# My turn



## gaudet (Apr 10, 2009)

For Strawberries that is. I picked up 4 flats for $60 today. They will get cheaper later. I will probably buy another flat to do a 5 gallon batch along side the blackberries.


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## Wade E (Apr 10, 2009)

I would freeze all the deep red 1's and see if the pinkish 1's ripen up a little more or is it just the picture and lighting?


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## Tom (Apr 10, 2009)

wade said:


> I would freeze all the deep red 1's and see if the pinkish 1's ripen up a little more or is it just the picture and lighting?




Sounds like a plan.
How many #'s in each flat?


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## Tom (Apr 10, 2009)

Make a f-pac with the next flat


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## gaudet (Apr 10, 2009)

Tepe its about 12#'s per flat or so I was told. I'll probably dump the flat into a bag and weight it or put it on my bathroom scale to see.

Wade we plan to sort and clean them tomorrow. Will probably let the lighter ones go for a couple days to ripen a bit more. Will freeze for at least a week or two before juicing.


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## Tom (Apr 10, 2009)

@ 12# per flat thats 48# you have. You can do all for the primary and the next flat for making a f-pac. for me 30# is OK and 10# for a f-pac.

Are you gonna use your steam juicer? If so I would like to know how long it takes and how much you get. Also Joeswine wants to trade a bottle of his award winning wine for a quart of steam juice. Can you help him?


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## gaudet (Apr 10, 2009)

I was planning on 2 flats to make the juice. Then maybe half a flat to make the f-pack (it will be my first f-pack) I know swmbo wants to put some away for us. I do plan to steam juice these rascals. I'll let you know what the yields are. I'm sure we can work something out for Joeswine......... We'll be in touch


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## JWMINNESOTA (Apr 10, 2009)

Looks good Gaudet, I may have to do a strawberry again this year, im running a bit low.


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## gaudet (Apr 24, 2009)

Strawberries are now $12 a flat for #12 pounds. I picked up another flat and SWMBO processed 8 pints for wine and the rest for human consumption



(the dog keeps begging). I am looking forward to juicing the frozen berries in the freezer and starting the 6 gallons I am plotting next week.I will juice at least 24 pounds maybe even 30 for a 6 gallon batch. I read somewhere that 24 pounds yielded 3 gallons of juice ( I think it was Masta's). Do I have any suggestions for the yeast? I have some lalvin varieties and a few red star available.


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## vcasey (Apr 24, 2009)

My vote is for Cote Des Blancs for something light and fruity. Keep in mind I have not made a strawberry wine yet.
VPC


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## Tom (Apr 24, 2009)

I make Strawberry and always use Cote des Blancs 
BTW where did you get thos berries at such a good price. Here in NJ Strawberry season is in June.


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## Wade E (Apr 24, 2009)

Cotes Des Blanc for me also!


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## gaudet (Apr 24, 2009)

tepe said:


> I make Strawberry and always use Cote des Blancs
> BTW where did you get thos berries at such a good price. Here in NJ Strawberry season is in June.



Tepe,

The strawberries started coming in about a month ago. They were $18 a flat at the cheapest and the prices drop after easter. We have a strawberry festival nearby in Ponchatoula (pronounced Ponch-a-too-la). 

About two weeks before April we start getting road side vendors selling them. Now the prices are just about rock bottom. Buying them from the local grocery stores runs about $2-$3 a pound. Buying the flats are much better and you get to pick the flat you want. The guy today had a pickup truck with about 50 flats of strawberries. He was half sold out by the time I got there (noon). 

Next year, you need to make a road trip down to the Big Easy with Joeswine and get you some flats. Its probably worth the trip, plus you can spend some time in the French Quarter and get some really good seafood. It might be cheaper to have them shipped, but it would be a good time down here. Last weekend was French Quarter festival, its like Jazz Fest, only free to anyone who wants to go. You need only be there and have a room (thats probably optional).

I don't have any Cotes Des Blanc, but I do have lalvin d47 which looked good along with some k1-v1116 and a few others montrachet I think. I hate to make an order for 1 or 2 packets of yeast.....


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## Tom (Apr 24, 2009)

Then use the d-47
I was there in '91 during Madri Gras. I had a convention there all that week. Tough duty huh ?
I went to Felix's on Burbon St and got a large platter of craw dads. Hmm good !


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## gaudet (Apr 28, 2009)

This question goes out to those that use the leftover pulp. Do you have a recipe for jam or preserves? I really hate to waste all that pulp if it can be made into something wonderful.


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## grapeman (Apr 28, 2009)

I really don't think I would want jam made out of depleted strwberry pulp and dead yeast!


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## gaudet (Apr 28, 2009)

appleman said:


> I really don't think I would want jam made out of depleted strwberry pulp and dead yeast!



Nor would I Rich. Unless I misunderstood, I thought that some people use the leftover fruit pulp from their steam juicing to make preserves or jams. 

Not the leftover pulp bag from fermentation...... Yuk


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## dragonmaster42 (Apr 28, 2009)

All this talk of strawberry wine has me wanting to make some!!










I've never tried using the leftover pulpfrom a steamer (don't have one) but you might give this recipe a try using the leftover pulp. You might have to add some juice back to it though. I've used this recipe before and it'ssimple andworks well. 


Strawberry Preserves


2 pounds fresh strawberries 


4 cups white sugar 


1/4 cup lemon juice
<DIV id=ctl00_CenterColumnPlaceHolder_RecipeToolsControl_divMyFolders style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; DISPLAY: none">DIRECTIONS
<DIV ="recipe centercontent2">


<LI>In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process any unsealed jars in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate. </LI>


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## grapeman (Apr 28, 2009)

That's right you used the steamer to make juice first- I forgot.............. danged CRS kicking in again!


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## gaudet (Apr 28, 2009)

I'm hoping Northern Winos sees this as she is the queen of the steam juicer and I'm sure somewhere in her repertoire she has a recipe or can point me in the right direction.

Don't feel bad Rich, of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most too.......


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## Tom (Apr 28, 2009)

gaudet said:


> I'm hoping Northern Winos sees this as she is the *queen of the steam* juicer and I'm sure somewhere in her repertoire she has a recipe or can point me in the right direction.
> 
> Don't feel bad Rich, of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most too.......


You sure NW is a she? LOL. Wouldn't it be funny if *she* was a *he* and called NW a queen of the steam?


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## Wade E (Apr 28, 2009)

She is She! Obviously you havent been following to many of her posts. Wait till she gets out in her yard again!


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## gaudet (Apr 28, 2009)

She is all woman........... I may have had doubts about others, but NW is a woman..... Jim is her husband check out their posts of ice fishing.......


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## Tom (Apr 29, 2009)

wade said:


> She is She! Obviously you havent been following to many of her posts. Wait till she gets out in her yard again!




LOL I knew that. But, some of our members may not.Justa little humor to lighten it up.


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## hannabarn (Apr 29, 2009)

Well you certainly woke up a few!!!!!!!!!!


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## Tom (Apr 29, 2009)

Did I wake U UP ?


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## gaudet (May 2, 2009)

OK here is the official recipe

9 quarts Strawberry juice
fill to 5 gallon mark with water
initial gravity 1.030
TA =0.5 (added 2 tbs acid blend)
2 tbs powdered wine tannin
2 Tbs Yeast Nutrient
1 Tbs Yeast Energizer
1 gallon boiling water with 5#’s sugar dissolved
SG was 1.054
Added sugar until SG of 1.080 was reached. Approximately 8 cups
About 8 1/2 #'s of sugar total
7 tablets campden crushed and stirred into the must.....

Yeast Starter made with Montrachet, 8 oz H20, 1TBS Sugar, 1 tsp yeast nutrient


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## Waldo (May 3, 2009)

Did you use any pectic enzyme on the must?


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## gaudet (May 3, 2009)

I will be adding it today before pitching the yeast starter. Didn't forget that one Waldo.


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## gaudet (May 3, 2009)

Ok Waldo,

I just added 3 tsp of pectic enzyme and took another sg.

The SG will officially be 1.084 for a potential 11.5% ABV

Got the yeast starter going last night and it looks like its doing well enough on its own. Just need to pour it in tonight when I get back from the Tab Benoit concert at the Rock n Bowl.


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## Wade E (May 3, 2009)

Why 7 campden tablets? Usual is 1 per gallon!


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## gaudet (May 3, 2009)

wade said:


> Why 7 campden tablets? Usual is 1 per gallon!



I had a little over 6 gallons, I figured one more tab wouldn't hurt. I think I have right at 6.5 gallons of must. The 1 gallon of water with the sugar dissolved made it go up a little higher in the primary than I expected. 

Note to self use 1/2 gallon water to dissolve the sugar next time


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## Wade E (May 3, 2009)

Oh, OK. You stated earlier fill to 5 gallon mark!


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## Tom (May 3, 2009)

wade said:


> Oh, OK. You stated earlier fill to 5 gallon mark!


Good Pick-Up Wade!
Geez.. I need some of what he's been drinking!


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## gaudet (May 3, 2009)

And I want what both you guys are drinkin, no really I do





9 quarts Strawberry juice</span>
*fill to 5 gallon mark with water*</span>
initial gravity 1.030</span>
TA =0.5 (added 2 tbs acid blend)</span>
2 tbs powdered wine tannin</span>
2 Tbs Yeast Nutrient</span>
1 Tbs Yeast Energizer</span>
*1 gallon boiling water with 5#’s sugar dissolved

</font>I forgot to take into consideration the sugar would displace the water..... </span></font>*</font></span>


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## Wade E (May 3, 2009)

Ah, I see says the blind man!


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## Tom (May 3, 2009)

Well I been "busy" lets see oh yea been in the wine cellar. remember I have a hard time making up my mind what wine to drink. Sooo many to choose from. I need a better system to track where I put it in da "cellar" U seen da pix..


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## gaudet (May 3, 2009)

Probably my southern accent........


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## Tom (May 3, 2009)

LOOK and seee my problem.. scroll down to pix 
YES the boxs are full.
http://www.finevinewines.com/wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7925&amp;PN=2


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## Wade E (May 3, 2009)

You werent looking for a wine to drink, you were trying to find your way out of there. Maybe you should leave a bread crumb trail next time or some arrows and a rope like in caves!


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## gaudet (May 5, 2009)

Well my primary isn't quite as big as I thought it was.... I had my first krausen overflow. Thank god I had it in a drip pan cause I would have had to call disaster masters for clean up. I racked 3/4 a gallon to a 1 gallon jug under airlock and I am in the process of moving the rest into a clean primary. That yeast starter kicked some major a$$........


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## vcasey (May 5, 2009)

Wow that must have been some very happy yeasties. Hubby thinks I'm being too careful because I'll set anything that is in the primary or just racked in a bus tub. Thank goodness I am careful because a couple times it was a bit messy......
VPC


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## gaudet (May 6, 2009)




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## Tom (May 6, 2009)

Looking good !

Can you tell me why you used Montrachet?


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## gaudet (May 6, 2009)

I used it just because I had it. I have used it before with another fruit wine and liked the results.


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## vcasey (May 6, 2009)

tepe, what yeast would you have used? I am planning a strawberry/banana mead and I am considering cotes or 71b.
VPC


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## Tom (May 6, 2009)

I use Cote des Blancs for al my fruit wines. Gives you a nice fruit charactor



*Cote Des Blancs. *AKA Geisenheim Epernay. A low foaming slower speed fermenter with low alcohol tolerance. This strain emphasizes fruit character in both reds and whites making it an *excellent choice for fruit wines, especially apple.* If fermented at cooler temperatures it will not ferment to dryness producing a sweeter wine with some residual sugar. For the production of Chardonnay use in conjunction with yeast nutrient. Sweet whites, fruit wines.


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## vcasey (May 6, 2009)

That's the direction I was leaning. I think the original recipe called for 71b but in my notes I indicated I wanted to use Cotes. For some reason I have had challenges getting the fermentation started with this yeast so I've been making up starters, seems to work better. 
Not much in the way of cooler temps here, summer has arrived. 
VPC


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## Tom (May 6, 2009)

Dont for get to add nutrient with the yeast


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## vcasey (May 6, 2009)

Always, I may have just had a bad batch. Anyway its nice to know I was on the right track. I have Sweet Mead yeast listed as a possibility as well, but I had wanted to go with a dry yeast that I generally keep in stock. Gaudet bet you had fun cleaning that bucket! That wine has a nice head of foam.
VPC


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## Wade E (May 6, 2009)

I like Montrachet for some fruit wines but you must use both nutrient and energizer with it as its not a good yeast to use with low nutrients or you will get H2S smell and taste problems. It does do a nice job though with proper nutrients.


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## gaudet (May 6, 2009)

I used both energizer and nutrient. I also used a starter. This one really took off. Yes it was fun cleaning the bucket.


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## gaudet (May 8, 2009)

Today's sg was 1.054, a lot higher than I was expecting as the yeast seemed to be rolling hard. But it is only the 4th day since yeast was pitched. Will check again in a couple days to see where it stands.


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## gaudet (May 9, 2009)

tepe said:


> I use Cote des Blancs for al my fruit wines. Gives you a nice fruit charactor
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Tepe,

What is the alcohol tolerance for cotes de Blanc?


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## Wade E (May 9, 2009)

12-14%


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## gaudet (May 11, 2009)

I happened to check the sg today (I was going to do it tomorrow) and lo and behold 1.012 time to rack to the carboy to finish fermentation. So flight of the bumblebee to get it done before I have to leave for work, but it was done with no shortcuts. I even have a picture or two, just will upload it later tonight.


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## gaudet (Jun 2, 2009)

Amazing how time flies............. I forgot to post those pictures. Don't even think I took them. 
Ahem!!





Well I racked this one off the lees this morning. I racked to a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon carboys. Taking the SG I somehow cracked the bottom of my glass test tube. The leak was minor and I was able to get a reading of &lt; 0.990, so for all practical purposes I will use 0.990 as my finished gravity. I started at 1.084 and that makes me have about 12.77% abv. Its probably less than that, but its in the target range I was shooting for . Not too bad. Of course we extracted a glass for tasting, and it was alcohol forward, then you could taste the strawberries coming through at the end. Time will fix that of course. We also put about 1/2 tsp of sugar to taste it and it helped curb the alcohol. We will probably back sweeten next month and allow it another couple months before bottling. 

Enough rambling here is a picture of the 1 gallon carboy with my first strawberry wine. I expected it to lose the red color, but its holding on so far.


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## gaudet (Sep 7, 2009)

On August 19th, I racked this one and backsweetend with with 2#'s sugar dissolved to simple syrup. I also stabilized via k-meta and k-sorbate. Seeing no reason not to, I bottled today. I have about 3/4ths of a 750 ml bottle for sampling tonight. Will take pictures of the young wine then...


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## Goodfella (Sep 7, 2009)

Sounds good Gaudet.


Did you do a F-pack? or just back sweeten...


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## gaudet (Sep 7, 2009)

Just backsweetened it.....

Its a light but nice taste of strawberry. I'm sure it will develop more as it ages..... I'm trusting in the wisdom of others here.......

I have 2 quarts of strawberry juice left. I might make a mead out of it.....


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## Tom (Sep 7, 2009)

You can thank the wine Gods for the 3/4ts of a 750.

How did it taste?


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## vcasey (Sep 7, 2009)

gaudet said:


> Just backsweetened it.....
> 
> Its a light but nice taste of strawberry. I'm sure it will develop more as it ages..... I'm trusting in the wisdom of others here.......
> 
> I have 2 quarts of strawberry juice left. I might make a mead out of it.....



I just racked my Strawberry Banana Mead, looks beautiful, kinda very light rose. Cleared on its own also.
VC


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## gaudet (Sep 7, 2009)

tepe said:


> You can thank the wine Gods for the 3/4ts of a 750.
> 
> How did it taste?</font>



The small taste I had earlier was room temp. I'm chilling the remaining wine for later this evening. I liked the flavor. It was a light aroma of strawberries, subtle strawberry flavor. A little hot on the alcohol, but not bad. Now for the really hard part. Waiting for it to mature.....


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