This is a home winemaking site, and we love to make wine out of all kinds of ingredients, to be consumed by ourselves and our buddies. If we stumble upon something amazing, then for sure, we will share! "Commercial" alcohol or food production has waaay to many government regulations, legal, and marketing headaches for me and most of us here! 

But we have all gone to a restaurant and been wowed by some chef's creation, sat there an analyzed it, gone home and recreated the thing. Sometimes it tastes exactly the same, but mostly home made is just better! 

Our disadvantage with trying to replicate your secret is that none of us has ever tasted yours, so we are flying blind, but happy to do so!! Good luck with your commercial venture. Can we expect you to send us small samples in exchange for ours, so we can all compare?

Thanks for your good wishes!
Suzi


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## rocket man

I couldn't agree with you more Desertdance. I, like most other people on this site, am here to find out more on how to make wine, hopefully a good wine, but only for my own consumption along with a few friends. I would not want the headache of trying to sell my wine. I'm strictly doing it for the fun of it. As I learn more about it I would love to exchange wines with other home brewers and exchange ideas and recipes.


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## kiljoy

Hey man, I wouldn’t share it either! Do you think the guy that came up with Dr. Pepper published his recipe? Or McBurgerHut’s “special sauce”? 

I think that’s a lot of the fun of it, trying to recreate something tasty anyway. I have a homemade Kahlua recipe I got from a book that I resist giving away. Even though it was a published recipe, I let people figure it out for themselves.

Good luck on the pecan Brew!


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## Julie

You know when we post there is no emotions or tone to those written words. So meanings can be misconstrued. Smilies is a good thing to use to make sure people understand that we are teasing and not making fun of someone. I think it is important that we must always remenber everyone here has feelings and we should not tramp on them.

Julie


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## Midwest Vintner

Julie said:


> You know when we post there is no emotions or tone to those written words. So meanings can be misconstrued. Smilies is a good thing to use to make sure people understand that we are teasing and not making fun of someone. I think it is important that we must always remenber everyone here has feelings and we should not tramp on them.
> 
> Julie



agreed, i really like em too. we got some cool ones on this forum. n

i don't take things very seriously, but it seems people don't understand where i'm coming from on this. it's bad enough we have to try and start a business in this economy, if we even do. our wines are niche wines. i've got a new one that i really like. more imaginative than anything i've seen on here so far. you guys will get a big  when and if i can get it out. it's good and comical at the same time. the pecan has been tasted by a lady in Kansas who's friend is on this site. it should be available some day, which i will let all here know when that is. i am not too concerned with wineries making this wine as it's not cheap to make, hard to work, can go bad if not made properly and needs extra ingredients.

i try to add to the forum simply because i like it here. i also like the upbeat way everyone tries to make it and how we all like to make our own kooky wines. i'm doing what you are, but just for sale. it won't ever be big like other wineries as i don't think there's that big of market for it. it's more to help my dad retire (he's dead broke and now he himself is actually broken in the hospital with a broken L1 vertebrae) and for me to get away from city with a fun job. 

i commend desert dances effort as she definitely has some knowledge of wine.


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## DesertDance

*Pecan Oil*

 Today I bit the bullet, and strained all the pecans, raisins, and fruit out of the must. The ferment has slowed (especially with the removal of all that fruit) and the SG measured 0.03 this morning. It's still sweet! I tasted it in my morning shot glass. Gonna miss my shot of pecan wine with coffee in the mornings. 

It has a layer of oil on the top, and it will probably need several rackings to remove the oil and to clear the wine. When I squeezed the liquid from the fermenting bag, my hands were coated with pecan oil. I might have discovered a new cosmetic. Of course I will call it "Huile de noix de pécan." Doesn't that sound exotic? Might make good cookies if you could use it instead of butter. Hmmmmmmmm

I have a shot glass in the fridge at the moment. I'm testing to see if the oily top will solidify like butter does, to make for easy removal. If that works, I'll let it ferment dry, rack it off most of the oil, and maybe do a cold stabilization to get the rest of the oil. This is a fun experiment!

NEWS FLASH! Pecan Oil stays oily! It's your typical vegetable oil, unlike coconut oil, which does harden. So I think skimming and racking will be the only way to get the oil out of this wine. I may try floating some toast on top just to see if I can soak some up. Old timer's often float toast on their fermenting wine. Not sure why they did that, but I can see a reason here.

Suzi


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## non-grapenut

Using a folded paper towel sops it up, too. It took about 7 rackings, once a month to finally get rid of that oily goo on my 1 gallon experiment...now I only fermented 1 gal. pecans with 1 gal. water and 3lbs of brown sugar and yeast...tastes like bourbon...pecan smell, not real taste..I will be using this for blending probably. I CANT STAND IT...but then, I cant stand bourbon.


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## DesertDance

non-grapenut said:


> Using a folded paper towel sops it up, too. It took about 7 rackings, once a month to finally get rid of that oily goo on my 1 gallon experiment...now I only fermented 1 gal. pecans with 1 gal. water and 3lbs of brown sugar and yeast...tastes like bourbon...pecan smell, not real taste..I will be using this for blending probably. I CANT STAND IT...but then, I cant stand bourbon.



Tastes like Bourbon? Hmmmmmmm Yummy!! Looking forward to the aging if this little experiment! Thanks for your input!! 

I just strained all the solids out of the fermenter, and I'm making cookies with them. Stay tuned!

Suzi


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## DesertDance

non-grapenut said:


> Using a folded paper towel sops it up, too. It took about 7 rackings, once a month to finally get rid of that oily goo on my 1 gallon experiment...



Thanks grapenut! The paper towel worked great! I'll keep sopping today and rack tomorrow.
Suzi


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## rocket man

DesertDance said:


> It's my first attempt at this recipe. It has a lot of citrus flavor, and if I did it again, I might use acid blend instead of actual orange/lemon so the pecan would predominate.
> Suzi



I think I'll try the acid blend. Do you know what the TA was when you started?


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## DesertDance

I didn't measure the TA when I started. Just followed the almond recipe mostly. This morning I can still taste orange/lemon flavors, but the pecan is there also. It would be nice to know what grapenut did with hers. Maybe we can bribe her to tell us!


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## non-grapenut

DesertDance said:


> Tastes like Bourbon? Hmmmmmmm Yummy!! Looking forward to the aging if this little experiment! Thanks for your input!!
> 
> I just strained all the solids out of the fermenter, and I'm making cookies with them. Stay tuned!
> 
> Suzi



GREAT idea making cookies with the left-over pecans. I candied and toasted mine


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## non-grapenut

DesertDance said:


> I didn't measure the TA when I started. Just followed the almond recipe mostly. This morning I can still taste orange/lemon flavors, but the pecan is there also. It would be nice to know what grapenut did with hers. Maybe we can bribe her to tell us!



No bribing needed! I will post the recipe tomorrow. PROMISE.


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## DesertDance

*Just "tossed my cookies!"*



non-grapenut said:


> GREAT idea making cookies with the left-over pecans. I candied and toasted mine



I was so excited to make cookies with my fermented pecans and raisins after straining them out of the must. What I didn't realize is the dreaded fruit cake (which I HATE), is made with fermented fruits! So now my cookie dough tastes terrible! If the dough tastes terrible, the cookies won't be any better!! You should see the cookie dough! It's fermenting!! So, I am tossing my cookies. This gives a whole new meaning to "tossing your cookies!"

Looking forward to grapenut's pecan wine recipe tomorrow!


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## TxBrew

I love fruit cake. You could send them to me.


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## rocket man

So if you ferment your cookies long enough you could get drunk from them.


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## DesertDance

*When is Tomorrow?*



non-grapenut said:


> No bribing needed! I will post the recipe tomorrow. PROMISE.



Is it tomorrow yet?


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## non-grapenut

DesertDance said:


> Is it tomorrow yet?



Yes...it's tomorrow, a day late..sorry..talking about tossing cookies--got whatever's going round...

Pecan Wine-1 gallon that tastes like bourbon:

1 gal. fresh-shelled pecans (remove as much pithe as possible)
2 gal. very hot water (not boiling)--with rackings, you should net 1 gal.
2 crushed campden tabs, another around 5th racking
Lt. Brown suger to 1.122 s/g (about 2.5 bags)
1 t. yeast energizer
2 t. yeast nutrient
2 t. acid blend (I used Fruit Fresh)
1 pkt. Premier Cuvee (because it can be used for cold fermentation to 45F)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pour hot water over pecans in primary with crushed campden, stir well, sit overnight

Next morning, remove the pecans and add the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle yeast on top. DONT MAKE COOKIES WITH THESE unless you love fruitcake. They DO make very good toasted candied nuts, though.

When s/g ~ 1.020, rack (this was in only 5 DAYS for me!) and place in fridge (or outside in shaded area, as long as it's not less than 45F outside.) I did not use airlocks, but rather, used glass containers with the lids slightly loosened. These anaerobic conditions coupled with cold temps may have helped bacteria from not forming when the pecan oil started to become rancid.

You will notice even with cold fermentation, you still have a vigorous bubbling. I racked this liquor almost every 2-4 weeks using wads of paper towels to sop up the oil floating at the very top. With each racking, vigourously splash rack (de-gas) if fermentation still shows visible bubbling to release gas. Liquor started to clear around the 4th rack for me.

Added 1 campden at my 5th racking when my s/g stabilized at .9880 a couple rackings in a row. I started this wine 11-8-09 and just did my 6th rack 1-16-10, and no more oil is separating on the top.

It's dark amber, with crazy lace and boozey smell. I plan to let this sit a bit more before I do my last stabilizing rack with .5t sorbate, if needed at all since I am at ~17alc.

Thanks for being patient, all!
Non-grapenut (Lynn)


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## DesertDance

non-grapenut said:


> Yes...it's tomorrow, a day late..sorry..talking about tossing cookies--got whatever's going round...
> Pecan Wine-1 gallon that tastes like bourbon:



Thanks for your recipe non-grapenut! You used a completely different method and recipe than mine, so it shows how the end product can vary, and is helpful to all of us! 

I never thought of a cold ferment. Mine is rocking and rolling in it's first racking. I racked at SG 0.020. That airlock is bubbling like every 3 seconds! But mine is just in the closet at room temperature. The main part is in a gallon jug, and the rest for topping up is in 2 wine bottles with airlocks also. There is a ton of sediment!

So you didn't use a hydrometer to test the SG when you started? I started with 0.090 SG. You seem to have high alcohol content which might be how you achieved that "bourbon" taste. Not sure if that's the reason though. I will be taking your advice on racking often and sopping pecan oil. I'll post how mine tastes as time goes along.

Very interesting reading your recipe! Thanks so much!! I've assembled the ingredients for a different twist, and I'll be fermenting my newest adventure this week. I plan to use white grape concentrate instead of raisins, triple toast the pecans again, and raw sugar instead of brown, to feed the yeasties; Acid blend instead of oranges and lemons, and NO spices. At least I'll have two versions here at home to compare. I'll post that recipe once I get it all together in the fermenter. Should be in a day or two.

Hope you are feeling better!
Suzi


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## Midwest Vintner

cellared knome, you do realize that i'm about a 2 hr drive away and you could come by. the pecan won't be ready till ~july or so though. we ran out!


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## non-grapenut

DesertDance said:


> Thanks for your recipe non-grapenut! You used a completely different method and recipe than mine, so it shows how the end product can vary, and is helpful to all of us!
> 
> I never thought of a cold ferment. Mine is rocking and rolling in it's first racking. I racked at SG 0.020. That airlock is bubbling like every 3 seconds! But mine is just in the closet at room temperature. The main part is in a gallon jug, and the rest for topping up is in 2 wine bottles with airlocks also. There is a ton of sediment!
> 
> So you didn't use a hydrometer to test the SG when you started? I started with 0.090 SG. You seem to have high alcohol content which might be how you achieved that "bourbon" taste. Not sure if that's the reason though. I will be taking your advice on racking often and sopping pecan oil. I'll post how mine tastes as time goes along.
> 
> Very interesting reading your recipe! Thanks so much!! I've assembled the ingredients for a different twist, and I'll be fermenting my newest adventure this week. I plan to use white grape concentrate instead of raisins, triple toast the pecans again, and raw sugar instead of brown, to feed the yeasties; Acid blend instead of oranges and lemons, and NO spices. At least I'll have two versions here at home to compare. I'll post that recipe once I get it all together in the fermenter. Should be in a day or two.
> 
> Hope you are feeling better!
> Suzi




Thanks Suzi. I can't wait to hear how your's turns out!


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## DesertDance

*New Recipe, Mystery Result*

Today I assembled the ingredients for the next generation pecan wine. It's in the fermenter waiting for the yeast. It tasted really blah, until I added the acid blend. There is no spice, and the only flavor is pecan and white grape. 

I put some in a shot glass for JD, and his remark, "interesting." Me? Interesting? Interesting good? Interesting bad? Hello?

I find it quite lovely! It is lighter than the raisin version, and the raw sugar lends a nice touch. I did start with a higher SG this time because I do like a kick. So this one started at 1.100. I hope to get a finish at 14% alcohol. We will see......... 

And, non-grapenut, I'm not making bourbon!

Suzi
Recipe to follow tomorrow


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## non-grapenut

DesertDance said:


> Today I assembled the ingredients for the next generation pecan wine. It's in the fermenter waiting for the yeast. It tasted really blah, until I added the acid blend. There is no spice, and the only flavor is pecan and white grape.
> 
> I put some in a shot glass for JD, and his remark, "interesting." Me? Interesting? Interesting good? Interesting bad? Hello?
> 
> I find it quite lovely! It is lighter than the raisin version, and the raw sugar lends a nice touch. I did start with a higher SG this time because I do like a kick. So this one started at 1.100. I hope to get a finish at 14% alcohol. We will see.........
> 
> And, non-grapenut, I'm not making bourbon!
> 
> Suzi
> Recipe to follow tomorrow



Hearing you loud and clear, Suzi. Don't blame you...mine was a request from Bob, the other half. He hates wine (imagine the support I get for my hobby) but likes this stuff. Yick. Can't wait to blend this baby with something.


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## DesertDance

*We need to breathe*

grapenut, we both have clueless support. AKA men. But we are on a mission to succeed! Bless you!! I would love to taste your version of pecan!

You are welcome, in one year, to taste mine!

Suzi


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## non-grapenut

DesertDance said:


> grapenut, we both have clueless support. AKA men. But we are on a mission to succeed! Bless you!! I would love to taste your version of pecan!
> 
> You are welcome, in one year, to taste mine!
> 
> Suzi



I'm holding you to it! We shall swap. I will let you know what I do end up blending mine with. Of course, I will keep some pure for experimental sake. I only made 1 gal., so it won't be much..sorry, love!


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## DesertDance

*Version 2, Pecan Wine Recipe*



non-grapenut said:


> I'm holding you to it! We shall swap. I will let you know what I do end up blending mine with. Of course, I will keep some pure for experimental sake. I only made 1 gal., so it won't be much..sorry, love!



Hey non-Grapenut! I'm starting to save small screw top glass bottles (like soy sauce, salad dressing, etc), so we can swap "small" samples. They will be cheaper to ship, and we don't need an entire wine bottle! Just enough to sample, right? Looking forward to yours! Did I mention I LOVE Bourbon? Anyway, it will be fun to see what you blend with yours!

My Version 2 Pecan Wine Recipe is below. I thought the color would be lighter since I didn't use raisins, and used demerara sugar crystals which are much lighter than brown sugar, but I guess those toasted pecans add a lot of color to the batch. That champagne yeast is very active this morning! Here is the Recipe:

*Speakeasy Cellars Pecan Wine from Concentrate*

•	2 Cups Pecan Halves, Toasted 3 times per instructions 
•	3 cans (11.5 oz) Welch's White Grape frozen concentrate 
•	4-6 Cups raw Demerara sugar 
•	1 Crushed Camden Tablet
•	2 tsp acid blend 
•	¼ tsp. tannin
•	1 tsp pectic enzyme 
•	1 tsp yeast nutrient 
•	Water to make 1.5 gallon 
•	Champagne wine yeast slurry (see below) 

1.	Toast pecans at 300F for 10 minutes in a single layer, then pour into a paper bag to sit out till cool, getting some of the oils out of them. Roll and squish, or stomp on the paper bag, and you should see greasy spots on the bag.
2.	Roast smashed Pecans about 12 minutes at 400F till slightly smoking. Pour into another paper bag, roll and squish and stomp some more, trying to get more oil out and let rest till cool. 
3.	Roast smashed Pecans at 350F for about 10 minutes, again, just until slightly smoking. Repeat the rolling and squishing and stomping in a new paper bag to get MORE oil out!
4.	Add toasted pecans to a large pot and cover with water. Simmer for 1 hour, adding water periodically to prevent scorching. 
5.	Let hot mixture sit for a few minutes. Any oil should rise to the top. Try to skim off as much as you can with a tablespoon or a turkey baster.
6.	Add sugar into hot liquid and stir till it melts. Reserve half the liquid in case you need to melt more sugar prior to adding to the primary.
7.	Pour 3 Cans thawed Welch’s White Grape Concentrate into primary fermenter.
8.	Strain pecans into a nylon straining bag weighted with a few marbles, and place into liquid in primary fermenter. 
9.	Add sugar water to make up to 1.5 gallons and add crushed Camden tablet, Yeast Nutrient, and Pectic Enzyme. 
10.	Start Yeast Slurry (recipe below)
11.	Let sit overnight. Check specific gravity -- it should be between 1.090 and 1.100. If it’s higher than 1.100, add water. If it’s below 1.090, add sugar.
12.	Add yeast slurry. Stir daily for five or six days, until frothing stops.
13.	Remove nylon bag, and strain. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock. 
14.	Observe the liquid on the top of the secondary. If there is oil, try to siphon or skim most of it off, continuing this process throughout. At bottling time, there should be no oil floating on top.

For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle. 

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle. 

YEAST SLURRY
•	½ C. baby bottle warm water 
•	2 tsp Sugar 
•	1 tsp Champagne Yeast (or other wine yeast)
Mix together in a coffee cup or bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let sit overnight. In the morning it should be nicely bubbling. Periodically throughout the day, add ¼ C of the fermenter liquid to the slurry so it gets used to it’s new host. At the end of the day, add the slurry to the fermenter.


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## non-grapenut

the amber color is due to the natural tannins of the pecans..the pithe...each nut is slightly coated with it, so there is a lot of natural tannin. You will find this with just about any nuts you make wine with. I think the bourbon taste in mine is because I used only brown sugar (molasses is just burnt sugar, so it gives it that complex char flavor, I am guessing..) Don't make me start on all the various 'bottles' and secondary fermentation vessels I have used...the list makes me dizzy (and I am completely sober right now.)


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## Henry

After reading about the problems with pecan oil floating and its potential to turn rancid I started thinking. Racking the oil off of the wine, or the wine from the oil as it may be sounds rather wasteful. Granted I haven't tasted the oil from crushed or toasted pecans, but I'm sure that there are flavors there to be used.

My thinking took me on an internet quest. First, I thought emulsifier/detergent -add something that suspends the oil in the wine. According to Wikipedia (I know...) honey can act as an emulsifier, and ethanol acts as a detergent... something to consider.

What about breaking down the oils? We use pectic enzymes to eat up the polysaccharide chains in fruits. I don't know if it would even have the desired effect, but lipases break apart the fatty acid chains from the glycerol molecule in fats and oils. 

I happened to stumble upon a vegitarian lipase supplement. The vegitarian variety sounded nice, no gelatin capsule and sourced from plants rather than animal intestine. 

Anyway, thought I'd throw it out there... 

National Enzymen Compny -Biocore Lipo
nationalenzyme.com/pdf-downloads/biocore-ts/lipo-ts.pdf
nationalenzyme.com/pdf-downloads/biocore-bg/lipo-bg.pdf
...I wish I could find a source around here.


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## DesertDance

*Floating Pecan Oil*

Well, Henry, I'm all ears!! you figured out something to sop up that oil? Could you make it.. like... simple? A brand or something of this, and a link of where to get it? And how to use it? Like we need a map! 1, 2, 3, 4... 

Seems wasteful to rack off all that oil, and yep, it is, BUT you could add some citrus, garlic, onion, and jalapeno, and use that oily wine as a marinade for steak or fish for your next best BBQ. And your guests will get that puzzled look in their eyes... hmmmmm this is so different and so amazing!! blah blah. I love that stuff!!

Due to the nature of the beast, we make much more than we think we will eventually end up with. We allow for the skimming of the oil. Somehow "skimming of the oil" doesn't have the ring of "stomping of the grapes."

Suzi


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## non-grapenut

I love the science behind your thoughts, Henry. I am with Suzi, though...how to test this and what measurements as catalysts...hmmm. So far, ending my final rack (7th, BTW) in the fridge has netted no sediment on top. I am letting it fine in the fridge, at this point. Again, imagine my other half's excitement. Started with 2 gallons, now have a little over 1.


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## Midwest Vintner

we've made pecan many times. there is always alot of waste or it will not taste right. you have to get most of the oil out. we've tried leaving some in, it won't mix and it will seperate.

the wine is delicate, hard to make, lots of work and not cheap, so i'm almost positive no one else will waste their time trying to copy us. the end result, though, is my favorite wine. a light bodied, buttery, light pecan flavor that is somewhat complex. 

you guys have some good ideas. maybe there is a way to keep the oil suspended. we've been pondering on what to do with the waste, both the nuts and oil. maybe you could combine them again and make something? i dunno, i'm not much of a cook/baker/etc...

one thing i know, i can't wait to get my business going!!!!!


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## Midwest Vintner

FYI, Pecan wine will be for sale September 19th. 

Tasting is free and we have other wines to offer. Check us out on the web and facebook!
http://www.endlesssummerwinery.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Endless-Summer-Winery/159134814170371


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