# Grapefruit wine question



## Doodah (Mar 19, 2010)

First post here and very new to wine making, but very addicted to it as well, especially the fruit wines.
Our third batch we tried the grapefruit wine, but it is not clearing like our apple cider wine did. It tasted bad when it was starting out, but after the last racking I really liked it. We just went to florida and tryed out some award winning stuff and ours tasted very similiar  but in a young way, they filtered theirs and that is not feasable.


(per gallon- we made 6 gallons)


6 grapefruits
6 pints of warm water
2 1/4 lbs. sugar
1/4 teaspoon tannin
1 campden tablet
1 pkg. champaign yeast



starting SG: 1.085 12/19/09
added yeast 12/20/09
SG 1.085 12/21/09
SG 1.08 12/22/09
SG 1.065 12/23/09
SG 1.055 12/25/09
SG 1.04 12/26/09 
Transfered to carboy 12/26/09
Racked 1/18/10
Racked 2/14/10


We are planning on racking it soon, perhaps tonight, someone told me to add a teaspoon and a half of pectic enzyme per gallon when racking, others to cold crash, other to add gelatin, others say give it time.. 

what do you guys/gals think?


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## kiljoy (Mar 19, 2010)

I made grapefruit wine last year. Tasted nasty at first, but everything I read said this stuff just needs a lot of age. They were correct. It’s one of the best I’ve made.

That being said, add the pectic enzyme and see what happens. Typically, you add it during fermentation. If you’ve not racked at all, wait and see if the enzyme has any effect before doing so. If it’s still hazy, then there are other clarifiers that can work for you. You only add it once, not at every racking.

Also, right after the secondary fermentation , there is still a lot of trapped CO2 keeping particles suspended. Make sure to keep your head space to a minimum and wait it out.


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## non-grapenut (Mar 19, 2010)

It's true this wine is soooo much better after sitting up to 12 months. I ended up having to do a bentonite slurry (mix bentonite with hot water in blender...use directions, of course). It was chilly outside and bentonite does it's best fining in cold conditions, so I sat my carboy out overnight after shaking it multiple times before bed...it was clear by morning.


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## Doodah (Mar 23, 2010)

thanks for your suggestions. I posted on homebrew and got a few as well. I ended up adding pectic enzyme at (I think) a teaspoon per gallon.. but forgot to dissolve it before adding it..  was a bit concerned about my head space and taking the airlock off and on so I added 2 tablespoons of sugar to hopefully kick up fermenation just enough to produce CO2 to get that oxygen out of the carboy. I have a smaller carboy that will eliminate the headspace, but was hoping to get more sediment on the bottom before racking again. (just a smalll trace of yeast on the bottom now). 

I am toying with the bentonite and / or a cold crash then reracking to age to just bottling if clear. keep your suggestions flowing, in the meantime we started a 3 gallon batch of cran/ras apple juice cider. with luck that should be ready in no time


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## Doodah (Apr 1, 2010)

well the cran ras cider is great.. but back to the grapefruit I am going to rack tomrow night into smaller carboy as there is a bit of sediment and add campden tablets for the first time since the primary, hope its not too late for that as well. Still undecided as to how to get it to clear better. Suggestions?


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## kiljoy (Apr 2, 2010)

Have you degassed yet? C02 bubbles tend to keep particles in suspension.


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## Doodah (Apr 2, 2010)

kiljoy said:


> Have you degassed yet? C02 bubbles tend to keep particles in suspension.



No I have not Degassed, and have yet to fully grasp this process of the wine making. It makes sense what your saying, should I rack off the small amount of lees, add campden tablets one per gallon since I have to do this since initial recipe was made, then degass and wait it out another month?


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## kiljoy (Apr 2, 2010)

Yes, rack, degass, and then add campden. As long as your head space is good, let the sucker sit for another month and see what happens. There are several additives that can be used to help clear a wine. I’ve never actually used any of them. 

Now, when I made grapefruit wine, it was pretty nasty, so I panicked and sweetened. If you want to sweeten it, do it now. I’ve read that sweetening can cloud the wine. I’ve not experienced this myself. To sweeten, you have to add potassium sorbate AND campden to stop any further fermentation. Good luck!


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## Doodah (Apr 19, 2010)

I haven't degassed yet, but a few weeks ago I reracked off sediment and added campden one per gallon. well I had a few drinks last night and decided to do a cold crash. Put it in an extra fridge. I am gonna give it two weeks, then probably stablize and possibly sweeten. Wonder if I should have stablized a long time ago? whats your thoughts everyone, should I degass when I take it out of the fridge and there is hopfully sediment on the bottom. It is still farily cloudy


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## non-grapenut (Apr 29, 2010)

I had to Bentonite my Grapefruit wine in the cold, Doodah. I separated it into 5 1 gallon jugs so I could shake the fining often and put them outside during a cold night. It will be sparkling clear like water when you are done.


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## Doodah (May 4, 2010)

just took a peek in the fridge, 
after two weeks roughly it is starting to get clearer from the top down. Gonna give it another week or two and see what it does. did the shaking oxidize it at all? Did you back sweeten? I think the grapefruit may need it, K sorbate and K meta, and the degassing once I rerack this time, probably with a clearning agent. Can you do all of these things cold or should I bring it back to 65 degrees


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## whine4wine (May 5, 2010)

I've been wanting to try some of this.

"Worry the bottle mamma, its grapefruit wine,
kick off your high heel sneakers its party time."

If its good enough for Steely Dan..........I just might have to try a batch.


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## non-grapenut (May 5, 2010)

no oxidation occurs with shaking...if the wine is still putting off bubbles when shaking...that means gas is being released. K sorbate is a must with this wine, especially since you have to backsweeten it. If you don't, well...how dry are you?


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## Doodah (May 5, 2010)

non-grapenut said:


> no oxidation occurs with shaking...if the wine is still putting off bubbles when shaking...that means gas is being released. K sorbate is a must with this wine, especially since you have to backsweeten it. If you don't, well...how dry are you?



Thats a good question, I don't think it has been checked since visible fermentation stopped a few months ago. It is definetly a darker pink on the bottom few inches- (no visible sediment but I am sure some is there). The top is a much lighter pink that is clearing somewhat. 

I could and will leave it in the fridge until the solid pink condenses more (almost a month in fridge- and put that in a seperate bottle to age). Then rerack into a bentonite solution with K meta and a campden per gallon and degass at the same time. Is the shaking really necessary with fining or will a vigorous degass after racking acomplish this?


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## Doodah (May 5, 2010)

whine4wine said:


> I've been wanting to try some of this.
> 
> "Worry the bottle mamma, its grapefruit wine,
> kick off your high heel sneakers its party time."
> ...



I had it at a mass produced orchard place near tampa and it was great.


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## non-grapenut (May 6, 2010)

I shake it a few times during fining. Once it appears clear, I let it sit for at least 1-2 weeks before sorbating, sweetening and bottling. Grapefruit really requires shaking during racking if those pesky bubbles are still around. I sparkled some of mine using Wade's method and it turned out divine!


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