# My first non kit wine: Pear... pictures



## rshosted (Jan 7, 2006)

Ok. I've been reading this forum for just over a month. Having you all do fruit wines has made the wheels in my head start to turn. I couldn't resist and started to get jelous of you all... So here is the story that will hopefully turn into a nice fruit wine. Since this is my first wine, I will be drawing from everyone's experience quit a bit and will look forward to any advice you all can give.

Since it's January, and not too much really good fruit around in Salt Lake City Utah, I decided to go see what I could find. I fired up the company car and decided to take a field trip to a local "fruitstand" that I've driven by a million (no exageration) and never stopped. I found myself outside of Cy's Market.... More on next post.... 








Inside the walkway...






*Edited by: rshosted *


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## rshosted (Jan 7, 2006)

Ok, so I go in and there's a short lady who doesn't bother to look up from her 'hobby craft' magazine, but still says, "welcome." Her accent so thick that it sounds as if she just got 'off the boat'. Of course me being part pizano </span>myself, I feel a real welcome. They don't have a huge selection of fruit, and I get ready to go to Costco (my second choice for decent bulk fruit). Instead, I decide to ask her if she has any fruit with a lot of sugar. I tell her I want to make wine. 

She grabs a knife! I take a step back, becuase I know how crazy those Itialian mothers can be



. 

She walks over and grabs the ugliest D'Anjou pear she could find and cuts a huge slice off and hand's it to me. I tast this fruit. The best pear I have *ever* tried. It was like eating 'sandy sugar' (to steal from an old Meg Ryan, Nickolas Cage film). 

I decide, I have to try to turn this into a drinkable wine. I buy 30lbs of it. She asks when I plan to start the wine? I tell her next weekend. She picks through all her fruit to find pears that will be in pefect ripeness next weekend. (Though I had to ask her to repeat herself several times because of her thick accent). She also procedes to tell me how to care for my newly bought fruit (never gotten that at Smith's before!) It was great, you could see how proud she was of her fruits. 

So I take my fruit home and here are some pics. She tells me the uglier this D'Anjou fruit is the better is tasts. The pics below will show you one that looks very young, and the other still in good condition compared to the one that I ate there. 

Taking my new babys home....





In the house.... (where she told me the *had* to be kept)





And without further adu, Two of what will hopefully prove to be very drinkable wine pears....


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## rshosted (Jan 7, 2006)

Can anyone recomend a good Yeast for this fruit? Or give me some advice....

Think I should freeze it after it ripens next weekend, or just get it started?

THough I have to admit waiting to freeze it might make me go insane...











Also, when reciepes say to use sugar, is that just basic table sugar?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post. I'm so excited I can't stand it....

Oh yeah, anyone want to ask what the nice old pizano gal at the store offered me? I'm even more excited about this... I'll give you all a hint it's something she brought back from Tuscany.....


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## masta (Jan 7, 2006)

Now you have built a relationship with her and I know you will be going back for more fruit in the future. The little extra time she spent taking care of you is what separates a great business from the rest of the stores who just care about selling stuff!


Back to the wine...sorry bout going off! I am really a rookie when it comes to fruit wines but I would say wait till they get really ripe then freeze them as it will help break down the fibers and allow more juice to be extracted when it comes time to make this wine.


Here are a few links that might help:


http://winemakermag.com/feature/50.html


http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request203.asp


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## bilbo-in-maine (Jan 7, 2006)

I think that pears are a fruit that turns to mush quickly in the fermenter, so 
use a fine mesh strainer bag. Freezing them will probably make them even 
softer. Personally, I'd just cut them up and begin making wine. Luckily they 
are a fruit low in pectin. Jack Keller's recipe that Masta references tells you 
everything you need to know. Jack says to use finely granulate table sugar, 
but I've always just used the standard sugar in the 5 pound bag. It dissolves 
well in boiling water. Thirty pounds of pears will make a lot of wine - hope 
you like it! I'll be interested to hear later on how well it clears, so keep us 
informed!





Did she offer you a genuine Italian floor corker?

Bill


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## rshosted (Jan 7, 2006)

Ok, I am still thinking about the wine... where does one get a 'strainer bag'?

She said that she smuggled some wine grapes directely from monticello. She said she would give me some starter shoots.

I've already got a row of cab sav, and merlot... looks like I'll be adding another row of vines this summer.


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## Angell Wine (Jan 7, 2006)

George has straining bags but if you are in a hurry go to the paint store.


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## Maui Joe (Jan 7, 2006)

Ah...how lucky some people can get!






As for the pears, I would prepare the fermenter to receive the fruit prior to adding the pears. Pears if left in the fermenter while doing the opposite, will rapidly begin browning even faster it seems than apples...if you are going for a white to clear wine. If it doesn't matter on color, then you can take your time.


As far as yeasts go, I get good results using Lalvin 1122 when using fruits that contain mainly Malic acids. There are "better" yeasts available out there but cost is a factor for me. This yeast has a tolerance of 14%...but I have pushed it abit higher with luck in a cooler enviroment and slow sugar feeding. You can get more reading on yeasts by "google" searching. Hope this helps!


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## PolishWineP (Jan 8, 2006)

I wouldn't bother freezing the pears. If you don't start it until next weekend they should be ripe and may even fall apart as you cut them. 


I bet if you order today George can have a bag to you by the weekend.


Please keep up posted! I am wishing I could taste the pears.


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## rshosted (Jan 8, 2006)

Does anyone think that I should add some grape concentrate to this wine? I'm wondering if strait pears might be a little flat....


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## Angell Wine (Jan 8, 2006)

If you're using Jack Keller's recipe, I would substitute bananas for raisins, and brown sugar for white sugar. But it's not my wine. Thats why I love this hobby, different taste, different recipes, the experimenting.


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## rshosted (Jan 8, 2006)

I like the brown sugar idea... Think I will thanks. But I will have to take a pass on the bananas since they are not my favorite thing in the world.





I've also decided on the Lalvin 1118 yeast.

I hate to put water into my wine, so I'm still considering using grape juice as a base...


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## NorthernWinos (Jan 8, 2006)

Word has it you can't taste bananas...personal taste I guess.


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## Angell Wine (Jan 8, 2006)

Grape juice is fine, you just need to watch the Sg on the Grape juice,it hasalot of sugar already in it. I would mix the pear must and grape juice, acid blend etc.. Take a Sg. reading then bring it up to a Sg. of about 1.080 with the brown sugar. Add campden let sit for 24 hrs. Take another Sg reading and then bring it up to 1.095


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## masta (Jan 8, 2006)

If you use White Grape Juice be very careful to read ingredients as Welches has plenty of sulfite added (100 ppm) and *DO NOT* add any sulfiteto the must if you use that brand.


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## rshosted (Jan 8, 2006)

I'll probably buy an actual wine grape juice from a can.... Good info though. I'll keep you posted on what I do.


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## ms.spain (Jan 8, 2006)

Pear wine can take a while to clear.You could probably add 1 tsp. of pectic enzyme, instead of the usual 1/2 tsp. per gallon( the powdered type).


This wine really comes into its own after being in the bottle a year( haven't gotten past a year old bottle yet, but I'm sure it gets better and better!



)


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## rshosted (Jan 14, 2006)

Ok, I started it and need a little help on how much sugar I should add... Here's what I did so far.
29.5lbs D'Anjou pears
46 oz (alexanders reisling grap juice concentrate)
15 oz golden raisens
2.75 gal water
4tsp pectic enzyme
2tsp acid blend
4tsp yeast energizer

I took the reciepe from Jack Kellers web site and changed it a little. I wanted more mouth-feel so I decided to add some Reisling concentrate (but only a 2.5 gal kit batch of it) My fermenting bucket is topped up to six gallons. The grape concentrate had some sulphites in it, so I didn't add any (other than spraying the fruit with a mixture while I cut it up) (I'll post pics later if you all want). 

I used a titrate tester to test my sulphite levels and it's currently about 22ppm. 

My S.G. is at 1.042. 

I want to add brown sugar to get it up to a good level. Do you all think that 1.110 is good enough? 

And should I add some more camden/potasium metabisulphite?

Also, can anyone else see what I may have missed adding? 

Does anyone know if more sugar will come from the pears because of the pectic enzyme? I was afriad to add more sugar at this point....

I'm waiting 12 hours to add my yeast.... I may add more sugar tonight if I hear back from anyone soon enough.

Thanks,
Ryan


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## Angell Wine (Jan 14, 2006)

put 3 1/2 lbs of sugar in it. Let everything set for 12 hrs and soak. Recheck in the s.g. some sugars should come out of the pears but not enough to change the s.g. that much. everything looks good. lets make some wine.


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## rshosted (Jan 14, 2006)

Can anyone second check that for me before I add this much?
(oh yeah, is that the same for brown sugar too?) That does seem like a lot.... BUt then again I don't know... 
Thanks a lot Angell.





*Edited by: rshosted *


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## bilbo-in-maine (Jan 14, 2006)

Ryan - see Jack Keller's site for his chart covering amount of sugar to be 
used per gallon of juice (chart at the bottom of the page):

<a href="http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/hydrom.asp" target="_blank">http://
winemaking.jackkeller.net/hydrom.asp</a>

Assuming you have a 3-gallon batch started? If you are shooting for an OG 
of 1.090, I'd say Angell is just about there




*Edited by: bilbo-in-maine *


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## rshosted (Jan 15, 2006)

It's a 6 gallon batch. with the fruit. I'm hoping to have 5 gal of finished product....

I did add 3.5 lbs of brown sugar. I'll retest it tomorrow.

Anyone think I should add more sulphites? (it's currently at 22 ppm)

Also, I tested my PH and it is at 3.7... anyone know what is normal for a fruit wine?


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## masta (Jan 15, 2006)

Do you have a acid test kit? I would try to target a TA of .60%.


http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp


What yeast do you plan on using?


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## rshosted (Jan 15, 2006)

Ok, I tested my TA and found it has .40% of TA.... 

And my SG is now 1.071 with 3.5 lbs of brown sugar. 

I've added my yeast. Now can I add more sugar and Acid blend?

If so, how much?

Thanks much.


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## Angell Wine (Jan 15, 2006)

I'm sorry i Thought you we're making a 3-gallon batch. For a 6 gallon batch you need another 3 1/2 lbs of sugar &amp; add another 1 1/2 teaspoons of acid blend. Mix it up with the must real good.


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## rshosted (Jan 15, 2006)

Ok, here's where I'm at...
I did a TA test and found it was at .40, so per the instructions on the acid test kit I added 6tsp of acid blend. (which according to thier directions should only put me at .55 but I figure that's safer than going over.)

Next I added 2lbs of brown and 3lbs of white sugar. Bringing my SG to 1.092. I wanted it a little higher, but figure that will have to do since the only sugar left in my house is in my coffee... and I do have my limits.





The only problem I can see is that I filled my fermentation bucket up so high it's about 2 inches from the lip.... I decided to set it in the isnk for spill over. If it gets too bad, I'll move some into a separate gallon jug. 

As far as I can tell now, it's just sitting back and waiting to see how it turns out (keeping my fingers crossed)


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## PolishWineP (Jan 15, 2006)

I have wonderful mental images coming along. Keep the bucket in your sink and dine out the next few days. Do keep us posted.


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## bilbo-in-maine (Jan 15, 2006)

Ryan - don't know how warm/cold you keep your house, or at least the sink 
part of it. To get your fermentation going well, it would be good to have the 
must stay in the low 70's at least until the yeast take control and produce 
heat on their own. Besides watching your hydrometer, keep an eye on your 
thermometer too! And as PWP says, do keep us posted.


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## rshosted (Jan 16, 2006)

OK, Here's some pics...

Testing for titrates they only show about 20ppm (i hit the buble a bit too much). I'll have to add some more when fermentation is done. (probably should have added some earlier anyway, but the grape concentrate already had some)
(turn head sideways



)





Finished testing: (turn head back to normal)










(if this start to become too much info, or too big of a post someone please let me know; I promise it won't hurt my feelings)


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## rshosted (Jan 16, 2006)

Ok, Next was the first day of testing. It looks even fuller the second day. I think the top of the bucket kept a lot of it in, or I would have had a HUGE mess. Here is the first day and the second day. 

BTW: it was bubbled well, and seemed to be going good SG 1.084 (From 1.092)






Next Day (day two) It may be hard to see but that is right up to the rim. It only had a couple of centimeters before it would have gone over:


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## rshosted (Jan 16, 2006)

Oh yeah, Some of you are concerned about fruit flys. Well I found a bigger problem. You see, I had to set my fruit in the bay window of my home to ripen quick so I could get started this weekend. It seemed that the fruit was diapearing...



I admit I had one or two becuase they were soooo good. But it seemed more were gone. Here's a pic of them sitting on the table.






Here's the reason that they were gone!!!!






















My girlfriend walked into the kitchet to find this 'little mouse' on her back legs, front legs tucked up in a gopher position while she delicately took a ripe pear from the table. We were sitting in the other room and didn't hear a thing!





Luckily, I still had 29.5lbs to use.


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## pkcook (Jan 16, 2006)

She sure looks like a health speciman! She even looks guilty



.


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## Maui Joe (Jan 16, 2006)

The Temptations of Eve"..


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## rshosted (Jan 21, 2006)

Update:

I moved the pear wine to a six gallon carboy. Here are some of the numbers:
S.G. 1.020
.65 TA
3.57 PH
20ppm titrates

It tastes sweet still. Very 'fizzy' from the yeast activity. It has a bit of a fruit tast but still has a harsh end. I'm hoping its from the carbonation. It has a good start but pretty harsh finish. I'm worried about it. I figure I'll give it another three or four days and recheck it. Then I'll throw in some Campden tablets and see what I get. 

Anyone know if that 'harshness' like sparkling water will go away?

Oh yeah, and a pic of course


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## bilbo-in-maine (Jan 21, 2006)

It ain't wine yet!





Give it time. It is great, though, that you are tasting it at various steps along 
the way. This will be informative going forward. Good job.


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## pkcook (Jan 21, 2006)

Time is a wine's best friend. I made a cherry that I really wanted to pour out because it was so harsh. I waited a few months and popped a cork and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Give it some time and you will likely be pleasantly surprised.


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## Waldo (Jan 27, 2006)

Just sing the ole Stones classic, "Time Is On My Side"


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## MedPretzel (Jan 27, 2006)

You could always give it to me if you think it's too harsh.


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## rshosted (Jan 27, 2006)

Thanks for all the suggestions:

Wine update. Day 13. Wine has settled about 3 inches in bottom of carboy. Still very cloudy. I haven't tested it for a number of days, but it's still bubbling. Figure it will end soon. 

In the meantime, I've found something else to do with my time. I got the Brunello starters 'possibly' smuggled from Italy that my fruit supplier 'may' have gotten.

They are sitting on a heat pad with a floresent. So now I run between the pear wine and the vines trying to make sure they are both happy and hoping for the best for them both.


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## Curt (Jan 27, 2006)

I hate to burst your bubble but the pear juice will become wine even without you.



Wines are so nice that way. Minimum maintenance, maximum yield.


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## PolishWineP (Jan 27, 2006)

Don't kill them with kindness!




Keep us posted!


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## rshosted (Feb 2, 2006)

Update:

1/21/06 Numbers:
S.G. 1.020
.65 TA
3.57 PH

2/2/06 Numbers:
SG .999 (66*F)
.70 TA
3.71

I racked it to a new carboy. Smell was good. The pear is starting to come out, but you can still smell the alchohol. The taste was better. Still has a harsh begining (like sparkling water) the end tastes more like the original pear. Clearing well. 

Thinking of adding some polyclar.

Anyone done some acid testing, can you tell me if that's pretty normal to go up? 

I'll do another SG test in a day or two then hide it to let it clear for a month or so.


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## rshosted (Feb 8, 2006)

Decided to sweeten up the pear. Didn't feel 'right' adding sugar to wine. So I went and bought 6 lbs. of pears. I took them home, juiced them. Tested the sugar level at 11.5 brix (about 1.045 S.G). Added all 10 cups to the wine (since that's all I got). 

I was trying to get it around 1.005 sweetness, but figure this would do (just under maybe 1.0035). 
Now I'm looking at the wine and it doesn't look as clear. 
I added potasium sorbate, 1 campden tablet (in pear juice) and 3/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite (to wine)

Now that I'm looking at the wine, I'm a little concerned it won't clear becuase of the pectin in the fruit. I did originally add pectin, but thinking of adding a little more to help it clear with the fresh fruit juice(non filtered). 

Anyone know if pectin will give you any flavor if added this late in the game?

I'll re-test the sulphite levels again but estimate it should be around 75ppm now.


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## rshosted (Jan 20, 2007)

Thought I would give you all an update on a very old post





Today was the day I decided to bottle my pear wine; my first fruit wine. Unfortunately,



I had half a bottle left and couldn't put a cork in it. So I decided to sit down and give the wine a good evaluation. Here is a pic of the wine:






It does not taste sweet, I would say its almost dry. The D'anjou pear flavor comes out nicely. Though not strong enough that you wouldn't want a whole bottle. It has a little heat at the end and stays on the palet for about 20 seconds (much more than I expected from a fruit wine). My girlfriend says it has a 'buttery' taste too, though I did not pick that up. I think i pick up a smooth mouthfeel. 

I would dare say this wine is ready to drink now (considering it has been bulk aging some time). I also think it would be refreshing as a summertime wine. All and all I am very satisfied with the outcome and honestly didn't expect this much from a fruit that was not grape. Though it is not as complex as a big red, it is drinkable on a summer afternoon. 

I want to thank all the folks here that helped me, I attribute the information I've gleaned from this board as the reason for my success. So, thank you all, and cheers!


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## Wade E (Jan 20, 2007)

Yea, I'll be making another Pear wine myself as mine was very good to.
Mine didnt bulk age that long either. I made mine from canned pears in
heavy syrup at a Shop Rite can can sale!


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## Joanie (Jan 20, 2007)

It's beautiful, Ryan!


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## rgecaprock (Jan 20, 2007)

Pretty, Pretty wine!!! Ramona


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## PolishWineP (Jan 21, 2007)

Nice color! Just wait to see what 6 months in the bottle can do for it!


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