Pounds per Gallon

[iridium]

So I have 6 pounds of peaches and 6 pounds of blackberries sitting in my freezer waiting to be turned into wine. I have read a lot of great information on the forum, especially for blackberry wine.

The question I have is how do you control how many gallons you get from a given pounds of fruit? I understand when you add water, you just limit the amount of water you add. But for those that are doing all fruit, how do you control how many gallons you get from a given amount of fruit?

The reason i ask is I have seen people suggest anywhere from 5-10 pounds of fruit per gallon. Is there a control or is more through experience people realize that they get 1 gallon of wine from 10 pounds of fruit or 6 pounds, etc?

I am only trying for one gallon batches when I start.

Thank you for comments and instruction.

 

[Julie]

I believe what some are saying when they suggest 5-10 pounds of fruit per gallon, is this is how much fruit you need to make a gallon of wine, you would add water to make up the difference. They are not saying that you will get a gallon of juice from 5-10 pounds of fruit. Sorry I can't help you with your question but one thing you do need to do is freeze the fruit, you will be a bigger yield.

 

[bkisel]

For just fruit I would say you don't control how many gallons you will get - the fruit and its ripeness determines how many gallons you will get.

 

[iridium]

That makes sense. Thank you.

 

[Scooter68]

The condition of the fruit is key. However with some fruit it's not as critical and Blackberry is one of those. Assuming that you picked or bought only "Black" blackberries there is little likelihood that they will be weak on flavor. So the only thing that might be up in the air is the sugar content. That is an easy fix. Your 6 lbs of blackberries should yield a very solid tasting gallon of wine. If properly prepped (Freezing as recommended) your loss of volume to lees should be pretty low with blackberries (About 4 cups at most)

Peaches are actually at the other end of the spectrum. The riper the better to the point of almost going soft. No mold of course. The best wine I've made was from "Overripe" peaches I bought from a roadside stand. I bought 36 lbs lost 4 lbs to stones and a very few bad spots. I saved out 4 lbs and used the remaining 28 for 4 gallons of wine. The only mistake was that I didn't boost my volume to account for the lees - and peaches will drop a lot of lees - up to 1/4 the starting volume. So while 6 lbs is certainly enough for a gallon - if they are ripe - you need to decide how you will handle the volume loss. There are several methods:
1) Start with about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 gallons of volume and expect the majority of the loss will occur at the first racking.
2) Start with 1 gallon and top off the missing volume with a white wine. (Not my favorite idea)
3) Add something like marbles to the carboy to replace the missing volume.

 

[iridium]

Thank you Scooter.

Both fruits are in the freezer right now so that step is done. Thank you for the info on peaches. I did lose one of the peaches to mold and the others were ripe but may not have been overripe. I will likely make a 1 1/2 gallons to start to account for the losses through lees and also to ensure I can fill a carboy to minimize oxygen exposure. I will probably start with the blackberry wine as there is a great discussion on blackberry wine in the forum. Once I have the blackberry bulk aging I will try the peach wine. Can't wait to star but I will need some more carboy as I have two kit wines bulk aging right now.

 

[iridium]

Also I only picked blackberries. They were very plentiful on the side of the road. However I wouldn't recommend picking in shorts. Just a word to the wise...

 

[Scooter68]

Thank you Scooter.

Both fruits are in the freezer right now so that step is done. Thank you for the info on peaches. I did lose one of the peaches to mold and the others were ripe but may not have been overripe. I will likely make a 1 1/2 gallons to start to account for the losses through lees and also to ensure I can fill a carboy to minimize oxygen exposure. I will probably start with the blackberry wine as there is a great discussion on blackberry wine in the forum. Once I have the blackberry bulk aging I will try the peach wine. Can't wait to star but I will need some more carboy as I have two kit wines bulk aging right now.

My experience has been that if you start with 1 1/2 gallons you won't lose that 1/2 completely with the racking from Primary bucket to the carboy. So I found a couple of smaller bottles 20 oz and 16 oz that have the same cap size as the 1 gallon carboyn - so I could fit them with an airlock too. I used them for the partial left over and then used them for topping off at the end of fermentation. Of course I couldn't siphon out of those bottles so I had to pour slowly and carefully but it did work well.

It sounds like you've got some good idea. Keep your eyes out for peaches on sale and maybe if you have a small chain grocery store around or a fruit stand, ask about any culled or overripe fruit. Last year I got my 36 lbs for $15.00. This year not bad either 52 lbs for $33.00 At a orchard stand.

Oh one last thing. Some of this years peaches weren't fully ripe but in about 3-4 days on our kitchen counter they were great. All comes down to patience.

 

[iridium]

I will keep a look out for cheap overripe peaches. Thank you for the reminder to be patient. I have read that patience is a virtue in wine making. Good thing I like to procrastinate. Speaking of patience, how long should I let the peach wine age. The blackberry needs a year from what I have read would the same be for the peach?

I have some old 32oz beer growlers that I could use as overflow for the bulk aging.

 

[Scooter68]

Yes and Yes.

Peach aging 1 year is good. My peach wine have not had that sharp edge for the most part but the overall flavor will be best after about a year.

Any glass container you can get an airlock on will work. Head space within reason is not a big deal when fermentation is active. If you still have some extra wine after fermentation and first two rackings are over, treat it like the carboy - eliminate headspace, airlock it and put next to the full carboy