Apple Wine Q

[wildhair]

So far I've cored and frozen 80# + 10# I froze whole. Still got another 30+ # to go. Not sure when I can get around to pressing them, not sure how much juice I'll get, but I think I'll get enough to ferment.

 

[Johnd]

NOT looking good for apple wine this year. My juicer arrived today and I had thawed out some of the apples I cut up and froze. Ran a 1 gallon bag and 1/3 of another gallon bag of apple pieces through my new juicer (Omega 8008) Result was 1 quart and 1 pint jar of juice. THICK JUICE.
Sorry to have to report that the outlook for apple wine no longer looks so good. However, I will be drinking some awesome apple juice now. This stuff is so rich. The apples were really ugly wormy looking things but this juice is unbelievable. Wife won't drink it straight - She has to water it down - says it's too concentrated.

So I guess I'll see what happens with 6 bags of frozen apple pieces but the prospects of makng wine with it, just doesn't look likely.

Buck up and put that goop into a fermenter with some enzymes and yeast a day later, you know how to separate solids when it's time. I can't imagine passing on winemaking with fruit that is "unbelievable" or "too concentrated"!!!!!

 

[Scooter68]

Hopefully today I can juice the rest of the apples cut up. Still some more apples on the tree, perhaps another gallon bag after cutting up. As long as I have at least a quart or more beyond my gallon for wine - THEN wine becomes a player. I removed the foam and juice filter because it was filling up and when I tasted that stuff it was like applesauce. I was not about to leave that out.

I can see if I ever get a really good crop of apples, that I will be making Apple Juice, Applesauce, and Apple wine. And if I can ever conquer the bugs eating the daylights out of the apples, maybe even a few worth eating. Do have to say, I'd rather drink an apple worth of juice than eat one after last night - the results of that juicer on those apples was something incredible.

So OK OK. I won't give up an apple wine just yet. At least I know if I start with a gallon of pure juice like this, it will be plenty strong. Not sure how much sugar will be needed.

Side light - Waste not wife is going to look into making something edible from the pulp the juicer kicked out. Apparently there is a way to turn that into some sort of wafer/cracker time things. I'd try that.

 

[wildhair]

Side light - Waste not wife is going to look into making something edible from the pulp the juicer kicked out. Apparently there is a way to turn that into some sort of wafer/cracker time things. I'd try that.

I've whizzed applesauce up in the Ninja and poured it on wax paper lines cookie sheet and dried it into fruit leather. Dry it beyond that (or cut the leather in strips and bake it) and you could get "Apple Crackers". Good luck.

Try pruning the tree A LOT this winter, opening the middle up to sunlight - make sure you put a tree wound dressing on the cuts. Then before the tree buds begin to swell - spray with dormant oil. If you have that much problem with bugs - you'll need to get at least a 2 gal. pump sprayer and a GOOD insecticide. I try to spray as little as possible, only 2 times this year. You gotta hit the tree right after blossom drop, then again about 2-3 weeks later. I use Bonide Fruit Tree concentrate. It's not organic - but it's effective.
A lot of your bug problem might be that the wormy apples fall off (or the bugs hatch) and then the bugs overwinter in your soil or under the bark. Be sure to pick up all the windfalls and toss them on the compost heap. Hopefully, after a couple years of religious spraying & pruning and cleaning up - you don't have to spray much at all to get good apples.

 

[Scooter68]

Did exactly that pruning process on a challenging Blueberry bush last year. This year it was the top producer of blueberries. (15-20lbs) Have a plum tree I've done that to as well.

We've been fighting Fire Blight on the apples so they got pruned well last year. Much better that way this year but you are correct. Pruning properly is not for the faint of heart.

The spray process is just as you say something you do as little as possible but at the right time and right stuff it should do well. I prefer 70% Neem, 0.25% Pyrethrins, Fertilome Triple Action. Just have to apply at the right time. Of course never when the bees are out and about the trees and plants. Have dormant oil but again at the right time or you wasting your time.

Thanks for the good words and encouragement. (I was told by the wife not to worry about a recipe - SHE will handle it. Backing off that now.)

 

[Scooter68]

Well the apples are all picked. Second tree produced almost 2 bushels the first about 1/2 bushel.
The juicer is doing great. Slow but the results are fantastic. I'm getting about 1 quart of apple juice from each 1 gallon bag of apple pieces. (3.5 lbs per bag) The taste of the juice is great.

But, this is a bit of work. Cutting, bagging freeziing, thawing THEN to the juicer. On the up side I still have 4 bags of apple pieces to juice plus another bushel from the last tree that haven't been cut up yet. The second tree is a McIntosh. The first was a Stayman Winesap. So the question is should I be mixing in a 3rd variety for a better flavor? The McIntosh is going to make up at least 75 percent of the juice I get and the Winesap about 25 percent. From all the reading I've done it is considered best to add in some Sweeter apples as well. To do this I would have to go to a fruit stand or the grocery store - is it really worth it?

 

[wildhair]

Glad you're getting so much juice from your apples. I've cored/wedged about 130# now - still a 1/2 box to go. I've read that using the juice from different trees is best, but I'll make my wine with what I have. Some of the apples are tart, some are sweeter - that'll have to do for me.

 

[Scooter68]

Same Here. The taste is great. Think my tally so far is about 2 1/2 bushels but some have been tossed out of my electric fenced area for the deer or whatever critter comes along first. Finished juicing what I have already cut up for a total of almost 2 1/5 gallons. Still have a bushel left to cut up or eat. Will probably wind up juicing another gallon. For certain one gallon to wine and some for Apple juice/cider for the grandkids (Have to freeze it) May still have enough for a second gallon of wine. Possibly an Apple Cinnamon wine that could be heated for wintertime enjoyment. (I've had Hot wine (glühwein) from street vendors and Germany and it sure hits the spot on a cold day)
What's interesting is the technical "Differences" between Apple Juice and Apple Cider. Think I'll have some fun and start a thread on that her in a minute.

 

[wildhair]

What's interesting is the technical "Differences" between Apple Juice and Apple Cider.

I'm guessing that's like the topics - "What oil is Best" or "Which bike is Better" on the motorcycle forums. LOL

 

[PandemoniumWines]

My apples aren't quite ready to be picked yet :/

 

[Scooter68]

I'm guessing that's like the topics - "What oil is Best" or "Which bike is Better" on the motorcycle forums. LOL

Understand Here's what funny - Martinelli's (Maker of Sparkliing Apple Cider - non-alcoholic) admits that they only difference between THEIR Apple Cider and their Apple Juice ..... The label.

So except in Mass. The differences can be nothing or something. Only thing I would be concerned about is the additives they use to keep it fresh.

 

[wildhair]

My apples aren't quite ready to be picked yet :/

Most trees don't ripen this early. This is the off-year for my Wolf River apple tree - they ripen in late Sept and are best (sweetest) after a frost. I only have 2 trees and thankfully they alternate heavy production years. The problem with apples ripening this early is you HAVE to refrigerate them or they go bad FAST! With fall apples, at least up here, I can just leave them in the garage and process them at a more leisurely pace.

 

[Scooter68]

Our trees in NW Arkansas never get anywhere near a freeze before the apples are either dropping of the trees or birds and all the other critters launch a full scale attack. They are never as ripe as I'd like but the juice is turning out pretty good. Just tested some of the freshly processed juice and it's reading out with a SG 1.050 and pH of 3.44.

I agree, I thought all apples needed to have some good cool weather to ripen properly but they never get that chance here.

 

[Scooter68]

Well I started a 1 gallon batch of Apple Wine on the 6th - Pitched the yeast on the evening of the 7th and tonight the SG has dropped from 1.110 to 1.060.

This is a wild foam monster. I'm using k1-V1116 which I thought was a low foaming variety - NOPE! Everytime I uncover the bucket the foam is at least 1 1/2: thick. I stir and the dried foam dissolves but the foam is being generated so quickly the the surface is covered in seconds. The aroma is great. I've got a current volume of 1.5 gallons and shade more but I know I'm going to have a lot of lees since this was freshly juiced apples with all the pulp left in that came out of my Omega Juicer.

Just racked a 2 gallon peach wine batch with the same yeast on Monday and it was at 1.010 still it foamed into the airlocks in about 5 mins. Took the airlock off for about 5 hours and it finally died down but I just used water in the airlock. SO with this Apple wine I'm probably going to wait until it's down to about 1.000 before I think about racking into a carboy.

When I do rack into a carboy =- Think I will rack into another bucket initially and use a strainer to catch the pulp. THEN I'll rack that into a carboy. OPTION 2 is to rack from the top as normal and once my carboy is filled - Put the rest into a 1/2 gallon carboy to settle out the gross lee. I can see this wine taking a long time to clear, so I'll hit it with some bentonite after fermentation is over. My last apple wine took about 6-7 months before it was close to clear.

On the good side I have a 1/2 gallon jug of juice and about 15-20 lbs of uncut apples yet to process. Wife thinks we are going to eat those - We'll see how that goes.

In any case this first gallon batch looks VERY promising right now.

So In the works now I have:
2 1/2 gallons Zinfandel
2 Gallons Blush Zinfandel
1 Gallon Loquat (Crystal Clear after 3 months!!
3 Gallons Black Currant
3 Gallons Tart Cherry
3 Gallons Blueberry
3 Gallons Peach
1 Gallon Peach with Vanilla Bean
1 Gallon Peach (For blending with Vanilla Bean gallon if the bean overcomes the peachs)
1 Gallon Apple wine from about 20% Winesap and 80% Mcintosh

Think I'm ready to give it a rest unless I "Find" some fruit begging to be made into wine. (More Apples maybe??)

 

[wildhair]

You're way ahead of me. I'm in the middle of garden harvest season. Green beans, sweet corn, beets - all need to be canned. ALL the fruit is frozen until weather cools and snow flies - THEN I'll start pitching yeast.

I've had very good results with Vintners Harvest SN9 yeast - low foam, higher alcohol tolerance (up to 18%) & recommended for fruit, cider and flower wines.

 

[Scooter68]

Our garden got neglected by me this year but the wife has done a great job with it. I had another project that ate my time this year - not the wine making.

I am hoping that tart cherry wine turns out well because I've got 3 new tart cherry trees and a tart cherry bush that with good care and good seasons, should be producing in about 3 years and maybe in 5-6 years I'll be making a lot of cherry wine. That's if I don't eat most of them as I pick them. I have acquired a taste for tart cherries.

 

[Smok1]

Nice, heres what i have on the go for fruit wines:
6 gallon blueberry, clear and aging.
6 gallon green apple, clear and aging
6 gallon dark cherry, clear and aging
6 gallon strawberry/rhubarb, clear and again
7.5 gallon apricot in primary, will be transfered to secondary today
7.5 gallon peach in primary fermenting
Todays job is to rerack some carboys, put the apricot into a carboy for secondary ferment, start a new batch of apricot.

I have to make my wine as my fruit ripens because indont have enough room in the deep freeze for all the fruit, either i use it now or it goes to waste.

 

[Scooter68]

I have to make my wine as my fruit ripens because indont have enough room in the deep freeze for all the fruit, either i use it now or it goes to waste.

I'm needing to look through my blueberries in the freezer - Not that I NEED more blueberry wine but I don't want them getting freezer burned or just plain lost in the fridge.

Juiced 3 bags (2 cups/bag) and got 1 full quart of juice. The new juicer does a great job AND it gave me a chance to taste some seeds - NOT tasty so With that in mind I think I can separate out a lot of the seeds with the juicers help. Thinking of making a cloth bag out of muslin - not mesh but actual muslin cloth. That might let me capture the seeds away from lees and have a cleaner juice.

 

[ashleyasmith]

Careful when picking out a juicer, if you buy the top feed ones that spins really fast (centrifigul)the oxidize the crap out of the juice. Most centrifigal juicers cap out around 3000rpm and spin the fruit so fast it extracts the juice from the pulp but inturn creates heat which damages the nutritrional content and spins juice so fast it oxidizes very quickly. Auger juicers run only about 40 rpm, pressing the juice from the pulp maintaining nutritional value without oxidization. I own 2 centrifigul juicers and one auger style, the auger was more expensive but outperforms the two centrifigul style juicers hands down. The high speed centrifiguls have a high failure rate due to being high rpm machines, there harder to clean up and they dont extract juice as well as an auger, the pulp will be slightly moist outta the extractor whereas the auger is dry pulp.

I concur. Best to buy a masticating or triturating juicer - they extract more juice and the juice doesn't separate so quickly. I own a centrifugal juicer which is fast and worked well for about 2 months but over time as the blade and the mesh become dull it's become super loud. The pulp is mostly not "pulp" - lots of big pieces of the fruits in the collector. Big waste. I'm thinking about upgrading to either the Omega 8006 or the Tribest Green Star (twin gear). They both receive very good reviews, but I'm thinking hard which one is more worth the price. The Tribest is like half a grand...

 

[Scooter68]

I bought an Omega 8008Cx (Refurebished) and it has done a great job on apples. Quiet and VERY efficient. A gallon bag of frozen then thawed apples 6 cups yeilds a quart (4 cups) of thick apple juice and just under 1 cup of dry pulp. Yeah I know that math is strange 6 cups becomes 5 cups but there is air and open spaces , and that juice fantastic.

Bottom line folks - Making wine and using some fruits is WORK - no way around it. I spent a lot of time with our apples cutting into small (Fingertip) sized pieces and freezing them. BUT when they went through that juicer the outcome was fantastic. We even made use of the pulp leftover to make crackers - yeah apple crackers. The flavor is pretty good, not raving over it but good. (Imagine plain wheat thins with apple flavor)