# Pear Wine



## BDKS (Jan 14, 2009)

The local grocery store has pears on sale




. I have a few 5 gallon food grade buckets that are brand new. I can fit a 4 gallon batch in there. Would you suggest any changes to the recipe? What is the best way to prepare the fruit? Cut it up and freeze then crush it? I thought that method was used with apples with better result compared to method in instructions. Can I substitute K-meta for Campden and how much?


Makes one gallon.


Ingredients:
<t></t><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<t><tr> 
<td>4 lbs. Ripe to firm-ripe pears</td>
<td>6 pints Water</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>4 cups Sugar</td>
<td>2-1/2 tsp. Acid Blend</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>1/2 tsp. Pectic Enzyme</td>
<td>1 tsp. Yeast Nutrient</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>1 Campden Tablet, crushed</td>
<td>1 pkg. Wine Yeast</td>
</tr>
</t></table>


Keep your acid tester and hydrometer handy. As with all 
wild fruit the sugar and acid content varies greatly from 
year to year and even from one location to another. The 
recipe above is a general recipe to use which you may have 
to adjust.


Directions:

 Wash pears, drain and remove stems, and cut in half 
and core. Cut into smaller pieces.
Using the nylon straining bag mash and strain juice 
into primary fermenter. As juice is extracted, immediately 
add campden to prevent spoilage and browning. Keeping 
all pulp in bag, tie top and place in primary.
 Add water and all remaining ingredients, except yeast. 
Stir well.
Cover primary fermenter.
Wait 24 hours, then add yeast and re-cover primary fermenter.
Stir daily, check S.G. and press pulp lightly to aid 
extraction.
When S.G. reaches 1.040 (usually 3-5 days), strain juice 
from bag. Then syphon juice into glass container and attach 
airlock.
When S.G. reaches 1.000 (usually about 3 weeks), fermentation 
is complete. Syphon juice off sediment into clean glass 
container. Re-attach airlock.
To aid in clearing, syphon again in 2 months and again, 
if necessary, before bottling.
Allow the wine to age.


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## Scott (Jan 14, 2009)

Bobby,
Looks close to the same receipe I used, I didn't cut up the pears any smaller than about 2" squares and didn't freeze them either. When crushed in the bag and after fermenting there is nothing left of them. I did add about 1# of golden raisens / gallon.


Go for it and good luck.


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## Bert (Jan 14, 2009)

3.5 tabs of campden is supposed to equal 1/4 tsp. of powdered K-Meta....That would pretty close for a 4 gal. batch.....recipe looks good, but as always watch your SG. as you add your sugar....Good luck


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## BDKS (Jan 14, 2009)

Thanks for the advice. Unless I missed it in the recipe, what is a good starting sg? 1.080 to 1.085 maybe.


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## Eland (Jan 14, 2009)

A couple of things to consider: pear wine has a very delicate flavor and I would try to make sure that the alcohol content doesn't overpower it. Before adding all of the sugar, I would try and sneak up on an sg of about 1.085. 






The other thing is pear wine is sometimes notoriously difficult to clear. To that end I would double the amount of pectic enzyme to start. It won't hurt anything.


If you are doing a 4 gallon batch, you could use a can of white grape concentrate instead of the golden raisins. Just check for sulphites in the concentrate.


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## grapeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Eland said:


> A couple of things to consider: pear wine has a very delicate flavor and I would try to make sure that the alcohol content doesn't overpower it. Before adding all of the sugar, I would try and sneak up on an sg of about 1.085.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Good points. I think 2 pounds of sugar will be more than you want per gallon. Go easy, you can add more but not remove it.


Also I keep seeing folks making 4 gallon batches lately. In my opinion, I would make the size batch you have a carboy for so you don't need to worry about topping up. If you make a 4 gallon, do you have a 3 gallon or 5 gallon carboy? If you have a 3, you will be ok. Rack into the 3 and keep the extra in a gallon. If you have a 5, I would up the batch so that you can fill the 5 without diluting. Think ahead of these things and then less topping up is needed.


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## BDKS (Jan 14, 2009)

4 gallon works for me right now for experimenting. I have 4 one gallon jugs that can be used for now. I would prefer to stick with glass.. but the sticker shock is difficult.



I might become a better bottle convert. Keeping just enough glass for vacuum degassing.


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## Wade E (Jan 14, 2009)

Pear has a tendency to brown so I would cut up the fruit and put it in the water with ascorbic acid.


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## BDKS (Jan 14, 2009)

wade said:


> Pear has a tendency to brown so I would cut up the fruit and put it in the water with ascorbic acid.



Thanks for the tip. Does any go into fermenter after cleaning and dicing fruit?


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## BDKS (Jan 14, 2009)

Eland said:


> If you are doing a 4 gallon batch, you could use a can of white grape concentrate instead of the golden raisins. Just check for sulphites in the concentrate.



Picked up 2 just in case while at grocery store.


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## Wade E (Jan 14, 2009)

You can use that water for your addition to primary as you will need all the flavor you can get and ascorbic acid will not hinder fermentation


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## BDKS (Jan 15, 2009)

I missed out on the pear sale. Forgot that new ads start on thursday. So instead of $0.79 a pound they were $1.79.



I will keep my notes from this one for a future batch. I picked up frozen strawberries on sale. I will start a new thread with questions on that one.


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## Larry1 (Jan 17, 2009)

Hi Everyone,

I was reading over these Posts on Pear Wine. I was wondering if any of you can help me understand two replies that were given.

The first question has to do with doubling the amount of pectic enzyme at the start because sometimes it can be difficult to clear. What is pectic enzyme?

The other has to do with using White Grape Concentrate instead of raisins. It was said to check the sulphites in the concentrate. Do you need it in the concentrate?

Thanks

Larry


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## Wade E (Jan 17, 2009)

1) Pectic enzyme is an organic material which will help you get rid of any haze produced by pectin in the fruit. It will also help you break down the cellular structure of a fruit therefore making it easier for you to extract more flavor and color from the fruit you are using and highly recommended when making any fruit wine even if it is a concentrate for the benefit of helping rid the pectin haze.

2) The grape concentrate is a good way to add extra body which most fruits may lack and leave a wine with very little body. Some of these have k-meta in them so adding the typical amount at start of making a wine may e over sulfiting your wine and result in a very hard to start fermentation.


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## BDKS (Jan 17, 2009)

The way I understand it is certain preservatives will prevent the fermentation from starting or stalling it.

The juice I listed has the following ingredients and is commonly used on here. I used the same juice in my strawberry wine. The ingredients are:

white grape juice concentrate
citric acid
ascorbic acid


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## BDKS (Jan 17, 2009)

<table ="maintable" align="center" ="#ffffcc" border="2" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" height="100%"><t><tr><td width="10%">6382 </td>
<td width="10%">



</td>
<td width="50%">

Dry Pectic Enzyme - 1 oz.


Pectic
enzyme increases juice yields from fruits by breaking down cellular
structure. Also acts as a clarifier, and is used to clear hazes caused
by residual pectins.</td>
<td width="10%">N/A</td>
<td width="10%">$2.39</td></tr></t></table>


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## Larry1 (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks for the information. I'm trying to learn the terms.

Larry


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## BDKS (Jan 17, 2009)

Larry said:


> Thanks for the information. I'm trying to learn the terms.
> 
> Larry



That is the hardest part for me. And learning the process. Watch the videos on the front page. They are helpful.


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## Larry1 (Jan 17, 2009)

That is the hardest part for me. And learning the process. Watch the videos on the front page. They are helpful. 
[/QUOTE]

Do you mean George's videos that he has on his Winemaker's Toy Store page?


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## BDKS (Jan 17, 2009)

Larry said:


> That is the hardest part for me. And learning the process. Watch the videos on the front page. They are helpful.



Do you mean George's videos that he has on his Winemaker's Toy Store page?
[/QUOTE]

yes


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## Larry1 (Jan 18, 2009)

wade said:


> 1) Pectic enzyme is an organic material which will help you get rid of any haze produced by pectin in the fruit. It will also help you break down the cellular structure of a fruit therefore making it easier for you to extract more flavor and color from the fruit you are using and highly recommended when making any fruit wine even if it is a concentrate for the benefit of helping rid the pectin haze.
> 
> 2) The grape concentrate is a good way to add extra body which most fruits may lack and leave a wine with very little body. Some of these have k-meta in them so adding the typical amount at start of making a wine may e over sulfiting your wine and result in a very hard to start fermentation.



Thanks wade. I lost my internet connection last night before I could write back to you.

Larry


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