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Last week was my big bottling action for the year. I'm going very slow this year with zero peaches, zero blueberries and zero apples. Bottled up last years wines including: 1 gallon of tart cherry, 2 gallons of Blueberry, 3 gallons of blackberry, and 4 gallons of Black Raspberry blend. With the extra from the last one I ended up with 52 bottles of wine. Haven't started anything new this spring due to family health issues so I still have about 6 gallons aging and that will be all for a while. Thinking about ordering some Peach and Plum concentrates but not right away.
 
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@RichardC Here's a better picture of the pear. It's surprisingly amber to me. However, after thawing the pears, they browned slightly so I'm sure that what we're seeing.

So, from left to right: 1. Rhubarb/Strawberry, 2. Pear, 3. Dragon's Blood with Blackberry, Raspberry and Marionberry.
 
I've tried pear before, and it was a disaster. Many people have told me that it makes a great wine, but I'm missing something.

Do you juice with a steam juicer or press or do you ferment on the fruit itself? Do you peal the skin or ferment/juice with the skin on? Do you leave the pear core or do you cut that out?
 
I've tried pear before, and it was a disaster. Many people have told me that it makes a great wine, but I'm missing something.

Do you juice with a steam juicer or press or do you ferment on the fruit itself? Do you peal the skin or ferment/juice with the skin on? Do you leave the pear core or do you cut that out?
Fruit prep: Cored and cut into chunks but not pealed. I froze the chunks until I was ready to use them. I fermented them with a little water and sugar added to get the gravity to a level I wanted. After fermentation was complete, I drained and strained everything. I was expecting to press but honestly the fruit broke down so much it was like apple sauce toward the end. Separating the juice took FOREVER! But, I was patient.
 
I did essentially the same. Froze pears, but just cut them into chunks, didn't worry about coring. LOTSSSSS of pectic enzyme, little water, sugar to get gravity where I wanted (and probably some acid added), tannins. Everything into a large fermenting bag, squeezed gently by hand to remove liquids, but not much gunk. Then more pectic enzyme after fermentation to aid in the clearing.
 
cmason1957, i always wondered why many recipes say to let the bag of fruit drip dry and not to squeeze.
 
cmason1957, i always wondered why many recipes say to let the bag of fruit drip dry and not to squeeze.
That's a goo point and if one is supposed to avoid over exposing a wine to O2 then letting hang and drip for even 30 mins seems like a poor idea. I do squeeze the fruit bags and use a stainless steel strainer but I try to work quickly and get it bottled up. Like others do I take that last super cloudy wine from the strainer and chill it for a day or two and that normally aids in getting the majority of the gunk to drop out.
 
We enjoyed grilled shrimp with green chili sauce; corn on the cob (butter, basil); regular broccoli (lemon, butter, capers, garlic); beet salad (red onions, balsamic vinegar); grilled fennel; and a side salad.

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i'm calling foul,,, your not gettern that to run thru your pump ,nore into your bottles,
you cant fool me, i've already been fooled,,
Dawg
 
Fruit prep: Cored and cut into chunks but not pealed. I froze the chunks until I was ready to use them. I fermented them with a little water and sugar added to get the gravity to a level I wanted. After fermentation was complete, I drained and strained everything. I was expecting to press but honestly the fruit broke down so much it was like apple sauce toward the end. Separating the juice took FOREVER! But, I was patient.
OK, how do you measure the gravity? At the time you have sugars trapped in the pears, so how do you know what your real sugar content is?
 
OK, how do you measure the gravity? At the time you have sugars trapped in the pears, so how do you know what your real sugar content is?
Add pectic enzyme at least 12 hrs before then push a sieve into the must and allow juice to collect inside the sieve. Dip out the juice into a hydrometer column to measure with a hydrometer.
 
I did essentially the same. Froze pears, but just cut them into chunks, didn't worry about coring. LOTSSSSS of pectic enzyme, little water, sugar to get gravity where I wanted (and probably some acid added), tannins. Everything into a large fermenting bag, squeezed gently by hand to remove liquids, but not much gunk. Then more pectic enzyme after fermentation to aid in the clearing.
Did you ferment the whole fruit? I’m going to start a batch here shortly.
 

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