First time with real fruit. Help!

[HorribleAtThis]

Ok, so I have used a juicer to make 3 gallons of pear juice.

I have saved the pulp and need to know what to do next.

I realize most people wouldn't juice fresh fruit but this is just how things ended up.

I cut them all up, so not seeds/cores were juiced.

Do I add the campden now?
If so, how much and how many hours do I wait?

Should I add the pulp in muslin bag and then add pectic enzyme?

How much sugar should I add?

Should I use water or just leave it as is?

There are so many varying ideas on the Internet, it has become confusing.

Help if you can. I really appreciate it.

This is my first time using real fruit so I am kinda lost.

Thank you so much.

 

[NorCal]

I would look up Dragons Blood and follow the processes outlined in there. Just substitute your pears/juice for their berries.

 

[Scooter68]

Here's a link to a basic pear wine recipe. You can just adjust the numbers for a 3 gallon batch instead of the five.

Only problem I see is that they don't recommend leaving the skins and seeds in on due to the acid and bitter tastes that the skin can impart BUT since you removed the seeds and cores you should be good to go. Don't know how much bitterness the skin could have.

http://www.eckraus.com/winerecipes/pearwine.pdf

One change I would make is more of a procedural thing. DON'T add the acid blend at all until you have everything else ready to go. You can even wait until the Campden tabs have done their clean up first - just test the acidity before you pitch the yeast. Then adjust as needed to between 3.4 - 3.6 pH or .55-.65 TA

 

[Norton]

I made it a few times with skins on. I used the Asian pear recipe at Jack Kellers,website.

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

I've never "juiced" my fruit(s) in order to make wine. 3-5 pounds of fruit, cut then frozen then thawed per gallon of wine. How much pounds of pear did you juice? You might be able to make a nice subtle 6 gallon batch of pear wine with that 3 gallons of pear juice.

NorCal mentioned the Dragons Blood recipe; I've used it or a variation of it for all my fruit/country wines. All have been well received by family and friends.

Good luck!

 

[Julie]

add enough sugar to bring your sg to 1.080 to 1.090. One cup of sugar will raise sg approx. .018 per gallon. Then add your campden and add some peptic enzyme and nutrient as well, take a ph reading and adjust your ph to 3.5 to 3.6. wait 24 hours and add your yeast.

I would just let your pulp in the must and once your sg is down to around 1.010 or less you can pour the must thru a strainer to another primary to get it off the pulp and then rack to a carboy.

 

[Stressbaby]

I agree with Julie on all points.

Only thing I would add is that you could wind up with < 3 gallons after the pulp settles out and you rack off of the gross lees. If it were me I'd consider touching the volume up slightly with, for example, 1 can of Welch's white grape concentrate and a tiny bit of water. My thinking here is that I could fill a 3 gal carboy and have a little bit left for topping up. I hate winding up with 2.75 gallons of wine.

 

[Scooter68]

I agree with Julie on all points.

Only thing I would add is that you could wind up with < 3 gallons after the pulp settles out and you rack off of the gross lees. If it were me I'd consider touching the volume up slightly with, for example, 1 can of Welch's white grape concentrate and a tiny bit of water. My thinking here is that I could fill a 3 gal carboy and have a little bit left for topping up. I hate winding up with 2.75 gallons of wine.

Think he might be OK if he's going to add a simple syrup to raise the SG. I normally make a 2-1 sugar to water syrup so he might get there just fine. If his starting volume is at least 3.5 gallons loss of the lees shouldn't hurt. Takes a lot of fruit to generate 3 gallons (According to a site on Juicing - 1 lb yields 4-6 oz of juice =using 6oz as a result that's 64 lbs of pears for 3 gallons of juice) So I don't think adding a little water along the way is going 'dilute' this batch. I think that Welchs White Grape Juice will overpower the flavor of the pears - I've used small amounts in blackberry wine which has a strong flavor and I could smell the aroma of the grapes but thankfully the flavor was all blackberry.

As far as losing from lees, most recipes figure that loss into the quantity of fruit used. That's why for newby especially it works well. Add some distilled water to top off and move on.

 

[Stressbaby]

@HorribleAtThis, you should come back and post your specific gravity and maybe any other details. pH reading would be great if you can get that. Then we could perhaps be more help.

 

[user 32114]

I have only every used fresh fruit an berries but i'm no giant like the rest but I put my pears sliced like potato chips into the freezer, after around 48 hours I add water I use 5 pound of pear per gallon of water, pectic enzyme , now for the good news pears clear slower then every thing else I know of rack with vacuum pump every 3 months for a year, but well worth it, others might tell you a faster way, I do know they make a pear pectin because it is super hard to clear the only other way I know is lots of time an patience but like they say good things come to those whom wait, pear is the hardest wine I have to hang on to.
Dawg