My first peach wine

[seth8530]

Ok here are the photo's, I also went ahead and pitched the yeast.

 

[Sammyk]

What brand of hydrometer are you using? I like that it is easy to read!

 

[seth8530]

Im not quite sure, and it is not exactly new and the package is long gone by now. But it reads all the way up to %20 abv lol
However, many things are easier to read if ya take a picture in and zoom on in at it.

 

[Deezil]

Lalvin 1122 info
1122 pdf

In the pdf:

"71B is known for making blush and semi-sweet wines and owes its success to
its abilities to produce amyl ester (isoamyl acetate), reinforcing the aromatic profile of
wines. 71B also softens high acid musts by partially metabolizing malic acid (20-30%)"

The malic acid metabolizing isnt as important here as the semi-sweet wine & enhancing the aromatic profile.

Lalvin D47 info
D47 pdf

D-47 on the other hand, from the info page:

"This strain tolerates fermentation temperatures ranging from 15° to 20°C (59° to 68°F) and enhances mouthfeel due to complex carbohydrates"

The enhancing of mouthfeel wouldnt be a bad idea either.. I dunno if you could split the batch, run both yeasts & blend in the end for both characteristics.. Or if thats too much for you.. Just ideas.. D47, if left on the lees will develop spicy notes though - not something you want in a peach wine..

Edit: Posted before i realized you pitched the yeast .. Which did you go with?

 

[seth8530]

Thanks for posting those links! I went ahead and used the 1112 last night. Im hoping that their might be some signs of fermentation by the end of the day.. This just might end up being one of those MEGA batches lol

 

[seth8530]

Ok, im still afraid that the wine will be a little light on body, You thin if I added 5 cups of raisins it would ruin any peach flavor?

 

[Deezil]

If i remember right, you're looking at like... 8-10 gallons in the end? 7 gallons of water right? Pretty sure you could get away with 2-3lbs of golden raisins, no problem.

I had 5lbs of golden raisins in my 12 gallons of peach

There's gonna be a phase where it stands out, like i mentioned earlier, but it will fade into the background wonderfully with time.

 

[seth8530]

Yes, you are correct. I dont know for sure what the volume is, but your guess is as good as mine. How long you think this will need to age? any idea how to guess at the sugar contribution from the raisins?

 

[Deezil]

I didnt worry about the sugar found in the raisins much - kinda like i didnt really worry about the dilution from the f-pack. Probably somewhere within the 1% +/- threshold that we cant really measure accurately anywho.

Mines at 18+ months, and its amazing... It still had some of the green/tart profile before that. I would give yours a year, then taste it but dont be scared of another 6 months.

 

[seth8530]

hmm sounds fair enough. I think im gona be able to get the alcohol gain from the raisins. I added 5lb raisins and if the yeast eats it all that means a 1.595 kg of sugar added into the must. When I finnaly take out all the fruit bags from the wine I can measure the volume of the wine and from that figure out how must 1.595 kg of sugar would effect my given volume of wine.. Seem solid?

Im just really worried that my peaches sucked hard and I wont be getting much peach taste out of my wine.

 

[seth8530]

using this chart http://www.honeycreek.us/specfic_gravity_table.phpand knowing that Im adding 3.52 lb of sugar into the must.

If I assume im going to have 8 gallons of wine I divide 3.52/8= .44lb or 7.04 oz sugar/gal to make it work with the chart. interpolation gives the potential increase to be 2 percent. final alcohol about 14 percent

If I assume 10 gallons of wine I have .352 lb or 5.632 oz of sugar/gal addition
here using interpolation potential alcohol is 1.54 percent final alcohol 13.54 percent.

 

[Deezil]

The logic of it seems solid, but the math just has to be right.

If you wanna "game the system" a bit... Let this rip and roar like it is... Then wait until about late july when fresh peaches go to 49-99 cents/pound... Pick up some of those juicy ones for a MEAN f-pack..

25lbs for 8 gallons
30lbs for 10 gallons

The two figures are based off of 25% of a 12lbs/gallon recipe, which is about what i did in my recipe.

Some people put their f-pack on the stove and simmer it down but i had heard about a lot of problems people have with getting their peach wine to clear..

So what i did, was froze the peaches for the f-pack... Took them out, and squeezed the life out of them while they were still partially frozen. This gave me a juice with a simple-syrup consistency.. Even when it hit room temp, it was still thick... The water was left behind mostly as ice.

Granted, my fingers were numb, but the wines great

 

[seth8530]

I trust the math, but the math is only as good as the numbers you give it.

I like your idea of an fpack, The good thing about fpacking this wine is it would bring the alcohol content back down within reason. When you got done with the peaches how much syrup did you end up with?

 

[Deezil]

Had a gallon and a half when i was done squeezing out 30lbs. I had given the 1/2 gallon a swirl, and you can see how thick it was.. Had 11 gallons of wine at the time (started with 12, lost a gallon in sediment, wine was almost clear when i f-packed) and added this 1.5 gallons..

After sediment, i had 12 gallons finished.. So i lost 1/4-1/2 gallon of this f-pack as sediment.

My peach wine had worked itself into the 12% area, so i was using the f-pack to thin the alcohol out some too.. If i remember right, all said and done, it came out at about 10.5 - 11% ABV

 

[seth8530]

That does not sound too bad, however, I would not want to add a gallon and a half of peach juice to my wine because if I start at 13.54%at 10 gallons then dilute it to 11.5 gallons I would end up with a 9.33% wine which would be on the weak side and thus vulnerable to infection.. Perhaps, squeezing the juice out as you said and then concentrating down some other way might be the way to go. I would like to end up with a wine that is close to 12% abv.

Perhaps the addition of pectic enzyme would help the issues with clearing?

 

[Deezil]

I havent done the math yet, getting ready to.. But for some reason, adding 1.5 gallons to 10 gallons & thinning out the alcohol by about 25-33% (13.5 to 9.33 = 4+)... Just doesnt ring true.

Pectic enzyme would help, i used more than recommended but i was dealing with fresh fruit. I think most peoples peach problem either come from a lack of pectic enzyme, a lack of patience, inadequate degassing (these first 3 could be true for most wines).. but i think the big kicker with peach specifically, is using heat to reduce the liquid. I think the heat causes the haze that people cant shake.. Just my theory, but thats why i went around it.

 

[Deezil]

My math says you'd be about 11.77 ABV in the end.

10 (gallons) * 13.54 (ABV) = 135.54 - a figure of the total alcohol in the wine, pre- f-pack
135.54 (total alcohol) / 11.5 (new volume) = 11.77% ABV

 

[seth8530]

My math says you'd be about 11.77 ABV in the end.

10 (gallons) * 13.54 (ABV) = 135.54 - a figure of the total alcohol in the wine, pre- f-pack

135.54 (total alcohol) / 11.5 (new volume) = 11.77% ABV

Yep, I just redid the math.. Fat fingers ya see ) : and I come up with 11.74% after adding 1.5 gallons, so close enough to being the same.. Im not afraid to give it some time. Most wine needs it.

I will try and do some research of the haze people talk about with the peach wine.. One time I made an fpack and bottled right after I did that. I ended up with sediment in the bottom of the wine. So, I think it will help to let it sit afterwords before I bottle and see if anything decides to drop out.

 

[Deezil]

Oh there should be lots to drop... Theres an abundance of fine sediment - although this could be the yeast i used, as well as the peaches themselves.

The fact that it was so easy to disturb might have been my inability to find patience / didnt give it any time to compact at all (was my first batch ever).

I let mine sit in a carboy until it was 18 months old.. but that last 6 months, maybe longer, it sat there clear as spring water.

Hope all my rambling has helped, cant wait to see how you like your finished product.

 

[seth8530]

Well, perhaps in about a year I will have a gentle, peachy wine that smells of raisins worth sharing eh?