Apple Wine

[jumby]

Does anybody know of a good recipe for making apple wine from fresh cider? I want to try making a 6 gallon batch now that cider is fresh and plentiful. I was thinking about using Dangerous Dave's dragon blood recipe and substituting cider instead of the fruit. Any thoughts?

 

[Runningwolf]

I've made ton's of it from cider. Just add enough sugar to 21 brix and ferment. I also like to add cinnamon sticks to it when aging. If you do a search on here you might find several recipes.

 

[jumby]

Should I add any yeast energizer, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme or tannins???

 

[Zog]

I make a lot of cider wine as well. Here's a few things I do:

- Make sure the cider doesn't have sorbate added as a preservative. It won't ferment if it has sorbate... learned that the hard way.

- Add K-meta to the cider to suppress any wild yeast and let it sit a day.

- Add pectic enzyme and let it sit for another day. This helps the wine to clear later.

- I add a white wine tannin called FT Blanc Soft.

- Had good results with Cote des Blanc yeast or D47.

- Yeast nutrients are a good idea.

Personally I don't add any cinnamon or apple pie spices. I just try to make nice white table wine that I wouldn't mind drinking every day. Spices can be added added later - like a mulled wine - when you want that.

I ferment to dry, then once it is stable, I often re-sweeten to semi-dry (about 1 Brix)... like a dry Riesling.

Get an extra bottle or two of cider and freeze them. Then when you are ready to re-sweeten, turn the bottles of frozen cider upside down in a bucket and let them melt. The first half that melts will super sweet, super apple flavored concentrated cider. The water will be left behind still frozen. Then use the concentrate to re-sweeten your wine instead of cane sugar.

 

[jumby]

I make a lot of cider wine as well. Here's a few things I do:

- Make sure the cider doesn't have sorbate added as a preservative. It won't ferment if it has sorbate... learned that the hard way.

- Add K-meta to the cider to suppress any wild yeast and let it sit a day.

- Add pectic enzyme and let it sit for another day. This helps the wine to clear later.

- I add a white wine tannin called FT Blanc Soft.

- Had good results with Cote des Blanc yeast or D47.

- Yeast nutrients are a good idea.

Personally I don't add any cinnamon or apple pie spices. I just try to make nice white table wine that I wouldn't mind drinking every day. Spices can be added added later - like a mulled wine - when you want that.

I ferment to dry, then once it is stable, I often re-sweeten to semi-dry (about 1 Brix)... like a dry Riesling.

Get an extra bottle or two of cider and freeze them. Then when you are ready to re-sweeten, turn the bottles of frozen cider upside down in a bucket and let them melt. The first half that melts will super sweet, super apple flavored concentrated cider. The water will be left behind still frozen. Then use the concentrate to re-sweeten your wine.

do you add any acid blend?

 

[Zog]

do you add any acid blend?

If the cider isn't acidic enough I use malic acid, but blend would work too.

 

[jumby]

If the cider isn't acidic enough I use malic acid, but blend would work too.

How much acid do you normally add? I'm thinking about a teaspoon for a 6 gallon batch. Also how long from pitching the yeast to when it's drinkable? Thanks for all your help!

 

[Zog]

How much acid do you normally add? I thinking about a teaspoon for a 6 gallon batch. Thanks for all your help!

Before I got smart and bought a pH meter I used to add 4 teaspoons to a 6 gallon batch. But, the acidity of cider can vary quite a bit, so it really is better to measure the actual acid in your batch. Another thing I learned the hard way is that if you add too much it is really hard to correct it. If you don't have a meter maybe a local beer and wine making store will measure it. I wouldn't bother with litmus test strips - your taste buds would be more accurate.