Peach Wine...

[Raptor99]

As many others have mentioned on this forum,
(1) I put the peach pulp in a brew bag. After 3-4 days or when fermentation is mostly complete, I squeeze out the bag and remove the pulp.
(2) At first racking, I pour the sludge into a sanitized container and put it in the fridge for a few days. The lees will settle and I can recover quite a bit of wine that way. I can use that to top off the secondary or keep it for topping off after the next racking.

 

[Aiserock]

So,

I have a plan to make about 6 gallons. I purchased enough peaches to have close to 10# per gallon, well my wife bought 5 pecks so..

Anyway, I wonder if the fermenter that came with my wine making kit will be large enough. I have to imagine there is going to be a lot of lees, which could take up significant volume. I think it's a 7 gallon bucket, should I look into a larger fermenter?

 

[mainshipfred]

I haven't prepped mine yet but from the looks of things I don't think 60 lbs will fit in a 7 gal fermenter.

 

[Aiserock]

Good point, once I prep them I plan to freeze them using 1 gallon bags... that should give me a good idea on size. Thanks for helping me think that through.

 

[mikewatkins727]

I wouldn't try making on making 6 gallons in a 7 gallon primary. Possible too much foam/overflow.

 

[Scooter68]

A 5 gallon food grade bucket is less than $10.00 and worth the investment. I'd prefer never to ferment in a bucket with less than 20% volume unused. so for a 5 gallon bucket no more than 4 gallons. So for a 7 gallon bucket at least 1.5 gallons (Technically 1.4) gallons of volume not used.

Also for a 6 gallon batch you really want a starting volume of t least 7.5 - 8 gallons. There will be a lot of lees lost so plan for it. Having more wine than planned is not an issue but less - is a real bummer. If you want to get technical that would mean 70 to 80 lbs of fruit if you are wanting to have 10 lbs per gallon. Personally I'd go with no more than 8 lbs per gallon so somewhere between 56 and 64 lbs of de-stoned fruit should yield a solid 6 gallon batch with plenty of reserve for topping off. So split the batch between 2 fermentation buckets and then overflow foam is not going to be an issue.

 

[Aiserock]

All destoned now, filled up roughly nine, one-gallon ziplock bags with peaches! I bet there is 7.5 to 8 gallons of volume there

They're in the freezer now, once I complete the exterior painting project I will start the batch.

 

[hounddawg]

. . . if you are making jelly you heat the pectin and even add more pectin to make it nice and solid ,,, our goal in wine is to remove pectin since it makes the beverage look cloudy.

When I make peach butter, I blanch the fruit (heating the skin with steam or hot water to cause it to blister/ rub off)

HUM,,, @Rice_Guy you little sneak,,,, peach butter is my addiction , to this day i'm still trying to fined some tastes' like cracker barrels or better, i couldn't get/buy a half pint you're
YOUR MAGISTY ,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

So,turn

I gallons. I purchased enough many peaches to have close to 10# per gallon, well my wife bought 5 pecks so..

Anyway, I wonder if the fermenter that came with my wine making kit will be large enough. I have imagine there is going to be a lot of lees, which could take up significant volume. I think it's a 7 gallon bucket, shouldiceI look into a larger fermenter?

IMHO, tons,of peaches, let them set till they start to ooze , freeze them as each as they start oozing, each time your peach freezer bag gets 2 on 3 inches of sludge add pectin enzyme an repeat
, when you have
enough to have a enough must , put in your ferment barrel, let thaw slowly,, add more pectic enzyme, if you need more liquid, use apple juice,, I do warn you,,, try not to get addicted to it,,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

I have 14 gallons aging, i can't remember,, this Batch i ran up to a ABV At about 17%, at 6 month was like mighty ruff,, a little later 12 month the taste of ABV was less , right now it is at 18 months
my next tasting will be at 24 months, i make alot of peach, but this is the highest ABV for my peach, if this dont go as i like... then if fail, i'll fall back to a ABV 13 %
BEST OF LUCK
SKOAL
Dawg

 

[mainshipfred]

With the 300+/- lbs of peaches I got 30+ gallons of must in 5 ten gallon fermenters, 6.5 gallons each. The is pH 3.87 and SG 1.046. 30 grams of acid blend using 1.25 g/l will get me to 3.5 pH. I'm only going to add 20 grams to start. I want to keep the wine in the 11-12% ABV range so I'll add 6.7 lbs of sugar. Most calculations are based on stopping at 1.000 but it will get down to .995 or lower so the ABV will be higher than the calculation.

I was going to make cider out of one of them but decided against it. But still considering step feeding a batch to make a dessert wine.

Also since there is so much must at this time I'm not going to add water. I may change my mind later and add some water, sugar and acid. to one of them.

The yeasts will be BA11, 58W3, QA23, 71B and Cotes des Blanc or Rhone 4600.

 

[Scooter68]

Just a wild hair idea - consider adding some vanilla extract (From Real Vanilla Beans OR adding about 1/2 a bean to one batch.
If you already have some peach wine you could try about 1/2 drop or so of Vanilla extract to a glass. Brings to mind peaches on vanilla ice cream.

Just another wild hair idea from NW Arkansas - we not got ANY real local peaches this year. sniff sniff.

 

[mainshipfred]

Just a wild hair idea - consider adding some vanilla extract (From Real Vanilla Beans OR adding about 1/2 a bean to one batch.
If you already have some peach wine you could try about 1/2 drop or so of Vanilla extract to a glass. Brings to mind peaches on vanilla ice cream.

Just another wild hair idea from NW Arkansas - we not got ANY real local peaches this year. sniff sniff.

How much vanilla extract for 6.4 gallons? I was also thinking of adding a touch of cinnamon, just afraid of over doing it.

 

[hounddawg]

With the 300+/- lbs of peaches I got 30+ gallons of must in 5 ten gallon fermenters, 6.5 gallons each. The is pH 3.87 and SG 1.046. 30 grams of acid blend using 1.25 g/l will get me to 3.5 pH. I'm only going to add 20 grams to start. I want to keep the wine in the 11-12% ABV range so I'll add 6.7 lbs of sugar. Most calculations are baseed on stopping at 1.000 but it will get down to .995 or lower so the ABV will be higher than the calculation.

I was going to make cider out of one of them but decided against it. But still considering step feeding a batch to make a dessert wine.

Also since there is so much must at this time I'm not going to add water. I may change my mind later and add some water, sugar and acid. to one of them.

The yeasts will be BA11, 58W3, QA23, 71B and Cotes des Blanc or Rhone 4600.

just a small bit of advice, ferment 1/2 apple & 1/2 pear, just half and half in just one carboy,,,, damn do i envy you,,,,
Dawg

 

[Scooter68]

How much vanilla extract for 6.4 gallons? I was also thinking of adding a touch of cinnamon, just afraid of over doing it.

I'd wait until bottling time to add extract. Then do a bench trial just as with back sweetening. I used 1/4 vanilla bean in 2 gallons and it was a little overpowering - not bad at all but vanilla dominated the flavor. I put the vanilla bean (1/8 bean initially) when I started aging it. For a 6.5 gallon batch I'd use no more than 1/2 of a vanilla bean. (Slice it and scrape it before putting it in.

Extract is just as good when it's the real thing and that would be easier to bench trial since there is no waiting for the flavor to be extracted from the bean.

 

[hounddawg]

I'd wait until bottling time to add extract. Then do a bench trial just as with back sweetening. I used 1/4 vanilla bean in 2 gallons and it was a little overpowering - not bad at all but vanilla dominated the flavor. I put the vanilla bean (1/8 bean initially) when I started aging it. For a 6.5 gallon batch I'd use no more than 1/2 of a vanilla bean. (Slice it and scrape it before putting it in.

Extract is just as good when it's the real thing and that would be easier to bench trial since there is no waiting for the flavor to be extracted from the bean.

i keep pure vanilla extract for chicken and dumplings
Dawg

 

[Jovimaple]

I'd wait until bottling time to add extract. Then do a bench trial just as with back sweetening. I used 1/4 vanilla bean in 2 gallons and it was a little overpowering - not bad at all but vanilla dominated the flavor. I put the vanilla bean (1/8 bean initially) when I started aging it. For a 6.5 gallon batch I'd use no more than 1/2 of a vanilla bean. (Slice it and scrape it before putting it in.

Extract is just as good when it's the real thing and that would be easier to bench trial since there is no waiting for the flavor to be extracted from the bean.

I made extract myself with vodka and vanilla beans. You can do that while it's aging (2-3 months) and have it ready to use when you're ready to bench test before bottling.

 

[Scooter68]

I made extract myself with vodka and vanilla beans. You can do that while it's aging (2-3 months) and have it ready to use when you're ready to bench test before bottling.

So true. The only issue is finding good quality beans and preparing them. As with our wine making, there are a variety of opinions about the best beans. Preparing, less of an issue but its a little work. But you are correct that doing it isnt hard at all.

 

[Steve Wargo]

With the 300+/- lbs of peaches I got 30+ gallons of must in 5 ten gallon fermenters, 6.5 gallons each. The is pH 3.87 and SG 1.046. 30 grams of acid blend using 1.25 g/l will get me to 3.5 pH. I'm only going to add 20 grams to start. I want to keep the wine in the 11-12% ABV range so I'll add 6.7 lbs of sugar. Most calculations are based on stopping at 1.000 but it will get down to .995 or lower so the ABV will be higher than the calculation.

I was going to make cider out of one of them but decided against it. But still considering step feeding a batch to make a dessert wine.

Also since there is so much must at this time I'm not going to add water. I may change my mind later and add some water, sugar and acid. to one of them.

The yeasts will be BA11, 58W3, QA23, 71B and Cotes des Blanc or Rhone 4600.

WoW, that's fantastic. Makes me think I might dive in and make more peach wine this year, It took the 2019 peach wine over a year before it smoothed out and I thought "it was good wine". I will replenish the 2019 peach vintage. Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

How much vanilla extract for 6.4 gallons? I was also thinking of adding a touch of cinnamon, just afraid of over doing it.

I scarred one side of a whole nutmeg, then dropped it into my primary. It should be easy to pull out when desired. (I always use nutmeg in my peach pie, so thought it would be a good addition to the wine: will see what happens.....................................DizzyIzzy