# Apple pie wine



## dralarms (Jan 13, 2013)

Just tasted my apple pie wine. Its young, but it sure is going to be good in 6 to 9 months. //


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## oldwhiskers (Jan 13, 2013)

This is also one I need to put on my list, I have been pretty happy with the apple juice wines I have been making so this would be a short step further.


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## Dend78 (Jan 14, 2013)

awesome glad to hear it mine i made from concentrate just keeps getting better and better every time i try it as well. its only about 3 months in the bottle now but its getting so smooth and the spices are coming forward so nicely it hurts to stop drinking hahah


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## mkjennison (Jan 15, 2013)

That sounds so freakin' good. I think I might start a batch this month so it will be aged sufficiently by Thanksgiving of this year. yum.


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## ttimmer (Jan 15, 2013)

Which recipe did you use?


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## dralarms (Jan 15, 2013)

I use a standard apple wine recipe, then as final aging I put cinnamon stick and for a 3 gal. jug I also used 1 tsp nutmeg.


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## Dend78 (Jan 16, 2013)

i found the sticks to be a little disappointing, ground was the way to go to ensure some in each bottle. you have some nutmeg and cinnamon floating in there but the flavor is great


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## Sammyk (Jan 16, 2013)

I used apple pie spice in mine, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves altogether in one spice bottle. The spice did not float. From what I could see and taste as it went to secondary, it may need more. I decided to wait and see and then decide. Seems very cloudy to me but then I stirred it up before going to secondary.


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## Dend78 (Jan 16, 2013)

yes it drops to the bottom, that's why i stirred some before i bottled so it would be picked up in my auto siphon, then a good shake to each bottle before opening and boom there it is


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## ckassotis (Jan 16, 2013)

Why were you bottling immediately after adding the spices? Wouldn't a better way to age it with the cinnamon stick and perhaps some nutmeg/anything else to ensure that the entire batch takes on those flavors? Then you could filter and bottle it and not have to worry about shaking anything.


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## dralarms (Jan 16, 2013)

All my stuff settled to the bottom and it still taste like apple pie. And yes I ended up with 1 tsp of cinnamon powder also.


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## Dend78 (Jan 16, 2013)

I waited, it sat for a bit but i wanted to make sure it tagged along, i dont filter anything, the only filtering i do is fruit in a mesh bag, thats about the extent of my filtering


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## Sammyk (Jan 16, 2013)

I used bottled apple juice. I did not use pectic enzyme and I am thinking it will be cloudy for a long time.
Did anyone else use pectic enzyme?

Would it be too late to add it next racking? How much per gallon?


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## dralarms (Jan 16, 2013)

Use 1/2 tsp per gal. And no it won't hurt to add it now.


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## Sammyk (Jan 17, 2013)

dralarms thank you for the reply!


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## dralarms (Jan 17, 2013)

Your welcome


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## oldwhiskers (Jan 17, 2013)

I have always used pectic enzyme on just the plain Apple juice wine and have not had a cloudiness issue.


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## Deezil (Jan 17, 2013)

Sammyk said:


> I used bottled apple juice. I did not use pectic enzyme and I am thinking it will be cloudy for a long time.
> Did anyone else use pectic enzyme?
> 
> Would it be too late to add it next racking? How much per gallon?



Pectic enzyme wont work during an active fermentation, but is fine before or after

It will cause some dusting on the bottom of the carboy though, from the pectin it chews through and causes to precipitate


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## Sammyk (Jan 17, 2013)

Thanks Deezil. I will add it at the 3rd racking.


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## tucker2974 (Jan 18, 2013)

I really would like the recipe for the apple pie wine if it not to much trouble. I was wondering if the apple taste comes through very well?


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## Sammyk (Jan 18, 2013)

I can't say for sure how the apple taste is because it is the first time I have made it and it is in secondary still. Of course after primary all there was is what we call "jet fuel taste" But we now know the importance of aging. My goal is for Thanksgiving day dinner.

There are a few recipes on the forum for it. I printed several recipes and chose the one I thought met my needs in terms of ingredients and spices. And I wound up using apple pie spice. If I need more apple at the end I will use simmered down apple juice or apple extract but that is months away. I will decide at the right time for my wine how to finish it. Not sure how the spices will come through but I will figure it out when the time comes.


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## Dend78 (Jan 25, 2013)

it comes out nicely, just let it age the longer it sits the better it gets. thats actually another one I am looking to do again because its so good.


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## DaveL (Mar 16, 2013)

Is there any backsweetening needed? flavor pac? Topping off with juice??


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## dralarms (Mar 16, 2013)

I sweetened mine.

I haven't drank any since bottling but gave a bottle to a friend. Him and his wife raved over it.


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## Terry0220 (Mar 16, 2013)

All I have to say is that if apple was the first wine I made from scratch,,it would have been the last,,I rack it yesterday and the smell was awful!!! I had to hold my nose to take a taste,,but since the taste was fine I let it alone! I just keep reminding myself, all good things come to those who wait,,and wait I will for that smell to go away,,lol!!!


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## DaveL (Mar 16, 2013)

Terry0220 said:


> All I have to say is that if apple was the first wine I made from scratch,,it would have been the last,,I rack it yesterday and the smell was awful!!! I had to hold my nose to take a taste,,but since the taste was fine I let it alone! I just keep reminding myself, all good things come to those who wait,,and wait I will for that smell to go away,,lol!!!



Mine doesn't smell bad at all. What was the smell of your? I had a Sauv Blanc kit smell it up, a few splash rackings solved that problem.


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## Sammyk (Mar 17, 2013)

I did 3 gallons and it smelled great from the start. Just racked again last night and the taste if pretty good for a 3 month wine. I plan to age it longer though.


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

Terry0220 said:


> All I have to say is that if apple was the first wine I made from scratch,,it would have been the last,,I rack it yesterday and the smell was awful!!! I had to hold my nose to take a taste,,but since the taste was fine I let it alone! I just keep reminding myself, all good things come to those who wait,,and wait I will for that smell to go away,,lol!!!



Terry,

I agree. During ferment it smells terrible.


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## Sammyk (Mar 17, 2013)

Wow! I wonder why the difference in smells?


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

Did you use fresh fruit?


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## Sammyk (Mar 17, 2013)

I used Apple Juice.


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

That's the difference I guess. I use fresh apples. The last apple I made I used juice and it's really light looking.


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## Julie (Mar 17, 2013)

I used fresh apples and yes there was a period when the smell wasn't all that great. 

Age this for at least a year and the apple flavor really comes thru.


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## FTC Wines (Mar 17, 2013)

Last week I found a 4L jug of my Apple Wine 2010 [we just moved 600+ mi. & the winery ,it's upside down]. Made from apples in Oct. it's 2.5 yrs. old, it was very good, very smooth, & good apple taste. This batch I didn't spice or oak, just straight apple. Put a dash of green colorant in it for last night's St Patty's Day party. "GREEN APPLE" Wine was a big hit. Roy


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## DaveL (Mar 17, 2013)

Julie said:


> I used fresh apples and yes there was a period when the smell wasn't all that great.
> 
> Age this for at least a year and the apple flavor really comes thru.



Julie
did you backsweeten or flavor pack at all?


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## DaveL (Mar 17, 2013)

dralarms said:


> Terry,
> 
> I agree. During ferment it smells terrible.



Did you guys push the fruit down daily?


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## Julie (Mar 17, 2013)

I pushed the fruit down twice a day and I just backsweeten with sugar and corn syrup but I take some of the wine out and use that instead of adding water. I also use straight juice from my apples, no water.


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## Sammyk (Mar 17, 2013)

Apples were scare here last fall and what was available was very expensive so I used juice. Will most likely us apples this coming fall if they are available.

I am interested in who back sweetened and with what?


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

I get my apples from a local apple grower, 2nds as they call them, for 18.00 a box. And the boxes do not have those silly dividers in them. I just hope I have enough apple wine to last till I can get another batch aged.


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## allen1 (Mar 17, 2013)

i am a beginner with this, may i ask what "backsweetend" and "flavor packs" are?


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## DaveL (Mar 17, 2013)

Backsweetening is adding a sweetener of some type after fermintaion has been completed. Achieving a residual sugar is difficult for the homebrewer so this seems to be the more popular method of achieving a sweet wine as fermintaion usually uses up all the sugars in the wine. This is often done with a simple syrup of sugar and water heated to facilitate disolving the sugar. 
A flavor pac as I understand it is also usually a syrup created by simmering down a fruit or fruit juice to a syrup as well. 
I also am new to this and the timing of these steps is somewhat unclear to me. It seems however it varies widely depending on the patience of the individual.
Just for clarification there are many commercial wineries that also backsweeten in one manner or another.


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## allen1 (Mar 17, 2013)

thank you Dave


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## jimmyjames23 (Mar 17, 2013)

Mine smells great but racking off the pie crust was difficult....not to mention as to how I'm going to get the pie tray out of my carboy now.


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## dralarms (Mar 17, 2013)

jimmyjames23 said:


> Mine smells great but racking off the pie crust was difficult....not to mention as to how I'm going to get the pie tray out of my carboy now.







I used a disposable plate.


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## Arne (Mar 17, 2013)

allen1, you have to stabalize before you sweeten back. Otherwise you will probably get a referment. The referment mite take a while to restart. If it waits til you get it in bottles you wind up with the dreaded bottle bomb. Big mess, lottsa cleanup. There are lots of threads on here about sweetening. Read thru them or start one of your own. We will help you figure it out. Arne.


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## ckassotis (Mar 18, 2013)

Just back-sweetened mine with brown sugar and it tastes delightful. Going to leave it for a while and see how everything melds together.


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## arh13p (Mar 23, 2013)

I have an apple wine all cleared in a 5 gallon carboy. Is there anything I could do at this point to get the apple pie flavor? I started ferment in December so it's about 3 months old right now.


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## dralarms (Mar 23, 2013)

Nutmeg and cinnamon.


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## arh13p (Mar 23, 2013)

Any recommendation how much of each per gallon? I might only do three gallons. I have an empty 3 gal and several 1 gal carboys I can rack to. Thanks


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## dralarms (Mar 23, 2013)

i used 1 tsp nutmeg and 1 tbls of cinnamon for a 3 gallon batch. It's not overwelming.


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## FTC Wines (Mar 23, 2013)

ARH13P, If you have 2-1gal jugs left of Apple Wine add oak to 1 for say 2-3 months & let it age for 18+ months, you won't be sorry. Roy


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## saramc (Mar 23, 2013)

dralarms said:


> i used 1 tsp nutmeg and 1 tbls of cinnamon for a 3 gallon batch. It's not overwelming.



And a bit of vanilla extract at bottling, perhaps three drops per bottle. Amazing!!


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## dralarms (Mar 23, 2013)

saramc said:


> And a bit of vanilla extract at bottling, perhaps three drops per bottle. Amazing!!




I'll try that next time.


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## winemaker_3352 (Mar 24, 2013)

I would use cinnamon sticks and a vanilla bean. I would also suggest putting these in a tea bag and dropping in. Easier to pull out and to clear


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## arh13p (Mar 24, 2013)

winemaker_3352 said:


> I would use cinnamon sticks and a vanilla bean. I would also suggest putting these in a tea bag and dropping in. Easier to pull out and to clear



How many and how long? I have read if you use too much cinnamon or for too long it can be overpowering. Thanks


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## winemaker_3352 (Mar 24, 2013)

3 cinnamon sticks, 1vanilla bean chopped up, and 1tsp for other spices except cloves. Cloves do 1/8 tsp, it goes a long way. I leave it in for about 3-5 says and do a taste/smell if it needs longer let it go longer. I would check a out every 3-5 days though


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## arh13p (Mar 24, 2013)

winemaker_3352 said:


> 3 cinnamon sticks, 1vanilla bean chopped up, and 1tsp for other spices except cloves. Cloves do 1/8 tsp, it goes a long way. I leave it in for about 3-5 says and do a taste/smell if it needs longer let it go longer. I would check a out every 3-5 days though



Is that for my five gallons?


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## winemaker_3352 (Mar 24, 2013)

arh13p said:


> Is that for my five gallons?



6 gallons - well actually it is 7 gallons - I end up with 6 1/2 full gallons..


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