Pumpkin wine recipe please

[djrockinsteve]

If I were to tell you what the last 30 days were like with my pumpkin you wouldn't believe it.

Just racked 7 gallons out of 10 gallons of primary. It looked like spaghetti sauce. A lot of sediment. There were no gross lees to see so I left behind the bottom 2 inches and I will rack again in a few days. It has settled quickly and has lost the deep orange/red but still looks very nice as a lighter orange.

The smell was awkward. A combination of the pumpkin and fermenting for so long. It's well sulfited and clearing with sparkelloid.

FYI this was from a Libby's Pumpkin Mix in a can.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Just an update and an FYI, I racked my 7 gallons of pumpkin after about 1 week as the gross lees were mixed in with the pulp and wine. It had cleared nicely but still had more clearing to go.

I ended up with a little under 6 gallons. So as an experiment I took the sediment and put it in a 3 gallon carboy approx. half filled and placed it outside in the cold. After a few hours the sediment began to sink and the wine rose. I was able to get almost enough to fill my 6 gallon carboy. I put the carboy (3 gal) back outside to see if I can get another cup which will fill my 6 gal. carboy to the top.

I''ll rack again in 4 weeks, hopefully it will have cleared much better by then.

 

[slow learner]

thanks for the tip, steve. I wonder if 32 is cold enough or if i should wait until tomorrow night (forecast of 17).

Allie,
I started the pumpkins on the 28th (nov). I drained one of them last night cuz it was leaking, I'll do the second one tomorrow or the next day, cuz the base of it (not the walls) is getting soft. The recipe i used suggested this wouldn't happen for 40 days

The juice is very sweet and doesn't seem to be fermenting. It might be that by rehydrating the yeast before adding to dry sugar i've killed them all, instead of letting them wake up once the sugars pulled enough moisture from the pumpkin. If there's no activity before this evening I'll ferment the liquid in a bucket.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I wonder if 32 is cold enough or if i should wait until tomorrow night (forecast of 17).

Also worth mentioning I removed the airlock and loosened the bung. Then I placed a napkin over the top and added a gum band. I see now there is some more wine at the top.

I'm not going to let mine freeze. I don't want to scratch the inside of the carboy as the solids freeze or even crack it. I'll have enough tonight then it's to the garden with the pulp.