Plum Wine

[Kraffty]

Any advice or experiences appreciated. A local store is selling plums at 3 lbs. for $1.00. I'm thinking 10lbs. per gallon, pure fruit unless too acidic then maybe a splash of water. Sugar to 1.086, 6 gal batch. I searched the recipe section and only saw 1 recipe from Wade, I'm guessing it's not a popular wine to attempt or make.

$20.00 sounds like a pretty cheap experiment.
Are there any concerns I should be aware of?
(other than ending in prepositions and all that)

Mike

 

[djrockinsteve]

Plums make an excellent wine do not add water. You can juice them or ferment them in the bucket and remove the skins after two days. Standard recipe would apply, pectic enzyme, sulfite, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, perhaps a tad of tannin. You may need to take and acid test first.

If the juice tastes good before fermenting, it will be a good wine.

Probably back sweeten to 1.000- 1.005

5-10 pounds per gallon will work. Go for it.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Here's what you can do. Cut plums in half or quarter. Remove pit. Place in a zip lock bag and freeze. Once frozen you can remove and dump in bucket. Give it a few hours to thaw. Keep in a cool area and covered. Add a pinch of sulfite to the juice once it starts to defrost.

Once mostly thawed. Add Pectic enzyme. Add yeast 12-24 hours later with 1 teaspoon of nutrient per gallon. Add yeast that you just rehydrated and let it go. Remove pulp/skins@ 1.050

Ferment to 1.000 add 1 teaspoon per 6 gallons of yeast energizer. Cover and let finish fermenting.

Rack to clear and stabilize. Age. Back sweeten. Rest. Bottle and drink.