Peach prep questions

[SteveH]

I've a lot of info on making peach wine, but only one recipe said to remove the skins and not all said to freeze them. We are looking for the peach flavor to come through and like off dry to semi sweet wines. Just picked local peaches and have 12 lbs. so I'm going to make a 1 gallon batch. I'm new at this and have only done a few batches of wine so far.
My questions:
1. Remove skins? ( I think I'd prefer to...?)
2. Freeze or not, enough juice without freezing?
3. Best yeast to bring peach flavor through?
4. If wine needs sweetened, back sweeten with sugar or stop fermentation for residual sugar?
Thanks, SteveH

 

[Scooter68]

1) As with so many fruits the skins hold a lot of flavor. Plus in a fermentation process they will break down to almost nothing. I'd leave the skins, just remove stones, stems and any bad spots.
2) Many prefer to freeze peaches to help jump start the breaking down of the fruit pulp. Yes, if you have the time freeze them then let them thaw in the fridge.
3) I prefer KV-1116 but there are a number of good ones for peaches. What's your ABV goal? that may help decide for you.
4) Backsweetening a few days before you bottle is easier - so let it ferment all the way dry. Plus you know the fermentation is completed and you don't have to worry about fermentation restarting while it ages. (You don't want to add sorbate until shortly before bottling.)

 

[bkisel]

Basically second what Scooter posted above.

About the 12 pounds for 1 gallon... I'd not hesitate to make 2 or even 3 gallons with that amount of fruit.

 

[Scooter68]

Agree with bkisel on Quantity - I've got 4 gallons of peach in process with 28 pounds (After Cleaning and destoning) The only water added was in the simple syrup I made to raise the SG.


ONE pre-fermentation start suggestion. Pectic Haze can be an issue with peach wine - Several reliable sources on this forum suggest adding the pectic enzyme as you are mixing the peaches and Simple Syrup and BEFORE you put in the yeast.

Prep everything, (Including the Pectic Enzyme)
Then put in your K-meta/Campden tabs - then
WAIT at least 24 hours before putting in the yeast.

Be aware that it takes a little time for the sugars to release from the peaches so the thinner you can slice them the better. (DON'T use a blender - Puts in way too much air) Mash them as much as possible before you finish the mixing to get that pulp broken down.
Don't try to hit your SG target as you initially mix the must = Check and adjust the SG just before adding the yeast. Otherwise sugars released from the fruit pulp may push your SG beyond what the yeast can handle.

 

[SteveH]

Thanks so much for the informative responses! I do have pectic enzyme and was planning on using it. My target ABV is usually 11-12% but I figure that will be less as I rack and top off. I have read many times fruit wines are better a bit lower, 10% (?) so it doesn't mask the fruit.
Thanks again! SteveH

 

[Scooter68]

Remember that if the ABV drops too much you run the risk of the wine spoiling.

 

[salcoco]

I would also use betenoite during fermentation it will help clear the peach wine later.

Some winemaker suggest taking some peach juice and freezingit for later addition before bottling to improve flavor.

 

[MacsWife]

Would it be OK to put Fruit Fresh on the peaches to keep them from browning off while slicing and subsequent freezing?
Thanks in advance

 

[bkisel]

Would it be OK to put Fruit Fresh on the peaches to keep them from browning off while slicing and subsequent freezing?
Thanks in advance

I think that would be okay...

The first time processing peaches before freezing I spritzed with the normal k-meta sanitizing solution. Wine came out just fine. The second and now the third time (I just finished 3/4 of the peaches needed for my next batch) I found that I work fast enough to fill a bag and place it in the freezer before I notice any browning.


...and WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

 

[MacsWife]

Thanks....now to get the peaches prepped.

 

[Scooter68]

K-Meta will loose it's "Zap" in 12-24 hours but I don't know what's in Fruit Fresh - that's the only possible issue.

 

[bkisel]

K-Meta will loose it's "Zap" in 12-24 hours but I don't know what's in Fruit Fresh - that's the only possible issue.

A Google search resulted in this answer... " INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Erythorbic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, and not more than 2% Silicon Dioxide to prevent caking."

 

[wyogal]

Fruit Fresh

A Google search resulted in this answer... " INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Erythorbic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, and not more than 2% Silicon Dioxide to prevent caking."

The primary active ingredient is Ascorbic Acid, but I don't think there's enough acid in FF to affect a wine chemistry. There certainly isn't enough sugar to make any difference at all.

@Bill: Peaches will degrade in color in the freezer over time. When I freeze or can peaches for eating/cooking later, I always blanch, remove skins/pits & add Fruit Fresh. Learned this the hard way--my memory isn't what it used to be but my guess is that you would want to use your prepped peaches (without FF or other acid) within a month or two.

Now I suspect that even if the peaches have browned a bit in the freezer, the wine will probably clear anyway. The color might not be the same as if you had prepped the peaches, frozen then thawed & put into a must within a couple weeks.

All these comments are from canning/freezing experience, not fermenting. Although fermenting is a type of food preservation too, so maybe this will be some help

 

[bkisel]

The primary active ingredient is Ascorbic Acid, but I don't think there's enough acid in FF to affect a wine chemistry. There certainly isn't enough sugar to make any difference at all.

@Bill: Peaches will degrade in color in the freezer over time. When I freeze or can peaches for eating/cooking later, I always blanch, remove skins/pits & add Fruit Fresh. Learned this the hard way--my memory isn't what it used to be but my guess is that you would want to use your prepped peaches (without FF or other acid) within a month or two.

Now I suspect that even if the peaches have browned a bit in the freezer, the wine will probably clear anyway. The color might not be the same as if you had prepped the peaches, frozen then thawed & put into a must within a couple weeks.

All these comments are from canning/freezing experience, not fermenting. Although fermenting is a type of food preservation too, so maybe this will be some help

Thanks. Didn't know that. Only read about wanting to have at least 3 days of freezing. No impact on my peach wine though as started my first two batches batch within a week or so of freezing. Will do the same with batch three.

[BTW, finished processing the last peaches for this next batch just this morning. Have a Riesling to bottle tomorrow or the next day and then will have my Brute bucket freed up for starting the peach wine. Oops! Best check tomorrow that I've enough acid blend, etc. before I kick it into gear.]

 

[wyogal]

You are so more experienced than I on the wine knowledge. But I ran across this peach wine recipe in a book and it looks absolutely incredible, so I'll be buying peaches in bulk this Saturday to give it a try. Do you have a particular recipe or do you use a generic fruit recipe for your peach/stone fruit wine?

 

[Scooter68]

I believe you can use just about any recipe for peach wine. The more peaches per gallon the better - I found that at about 7 lbs per gallon additional water needed was provided by the Simple Syrup used to raise the SG.
he desired ABV will drive the SG goal which will in turn determine how much sugar to add in simple syrup solution (I use 2 cups sugar in 1 cup water for my solution)
The pH range is pretty standard between 3.4 - 3.6
Here's the starting part of my last peach wine log:

Fruit / Wine Type: Peach (28lbs) Batch Size 4 Gal
(plus 20 Sweet Red Cherries - Pitted))

Batch Started July 23, 2016

Sugar Added: 13 Cups (Total amount added)
Acid Blend: 2 1/2 tsp
Pectic Enzyme: 2 1/2 tsp per gallon
Amount Water Added: 8 cups
Yeast Nutrient: 3 tsp
Type Yeast: KV-1116

Preparation of Ingredients: Remove stones and then blended in blender (Induced a lot of air - use Slicer next time instead)
Placed in sack and added initially 8 cups of sugar in simple syrup (SS)
Added an additional 5 cups of sugar (SS) on the second day of fermentation

Starting S.G.: 1.092 (Calculated based on starting SG and Additional SS added)
Starting pH: 3.59

By the way my SG dropped to 1.005 in 4 days time.

Using the blender was a bad idea - the must was like a mud and initially the Hydrometer would just set with only the larger portion submersed. So my readings until the next day when I pitched the yeast were unusable. That's why I added more SS on the second day of fermentation to be sure I would have a safe ABV in the end.

 

[spaniel]

Late to the party…

I would not add any water when making peach wine.

I would not worry about browning when processing. It will not transfer to the wine. I would not use Fruit Fresh. I'm not sure it hurts, either, but is not necessary.

The one thing I do with peach to optimize the chemistry is my Ontario table grapes ripen the same time. I add a fraction (perhaps 1gal to 7) Ontario juice to the peach wine to improve the chemistry, rather than resorting to more chemical means. This works well for me.

My peach wine has gotten silver medals in competition. I get docked on scores for color because I leave the skins on the Redhaven peaches, which alter the color of the wine. I have learned that many wine competition judges have little understanding of fruit wines. I'm not changing my process for great wine because of ignorant judges. People love the wine and I care more about that.

 

[Scooter68]

The problem with judges of competitions like this is exactly what you mentioned. They have very narrow ideas of what a wine should be and if your wine falls outside their experience area they are clueless and try to apply standards that don't fit.

Your last sentence says it all and you are 100% correct.

(I added 20 dark red sweet cherries to my latest batch of peach wine (4 gallons) and it has a beautiful golden blush to it. Imagine what that judge would say about my wine.) pfffft to the judges.