Apple wine

[Tito]

Should i freeze the apples before juicing? I normally freeze all my fruits as it yields more juice. Also what yeast do you all recommend?

 

[djrockinsteve]

You can. It will help to release the juice from its cell structure. Simmer the juice if you want to remove excess water and increase flavor. Toss in a few pears to add flavor too.

Lalvin EC-1118 will work very well.

 

[cintipam]

Personally I only use 71B on apple wine. I really like tart wine, but when I tried using Cotes De Blanc yeast after reading how fab it was on apples I had to resort to blending my apple wine into others to make it drinkable. With 71B it takes that sharp edge off and INHO makes a more approachable wine.

Pam in cinti

 

[dralarms]

I use 71B also.

 

[Deezil]

I would freeze them, if you had the room. It always helps..

Yeast choice depends on the must, and your end game.

I've really come to like working with apple (and pear by proxy - I like a 50/50 ish blend, a more rounded and complex flavor profile).. but there's two ways to make it..

Bright and crisp (Riesling -esque) or with more body and smoothness (Chardonnay -ish)

If you like it bright and crisp, and have tart apples, then something like 71b would convert some of the harsher malic acid away without overdoing it.. If it's crisp, but just right, you have more options (or if you know you want a sweeter finished wine, you can sweeten it to balance the higher acidity) - 1116, D47, or a couple other more uncommon choices.

If you like the rounder, smoother option, those same yeast options are open, but it's followed up with a Malolactic fermentation to convert all the malic acid to lactic acid. Usually takes a small tartaric acid adjustment after that, to liven it up again, but to me, the extra steps are worth it

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

And use honey to raise the sugar level instead of just sugar, adds some body and taste, takes apple wine up to a higher level. WVMJ

 

[Thig]

And use honey to raise the sugar level instead of just sugar, adds some body and taste, takes apple wine up to a higher level. WVMJ

I have a 3 gallon batch of Apple wine that has fermented dry, I know I need to bench trial but about how much honey to the gallon do you use?

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Your in GA, can you get some good sourwood honey, it would be perfect match. I cant tell you how much you want to add, we like ours just a little off dry so we dont have to add much back when we are backsweetening. Also depends on how acidic your apples were. WVMJ

 

[Turock]

I've found that freezing doesn't do much to apples. It yields very little juice and only softens them but doesn't macerate them very well. I think the best way is to core and shred them using a fruit shredder or a food processor. And use a good pectic enzyme such as Lallzyme C-Max instead of regular pectic enzyme. The Lallzyme is a rapid de-pectinizer and great for viscous types of musts. You'll get better juice yield with it.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Why would you core them? Cidermakers dont bother coring ever. We freeze our crab apples and it makes a big difference in juice but apple take up to much room. Cidersupply.com has some good pectinases for apples and specifically for pears. WVMJ

 

[Turock]

If you're using a food processer, you sure wouldn't want to break the seeds. I think the fruit shredders can handle the seeds better without chopping them up.