# Apple wine from scratch has little flavour



## mumptia (Jan 3, 2017)

I made a batch of 5 gallon apple wine back in August from the apples on my tree. I did the final rack today and tested it (of course) I can taste the booze and it's dry ( that doesn't matter) but the apple flavor is faint at best.
1. How can I sweeten / flavour it?
2. Will it start up again by adding something sweet? 

Thanks

Rob


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## vacuumpumpman (Jan 4, 2017)

I always added sorbate and then frozen apple concentrate to add flavor and sugar at the same time - IT WORKS -


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## Johny99 (Jan 4, 2017)

Not sure how you made it, so hard to do more than generalize. If you add sugar, fermentation will restart unless you sterile filter or add sorbate. for more flavor, you could buy an organic, preferably straight pressed, apple juice, add that and let it ferment again. You'll have to add sugar to get the alcohol up to where you want.


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## Mismost (Jan 4, 2017)

airlock it and leave it alone...park it....forget about it until NEXT August. My apple wine was much the same. After a year, it was a real nice white wine. Never did have much apple flavor, very faint. Seriously, I bet it makes a nice white.


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## FTC Wines (Jan 4, 2017)

I would back sweeten to a off dry wine. Apple & most fruit wines have little flavor when too dry. IMHO. We like our fruit wines to be in the SG range of 1.000 to 1.006, try a sample & see if that works for you. Sorbate first. Roy


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## wineforfun (Jan 4, 2017)

mumptia said:


> I made a batch of 5 gallon apple wine back in August from the apples on my tree. I did the final rack today and tested it (of course) I can taste the booze and it's dry ( that doesn't matter) but the apple flavor is faint at best.
> 1. How can I sweeten / flavour it?
> 2. Will it start up again by adding something sweet?
> 
> ...



How many pounds of apples per gallon did you use? I would guess there is your first issue.

1. table sugar or simple syrup
2. yes, as mentioned, add sorbate if backsweetening


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## bkisel (Jan 4, 2017)

Could be the variety of apples you started with or like already alluded to how many apples you used. At this point, as already mentioned, I would back sweeten with frozen apple juice concentrate.

I haven't had that issue with my apple wines made from fresh pressed apple cider. I back sweeten with brown sugar, honey and frozen apple juice concentrate. [With my last two batches, to be bottled this month, I added a cinnamon stick in bulk aging.]

So far I've found all my fruit/country wines to be good early drinkers.


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## joeswine (Jan 4, 2017)

I would on the other hand go to olive nation and but a Apple extract or a bottle of concentratedblend if all in a bucket add a teaspoon of lemon juice,put it back in to the carboy and then let it sit for about 1 Mo.should be good to go.Just my thoughts.


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## mumptia (Jan 5, 2017)

I used right around 50 lbs of apples for my 5 gallon batch.

The color is wonderful and its crystal clear. 
I think I'll try to backsweeten as my wife and her buds enjoy sweet drinks.

How much k- meta do I use with the pot-sorbate before I back sweeten?

I'll see if I can post the recipe I used. 

Only change I made to the recipe was I topped up the head space in the carboy with 8 liters of apple juice. It started to work again when I did that so I just let it sit until the other day when I racked it.


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## Arne (Jan 6, 2017)

Next time instead of adding water to make a gallon try using apple juice. It will help the flavor a lot. Arne.


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## wineforfun (Jan 6, 2017)

As Arne mentioned, use apple juice next time.

Recipe looks good. Backsweetening will help bring some flavor out for sure. I would start sweetening it up to 1.010 and go from there. That will make it a semi-sweet wine. My apple ended up at 1.018 after backsweetening for my wife. She likes them sweet.

Kmeta would be 1/4tsp for your 5 gal. You can add it the same time as sorbate. Sorbate is normally 1/3 - 1/2 tsp. per gal.

Keep in mind too that your 11% ABV is probably cut down after the addition of 8 liters of apple juice.


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## mumptia (Jan 7, 2017)

Arne said:


> Next time instead of adding water to make a gallon try using apple juice. It will help the flavor a lot. Arne.



I will thanks


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## mumptia (Jan 7, 2017)

wineforfun said:


> As Arne mentioned, use apple juice next time.
> 
> Recipe looks good. Backsweetening will help bring some flavor out for sure. I would start sweetening it up to 1.010 and go from there. That will make it a semi-sweet wine. My apple ended up at 1.018 after backsweetening for my wife. She likes them sweet.
> 
> ...



It really worked again after the addition of the apple juice so I figured if nothing else, it generated some more alcohol. No matter, if it didn't, it'll be a cooler wine


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## jswordy (Jan 10, 2017)

I do mine with gallons of apple juice and the fruit in a paint bag. I religiously avoid adding water. (FWIW hint: Every jug of apple juice you buy has a faint stamp on it somewhere saying where it came from. I buy only juice from USA apples. Heavy metals and other junk the trees uptake can contaminate foreign juices, and some foreign growers are allowed to use pesticides not approved in the US.)

If I want a dry wine, I just let it ferment out, degas, stabilize and bottle. It makes an excellent "white wine" that will have people who like dry wines wondering where to get more.

If I want a sweeter, more apple-y wine (think Boone's Farm, lol), then I add sorbate to stabilize, degas, leave it sit a couple days, and start adding thawed cans of apple juice concentrate until the flavor comes up. If I am almost there on flavor and don't want to thaw any more cans, I add some sugar. I add granular sugar and just stir it in well.

As with any back-flavoring, I like to add to just shy of the taste and sweetness level I want. Let the wine sit a couple days after back-flavoring and you're likely to find the flavor and sweetness have "grown" as the aded ingredients are better homogenized into the liquid. If not quite there yet, add a bit more.

Then bottle it up.

Also, here's a couple links to threads about an interesting crabapple wine I made with gifted Nebraska crabapples from Arne. It took me awhile to get it made! Now that was a tart wine!

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40893

and

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50632


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## mumptia (Jan 11, 2017)

Awesome ideas. Thanks.


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## hounddawg (Jan 11, 2017)

imake apple and apple/pear all the time, these are light flovredfruit so 10 to 12 pounds per gallon, make sure to freeze your fruit first, that braks down your fruit thhen add pectic enyzemesto futher remove yoour juices, i use cane sugar to up my hydro reaadins thus incrrasing your ABV%,, nowafterffenneting your apple wine and 4 rackings using a1 micron filter every 3 months, at th 4 racking getting cllose to the yeary bulk age, first let meback track add duiring fermentatuion crabapplesalso frozen just asmall amount togt your prefered acid levels, a niceapplewine with aslight tart finish, and of ccourse ferment dry, but use plenty of sugar to run up your ABV%, after your 4 racking every 3 months it is time to back sweeten this will bring fourth you aappleflavorsin aboldway, my aapplewinesi prefer a yellow delesiuos apple with equail part granny smith appless, about 5 lbseach for 10 lbsaverage per gallon, and at first fermention bring up acid leevels using onle crab apples to achieve you back tart finish, ok then to boldly return your applee flavor and mouth feel you will use only grandular honey to back sweeten with, no powdered honeey and no liquid honry, grandular honey from acertified dealer, you'll want your granular honey to have only toimgreatineces, honey and a binder to keep the honey to stick together in grandular fourm but with out clumpimg, aint sure of spelling but webstraunt.com. certified organig, certifided non GMOan certifide kolsher, depending on you taste i back sweetn from 1.030 to 1.040. using only high grade grandular honey let bulk another 7 months to a year, you'll haveavery applely tasting wine with no hint of alcohol even though asecond glasswill ambush your sobritey ,, so be very care fure it'll taste like a childsdrin but kick like a mosourler mule, i makeat least 12 gallonsa year on my pear/apple/crab apple and another 12gallon formy cliental. i also use crab apple in my elder berry, black berry, peach, plum. so on so fourth, .. the old timmer hillbillies here had to use what the land provided, and i still do asbest that i am able to. do the math and try a gallon, in my apple/pear/crab aplle blend for 6 galloncaroy, i use 20 lbs of yellowdelious apples, 20 lbsgranny smith green apples, 40 lbs of bartlett pears and 3 lbs of sargents yellow crab apples, i used to use 1/2that amount in 6 ggallon, but found tat buyndulbling my fruit amouts you get a bold flavored wine, any way deduce thisdown to a gallon or 3 gallon, waigght out it's time and i am willing to bet on your satifaction with this wine,,, 
good luck
god bless
Dawg


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## mumptia (Jan 12, 2017)

[wait 7 months to a year,]

7 more months? Gawd. Thats a long time to wait for a buzz on the patio

Truth be said, once I back sweeten it, I'm going to bulk age it until the spring.

Too cold up here now to enjoy it anyway. -44 here today with the wind chill.

Rob


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## mumptia (Mar 3, 2017)

Morning everyone,

Just an update on my apple wine.

I back sweetened it with mango. I haven't tried it yet but I've decided that for this batch, however it turns out then that's what I'll drink.

Before I back sweetened it however, it was clear as clear can be (I was quite taken by how clear it was actually). Since the BS it has been semi clear / hazy.

I read somewhere that temp is important in clearing. Is that true?

I moved it into my fermentation closet and turn the heater on once a day and it seems to be helping. 

Before this, it was sitting pretty handy to the door and we are pretty cold up here right now (-29 C today) (-20 F) so i wonder if that is the clearing issue?

Any thoughts?


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## spaniel (Mar 9, 2017)

Like grapes, you don't make the best wine from the ones you eat. Apple wine is best made from greener apples with higher acid; more flavor comes through. 

The best apple wine I ever made was from green crabapples which nobody would ever want to eat.


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## Minnesotamaker (Mar 10, 2017)

My apple wines are loaded with flavor. Getting a good tasting somewhat tart juicy apple helps. I press the apples and make it with pure juice, no water. Sweetening the finished wine a bit helps push the flavor to the front. People love it.


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## meadmaker1 (Mar 12, 2017)

The supply store near me has flavorings that beer makers are fond of. The apple is most popular snd I tryed it . Lots of flavor without much volume. Then apple juice concentrate to sweeten.


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