raisin wine

[SmokinDawg]

Hey everyone,
I would like some comments on what you all think. I am considering making a raisin wine and using brown sugar, a bit of lemon and or orange, black walnuts (for flavor) and maybe dark toasted oats(instead of oak). I was making breakfast today and I was thinking hmm I wonder if my Breakfast wine would be a hit? Mabey throw a cinnamon stick in after primary fermentation?

 

[Tomy]

Here is a recipe from Jack's site.


Raisins are simply dried grapes. As such, they will make a wine almost as good or as bad as would the original grapes from which the raisins were made. In the making of fruit wines, raisins are often used to add body and vinousness to the wine. Many of the recipes within The Winemaking Home Page use raisins in this role. Dark raisins will make a dark, somewhat brownish wine. White or golden raisins will make a white or golden wine. Here is the basic raisin wine recipe:

<CENTER>RAISIN WINE</CENTER>
<UL>
<LI>4 lbs raisins
<LI>1 lb sugar
<LI>1 gallon water
<LI>1 crushed Campden tablet
<LI>1 tsp pectic enzyme
<LI>1 tsp yeast nutrient
<LI>1 pkt wine yeast </LI>[/list]


Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, chop the raisins or run them through a mincer. Put raisins, sugar and yeast nutrient into primary. When water boils, pour over raisins and stir until sugar dissolves. Cover with a sanitized cloth and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, add crushed Campden tablet and stir. Recover primary and set aside for 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir, recover primary, and set aside another 12 hours. Add activated yeast. Stir daily for 7 days. Strain and press juice out of raisin pulp. Transfer liquid to secondary and fit airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock every 30 days until wine clears and no new sediments form during a 30-day period. Stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 10 days, and rack into bottles. Like most wines, it will improve with age. [Author's own recipe]

 

[groran]

I'm totally new to this. On this recipe, it says to recover the primary after adding campden tab. Are you JUST recovering the juice only? What do you do with the raisin pulp? I see it says to squeeze out the juice from the pulp after several items are added over a few days.

 

[ChuckD]

I'm totally new to this. On this recipe, it says to recover the primary after adding campden tab. Are you JUST recovering the juice only? What do you do with the raisin pulp? I see it says to squeeze out the juice from the pulp after several items are added over a few days.

It’s just an odd way of saying to put the cover back on the bucket! The raisin pulp is in a mesh bag in the liquid for seven days. Myself, I would add the pectic enzyme and the campden tablet at the same time.

 

[groran]

thank you much

 

[groran]

other raisin recipes call for 3 packs of yeast, this one says 1. Is that going to be ok? thanks

 

[winemaker81]

other raisin recipes call for 3 packs of yeast, this one says 1. Is that going to be ok? thanks

A 5 g packet of wine yeast is designed for up to 23 liters of wine, or must that will produce 23 liters after pressing.

I've been making overnight starters for 3 years and they all ignite quickly. I suspect I could start a larger batch with 5 g yeast, but for me it's inexpensive enough it's not worth trying to make a small savings.

 

[groran]

this is for one gallon

 

[groran]

alright WM81 great info, thanks man

 

[ChuckD]

What kind of yeast are you using? Some old recipes still call for bread yeast. I would definitely use a wine yeast such as Lalvin EC1118. There are better ones that bring certain tastes to the wine but EC1118 is a workhorse.

 

[groran]

pack yeast from a winemaking kit a red pack

 

[groran]

hmm now that is interesting because I plan on getting down with winemaking. I'm finally retired and love this stuff, thanks guys

 

[groran]

what other besides the ec do you suggest?

 

[winemaker81]

what other besides the ec do you suggest?

Ask a question of 10 winemakers, get at least 11 opinions. Ask a yeast question of 10 winemakers, get at least 101 opinions ...

There are dozens of wine yeast, and all do the job. Some are better for a given wine than others, but all work.

EC-1118 is a workhorse. High ABV tolerant, high SO2 tolerant, high sugar tolerant. It's what I keep on hand to handle difficult situations, such as a stuck ferment. The downside to it is that it brings nothing else to the table.

You have raisins, e.g., red grape. Search for and download a yeast characteristics table. Read the red wine yeast descriptions, and make a selection. Anything from Red Star and Lalvin/Lallemand will work for you, and are commonly available. It's honestly not possible to make a bad choice.

 

[ChuckD]

what other besides the ec do you suggest?

Personally I’m early enough in my winemaking hobby that I haven’t tried many side-by-side comparisons. The one time I tried it there was a definite difference in the two carboys. Both good… but notably different.

 

[Ohio Bob]

what other besides the ec do you suggest?

Amarone wine might be the closest comparison. Potential candidates would include RP15, BM45, 71b.

I’ve gotten into the habit of splitting my juice into multiple portions and using a different yeast in each. When the SG gets to roughly 1.020, I taste each and then blend the all together to finish out the fermentation. It’s a good way to tell what each yeast brings to the table. Sometimes the final blend is even better than any of the portions.

 

[ChuckD]

Amarone wine might be the closest comparison. Potential candidates would include RP15, BM45, 71b.

I’ve gotten into the habit of splitting my juice into multiple portions and using a different yeast in each. When the SG gets to roughly 1.020, I taste each and then blend the all together to finish out the fermentation. It’s a good way to tell what each yeast brings to the table. Sometimes the final blend is even better than any of the portions.

Yes ☝. With my one experiment the blend was better than either one. Like you said, each yeast brought something and together they were better.

 

[Rice_Guy]

hmm now that is interesting because I plan on getting down with winemaking. I'm finally retired and love this stuff, thanks guys

Welcome to WMT, wine is something that just wants to happen, if we look at the hundred year old recipes as The New Settlement Cookbook, one starts with a clean crockery and it just wait.

Reading between the lines, yes there are variations in flavor as a result of different yeast or fruit or air locks or racking schemes BUT wine makes a healthy calorie source. Grandpa made wine with what was at the drugstore, great grandpa used fewer gizmos.

 

[winemaker81]

A couple of years ago I started compiling my own yeast table, reviewing numerous published tables and collating the details into a single table. I let the project slide as I was finding inconsistencies, e.g., one table said RC-212 has 14% ABV tolerance whereas most say 16%. At some point I may regain the enthusiasm for this and check the vendor sites for information, which should be accurate.

Below is a section for illustration of things to look for in a yeast.

ABV Tolerance -- if your must should produce 16% ABV, don't use a 14% tolerant yeast as it won't ferment out. Also, if you want residual sugar, using a low tolerance yeast may not work out as the published figure is for a given batch under laboratory conditions. The packet you have may actually go a bit lower or higher than the published figure.

Temp Range -- the upper end doesn't matter much to winemakers as fermenting hot can reduce wine quality. The low end matters, e.g., if the bottom end is 63 F and you want to ferment at 55 F, that strain may not work. But as with ABV Tolerance, each packet may be slightly different.

Description -- For the wines I typically make, this is the main criteria for my choice. I look for qualities that I want. And like many others, I often divide batches and use different yeast in each batch, then blend post-fermentation.

Yeast Strain (Dry)​	ABV / Temp Range​	Description​
Lalvin BM 4X4 Red Wine	16% 60-82 °F 16-28 °C​	A blend of strains formulated for reliability under difficult conditions. Gives a dependable fermentation with increased mouthfeel, and enhances tobacco, cedar, leather and jam characteristics.
Lalvin RC-212 Red Wine	14% 59-86 °F 15-30 °C​	Ideal for full bodied red wines. Emphasizes fruit and spice notes, accentuates character in red grapes.
Red Star Montrachet	15% 54-95 °F 12-35 °C​	A very good fermenter with regular kinetics. Good alcohol tolerance that is useful in producing dry, full-bodied red and white wines. Excellent choice for oak barrel fermentation.
Red Star Pasteur Red	15% 63-86 °F 17-30 °C​	One of the best choices for quality red wines. Encourages development of varietal fruit flavors, balanced by complex aromas.
Red Star Premier Cuvee	16% 50-104 °F 10-40 °C​	One of the fastest, cleanest, and most neutral of all Red Star wine yeasts. Recommended for reds, whites and especially sparkling wines. Excellent choice for oak barrel fermentations.
Lalvin EC-1118 Prise de Mousse	18% 45-95 °F 7-35 °C​	A low foaming, vigorous and fast fermenter good for both reds and whites. It is also ideal for ciders and sparkling wines.

Note -- I'm currently using Renaissance Avante and Bravo, which are not listed. While available in home winemaker-sized packets, they're expensive in that form. I buy 500 g bricks which I share with other winemakers.

Last fall I fermented all reds with these strains, and the differences between Avante and Bravo are distinct. Both are good, and the combination is better, at least IMO. YMMV

 

[wineview]

A 5 g packet of wine yeast is designed for up to 23 liters of wine, or must that will produce 23 liters after pressing.

I've been making overnight starters for 3 years and they all ignite quickly. I suspect I could start a larger batch with 5 g yeast, but for me it's inexpensive enough it's not worth trying to make a small savings.

Brian, I have been reading about your overnight starters for quite sometime now and I am a little reluctant to try the overnight method. I usually brew one six gallon batch at a time with a heat belt around the fermenter because my basement is 68F. I like to pitch with a must temperature of 72-74F. If I place my yeast starter next to the fermenting bucket, it would be much colder than the must temperature. Is it acceptable to pitch a colder starter into a warmer must?