plum wine problem

[eric]

my recipe was as follows:
11 gallons hot water
7 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
7 1/2 tsp peptic enzyme powder 15 crushed camden tablets
6 tbs + 4 1/2 tsp. acid blend
3 packets cote de blanc yeast
30-45 lbs suger
75 pounds ripe plums (i used 85)

this was supposed to be a 15 gallon recipe and it came out to fill 4 carboys at 5 gallons a carboy. i thought it was a good thing to have so much as it was actually extra fruit. does this sound too low in fruit?

 

[St Allie]

Thing is Luc..

He's already made this batch with the recipe he found. It can't really be changed at this stage, we can only encourage him into trying one of the heavier fruit based recipes in our files next time. At least that way he will be able to compare the difference for himself.

Allie

 

[Tom]

my recipe was as follows:
11 gallons hot water
7 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
7 1/2 tsp peptic enzyme powder 15 crushed camden tablets
6 tbs + 4 1/2 tsp. acid blend
3 packets cote de blanc yeast
30-45 lbs suger
75 pounds ripe plums (i used 85)

this was supposed to be a 15 gallon recipe and it came out to fill 4 carboys at 5 gallons a carboy. i thought it was a good thing to have so much as it was actually extra fruit. does this sound too low in fruit?

F Y I
75# of fruit is what I would use for 12 gallons. I would also think around 16-18#'s of sugar would work. You must use your hydrometer so the gravity is 1.085

 

[eric]

i will remember this for the future. i just hope that i will be able to salvage what i currently have. have any of you made this mistake before with plum wine and been able to correct it so that it came out enjoyable?

 

[St Allie]

Eric,

You had already tried your wine when it was slightly sweeter and hadn't fermented down so dry.. and you liked what you had made.

Sweetening what you have made, after it's all sorbated etc.. will bring it back to that taste level again for you.

We all make our wines individually to taste. What you like in a wine, isn't necessarily what I like, or Tom likes, or Luc likes. As long as you like what you make, that's all that matters.

Allie

 

[Wade E]

I concur ith Allie. I personally would use more fruit and less sugar but whats done is done and I dont believe this wine is lost at all. It will take some tinkering and age to get it into shape so done even think of giving up on it. Pull a specified amount out and play with sweetening and take notes to how much you add of anything and when you find what you like mutiply that by what you have left in the bigger vessel and fix the rest. Dont try to do this to the whole batch cause 1 slip an you may screw up everything. I always extarct the small amount and work with that so that I dont over sweeten the whole batch.

 

[Tom]

Yep I agree what Allie said. Many times you will hear ME say "To Your Taste". As long as you like it go for it. We are here to help you refine your wine making.
As you make more wine your "Taste" buds will refine. This is when you will understand and know what a particular wine should "taste".

 

[eric]

thank you all for your help and time. i will most definitely keep everyone posted real time. i'm sure i will have more ?'s

 

[eric]

i actually had some car troble today or else i would have racked with the simple syrup. should i experiment with a gallon or so?

 

[Wade E]

Definetly would!

 

[eric]

will it be ok to rack this weekend with the sweetening solution or do i need to do it sooner since i stabilized yesterday?

 

[St Allie]

it'll be fine til the weekend.

Allie

 

[eric]

i noticed that the wine possibly started to ferment again after i stabilized. there was approx 1/4 inch of small white bubbles on the surface of each carboy. is there something else i should do to make sure it is stabilized or is this typical? i understand that it is important to make sure that wine will not ferment anymore when i add the simple syrup. any advice?

 

[Tom]

Did you degas?
If not do it now

 

[eric]

i degassed. maybe not enough?

 

[eric]

should i give them another good stir?

 

[Wade E]

What temp are you degassing at as anything much lower then 74* will not let it degas very well.

 

[eric]

its probably closer to the 60's range since the it is in the garage. chilly here in denver. no other place to put the carboys tho. should i stir it up more? also, how will i know its safe to rack and sweeten?

 

[eric]

it definitely appears to be fermenting again. all of the carboys are slowly bubbling and the airtrap bubbles every 30 seconds or so. i imagine that more of the sorbate is what it needs? also, i think it may be in the upper 50's range for temp.

 

[Wade E]

If you put the recommended amount f sorbate in there then dont add any more. It most likely was not done fermenting and trying to stop a fermentation in progress is near impossible without sulfiting it to the point you would not want to drink it. Check your sg now and again in a few days to see if it is dropping. You are not going to be able to get gas out of your wine at those temps. You must consider getting a brew belt or building a fermentation box or you will have problems making some wines at those temps.