# Frozen Strawberry Wine



## BDKS (Jan 15, 2009)

From FVW recipe page. (Planning on 4 gallon Batch)



Makes one gallon.


Ingredients:
<t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<t><tr> 
<td>3-1/2 lbs. Strawberries (fresh or frozen)</td>
<td>7 Pints Water</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>2 lbs. Sugar</td>
<td>1 tsp Acid Blend</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme</td>
<td>1 Campden, crush</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>1 Pkg Wine Yeast</td>
<td>1 tsp Yeast Nutrient</td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td>1/4 tsp Tannin</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</t></table>


Starting S.G. - 1.090-1.095


Keep your acid tester and hydrometer handy. As with all 
wild fruit the sugar and acid content varies greatly from 
year to year and even from one location to another. The 
recipe above is a general recipe to use which you may have 
to adjust.


Directions:

Pick berries when they are fully ripened but not moldy. 
Remove any stems, leaves and foreign matter (bugs).
Wash and drain the berries using nylon straining bag 
(or press), mash and strain juice into primary fermenter. 
Keeping all pulp in straining bag, tie top and place in 
primary.
Stir in all other ingredients EXCEPT yeast. Cover primary.
 After 24 hrs., add yeast . Cover primary.
Stir daily, check hydrometer reading (S.G.) and press 
pulp lightly to aid extraction.
When ferment reaches S.G. 1.030 (about 5 days) strain 
juice from bag. Syphon off sediment into clean secondary. 
Attach lock.
When S.G. reaches 1.000 (usually about 3 weeks), fermentation 
is complete. Syphon juice off sediment into clean glass 
container. Re-attach airlock.
To aid in clearing, syphon again in 2 months and again, 
 if necessary, before bottling.
Allow the wine to age.
 

If a slightly sweetened wine is more to your taste, add 
1/2 tsp. of stabilizer and 1/4 cup of dissolved sugar at 
bottling.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My questions:

1) I have 12 pounds of frozen strawberries. Will this be enough?
2) Would two white grape juice concentrates be good to add?







3) One post suggested adding ascorbic acid to keep color. Y / N?
4) Another post suggested 1.085 target for starting SG.
5) Add bentonite at beginning similar to wine kit to help this one clear?

Any other tips?

Thanks for the help. Will start this one over the weekend.



It will be my first fresh-fruit attempt.


----------



## Bert (Jan 15, 2009)

Questions
1] that's closes go for it
2] sounds good go for it
3] would be good
4] that's a good place to start a fruit wine
acidblend may be low, if you can check it would be good, if not more can be added later....good luck


----------



## whino-wino (Jan 15, 2009)

BDKS said:


> My questions:
> 
> 1) I have 12 pounds of frozen strawberries. Will this be enough?
> 2) Would two white grape juice concentrates be good to add?
> ...




How "hot" do you like your wine? Personally, and it's just my preference, 1.090 - 1.095 as a starting S.G. is a tad high. I tend to go 1.080 - 1.085 on fruit wines. They always seem to have more alcohol than the really do. This will probably taste like rocket fuel for the first year.


Answers to questions:


1.) Yes, but it will be just a tad lighter than what the recipe intended but there's nothing wrong with that.


2.) It should add some body so I'd say yes. You could probably do 4 if you wanted. I usually use 1 per gallon if I add any for body.


3.) Ascorbic acid would be good to add, but add it when the fermentation is done and before you clear your wine (second racking).


4.) I guess I already covered that one.


5.) Yes. I usually don't add bentonite at all. Super-Kleer works great all by itself. Buy yourself about 10 packets of this stuff if you plan on doing lots of wines from scratch and maintain your supply.


Other tips:


Strawberry and Peach will test your patience like no other wine. No matter how fine of a filter you use or how brilliantly clear your wine seems, wait a MINIMUM of 6 months after clarification before bottling. I guarantee you it's going to throw a bunch of sediment if you bottle it right away. It took 3 tries for me before I learned that lesson.


Never, ever, EVER rely on a recipe for the amount of sugar. Add half, check with the hydrometer and add in small increments after that, checking again with the hydrometer each time. Make sure you stir the heck out of it before each hydrometer reading so that you are sure the sugars are dissolved. This little rule is especially important if you stray from the recipe and add grape juice concentrate or something along those lines.


Good luck and keep us posted!!


----------



## BDKS (Jan 16, 2009)

Just finished cleaning up. It is on its way. Starting SG 1.085. Too bad you can't smell it. It should have a good flavor. I expected less with them being frozen.


----------



## NorthernWinos (Jan 16, 2009)

Yummmm...Dessert in a glass.

Actually frozen fruit is pretty good....Usually harvested at their peak and processed fast....Probably better than fruit that has been on a journey and spent a lot of time before it reached your store shelves.

Up here the fruit looks like it's had a birthday by the time we get it on our 'fresh' shelves....


----------



## Wade E (Jan 17, 2009)

I agree, most fruits fresh in stores are picked ay to early with the thinking hat it will ripen on the way to the shelves cause if they picked it at optimum ripeness it would be bad by the time we get it. Being picked not rip means that the sugars will nevr reach their peek in the fruit.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 17, 2009)

68 degree must. Pitched the yeast. Think this one is going to be good if it ends up as good as it smells.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 17, 2009)

You really should pitch yeast on a much warmer must as its hard to get it started at that temp. I would put the primary in a warm tub of water and once it gets started move it back to those temps. I always make up my batches with warm water and keep the temp around mid to high 70's until the yeast starts to do its thing then move it to cooler temps.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 17, 2009)

I did not consider that. Will get some heat going.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 18, 2009)

bdks, did you say this was a 1 gallon batch?


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 18, 2009)

Wade, I would like to branch out and do a fruit wine. I have the JAO mead going right now.


Would this strawberry wine be a good recipe for me as a beginner?


----------



## BDKS (Jan 18, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> bdks, did you say this was a 1 gallon batch?



It is a 5 gallon new food grade bucket. With a 4 gallon batch.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 18, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Wade, I would like to branch out and do a fruit wine. I have the JAO mead going right now.
> 
> 
> Would this strawberry wine be a good recipe for me as a beginner?



This is my first from fresh fruit. It was fairly cheap to make. Estimated price

(4) 3 lb bags of frozen strawberries $18.00
(4) Cans white grape juice concentrate $6.00
Misc. Wine making ingredients. (amount used) $6.00
Sugar $4.00
Misc Cleaner and sanitizer. $2.00

Total $36 / 20 bottles = $1.80 per bottle.

(edited, forgot few sugar and cleaners)


----------



## Tom (Jan 18, 2009)

I think he stated a 4 gallon batch in his 1st message.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 18, 2009)

I think it would be a good recipe for a beginner. You should get a fermenting bad for this as those little seeds are a PITA. I would use the grape concentrate and I personally would go a little heavier on the strawberries myself and go no higher then 1.085 as flavor can be lost too easy on strawberry wine.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 18, 2009)

bdks, the top thread states this is for a 1 gallon batch. the bottom thread says 4 gallons. I guess I need a clarification.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 18, 2009)

I think he posted a 1 gallon recipe but is making 4 gallons.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 19, 2009)

wade said:


> I think he posted a 1 gallon recipe but is making 4 gallons.



Correct, the recipe is for one gallon. I am making 4 gallon batch. Just multiply everything except yeast times how many gallons you want to make.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 19, 2009)

bdks, I am still confused on a couple of things. Where does the grape juice concentrate come in to this recipe?
Also you have in your text SG reaches 1.030. Is the starting SG 1.085?? And then it drops down to 1.030?
And what type of fermenting bucket are you using? The regular 6 gal bucket?
Sorry for the questions.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 19, 2009)

Great pictures bdks. Is that a straining bag or another type of bag?
This will be my first venture away from a kit, so I am excited. haha


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 19, 2009)

Wade, thanks for the info. A llittle heavier on the strawberries as in more than the recipe calls for? What would you suggest for a2 gal recipe? As that is what I am going to make to start as my first fruit wine.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 19, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> bdks, I am still confused on a couple of things. Where does the grape juice concentrate come in to this recipe?
> Also you have in your text SG reaches 1.030. Is the starting SG 1.085?? And then it drops down to 1.030?
> And what type of fermenting bucket are you using? The regular 6 gal bucket?
> Sorry for the questions.



I assume this is the 1.030?

When ferment reaches S.G. 1.030 (about 5 days) strain 
juice from bag. Syphon off sediment into clean secondary. 
Attach lock.

Correct starting SG is 1.085, this was a suggested change to recipe by a few members of the forum. It will drop to 1.030, alcohol weighs less than water if I recall correctly. I am going to check today to see how it is going so far. I will post numbers later today. 

The bucket is a new 5 gallon food grade bucket. I picked it up at the local farm supply store for about $5 with a lid. The juice concentrate is added to all the ingredients in step 1. It takes place of some of sugar in recipe. Think i used maybe 5 cups of sugar total. Just keep stiring and checking Starting SG instead of relying on amounts provided in recipe.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 19, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Great pictures bdks. Is that a straining bag or another type of bag?
> This will be my first venture away from a kit, so I am excited. haha



<table ="Catalog" id="products" width="100%" align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td ="table" width="2%" align="default"><div align="center">4722 </td>
<td width="5%"><div align="center">



</td>
<td width="20%">

Straining Bag, Small Coarse


Coarse, 12" X 19"</td>
<td width="2%"><div align="right">$3.99</td>
<td width="2%"><div align="right">$3.99 </td>
<td width="5%"><div align="center">Stocked </td>
<td width="15%">

Add to Shopping Cart 


Add to Wish List 


Shipping Cost Estimate</td></tr></t></table>
Think it was this one.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 19, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Wade, thanks for the info. A llittle heavier on the strawberries as in more than the recipe calls for? What would you suggest for a2 gal recipe? As that is what I am going to make to start as my first fruit wine.



I went with 3 lbs per gallon. It will turn out good. 3.5 gallons per gallon is what the receipe calls for. I am not sure how 1 pound difference in 2 gallon will be?


----------



## Wade E (Jan 19, 2009)

I made a Strawberry /Kiwi wine 2 years ago using frozen strawberries and fresh kiwis. I used 4 lbs of strawberries for that batch and found that it was just about right. I might even add another 1/2 lb per gallon next time.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 19, 2009)

SG 1.050 tonight making progress.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 20, 2009)

Gave it a gentle stir tonight to move the bag contents around. SG1.030, I did not expect it to be that low tonight.... Just mixed up some of sediment



. Going to let it go until tomorrow. will check sg again. Possibly moving on to next step in recipe... 

When ferment reaches S.G. 1.030 (about 5 days) strain 
juice from bag. Syphon off sediment into clean secondary. 
Attach lock.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 20, 2009)

Checked on it after dinner. It has settled slightly. Went ahead and transferred to secondary. Had some problems with racking cane. Ended up picking up bunch of sediment. Guess I don't have enough hot air. Spouse said otherwise...



Autosiphon is next on my list.

Final Look at bucket.






4 jugs






Artwork...


----------



## BDKS (Jan 20, 2009)

We also sampled some. Think I might end up liking it better than the blackberry merlot.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 20, 2009)

You dont have to suck start it you know, you can just start it by filling the racing hose with clean water and then let that flow into separate container until wine begins to flow. doesnt matter at this point anyway as youll be racking soon enough anyway after you clear it.


----------



## Eland (Jan 20, 2009)

BDKS said:


> Checked on it after dinner. It has settled slightly. Went ahead and transferred to secondary. Had some problems with racking cane. Ended up picking up bunch of sediment. Guess I don't have enough hot air. Spouse said otherwise...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I think you will love the auto siphon. I know I like mine a lot.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 20, 2009)

wade said:


> You dont have to suck start it you know, you can just start it by filling the racing hose with clean water and then let that flow into separate container until wine begins to flow. doesnt matter at this point anyway as youll be racking soon enough anyway after you clear it.



I was about to try that next. Problem is I could not keep siphon going with racking cane. Ended up sticking tube directly in without the cane. I even had the bucket sitting on top of another bucket on top of the counter.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 21, 2009)

Wade, so you would recommend 4 1/2 lbs strawberries per gallon?


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 21, 2009)

Wade, should his gallon jugs be topped off closer to the neck of the bottle?


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 21, 2009)

Looks really good bdks!!! Nice pictures. I am using your threads to guide me thru my first fruit wine.



No pressure, buddy.


----------



## Eland (Jan 21, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Wade, should his gallon jugs be topped off closer to the neck of the bottle?




I would have topped mine up a little more, but it seems as if he has a fairly active secondary fermentation going so he should be ok. I would definitely condense that to 3 gallon jugs and a 1.5L when I racked again.


----------



## Eland (Jan 21, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Wade, so you would recommend 4 1/2 lbs strawberries per gallon?




I'm not Wade, but I don't think 4 1/2 lbs per gallon would hurt. It really depends on how fruity you want the taste on the front end. If you are using fresh berries from the grocery, then 4 1/2 might be better. If you have some that are frozen, then 3-4 would be ok as they will usually be more ripe and have more of the natural sugars and flavor.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 21, 2009)

Eland said:


> uavwmn said:
> 
> 
> > Wade, should his gallon jugs be topped off closer to the neck of the bottle?
> ...



That is exactly the plan. It is still very active. One bottle might have almost turned into a volcano last night. It is coated about 2 inches down from the top. The airlocks are still bubbling at a rapid rate.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 23, 2009)

SG 1.000, Foam on top is gone and no bubbles in airlock.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 24, 2009)

bdks, when did you add the white grape concentrate?


I have the strawberries thawing now. I keep adding a little sugar to this until the sg is about 1.080 or 1.085?


And I get the SG correct and then add the yeast the following day?


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 24, 2009)

bdks, am I going to stir the yeast in or sprinkle it on top of the juice? Won't the straining bag get in the way of the yeasties??


----------



## Tom (Jan 24, 2009)

I would make a starter. Add yeast to room temp water and a little of your must. Wait 30 min and then pour in.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 24, 2009)

tepe, awesome. Thanks for the quick response. Want to start this tonight.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 24, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> bdks, when did you add the white grape concentrate?
> 
> 
> I have the strawberries thawing now. I keep adding a little sugar to this until the sg is about 1.080 or 1.085?
> ...



Add all of the ingredients except the yeast today:

strawberries
pectic enzyme
tannin
acid blend
campden
yeast nutrient
grape juce concentrate
water

I also used bentonite according to manufacturer directions.

Get the total amount close to the size of your fermenter. Let the bag of strawberries sit in the fermenter for a while to get some of the juice mixed in. Stir really well and start taking sg readings. You will not need much sugar as the grape juice is replacing most of it. Yeast will not go in until 24 hours later.

I started at 1.085 sg.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 24, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> bdks, am I going to stir the yeast in or sprinkle it on top of the juice? Won't the straining bag get in the way of the yeasties??



I poured mine right on top like a wine kit. The temperature was a little low so I used a space heater in the room.


----------



## BDKS (Jan 24, 2009)

I will have some photos tonight. Do not have digital camera with me. I racked the wine again today at 1.000 sg. Ended up with 3 gallons after leaving tons sediment behind. It is already dropping more sediment, about 1/8 inch on the bottom.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 24, 2009)

Thanks for the quick response. Will start my first fuit wine this afternoon!! WOO HOO


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 24, 2009)

Ok, took the leap into "Fruit Wine" 101.






I am making a 1 gallon batch of Strawberry wine.


5 lbs organic frozen strawberries
1 can white grape concentrate
4 cups of sugar got me to an SG of 1.082
7 pints water
1/2 t peptic enzyme
1/4 t tannin
1 t acid blend
1 crushed campden
1 t yeast nutrient


Got the berries in the strainer bag, mushed them by hand.
Stirred in all ingredients.
Note: added sugar in increments of 1 cup at a time, stirred, then took SG reading.


Sitting in primary for 24 hrs.


Thank you all for your advice and help.










Forgot the picture of the white grape juice can.






Added all the dry ingedients in little glass container there.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 24, 2009)

SG. 1.082






24 hour wait for the yeasties to play.


----------



## Tom (Jan 24, 2009)

You didnt include the yeast in your ingredients. What was that? Also I hope you did not add the yeast the same time you added all the other stuff. Yeast should be added 24+ hrs after you add the pectic and campton tabs.


----------



## Tom (Jan 24, 2009)

Oh was the BEER important also? L O L ! ! !


----------



## BDKS (Jan 24, 2009)

Looks good. You might want to start a new thread. Makes it easier to get help with questions / problems.

As promised here are a few photos.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

Tepe, I was wondering who would be the first to notice the beer.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

bdks, really nice color!!! Looks good.


----------



## Tom (Jan 25, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Tepe, I was wondering who would be the first to notice the beer.






Well, I am aslo a Homebrewer !


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

Wade, I took your advice on using an extra pound of strawberries for the 1 gallon recipe. Also used the white grape concentrate juice also.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

Tepe, yeast was in the ingredients picture. And I have NOT added the yeast yet. Will do that this afternoon.


----------



## Tom (Jan 25, 2009)

Just wondering. Which yeast are you using?

BTW What Beer was in the glass?


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

tepe, I am thinking of using the Lavin EC-1118. I have a Montrachet yeast also.


Sam Adams Heif in the glass.


----------



## Tom (Jan 25, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> tepe, I am thinking of using the Lavin EC-1118. I have a Montrachet yeast also.
> 
> 
> Sam Adams Heif in the glass.










If thats all you have use Montrachet.
If you have Cote des Blancs or D-47 I would use either one of them.


I make Strawberry and use Cote des Blancs. It gives a more fruity flavor.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

tepe, as this is my first fuit wine, i really didn't know what yeast was the best when I was ordering from George. Probably should have asked first.
Will use the Montrachet.


I am so excited now, I am looking to make my next fruit wine!!! haha


Maybe a 2 gallon double fruit. Blackberry/raspberry??
Would the Cote des Blancs yeast be good for any fruit wine??


----------



## Tom (Jan 25, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> tepe, as this is my first fuit wine, i really didn't know what yeast was the best when I was ordering from George. Probably should have asked first.
> Will use the Montrachet.
> 
> 
> ...




It may be just me but I use CDB on all my fresh fruits.
Ck out what I have fermenting I just posted.
http://www.finevinewines.com/wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6784&amp;PID=98129#98129


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 25, 2009)

tepe, I have ordered the CB and an acid tester also.


The Strawberry wine got its little yeast starter today at 2pm. 3 hrs later it has a light foam on it. WOO HOO


----------



## Tom (Jan 25, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> tepe, I have ordered the CB and an acid tester also.
> 
> 
> The Strawberry wine got its little yeast starter today at 2pm. 3 hrs later it has a light foam on it. WOO HOO








COOL !


Keep us posted on what happens.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 29, 2009)

ok, I got the acid tester. When do I use this thing???


----------



## Wade E (Jan 29, 2009)

Before fermentation as a balanced must will ferment better and then again after as sometimes fermentation ca burn off some acid but not as critical as it should still be pretty close.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 29, 2009)

Wade, I pitched the yeast on 25 Jan of the strawberry wine. Checked SG this afternoon and it is at .990
Is this bad and what do I do next?
I thought the finishing SG should be around 1.030?


----------



## Tom (Jan 29, 2009)

All I can say is WOW !.
That was one fast fermentation. Double check the gravity. If it is indeed .990 it fermented dry. Rack and wait a week and if still the same start to add fining.
Remember you will need to backsweeten your strawberry. maybe add and f-pac.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 30, 2009)

tepe, I will definitely have to make an f-pak with this. I want a sweet strawberry wine.


----------



## grapeman (Jan 30, 2009)

I posted this last night but it didn't seem to make it there. That was a really fast fermentation, but then smaller batches seem to go fasteer. If you are at 0.990, it is totally dry and yes you will need to add sorbate and sweeten if you want it sweet.


You say you thought it would finish at 1.030. Is that because you read about transfering it at that SG? It is the hope that at transfer, the wine keeps fermenting to dry otherwise it is cinsidered a stuck fermentation. Best of luck to you with this one. It should be very tasty especially if you add a fruit/flavor pack.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 30, 2009)

appleman, maybe because it is about 74 degrees in the room??
I too was shocked when I read the SG. lol
Yes, I read a thread (maybe Wade's) that it would finish at 1.030.


Looks like I will be learning how to make an F-pak.






Thanks for the response and help, as always.


----------



## Wade E (Jan 30, 2009)

UAV, with that starting sg any yeast will take it to dry and I never said it would finish sweet. If you wanted to try and leave it sweet you would have had to up the starting sg and go with a much weaker strain of yeast as even the Montrachet would take it to around 16 and thats way to much for a strawberry wine. I will say this, trying to get a wine to finish off sweet is a crap shoot and unless you have the ability to help stop the wine from fermenting like very cold weather or a fridge big enough to keep this in for a week or two you stand the chance to go past your desired sweetness.


----------



## uavwmn (Jan 31, 2009)

Wade, I misunderstood the previous thread. And sometimes the way I describe things get twisted.



I only meant that I thought I was to rack at an SG of 1.030.


In any case, do you think this is worth salvaging? Or should I dump it and start over? I now have some CB yeast.


Any suggestions??


----------



## Wade E (Jan 31, 2009)

Absolutely worth salvaging, just needs a little sweetening like any fruit wine would if you like them with a sweetness.


----------



## Tom (Jan 31, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Wade, I misunderstood the previous thread. And sometimes the way I describe things get twisted.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## grapeman (Jan 31, 2009)

Tepe maybe you should explain what you mean by fining to her. She may not know what you mean.


And no you should not dump the batch. It is just fine. It may have just lost some of the strawberry flavor due to a hot fast ferment from the yeast you used. That is why I suggested you use a flavor pack. That will sweeten it and add the flavors you want.


----------



## Tom (Jan 31, 2009)

Applemen,


Yes I should, sometimes I think everyone knows so here goes to those who are not sure.<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
After fermentation you will need to add 1/4tsp of Potassiun-Metabisulfite. This will help so your wine don't go bad. Keeps the O2 out of your wine and act as a preservative. After adding that mix well. Then add potassium Sorbate. Mix well. You may want to add clarifier if you want ( suggested) if you don't filter your fruit wine. All this I would suggest to do in the secondary. Some here may do it a different time. That’s what is so cool here. We all may have a little different twist in our winemaking and we ALL make good wine.

You should consider either a F-pac or simple syrup.3 things to remember 
Patience
Patience
Patience
Always ask if you are not sure and NO DO NOT TOSS your wine.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

tepe, this is my first fruit wine. lol, don't assume anything I may or may not know.






Don't we usually add 1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulfate to a 6 gal carboy? 
As this is a 1 gal batch, 1/4 tsp seems like alot.


Also, after adding the fining agents, do I try and degass this wine?


And does anyone have an F pak recipe for a gal batch for strawberry wine?


----------



## Tom (Feb 1, 2009)

You are CORRECT.




This info was for a 6 gallon batch. Since I never made a 1 gallon batck I defer to those who know. You will need a gram scale though to measure the chemicals. After fining then I would degas.


----------



## grapeman (Feb 1, 2009)

uavwmn this is where the campden tablets shine. One tablet per gallon, thorughly crushed before adding. Another way to do it is get a little graduated cylinder in ounces or ml. Using ml as an example- fill the cylinder with 120 ml of wine or water. Then add 1/4 teaspoon of k-meta to this and stir or shake to mix well. Then pour in 20 ml of the mixture. This is 1/6 of the total or 1/6 of the 1/4 tsp of k-meta.









As far as the f-pack just use the procedure Wade spoke of in the other post. It isn't rocket science - you basically take juice, add sugar and boil to reduce it down some and add to the wine.


----------



## gaudet (Feb 1, 2009)

UAVWMN,

Just use 1 tablet of campden to protect your 1 gallon batch. I hope you have campden tabs.

Darn it Appleman, you are some fast and I already had two cups of coffee this morning. I need to save your suggestion and file it away for future reference.


----------



## Tom (Feb 1, 2009)

One other thing. If you are gonna do a f-pac you might want to add the clearifier after you make the f-pac.
I make a f-pac a little different. For 1 gal I would use 1 1/2# of fresh or frozen strawberries. Put them in a large frying pan and warm them and add some simple syrup,let the water from the strawberriesevaporate. Do not boil. Then strain and add to your wine. After that TASTE to your liking and add more simple syrup to taste. Let it clear for a month..or more thenbottle.
FYI I bulk age my fruit wines for at least 6 months.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

gaudet, I have camden tabs. Will crush up one. thank you.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

tepe, how much "simple syrup??? Amount of water?? Amount of sugar? Please specify. thanks.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

Appleman, I will crush a camden tab in there.


And just dump some sugar in some water to make a simple syrup. No measuring required, I assume.


----------



## Tom (Feb 1, 2009)

Simple Syrup = 1 part water to 2 parts sugar. Boil water and add sugar. Heat and stirtill water is clear. I use a spaghetti jar 26oz for that. So 1 jar of water to 2 jars of sugar. That will give you extra.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

Tepe, lol, I racked my strawberry wine to 1 gal jug. It is the color of grapefruit juice!!! Picture to follow.


Will crush a camden tab in there also.


Had lots of juice leftover.


----------



## Tom (Feb 1, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Tepe, lol, I racked my strawberry wine to 1 gal jug. It is the color of grapefruit juice!!! Picture to follow.
> 
> 
> Will crush a camden tab in there also.
> ...






Hopefully you put that leftover in a 1.5 ltr bottle. As your wine clears you will lose some when racking.
If doing the f-pac do it between rackings. What I suggest is to transfer into a sanitized LARGER bucket and then add f-pac and stir.. Than transfer to probably multiple containers.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

Put the leftovers in a wine bottle with airlock and a part of a crushed camden tab.


This is the color of the wine after first racking.


----------



## Tom (Feb 1, 2009)

Color looks ok for this stage. How much do you have in a wine bottle? 

Do you have a air lock on that bottle?


----------



## grapeman (Feb 1, 2009)

A word of CAUTION here uavwmn. Before adding the f-pack, sugar syrup, whatever you want to call it- BE SURE TO ADD POTASSIUM SORBATE along with the campden tablet. You are adding another food source for the leftover yeast in your wine and it may resume fermentation and eat that sugar up. It is a very bad thing if it is in the bottles at that point.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

The wine bottle is almost full with an airlock on it.
Appleman, I will be sure to add the potassium sorbate before the F-pak.


So, now it sits and clears in the jug for awhile, yes? Then rack to another jug, add the sorbate, another camden tab, then the fpak. Correct?


----------



## Tom (Feb 1, 2009)

Since you just added the campton tab no need to add more at this time.

Sorbate and make sure it is dissolved then you can do the f-pac. Let it sit a couple of weeks then add clairifier and let it sit another 2 weeks then transfer. Start aging. You may need to rack again or 2


----------



## Wade E (Feb 1, 2009)

You only want to add a campden tablet approx every 3 months now since you have already added 1. Do not add 1 at every racking!!!


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 1, 2009)

Wade. ok. Thanks.


----------



## joeswine (Feb 3, 2009)

this could exactly take a while to truly clear to its real color,a fellow wine maker in our group bob mat. strawberry wine was excellent and won 1ST place in hammonton wine event but it took a while to clear using this method what would exhilarate the process is placing the container in a cold environment say a garage,so many ways to play YES.


----------



## uavwmn (Feb 15, 2009)

tepe, this wine has to clear first before I add the potassium sorbate and the fpac, correct?


----------



## gaudet (Feb 15, 2009)

tepe said:


> Since you just added the campton tab no need to add more at this time.
> 
> Sorbate and make sure it is dissolved then you can do the f-pac. Let it sit a couple of weeks then add clairifier and let it sit another 2 weeks then transfer. Start aging. You may need to rack again or 2</font>



He says to sorbate first. Then clarify after adding the f-pack.


----------



## Tom (Feb 15, 2009)

gaudet said:


> tepe said:
> 
> 
> > Since you just added the campton tab no need to add more at this time.
> ...




Right you are Gaudet




You could add the clairifier after 1-2 weeks. I wait just to let the f-pac "mingle" before claering.


----------



## uavwmn (Mar 4, 2009)

tepe, made the F-pac for the strawberry wine. Let it maturate in a pot overnight and now it is sitting back in the glass with an airlock. Added 1/8th teaspoon of a campden tab.. 


Do I use the clarifiing agent in a couple of weeks?


Now it sits and bulk ages, then bottle, correct? There was no degassing of this wine???


Hope to get my notes straight on the correct steps for this wine. As this was my first one, it seems the steps were all "scattered". haha


----------



## Tom (Mar 4, 2009)

Try degassing now. If anything it will mix your f-pac. Did you "Taste" yet? Did you add any simple syrup?
F-pac ands flavor
Simple syrup adds sweetnes.
You want a balance of flavor and sweetness.
Remember what Joeswine says
Taste
Taste
Taste
Thru the whole process.
After you get it to taste good add the clairifier.


----------



## BDKS (Mar 8, 2009)

This one has been sitting for a while. Going to add sorbate, campden, f-pack. I used the simple sugar syrup recipe with some strawberries. This one is clearing good with bentonite. I will let it sit after sweetening for another month or so. I am trying to take my time with this one instead of throwing it in a bottle to early. This one was started January 15th.


----------



## uavwmn (Mar 9, 2009)

tepe, I don't know if I have messed this up or not. I made the f-pac, added it to the wine and tasted it. Tasted good.





It has ALOT of f-pac sediment on the bottom!!! I am talking about probably 2" at the bottom of a 1 gallon jug. This doesn't sound normal to have that much sediment after adding the f-pac.


I thought the F-pac added flavor AND sweetness????


----------



## Tom (Mar 9, 2009)

I don't remember how big a batch you are doing. That being the case here is what to expect. Either wait for it to clear by itself or add clairifiers. 
You will need to rack a couple more times before you bottle.


When doing an F-Pac it is suggested to do this long before bottling for this reason. Unless you are doing a 3 gallon min I would not bother to do a f-pac ( just backsweeten) because you will loose to much wine and be lucky to get 3-4 bottles in a 1 gallon batch.

When you are doing onlt 1 gallon ( like some here) it seems like alot of work for maybe 4 bottles. It don't take any more time to do 3-6 gallons.


----------



## uavwmn (Mar 9, 2009)

Tepe, it is a 1 gallon batch. This was my first try at a fruit wine. My concern is if I rack again, I will be no where near the top of the jug with wine.
I am learning alot about fruit wines and total volume expected at the end of this process. And I am thinking those 3 or 4 bottles better be darn good!! hahaha


Think I should rack again now? Or just wait a while longer?


----------



## Tom (Mar 9, 2009)

After you added the f-pac what did you do with the wine that didnt fit. Put all in a bigger container. If you start with only one gallon there is not enough room to do much. The other is if you just make a small miss caculation it will magnafied 10X over. This is the drawback of 1 gallon batches

Let it clear some 1st before racking.


----------



## grapeman (Mar 9, 2009)

uavwmn how did you make your "f-pack"? Did you take whole strawberries in a bit of water and boil? If that's what you did without adding sugar, it won't sweeten it much. That would also explain all the sedimant on the bottom.


I think a beginner would be better off just adding a sugar/water solution for sweetening. You also have to be sure whenever you sweeten a wine, that it has been stabilized with k-meta and k-sorbate. If not, it can referment and take all the sugar out you added, raise the ABV and leave sediment and C02 bubbles.


If I was to make a strawberry, raspberry etc "f-pack", I would either do like Wade and reduce a juice or mash the fruit totally and strain it. I would then add sugar, depending on the size of the batch I am making. I would then heat to reduce it down by half. Let it cool and add it to the batch to the desired sweetness. The straining will keep the pulp out and reduce the amount of clearing it will need later.


----------



## uavwmn (Mar 9, 2009)

Appleman, I took whole strawberries in a bit of water and added about a cup of sugar. Boiled this. Then poured it in a blender and blended the strawberries. Put this in a paint strainer bag and squeezed the bgb's out of it. 
I had already added the k-meta and sorbate a couple of weeks earlier.


I had used the f-pac directions thatTepe had suggested.





<TABLE =tableBorder style="TABLE-LAYOUT: fixed" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 align=center>
<T>
<TR>
<TD =msgOddTableSide vAlign=top rowSpan=4>Winemaster Member 









Joined: 24 December 2008 
Location: United States 
Online Status: Online 
Posts: 549 
</TD>
<TD =msgOddTableRow vAlign=top>





 Posted: 01 February 2009 at 8:41am</TD></TR>
<TR =msgOddTableRow>
<TD =msgLineDevider vAlign=top height=150>
<DIV =msg style=": left; OVERFLOW: auto">One other thing. If you are gonna do a f-pac you might want to add the clearifier after you make the f-pac. 
I make a f-pac a little different. For 1 gal I would use 1 1/2# of fresh or frozen strawberries. Put them in a large frying pan and warm them and add some simple syrup,let the water from the strawberriesevaporate. Do not boil. Then strain and add to your wine. After that TASTE to your liking and add more simple syrup to taste. Let it clear for a month..or more thenbottle.
FYI I bulk age my fruit wines for at least 6 months.</TD></TR>
<TR =msgOddTableRow>
<TD =msgLineDevider style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px">
<DIV =msgSignature style=": left; OVERFLOW: auto">Sometimes I reflect back on all the wine I drink. Then I think of the dreams of the winemakers. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out 
of work and their dreams would be shattered. 
FROM NJ </TD></TR></T></TABLE>


----------



## Tom (Mar 9, 2009)

I didn't say to put it in a blender


----------



## Tom (Mar 9, 2009)

appleman said:


> uavwmn how did you make your "f-pack"? Did you take whole strawberries in a bit of water and boil? If that's what you did without adding sugar, it won't sweeten it much. That would also explain all the sedimant on the bottom.
> 
> 
> _*I think a beginner would be better off just adding a sugar/water solution for sweetening.*_ You also have to be sure whenever you sweeten a wine, that it has been stabilized with k-meta and k-sorbate. If not, it can referment and take all the sugar out you added, raise the ABV and leave sediment and C02 bubbles.
> ...






Yes Appleman you concure with me on a previouse post here.

_"When doing an F-Pac it is suggested to do this long before bottling for this reason. Unless you are doing a 3 gallon min I would not bother to do a f-pac ( just backsweeten) because you will loose to much wine and be lucky to get 3-4 bottles in a 1 gallon batch."_


----------



## joeswine (Mar 9, 2009)

I think what happened here was over information,uavwmn took what i said and what everyone else said and got a little confused,on how to,,,,i spoke to tepe about this and asked him.what he thought know one wants to miss imform anyone,If you have only 2 inches of sediment then rackit out don,t worry about it taste it tell us how you fare and we can take it from there....alls not lost believe me,a one gal. batch can be salvaged but we need to know how it taste right now...that determines what to do next..sorry if you got turned around ,fruit wine making isn't ana true science lots of corners to turn then you wait and watch.I just finished a batch of blueberry wine it took two seasons to get it right with working it carefully as to keep oxygen out and degas and chemicallize an all the rest...that was only 6 gals. and 60 ,lbs. of berries..1 gal. is just as important to you we cancorrect it,this group has some excellent wine makers in its core ...stay tooned...


----------

