# Apple Wine



## St Allie

9lb/4kilos mixed cooking and eating apples
1 teaspoon pectic enzyme
campden tablets
1 teaspoon citric acid
1gallon/ 4.5 litres of water
1/2 teaspoon grape tannin or one cup of strong black tea (optional)
champagne yeast and yeast nutrient
1 .5 to 2 pounds (700g - 900grams white sugar.

wash and core apples . put through the grater setting on your food processor. put apples and cores ( no cores with cut pips though), into 
primary containing pectic enzyme, crushed campden tablet, citric acid and water, cover and leave 24 hours. next day take SG, add the tannin and activated yeast and nutrient. Ferment on the pulp for 5 days press cap down twice daily.
strain out the fruit and press the apples dry, discard the pulp. Stir in the sugar pour the must into gallon jar and any excess into a spare bottle for top ups. Fit airlocks and ferment out as usual.

variation..add 2 pounds of blackberries or stoned and pitted damsons or black plums to the apples for a deep rose wine

from 'country wines and cordials'


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## St Allie

My first batch of this ( 5 gallon) turned out so nicely that I have two more batches fermenting currently. The recipe says to keep it and bulk age for 9 months before bottling and then a further 3 months before drinking. We are drinking the first batch already, it's a nice table white and has been bottled a month.. Have kept a dozen bottles from the batch to try in a years time, will update feedback then.

Allie


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## upper

What is a Core with a cut pip?...Upper


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## arcticsid

Hmm? I think it may be a New Zeland term for a cut pip with a core. And ifin the apples were nice and firm it would be a hard core cut pip. I quess.....LOL


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## Mud

pip=seed. Pips/seeds contain some cyanide in minuscule amounts, which is of no concern, but they also give off a sort of nutty flavor. Small amounts are used for flavoring, but it would make for an off-flavor in a wine to most people.


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## winemaker_3352

Was this for a 5 or 6 gallon batch? And what is a good SG for apple wine?


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## Tom

winemaker_3352 said:


> Was this for a 5 or 6 gallon batch? And what is a good SG for apple wine?



In post #1 looks like it is for ONE gallon. You need alot of apples per #
Fruit wines should start @ 1.085


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## crazyx2

Hey Allie,

What type of apples do you usually use? or do you not have a preference?


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## St Allie

hiya crazy,

the ones from my garden.. a mix of cooking and eating apples.. up to 6 different varieties.. I use what is to hand ( and free!) The wine changes with different varieties used.

generally braeburn, granny smith, a bramley type, golden delicious, and a couple of other unnamed eating ones.

I got a pile of apple and pear trees with no labels.. at a closing down sale.. they were $2 each. 

Allie


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## whine4wine

I'm already almost half way through my second batch of apple wine. (only started last fall)
It's a good early drinking wine. I've used a couple kinds of apples.
On my last batch I used frozen concentated apple juice as a flavor pack. It added some sweetness and flavor. I was pleased with the results.


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## djrockinsteve

St Allie said:


> hiya crazy,
> 
> the ones from my garden.. a mix of cooking and eating apples.. up to 6 different varieties.. I use what is to hand ( and free!) The wine changes with different varieties used.
> 
> generally braeburn, granny smith, a bramley type, golden delicious, and a couple of other unnamed eating ones.
> 
> I got a pile of apple and pear trees with no labels.. at a closing down sale.. they were $2 each.
> 
> Allie



I had a Brayburn apple several years ago and I loved it so much I bought one along with a Red Delicious and a Golden Delicious trees. Planted in the back (semi dwarfs) and they are loaded with apples now.

We'll probably eat too many to make apple wine now but as time goes on I'll add some to my yearly Apple Jack wine.

I would love to get a grafted pear tree and add that back there also.


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## St Allie

djrockinsteve said:


> I would love to get a grafted pear tree and add that back there also.



not sure if you mean grafted to a dwarf rootstock or more than one variety of pear grafted onto one rootstock.

I bought a triple grafted apple a few years back.. granny smith/golden delicious and red delicious all on the one tree..

I don't recommend them.. they just don't have the same vigour and you don't get anywhere near as much fruit as a single variety.

Allie


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## djrockinsteve

I meant two or three pear varieties on one tree. I'm running out of room, indoors and out.


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## daveklick

When you say "press the apples dry" are you referring to using a grape press? If so, is there any other way of doing it if we don't own a grape press?


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## djrockinsteve

I use a fruit press my father made back in 1978. Without a press you could slice up the apples and *immediately* freeze them in freezer bags (ziplock). After a day or two remove them and begin your wine as just with any other fruit.

Your apples will oxidize quickly so you need to get them into your sugar water while still frozen and take a gravity reading when they are just thawed. You may benefit from thawing in a referidgerator. Adding a smidgeon of lemon juice will slow oxidation.

Your gravity should be around 1.080 or slightly less.

Ferment and remove apples around 1.020 When fermention slows visually snap on a lid w/ or w/o an airlock for a day or rack to a carboy to finish fermenting.

Rack and clear. Add cinnamon sticks and age at least 6 months. You may sweeten to whatever you want. Mine I do a few different gravity's.


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## countrygirl

djrockinsteve said:


> I use a fruit press my father made back in 1978. Without a press you could slice up the apples and *immediately* freeze them in freezer bags (ziplock). After a day or two remove them and begin your wine as just with any other fruit.
> 
> Your apples will oxidize quickly so you need to get them into your sugar water while still frozen and take a gravity reading when they are just thawed. You may benefit from thawing in a referidgerator. Adding a smidgeon of lemon juice will slow oxidation.
> 
> Your gravity should be around 1.080 or slightly less.
> 
> Ferment and remove apples around 1.020 When fermention slows visually snap on a lid w/ or w/o an airlock for a day or rack to a carboy to finish fermenting.
> 
> Rack and clear. Add cinnamon sticks and age at least 6 months. You may sweeten to whatever you want. Mine I do a few different gravity's.



just got done reading luc's info on different ways to do apples...i was disapointed when my crabapples went south, but now i'm revived
i want to do this as a christmas type wine...if i get it going pretty quick, will i be able to drink/serve some at christmas?
and
do you leave the cinnamon sticks in there the whole time?
thanks


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## djrockinsteve

After racking when my wine had cleared I added cinnamon sticks and bulk aged 6 months. This season I'll bump up the # of sticks to 1 per gallon. They will lay upon the bottom and just before bottling rack or stir and let rest to mix the cinnamon flavor.

You could have apple wine for Christmas. You may want to do a gallon for holiday and additional to age longer.


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## Wade E

To prevent browning of easily oxidized fruit I recommend using ascorbic acid(vitamin C) immedietely on the fruit whether it be right on the fruit when cutting it up to freeze or in the bucket of water with the small amount of kmetbefore starting the batch. Ascorbic acid doesnt hinder a fermentation and is a very good anti oxidant, it just doesnt have the anti microbial properties that kmeta does and thats why we use the kmeta but to protect a delicate fruit like this I recommend it in addition to the kmeta.


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## djrockinsteve

Picked a 6 gallon bucket of crab apples today. I'll get more but how close to apple wine is crab apple wine? Anyone. Plus how sweet or should I leave it a bit tart?


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## WineYooper

*? for Allie on Apple sticky*

In the recipe I follow every step except for the one calling to stir in the sugar when you pour the must into the gallon jar. From what I've learned so far everything gets mixed together in the primary and the yeast gets added after the 24 hours. Please straighten me out on this. Is apple done slightly different than blackberry, raspberry, cranberry? My apples are thawing out as I am composing and I've read also that I should let them thaw out in the primary with ingredients added but I plan on pressing them first so am not sure how I will proceede. I did core and wedge, then a quick dip in lemon juice, drain and into the freezer. I have 56# from 4 unknown variety trees. They are definitely a mix, some tart and some just good to eat. I am trying to get this batch started in the next day or two.


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## mmadmikes1

That brings up a question, Where's Allie


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## St Allie

Sorry I missed this query.. hope your apple is bubbling away happily by now.

were you making the apple wine or cider?.. I generally just mix everything together and add the yeast 24 hours later myself.

It was a book recipe.. I checked the SG as I went anyway.. sugar additions do need to be adjusted to the fruit sweetness.. I can see how that would confuse someone.

How's it looking?

Allie


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## WineYooper

Thanks Allie, the apple is bubbling along nicely. After mixing it all up and checking my sg I found I was near 1.085 with only 6# of sugar added. The fruit must have carried quite a bit. In reading different recipes it looked like I would be adding 1-2# in. Glad I checked after adding only 1#/ga. Reading your recipe it looked like the ferment was complete and then the fruit was pressed dry, add the sugar and put in gallon jar. That confused me so I did it the way I have done up to this point with my other experiments. I must be learning as I read more on this forum and in the books I have. At this point I will continue along and check my acid before transferring to the secondary and adjusting at that point if needed. From Jack Keller's articles it looks to be better to add after ferment is complete so I am going to try this, also I don't have any on hand. Right now it appears the wine has a definite red/rose color to it but I expect this will clear out with time.


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## alanfalala

The recipe of wine is as bellow :

*Ingredients*
- 3 1/2 lb Cooking Apples
- 2 1/2 lb Granulated Sugar
- 1 Gallon Cold Water (8 Pints)
- 2 Lemons
- 1 Orange
- 1 tsp Wine Yeast
- Yeast Nutrient
- Pectic Enzyme

*Method*
Wash and cut apples - do not peel or core, mice if possible. Put into a plastic bucket and pour 1 gallon of cold water over them. Cover bucket and leave for a week, but stir well every day with a plastic spoon. After a week, strain liquid through muslin into another bucket. Add 2 1/2 lb of sugar and juice and grated rinds of washed lemons and orange. Stir well until sugar is dissolved. Add the yeast, yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme; then cover bucket and leave for 24 hours. It will then be ready to strain and put into fermentation jar.


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## jackendonald

Here is an inexpensive (about $ 25 for 5 gallons) and easy to do what I call apple wine - in fact it is a dry sparkling cider hard, but it's easier to tell People cider so you do not need to explain You .. 2 pounds of white sugar, 2 pounds of brown sugar 5 gallons of apple juice (the walmart thing works fine, just pay attention to preservatives such as sorbate and sulfide) 1 packet of dry wine yeast (I prefer Lalvin-71B 122) To that, I 'm assuming you have a fermenter. I use a glass bottle 5 gallon. Stay away from anything resembling boxes or water bottles that are not for pets, because they will leave O2 - you can buy a glass bottle 5 liters for about $ 27 and a PET bottle for better $ 26


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## Drifter379

What are the measurements for a 6 gal batch? Is it the same as this but everything x5?


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## Wade E

If the recipe is for 1 gallon you would multiply it by 6 for a 6 gallon batch. Everything except the yeast that is as one packet is good for 6 gallons and actually good for more then that.


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## Angelina

Thank you for all the good info. I was able to pick up 50 lbs of apples today from a farmers market that was getting ready to close for the winter. 

I am thinking about coring them and then running them though my juicer, then put the juice in the bucket and the pulp in a mesh bag in the bucket, then proceed with the recipe. Do you think this will be okay??


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## Julie

Angelina said:


> Thank you for all the good info. I was able to pick up 50 lbs of apples today from a farmers market that was getting ready to close for the winter.
> 
> I am thinking about coring them and then running them though my juicer, then put the juice in the bucket and the pulp in a mesh bag in the bucket, then proceed with the recipe. Do you think this will be okay??



Freeze them before you put them thru the juicer. Freezing helps break down the fruit and you will be able to get more juice from them. Everything else sounds fine


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## Angelina

Thank you so much Julie!!!! I will take your advise. 



Julie said:


> Freeze them before you put them thru the juicer. Freezing helps break down the fruit and you will be able to get more juice from them. Everything else sounds fine


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## Angelina

I took my apples from the freezer to the juicer and into the fermenter last night and I have a few questions/concerns. 
I did use ascorbic acid in a bucket of water as I was cutting the apples up to prevent oxidation but when I went to juice them before I could get them all done my apples oxidized some.  I didn't want to leave the pulp out of the fermentation so I put them in anyway. Is there anything I can do about it to resolve the possible color issue or will it go away with processing? I did notice 2 things with this browning. When I fill my wine thief the liquid looks like a see through greenish color, I assume because I used a lot of green apples in my batch, but it is the foam on top that is brown and the pulp is brown.
My other question is my SG is 1.020. so I added 8 cups of sugar made into simple syrup using some of the apple juice. Should I have done this, or something else. The new SG is 1.042. Should I add more sugar to get it up to 1.085 or more apples? The temp on my fermenter is 68-70 degree's
Also I actually had 65 pounds of apples and I used 8 gallons of water and I guesstimate that I have about 15 total gallons of juice now. It is in a food grade 32 gallon Brute Can.


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## Julie

bring your must up to at least 1.070, this will give you about 10% ABV. To be honest I really do not worry too much about the apples oxidizing, I backsweeten with some brown sugar so my apple wine has a golden color anyway.


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## Angelina

Thank you so much Julie, I was hoping you would chime in. I have been worried about it. I am going to head down stairs and take another reading to see if anything has changed overnight with the additions made last night. Then adjust the SG to at least 1.070


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## Angelina

I racked my apple wine into carboys today and ended up with 14 gallons of wine  Them apples must have been juicy cause I only used 8 gallons of water! It looks like Orange juice at the moment, is this normal?


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## UBB

The last batch of apple my dad made was bulk aged for over a year and the apple cyser was bulk aged for almost 2.

I wish he had wrote down what he had done more specifically as to how many lbs of apples he used but it turned out fabulous! It was crystal clear and after sweetening it back (S.G. was 0.992 on most of it) to around a S.G. of 1.02 IMO is very close to a Riesling.

He did not juice the apples, just cored them and chopped.


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## Angelina

I have another 60 pounds of mixed apples in the freezer and 54 pounds of Granny Smiths sitting on the kitchen table. I have to get the ones in the freezer going so I can make room for the Granny Smiths. Thinking I will mix them with another fruit, just not sure which fruit would compliment the mixed apples the best..?? As for the Granny's I haven't decided. I would love a crisp Granny Smith wine, but I am not sure if it would work out that way.


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## chevs15

Maybe I missed it... But what would be the recipe using apple juice (I'm not pressing my own apples)? This would also be for 5 gallon.

Thanks!


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## Julie

chevs15 said:


> Maybe I missed it... But what would be the recipe using apple juice (I'm not pressing my own apples)? This would also be for 5 gallon.
> 
> Thanks!



I'm sure there is a recipe on here somewhere but I would make sure you have enough juice to make 5 gallon with no water addition, peptic enzyme (the bottle will tell you how much for 5g), yeast nutrient, acid blend to bring acid up to .65% and enough sugar for an sg of 1.080

In my last batch, which was a 3g batch, I added 3 cups of brown sugar and 2 cups of regular sugar for backsweetening, final gravity was 1.018 (this was a sweet wine) 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 cloves and a 1/4 inch chunk of ginger, left the spices in for 2 months.


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## Redtrk

Julie said:


> I'm sure there is a recipe on here somewhere but I would make sure you have enough juice to make 5 gallon with no water addition, peptic enzyme (the bottle will tell you how much for 5g), yeast nutrient, acid blend to bring acid up to .65% and enough sugar for an sg of 1.080
> 
> In my last batch, which was a 3g batch, I added 3 cups of brown sugar and 2 cups of regular sugar for backsweetening, final gravity was 1.018 (this was a sweet wine) 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 cloves and a 1/4 inch chunk of ginger, left the spices in for 2 months.



*Julie how did this turn out as for taste?* I just pitched yeast in my apple wine this morning. I was thinking about adding some cherry concentrate after fermentation. I made 6 gallons but could split it off into two 3 gallon batches for a couple different finished flavors.


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## Redtrk

I just checked on it this morning before leaving the house and it's fermenting!


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## Danielmorgan

there are various ways of preparing a wine in tradition .. and i love to learn and try everyone which come to my way like the one you have posted here .. thanks for a new recipe..


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## jamesngalveston

cherries compliment apples in the food world.may work for wine, It sounds good.


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## CWayman

I've just done this with 16Kg of apples which according to the recipe should give me 4 gallon of wine, but.... I have a philips advance HR1869 Juicer and it produced 2 gallons of juice from the 16Kgs of apples, I haven't added the pulp as it was bone dry and no liquid left in it at all. The juice itself came out at a gravity which produced 7.5% solution with my hydrometer. I've added 3x the recipe to make the resulting total 5 gallons in my fermenter, this produced a gravity of 1.070 which is 11%. Just added the tanin and the yeast. I've videoed it so I'll probably add it to youtube in the near future and edit this post to include the link. Happy Wine Making everyone!


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## xcaret

I just followed my "Wine Making made easy" Book's recipe for apple wine. It says !6 kg,of apples, 3.5 kg sugar ,and add water to make 23 liters. O of coarse you add the usual other ingredients as usual, but I'm wondering abouy such a large amount of apples, not much juice from them. They take up a lot of space in the container. I filed it to about the 30 liter mark,and I'm hoping for the best.

Does these measurements seem about right for apple wine? 
I picked the apples off my Canadian no name brand apple tree.


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## Julie

I won't be adding water, apples has a mild flavor and adding water really takes away a lot of flavor. And I would freeze the apples first, then press.


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## xcaret

Thanks, Next time I'll freeze them ,lots of work mashing them up.


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## vacuumpumpman

xcaret said:


> Thanks, Next time I'll freeze them ,lots of work mashing them up.



Yes I think freezing them is the only way to go !!


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## ckvchestnut

jamesngalveston said:


> cherries compliment apples in the food world.may work for wine, It sounds good.



Hubby just finished up harvesting apples last night and he'll be doing 14 or 16 gallons of sparkling cider. I'm going to ask him to let me have 3 or 5 gallons to play with and would like to add cranberries to my batch making a cran-apple cider. Never tried it and still contemplating how much to use to give a balanced flavor. I'll be using frozen ones as the ones we planted will not be ready to harvest until next year at the earliest.


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## fabrictodyefor

So, I had every intention of following St Allie's recipe for apple wine. I washed, cut the cores out and put the apples through my food processor, not on grate, but chopped so fine as to have almost made juice. Ended up with 33 lbs. 6 oz of processed apples, which I froze, thinking I would be making 4 gallons of wine. So I took them out of freezer yesterday (7 am) and put in ferment bucket with pectin enzyme, campden tablets, citric acid and 1 1/2 gallons of unsweetened apple juice, thought I would add the juice rather than the water.... So couldn't take a reading, and even then it was difficult to get enough "juice" as it looks like "mush". I have not added any additional water. Finally got enough "juice" out and have a reading of 1.040. In St Allie's recipe it says to wait and add the sugar after you have "fermented on the pulp for 5 days".... I have not pitched the yeast yet. It said to wait 24 hours. It has been a little longer....but it was still a lot frozen when I went to bed last night. Soooooo after reading through this thread again, my question is should I wait to add sugar or should I add sugar to 1.085 before I pitch the yeast? I like the idea of brown sugar, so would I add half regular sugar and half brown sugar? Thanks for the responses and all the info I have gleaned from this web site. I'm so new at this I'm not even sure you could call me "green"!


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## fabrictodyefor

*HELP anyone??*

 I'm open to suggestions?? Thanks


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## LoneStarLori

I did pretty much the same thing about a month ago except I did not freeze the apples. Apples in the food processor, some apple juice and no water. I added a brownish sugar called demerara from Florida crystals and some clover honey. This is a new thing for me so I can't really give advice. All I can say is that I did add the sugars up front and it fermented just fine. My starting SG was about 1.08 and it went all the way down to .994.
It has been sitting a month and what I have now is a very dry cider with very little apple flavor. I have read on a few threads that the apple flavor comes back after sitting about 4 months so I am not going to worry about it and see what happens.


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## fabrictodyefor

Thanks, Lori, I just went ahead and gave it my best shot! Did the math, which I hate math, so as to bring the sg to 1.075 - 1.080. Checked it right after and it only read 1.072.....stirred again and again, let it set for 15 minutes, stirred again, and re-checked, it read 1.080, so pitched the yeast, covered it up and gonna go to work now! Mine is like mush, and first couple of times was having a hard time getting enough of just the liquid to take a reading....so a light bulb finally went off and I raided my kitchen for my mesh strainer, sterilized it and  ...much easier! Guess my kitchen can do without a strainer for now!


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## LoneStarLori

Thats kind of what I did too. Put the apples in a mesh bag and squeezed everyday. I was surprised at how much just I got out of them once the yeast did it's thing.
keep me posted on the progress. Might me interesting if we end up with almost the same thing.


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## ckvchestnut

We did similar to what you guys did but we put the frozen, processed apples in pantyhose in primary with pectic enzyme and k meta and left for 2 days before adding yeast. We ended up with 17 gallons of juice! We still have more crabapples to work with! I picked up some cranberry concentrate today and am planning to backsweeten 3 gallons of my cider with it to see how it turns out!


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## fabrictodyefor

My frozen apples sat for about 36 hours before I pitched the yeast. It working quite well right now and when stirred is more like juice underneath with a cap on top. MMM the cranberry sounds good, let us know how that turns out. A friend is bringing me more apples, will probably just freeze them for now so might be interested in trying that with the cranberry juice for a second batch.


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## RotGut76

I just want to clear something up for some reason I'm confused. I acquired a decent amount of apples from a local farm stand. I cut them up and put them in freezer bags. I have about 10 bags that weigh approx 5lbs each. I have one more bushel coming tomorrow. 

My question is do I put the apples in the primary first THEN press them later or can I press them first then use the juice in the primary?


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## dralarms

Well, I just cut up and cored apples today. Got 31.5 gallon bags of 1/2 golden delious and 1/2 arkansas black. They are in the freezer and in a werk or 2 I will bring out 1 of the types and run them through my steam juicer. Then I will take my sg reading and brix, salso a taste test to see how the juice itself tastes. Also I may drop the scraps in the primary, may not. Depends on taste. Did one last year and every one raved on how good it was (none left).


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## vacuumpumpman

I will typically freeze them all and let them thaw and then run them thru the crusher or just smash by hand for that matter as they will be very soft.


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## fabrictodyefor

RotGut76 said:


> I just want to clear something up for some reason I'm confused. I acquired a decent amount of apples from a local farm stand. I cut them up and put them in freezer bags. I have about 10 bags that weigh approx 5lbs each. I have one more bushel coming tomorrow.
> 
> My question is do I put the apples in the primary first THEN press them later or can I press them first then use the juice in the primary?



I'm pretty new at this, but do you have an apple press? Or are you talking about just pressing by hand? My apple wine may take longer to clear, but I just dumped my frozen apples (I ran them through my food processor) in my ferment bucket, then added some apple juice, enzyme, citric acid and campden tablets. It might be easier if you put the frozen apples in nylons or a mesh bag?? Or if you have a juicer, then you've pretty much gotten all the good stuff out anyway. But mine forms a nice cap, so figure when sg gets low enough, I'll scoop out the "cap" and squeeze that, hopefully that will get most of the apple mush out without too much difficulty.


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## ckvchestnut

ckvchestnut said:


> We did similar to what you guys did but we put the frozen, processed apples in pantyhose in primary with pectic enzyme and k meta and left for 2 days before adding yeast. We ended up with 17 gallons of juice! We still have more crabapples to work with! I picked up some cranberry concentrate today and am planning to backsweeten 3 gallons of my cider with it to see how it turns out!



My cider hasn't finished fermenting out yet and now I'm wondering if I should add my cranberry concentrate during the ferment or backsweeten as originally planned. My goal is to have a cider that distinctly tastes of both apple and cranberry. My feeling is to backsweeten after fermentation is done.


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## RotGut76

fabrictodyefor said:


> I'm pretty new at this, but do you have an apple press? Or are you talking about just pressing by hand? My apple wine may take longer to clear, but I just dumped my frozen apples (I ran them through my food processor) in my ferment bucket, then added some apple juice, enzyme, citric acid and campden tablets. It might be easier if you put the frozen apples in nylons or a mesh bag?? Or if you have a juicer, then you've pretty much gotten all the good stuff out anyway. But mine forms a nice cap, so figure when sg gets low enough, I'll scoop out the "cap" and squeeze that, hopefully that will get most of the apple mush out without too much difficulty.



I have a homemade press although no food processor. I was going to put them in a mesh bag and then press them or squeeze them out by hand daily like the Dragons Blood recipe.


One other thing. Can I use acid blend or does it have to be citric acid?


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## RotGut76

So my batch is under way. I put all the apples in a mesh bag put them in the primary with the water and all of the other in ingredients. I took an SG reading as soon as I put everything in there and it was 1.020. After 24 hours and a bit of squeezing of the fruit bag it is now at 1.030. Before adding any other sugar.

Should I wait another day or two before pitching the yeast to see how high the SG gets or should I just continue on as the recipe states?


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## Johngottshall

With my cider and juice the gravity reading was 1.050 before I added sugar


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## RotGut76

Johngottshall said:


> With my cider and juice the gravity reading was 1.050 before I added sugar



Thanks. Perhaps I will wait another day.


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## RotGut76

Does anyone think this yeast would be a bad idea for this recipe?


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## djrockinsteve

Any of Lalvins yeasts will be fine. I use this yeast for champagne. 

That one or EC-1118

Rehydrate it then add or make a starter. 

For further info see our tutorials on rehydrating yeasts.


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## djrockinsteve

Here is a like to my tutorial on how to hydrate yeast. 

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f71/how-hydrate-yeast-10353/


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## RotGut76

I did my batch in a slightly different order. I added the sugar up to an SG of 1.080 before I pitched the yeast.

Will this have a negative effect?


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## fabrictodyefor

I think you are supposed to add the sugar before the yeast....that is the way I did it! Racked my apple wine for the second time the other day. I actually strained through mesh strainer before going into a clean carboy. What was left in the strainer looked like runny apple sauce! Put in cinnamon sticks and am going to leave it alone till Christmas. May try some then, but may wait longer, but will take the sticks out at that time. Now I have more apples processed and in my freezer. I think I may try some with cranberry juice concentrate...then I was thinking of using some oak chips with another batch....so many possibilities! When you get free fruit the best thing to do is make more wine!!!


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## RotGut76

Cool. My SG before adding the sugar was only. 1.030 so I figured I should bump it up before adding the yeast.


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## djrockinsteve

1.080 would be good. That way it's not over powering


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## RotGut76

djrockinsteve said:


> 1.080 would be good. That way it's not over powering



That was my target. I did go slightly over but hopefully it wont be too overwhelming.


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## djrockinsteve

It will be fine. I aged it with 1 full cinnamon stick per gallon. Back sweetened to maybe .998 and 1.003. I have friends who like dry and semi dry. 

Leave some cinnamon out of a batch and when you bottle add 1/2 of a jalapeño pepper with 2-3 seeds. 

Very good.


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## fabrictodyefor

http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/topic/32444-cran-apple-raisin-wine/

As I have more apples in the freezer and picking up more today I searched around yesterday and found this recipe....this will be my next apple wine!

What does the jalapeno do to the apple wine?


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## djrockinsteve

You get a jalapeño apple wine. If you like jalapeños then try this. You taste apple with a hint of jalapeno. Search this forum for jalapeño wine. Several of us have made it. Runningwolf Julie and ffemt have made full jalapeño wine but this way is a much milder one. 

Its not nasty like you may think.


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## vacuumpumpman

Well I got a chance to start our apple wine - We filled a complete chest freezer with apples and froze them and then let them thaw for a couple of days. We then ran them thru the manual crusher and we ended up with approx 2 - 15 gallon primary fermenters. Waiting for the temp to go up to add the yeast !!


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## jamesngalveston

i would add sugar to get to 1.095 are even better 1.100...mesh bag is the way to go, after sitting in water that has pectin enzyme they squeeze like marsmallows....


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## xcaret

I choped up my unfrozen apples and put them all into a fermenting container, seeds and all, over a month ago. I was out of town and got home a few days ago to see the cap was about 5 inches thick. I scooped it off with a sieve. I then poured it through a nylon stockingand saved it in a 15 liter or so container with vac loc on it, the rest went into 2 liter pop bottles. My question is that although I see quite a bit of sediment on the bottom, the rest is extremly cloudy. I have often bought a bottle of non alcholic apple juice at health food stores that is just as cloudy. I really don't mind the cloudyness, but am wondering if I can clear it , if the flavour will be any better. As it is it is fantastic. but if it can be improved upon I'll give it a try.
I think it might be to late to add any bentonite , bcause your suposed to mix it with water. How about gelatine? I just read that can be used too, but no mention of whether you just add it by pouring a package it ,or is it suposed to be watered down? I dont have room for water. I can shake the container around to kinda get it mixed , but not to good.


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## vacuumpumpman

jamesngalveston said:


> i would add sugar to get to 1.095 are even better 1.100...mesh bag is the way to go, after sitting in water that has pectin enzyme they squeeze like marsmallows....



They squeezed like marshmallows after they thawed out - 
James I typically will let this process go and at the end, run them thru a mesh bag for the initial 1st run and then put them thru the press. Is there an easier way ? There are alot of apples we are talking about !


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## LoneStarLori

I put mine in a mesh bag and squeezed it daily. The pectic enzyme does make it very soft and easy to squeeze. If you have pectic enzyme in your bucket, it should still do its thing even if not in a bag.


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## Winenoob66

vacuumpumpman said:


> They squeezed like marshmallows after they thawed out -
> James I typically will let this process go and at the end, run them thru a mesh bag for the initial 1st run and then put them thru the press. Is there an easier way ? There are alot of apples we are talking about !



lol that's some funny looking apples.


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## RotGut76

OK. My SG went form 1.080ish to just under 1.000. I started to rack into the secondary and noticed little "explosions" and bubbles coming from the bottom of the primary. 

Was the fermentation not complete?

I went ahead and finished racking to the secondary anyway. 

Now what is the next step? 

Do I continue with the typical addition of potassium sorbate/K meta and degas with the drill whip? Then add the clearing agents or am I way off or ahead of myself?

I was planning on back sweetening too.

For some reason I'm all mixed up.


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## pjd

RotGut76 said:


> OK. My SG went form 1.080ish to just under 1.000. I started to rack into the secondary and noticed little "explosions" and bubbles coming from the bottom of the primary.
> 
> Was the fermentation not complete?
> 
> I went ahead and finished racking to the secondary anyway.
> 
> Now what is the next step?
> 
> Do I continue with the typical addition of potassium sorbate/K meta and degas with the drill whip? Then add the clearing agents or am I way off or ahead of myself?
> 
> I was planning on back sweetening too.
> 
> For some reason I'm all mixed up.


 

You are getting ahead of your self. now that it's in the secondary leave it alone for a couple weeks. it probably will drop a half inch or so of sediment. then rack off of the sediment, add K meta and forget about it for 3 months. Rack it again, add K meta and Sorbate, sweeten it, wait another couple weeks then it should be ready to bottle. 

Or you could do it like me, I just re-racked one that I started in Sept. 2012. I will probably bottle it sometime around May 2014. I will need the carboy for Chilean juice.


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## vacuumpumpman

Well I was able to get everything into the secondaries and do a pressing this weekend - They are still are bubbling along - LOL


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## LoneStarLori

Looks nummy Steve. That must have a been a huge undertaking getting all that apple-ish mess cleaned up. But I bet it smelled good.


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## vacuumpumpman

LoneStarLori said:


> Looks nummy Steve. That must have a been a huge undertaking getting all that apple-ish mess cleaned up. But I bet it smelled good.



Luckily I had 2 boys and used the pipe idea to pull off alot of the juice - we then take the excess pulp and pt it in the back field and by the next morning - there were the deer eating from it as we are eating breakfast !

It does take alot of apples to make wine ! My primaries are now waiting for the pie pumpkins to thaw --


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## RotGut76

I ran into a little problem. I did one batch that was supposed to be a 3 gallon batch which after racking is now sitting in a 5 gallon carboy filled to capacity. I'm sure as it drops sediment I will lose some and yield less than the 5 gallons.

However, I also attempted a 6 gallon batch and after removing and pressing the fruit I am left with 3/4 of a 20 gallon primary. That's good!!

The problem is my largest secondary is only 6 gallons. 

Can the batch be split into 2 separate secondaries? Are there dangers to this?

I would rather not split it for fear of the 2 batches coming out differently. 

I'm going to let it sit overnight to let everything settle then rack it to see what the actual yield is. For now I'm just trying to plan for the tomorrow.


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## djrockinsteve

You shouldn't need much after you rack off of sediment. 
Options
Top off with a similar wine. 
Top off with your other wine, won't be that big of a change. 
Add a million marbles to offset loss of volume. 
Use a variety of carboy sizes. 

I suggest you top off with the other wine. Maybe need 2 cups depending upon how much sediment you get.


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## Kraffty

I don't see a problem with doing them separate and then blending the two before bottling to assure the batches are the same.
Mike


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## bakervinyard

Anyone have any updates on their apple wines. What stage are you at. Flavor profile, clarity, backsweetened, bottled. I just checked mine 2 days ago, fermented down to .992 nice and clear going to rack to bulk age tomorrow. Bakervinyard


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## Johngottshall

My apple wine has been bulk aging for several months. Still a little cloudy my rack in the next couple of weeks and add some super kleer to it maybe that will clear it up we will see.


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## djrockinsteve

Age it 5-6 months. Rack off of any tartaric crystals and misc sediment. Back sweeten to what you like. Remember to add pinch sulfite and sorbate. 

Wait a few weeks and bottle. It will be good


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## djrockinsteve

John Sparkolloid will clear that fast providing its degraded and at room temperature.


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## Johngottshall

OK thanks it is at room temp.


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## fabrictodyefor

Just a recap of my apple wine, started 10/19, following StAllie's recipe, initial sg at 1.080, racked to carboy on 10/23 sg at 1.000. 10/30 I racked again as there were a lot of lees and sg was .998 and added 2 10" cinnamon sticks. 12/8 racked off lees again into clean carboy and took out cinnamon sticks....sg still at .998 and it tasted very "harsh" at that time. Just letting it sit for now! On the other hand, I made a cranberry/apple began it on 11/29 and thiefed a bottle out of a one gallon carboy the other day cause it is very tasty! Still needs to clear some, but am very pleased with the cranberry/apple!


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## Johngottshall

Here is my apple wine it finally cleared after I filtered it. I started it 10/22/13, its clear as a bell now.


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## RotGut76

pjd said:


> You are getting ahead of your self. now that it's in the secondary leave it alone for a couple weeks. it probably will drop a half inch or so of sediment. then rack off of the sediment, add K meta and forget about it for 3 months. Rack it again, add K meta and Sorbate, sweeten it, wait another couple weeks then it should be ready to bottle.
> 
> Or you could do it like me, I just re-racked one that I started in Sept. 2012. I will probably bottle it sometime around May 2014. I will need the carboy for Chilean juice.



For a 6 gallon batch. How much K meta should I add after racking and then after the second rack? Also, how much sorbate?

I usually keep a written log but I lost it. So I can't remember what to add to my new batch.


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## ckvchestnut

1/4 tsp of k-meta and 3 tsp of sorbate should be good for a 6gal batch...


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## ckvchestnut

I have a batch of all crabapple aging in the secondary right now. It is slowly clearing!


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## RotGut76

ckvchestnut said:


> I have a batch of all crabapple aging in the secondary right now. It is slowly clearing!



I was thinking of adding a little more pectic enzyme. I added some at the beginning. Would a little more hurt?


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## dralarms

Nope, pectic is one thing that won't hurt your wine at all


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## fabrictodyefor

Johngottshall said:


> Here is my apple wine it finally cleared after I filtered it. I started it 10/22/13, its clear as a bell now.
> 
> ]


Wow that looks great. Mine is no where near as clear. But we taste tested the other night. It is still really harsh, so we played with back sweetening. We ended up adding 3/4 tsp of simple syrup to 1/2 cup of wine and then it was great! I was pleasantly surprised. But it doesn't look near as clear as yours John,
I hear patience is important to wine making....do you know where I can buy some of that?


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## Johngottshall

fabrictodyefor said:


> Wow that looks great. Mine is no where near as clear. But we taste tested the other night. It is still really harsh, so we played with back sweetening. We ended up adding 3/4 tsp of simple syrup to 1/2 cup of wine and then it was great! I was pleasantly surprised. But it doesn't look near as clear as yours John,
> I hear patience is important to wine making....do you know where I can buy some of that?



Lol I would like to buy some also. But it is still bulk aging in the carboy.


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## sour_grapes

fabrictodyefor said:


> I hear patience is important to wine making....do you know where I can buy some of that?



If you find a place that sells it, make sure they offer FedEx Overnight delivery.


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## BernardSmith

dralarms said:


> Nope, pectic is one thing that won't hurt your wine at all



I generally add pectic enzyme but I recently read that this can strip flavor from cider or wine. Have you ever done a side by side test to see if pectic enzyme has any deleterious impact on flavor?


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## dralarms

BernardSmith said:


> I generally add pectic enzyme but I recently read that this can strip flavor from cider or wine. Have you ever done a side by side test to see if pectic enzyme has any deleterious impact on flavor?




No, I was told it was safe. I will do some bench tests on an apple juice wine once I get some of what I have is bottled.


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## RotGut76

I started my apple wine back in November. Its been racked a few times, Kmeta,, sorbate etc. I did a little taste test today. It's very dry which is fine I haven't back sweetened yet (I may not). The flavor, however, is very very light. It doesn't taste bad at all I used about 10 lbs of apple per gallon for this batch. 

Any ideas on how I could improve or enhance the flavor OR will more aging bring out more flavors?


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## RegionRat

RotGut76 said:


> I started my apple wine back in November. Its been racked a few times, Kmeta,, sorbate etc. I did a little taste test today. It's very dry which is fine I haven't back sweetened yet (I may not). The flavor, however, is very very light. It doesn't taste bad at all I used about 10 lbs of apple per gallon for this batch.
> 
> Any ideas on how I could improve or enhance the flavor OR will more aging bring out more flavors?



Time will help but, if I am correct you added water? With apple most people use all juice whether fresh pressed or store bought. If you did add water then you will defiantly be lite on flavor. I would suggest thinking about an f-pac (there is a sticky on how to make an f-pac) or an extract. Here is what I use in my Hard Apple Cider. You dont need much 1 Tbls per 5 gal. You might need a little more though. But add it a little at a time. Trust me I know, lol. Add a Tbls and wait a week or so and taste. If you think you need more repeat the process till you got the desired level of flavor.

Let us know how it goes.

RR


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## peaches9324

Originally Posted by *fabrictodyefor* 

 
_I hear patience is important to wine making....do you know where I can buy some of that?_


sour_grapes said:


> If you find a place that sells it, make sure they offer FedEx Overnight delivery.



yes please as I need it by yesterday


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## peaches9324

RotGut76 said:


> I started my apple wine back in November. Its been racked a few times, Kmeta,, sorbate etc. I did a little taste test today. It's very dry which is fine I haven't back sweetened yet (I may not). The flavor, however, is very very light. It doesn't taste bad at all I used about 10 lbs of apple per gallon for this batch.
> 
> Any ideas on how I could improve or enhance the flavor OR will more aging bring out more flavors?



yes definitely as said above an f-pack. I have always added water to mine but always ended up making 2 f-packs. Next time I'm gonna do as region rat says and use all apple. I leave mine age out in the carboy or a jug for atleast a year


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## Johngottshall

Started my batch in mid Oct
Still have it in carboy. I used all apple cider when I back sweetened I used 4 oz of apple con. I took a taste this past Sunday it is awesome.


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## wineforfun

As has already been mentioned you could use a F-pac or as John did, use concentrate. That is what I normally do when using apple or any others that require some more flavor, add in some straight concentrate.


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## bakervinyard

I have 5 gallons of cider i started in October. Nice and clear. Debating if I should backsweeten with a apple juice simmered down or apple juice concentrate. Bakervinyard


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## Winenoob66

Apple juice simmered down and apple juice concentrate are basically the same thing, just one requires a little more work to achieve the other.


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## vacuumpumpman

I have always used apple juice concentrate to improve the flavor. It seems to be the best of sugar and flavor


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## RotGut76

Thanks for all the replies. I will try concentrate and see how it goes. I don't want it too sweet. As of late I have been making a lot of fruity/sweet wines like DBSP. My friends are now beaking my chops because they want a dryer, less sweet variety.


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## djrockinsteve

For some of my wines I back sweeten to a dry version. Weeks later I bottle just 2 gallons worth then back sweeten the 3 remaining gallons a little sweeter. 

This way those who like dry wine are happy as those who enjoy a little sweeter version. 

Win win


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## bakervinyard

I'm going to go with the concentrate also. Forgot to mention I have 2 batches. 1 is 5 gallons of cider. Another is a mix of cider and apples. Going to carbonate the all cider one for the kids to drink. The other on going to take some and make some apple jack. akervinyard


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## Elmer

Opened up a bottle of my 8 month old Apple wine last night, just to give a taste.
I made 1 gallon out of organic apple juice.
Wont bore you with all the ingredients (because I can neither remember and dont have my notes)
but I back sweetened with 1/4 cup of sugar and used about 1/8 cups of med american oak.

the apple wine is dry, I would have preferred just a tough more of sweetness.
There is an after taste and the only way I can describe it is dryness, slight wood & apple core.

but I was pleased and so was my wife!
I will have to try another batch!


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## fabrictodyefor

WTG I haven't tasted mine recently, but I did look at it last night and I need to rack it off the lees again. Mine is only 6 months old, so I'll rack it in the next couple of days and then in a couple of months try it and hopefully I'll be able to report back with good news!


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## Johngottshall

Bottled my apple wine that I started in mid Oct.


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## plowboy

Nice labels. The French is a nice touch. Mine is still chilling in the carboy.


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## fabrictodyefor

Those labels look great! Mine is still hanging out in a car boy. Maybe time to have another taste testing, or at least rack to clean carboys!


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## Johngottshall

Thanks just the stock labels where I get my supplies


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