1st timer peach wine

[thaddy1978]

Funny, I am not an alcohol person at all. The hard stuff can just stay in the bottle in my opinion. The wife and I were canning grapes I got from a friend and I started youtubing that subject when I saw something about peach wine...I was hooked for yet another project.

So, I hadn't really researched a whole lot due to the peaches we had were close to overripe. All of the youtube videos showed that folks weren't using yeast,just filling up a container with water, peaches, and sugar and throwing a bubbled on it. I decided to use yeast. There was a brewing store down the road. I used fresh peaches, canned peaches, water, and sugar. My hydrometer was reading 15% potential. It started fermenting the same night I put the yeast in. 3 days later the hydrometer was reading 4% or so and still going strong. When do I want to move i t out of the primary? When I take a smell, it has a very heavy liquor smell. Is it too strong? I didn't want something with a strong liquor taste. I don't want it to burn going down...or out for that matter. Is there anything I can do to dilute it? Do I just need to wait till its done to see what I have? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[whynot]

What yeast did you use, that will have an effect on how much ABV you get out of it. the "liquor" smell is probably more related to the yeast+lees....

As far as moving it out of primary, you want to let it ferment dry, not sure what 4% translates to in SG, but it could be too sweet, or if it's ok, you *could* rack and and use some bentonite to stop fermentation.

Going back to those who just threw the peaches in with no yeast and got it to ferment means they were using yeast that was "wild" on the fruit already, and you couldn't predict the results... Why I mention this is, did you use bentonite at first with the juice and peaches to kill off the wild yeast? that could be creating a smell or a conflict with the yeast you pitched...

You can easily dillute it, just use spring water.. thin to taste.

Also, if you let it ferment to <1.0 then you will likely want to back sweeten it (do a quick search), it's easy to do, but you'll want to do it incrementally to know what you like..

Finally a little tannin (during ferm is when I usually do it, not sure if you can do it post) will add some mouthfeel

Also depending on the fruit starting with a yeast starter some energizer and yeast nutrient will help ensure you ferm to dry...

Hope this all helps..

 

[thaddy1978]

No bentonite or tannin was used. The yeast I used was a champagne yeast. I also added some yeast energizer early on. When I rack it, does it then got to seccondary? I do want it mild as far as the alcohol but sweet. Is it okay to sample while in the primary fermentation stage?

 

[salcoco]

I think WHYNOT means SO2 rather than bentonite to stop fermentation.

Let the wine go its course and finish fermentation. The hydrometer you are using is multiscale. you have been reading the potential alcohol scale. I would suggest read the specific gravity scale. once the wine reaches abou 1.00sg rack and let sit for three days. rack , wait three weeks and rack again. once wine is clear taste. if wine has to much alcohol, sugar syrup can be added to create a balance without making the wine sweet. buy some potassium sorbate to add to wine if sugar is added to prevent further fermentation.