Hi there am really new to this and looking for help on a recipe o wish I hadn’t started

[Nicola]

Ingredients per Gallon;
4 lbs frozen or fresh ripe Strawberries - after 7 to 10 days
2 lbs frozen or fresh ripe Strawberries - in secondary ferment
1 can (12 oz) frozen 100% White Grape Juice concentrate
Juice of 1/3 Lemon or 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice - in primary
Juice of 1 Orange or 2 oz Orange Juice - in primary
Add 1 Banana for body - optional - in primary
2 cups Brown Sugar plus 1/2 cups White Sugar - in primary ferment Additional 1 cup White Sugar - in secondary ferment
1 cup (8 oz) Strong Black Tea - in primary
Enough Filtered, Spring, or Rain Water to make up 1 gallon
1/4 teaspoon Pectic Enzyme - in primary
1/2 teaspoon Yeast Nutrient - staggered 1/4 tsp on days 1 and 3 Target Original Specific Gravity 1.115 to 1.120
(15% to 15.5% Potential Alcohol)
Yeast; 1/4 packet for 1 gallon
Recommended - Red Star Cotes des Blancs 14% Or Lalvin ICV-D47 14%
Or Lalvin Narbonne 71B-1122 14%
Or Nottingham Ale Yeast
Directions; Start your must with the sugar and white grape juice. Fill to about 3/4 of a gallon with water, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrient. Then pitch the yeast. Then after 7 to 10 days, add the fruit, top off with water, if needed.
Primary Fermenting Time: 3 to 4 Weeks add 2 lbs of additional fruit in secondary Secondary Fermenting Time: 4 to 6 Weeks
Options; For stronger fruit taste and aroma; add

 

[sour_grapes]

Oh, hell, who cares? Without reading it carefully, I think your recipe will turn out fine. Don't worry, be happy!

 

[Nicola]

Oh, hell, who cares? Without reading it carefully, I think your recipe will turn out fine. Don't worry, be happy!

Very informative thanks for the reply, I hope there more like you in the group! What a real find this page has been. Given the fact Crab Joe has liked your comment it would appear am in for a real treat. Don’t over think it you have given me enough information already, but thanks for your time.

 

[Stressbaby]

@Nicola
I read your post, and read it carefully. I didn't reply because you didn't ask a question and you didn't give us needed information. You can't blame someone for being snarky when you've just copied and pasted the recipe but without missing lots of info. Have you started the recipe? How far along are you? What are your SG readings? What problems have you encountered? Which yeast did you use?

Take a look here: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/wmt-sunday-musings-on-the-our-little-forum.66136/

 

[Rice_Guy]

This is a complicated recipe , , as Paul says it will turn out
* white grape juice is there to provide a fermentable backbone/ stuff for yeast to grow on. It also helps with fruity aromatics. With grape here it isn’t important to add yeast nutrient.
* adding a second dose of strawberry is there to increase the fruit flavors. Fruit added early in the process loses some aromatics, more the higher the temp. Tasted a blue ribbon wine in contest last year where the vinter wasn’t happy with weak flavor and added a fruit syrup before bottling. . . Later gives more bang for the buck.
* strong tea is there as a natural source of tannin, many of us have collected a bottle of tannin and add the chemical form.
* spring water; water with low mineral content, the grand baby is getting distilled with some mineral added back, when I was giving my kids a bottle I used tap water, didn’t know this was important 30 years ago, hum !
* I usually say sugar is sugar and translates into the final percentage of alcohol, some recipes keep adding sugar to train the yeast to finish at 18%, ie a port style.
* yeast, lots of choices will work, the ale yeast will stress/die at 8% alcohol which results in a sweeter finished wine, most of us just add a packet . . no left overs
* lemon and orange, acids are needed for “balanced” flavor, more acid translates to longer shelf life
* campden tablet, (or potassium metabisulphite powder) most of us start with 1 per gallon unless we are doing organic food rules

Complicated with lots of steps, , , , most of us just mix once and let it run.

 

[pillswoj]

Assuming that the question is how to get more fruit taste / aroma, once fermentation is complete SG under 1.000, stabilize with Potassium Sorbate and potassium Metabisulphite then backsweeten up to ~1.005 - 1.010. Fruit wines need some sugar to bring the flavours out. The problem you still may have is that your alcohol level is too high and overpowering the fruit.

If trying again, keep the initial SG down around 1.075 - 1.085, ferment it dry, stabilize and then backsweeten to 1.005 (or to taste)

 

[sour_grapes]

Very informative thanks for the reply, I hope there more like you in the group! What a real find this page has been. Given the fact Crab Joe has liked your comment it would appear am in for a real treat. Don’t over think it you have given me enough information already, but thanks for your time.

Okay, I am sorry. I think my comment didn't come across as intended. I apologize, and I hope I didn't scare you off. I didn't take note of the fact that you were completely new to the forum, and I should have.

Really, what I was trying to convey was that I think the recipe looks fine. Upon reflection, I am a little concerned that your starting SG is a bit high. I think you might get better results if you kept the SG under 1.100, say, 1.090 or so.

 

[Nicola]

Assuming that the question is how to get more fruit taste / aroma, once fermentation is complete SG under 1.000, stabilize with Potassium Sorbate and potassium Metabisulphite then backsweeten up to ~1.005 - 1.010. Fruit wines need some sugar to bring the flavours out. The problem you still may have is that your alcohol level is too high and overpowering the fruit.

If trying again, keep the initial SG down around 1.075 - 1.085, ferment it dry, stabilize and then backsweeten to 1.005 (or to taste)

Hi there my question really is have I ruined it this is what I done.. sorry it’s my first time

I had an initial SG of 1.042 which was too low for me and the wine with fruit recipe, I added more sugar day 2 (1 cup) and it went to about 1.046 I think, I added another cup and left it a day, it ended up a wee bit higher, am now on day 5 and it was just below 1.060 and I have added more to make it just under 1.070, and on day 5 of fermentation

 

[Nicola]

Okay, I am sorry. I think my comment didn't come across as intended. I apologize, and I hope I didn't scare you off. I didn't take note of the fact that you were completely new to the forum, and I should have.

Really, what I was trying to convey was that I think the recipe looks fine. Upon reflection, I am a little concerned that your starting SG is a bit high. I think you might get better results if you kept the SG under 1.100, say, 1.090 or so.

Apology accepted, yeah first post and first attempt, I really should have been more organised but I guess I got too excited and thought the recipe would be easy, not so. But thanks for the apology, am up for a bit of banter was just having a melt down

 

[Nicola]

This is a complicated recipe , , as Paul says it will turn out
* white grape juice is there to provide a fermentable backbone/ stuff for yeast to grow on. It also helps with fruity aromatics. With grape here it isn’t important to add yeast nutrient.
* adding a second dose of strawberry is there to increase the fruit flavors. Fruit added early in the process loses some aromatics, more the higher the temp. Tasted a blue ribbon wine in contest last year where the vinter wasn’t happy with weak flavor and added a fruit syrup before bottling. . . Later gives more bang for the buck.
* strong tea is there as a natural source of tannin, many of us have collected a bottle of tannin and add the chemical form.
* spring water; water with low mineral content, the grand baby is getting distilled with some mineral added back, when I was giving my kids a bottle I used tap water, didn’t know this was important 30 years ago, hum !
* I usually say sugar is sugar and translates into the final percentage of alcohol, some recipes keep adding sugar to train the yeast to finish at 18%, ie a port style.
* yeast, lots of choices will work, the ale yeast will stress/die at 8% alcohol which results in a sweeter finished wine, most of us just add a packet . . no left overs
* lemon and orange, acids are needed for “balanced” flavor, more acid translates to longer shelf life
* campden tablet, (or potassium metabisulphite powder) most of us start with 1 per gallon unless we are doing organic food rules

Complicated with lots of steps, , , , most of us just mix once and let it run.

Thanks for all that info I appreciate it, I am learning every day

 

[Nicola]

@Nicola
I read your post, and read it carefully. I didn't reply because you didn't ask a question and you didn't give us needed information. You can't blame someone for being snarky when you've just copied and pasted the recipe but without missing lots of info. Have you started the recipe? How far along are you? What are your SG readings? What problems have you encountered? Which yeast did you use?

Take a look here: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/wmt-sunday-musings-on-the-our-little-forum.66136/

Well tbh I did, cause it was my first post and I wasn’t even sure how to post and I was looking to see if anyone would reply to post my question, but that’s between me and them and has been resolved. My problem was...

I had an initial SG of 1.042 which was too low for me and the wine with fruit recipe, I added more sugar day 2 (1 cup) and it went to about 1.046 I think, I added another cup and left it a day, it ended up a wee bit higher, am now on day 5 and it was just below 1.060 and I have added more to make it just under 1.070, But it is what it is and if it does not work I will be more careful on how I ask for help. Cheers

 

[sour_grapes]

Well tbh I did, cause it was my first post and I wasn’t even sure how to post and I was looking to see if anyone would reply to post my question, but that’s between me and them and has been resolved. My problem was...

I had an initial SG of 1.042 which was too low for me and the wine with fruit recipe, I added more sugar day 2 (1 cup) and it went to about 1.046 I think, I added another cup and left it a day, it ended up a wee bit higher, am now on day 5 and it was just below 1.060 and I have added more to make it just under 1.070, But it is what it is and if it does not work I will be more careful on how I ask for help. Cheers

First, thank you for graciously accepting my apology. The problem is all on me, not you. If I am being honest, there was a little of this going on: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/post-a-meme-any-meme-no-politics.64837/page-102#post-745252

But to your question: I would like to know if you have signs of fermentation? Fizzing, bubbling, yeasty smells?

The reason I ask is that when you add sugar, the SG goes up, but as the yeasties eat the sugar, the SG goes down. So it is possible that you are adding it at a rate where it gets somewhat reduced between additions because the yeast are fermenting it.

If you know the total amount of sugar you added to what volume, you can use Fermcalc to get a decent estimate on the expected alcohol. Link: http://www.fermcalc.com/fermcalc_applet.html . But in any event, I think you are on a good track now, with an appropriate (I think) amount of sugar.

 

[Nicola]

First, thank you for graciously accepting my apology. The problem is all on me, not you. If I am being honest, there was a little of this going on: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/post-a-meme-any-meme-no-politics.64837/page-102#post-745252

But to your question: I would like to know if you have signs of fermentation? Fizzing, bubbling, yeasty smells?

The reason I ask is that when you add sugar, the SG goes up, but as the yeasties eat the sugar, the SG goes down. So it is possible that you are adding it at a rate where it gets somewhat reduced between additions because the yeast are fermenting it.

If you know the total amount of sugar you added to what volume, you can use Fermcalc to get a decent estimate on the expected alcohol. Link: http://www.fermcalc.com/fermcalc_applet.html . But in any event, I think you are on a good track now, with an appropriate (I think) amount of sugar.[/QUOTE

Thank you for the links! Appreciated and yeah there’s certainly noise coming from the wee tube, not so many bubbles as there was at first but there is stuff moving around inside lol