raisin wine

[Ohio Bob]

That should be perfectly fine. I believe the suggested maximum is 18 F difference. You only have a 4-6F difference.

 

[winemaker81]

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?

From what I've read, any significant temperature difference can produce problems, and your differential will be 4 to 6 F, which is not (IME) that much. I have a few ideas:

1) since the must temperature is warmer than the starter by a bit, I suspect that will be less of a problem, so it should work fine.

2) How warm is your kitchen? If the temperature is within a few degrees of your must, then keep the starter in the kitchen before inoculating.

3) Don't use the belt initially, applying it after you have inoculated. Consider that most of my ferments are in the 63 to 67 F range, which is colder than your basement, and I get great results. You're happy with your procedure so I'm not suggesting changing it much but applying heat after inoculation avoids the temperature differential,.

 

[wineview]

From what I've read, any significant temperature difference can produce problems, and your differential will be 4 to 6 F, which is not (IME) that much. I have a few ideas:

1) since the must temperature is warmer than the starter by a bit, I suspect that will be less of a problem, so it should work fine.

2) How warm is your kitchen? If the temperature is within a few degrees of your must, then keep the starter in the kitchen before inoculating.

3) Don't use the belt initially, applying it after you have inoculated. Consider that most of my ferments are in the 63 to 67 F range, which is colder than your basement, and I get great results. You're happy with your procedure so I'm not suggesting changing it much but applying heat after inoculation avoids the temperature differential,.

All good suggestions. The reason I am using the belt today, is because I’m making a DB from frozen blueberries. After adding cold water and blueberries, the bucket was 55F and I felt I needed to raise that temperature. I was under the impression that a 10 degree difference isn’t a big deal and better to pour a cold starter into a warmer environment. Less shock for the yeast?

 

[winemaker81]

All good suggestions. The reason I am using the belt today, is because I’m making a DB from frozen blueberries. After adding cold water and blueberries, the bucket was 55F and I felt I needed to raise that temperature. I was under the impression that a 10 degree difference isn’t a big deal and better to pour a cold starter into a warmer environment. Less shock for the yeast?

I haven't read anything firm on the subject, but my impression is that 10 degrees F difference between the starter and the must could cause shock. I don't have a certain answer on how much is too much, so I get it as close as possible.

Given my experiences, once the must hits 62 F it's good for inoculation, although if your cellar is 68 F, I'd let it warm up to cellar temperature first.

 

[wineview]

I haven't read anything firm on the subject, but my impression is that 10 degrees F difference between the starter and the must could cause shock. I don't have a certain answer on how much is too much, so I get it as close as possible.

Given my experiences, once the must hits 62 F it's good for inoculation, although if your cellar is 68 F, I'd let it warm up to cellar temperature first.

I’ve never been 10F off it’s something I read along the way but alway targeted a perfect match. I was surprised to read Ohio Bob’s response of 18F.

 

[winemaker81]

I’ve never been 10F off it’s something I read along the way but alway targeted a perfect match. I was surprised to read Ohio Bob’s response of 18F.

Yeast can be surprising due to variations in how a given batch grows.

For me, it's risk management. By ensuring the starter and must temperatures are close, I eliminate a potential problem with minimal effort.

 

[wineview]

Update. Pitched the starter this morning. Starter temperature 70* must temperature 70*.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I’ve never been 10F off it’s something I read along the way but alway targeted a perfect match. I was surprised to read Ohio Bob’s response of 18F.

According to Lallemand, “To minimize cold shock, ensure temperature changes are less than 10C (18F). It is recommended that juice/must be inoculated no lower than 18C (64F).”

This seems to be a wide range, and probably manufacturer safety factors thrown in. For example, I once pitched a white around 60F and it worked out well.

 

[winemaker81]

According to Lallemand, “To minimize cold shock, ensure temperature changes are less than 10C (18F). It is recommended that juice/must be inoculated no lower than 18C (64F).”

Huh. That seems way too wide a variance, but I'll trust the vendor's description for their yeast.

That said, I'll keep using my method as it works, and it's possible other vendor's yeast may not be so open.

 

[Ohio Bob]

That said, I'll keep using my method as it works, and it's possible other vendor's yeast may not be so open

Totally agree. I follow your yeast starter protocol, and put the starter next to the bucket of must to acclimate for 12 hours or so. So my temperature difference can’t be more than 1 or 2 degrees.

 

[groran]

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] Should I use this same recipe for say fruit juice from a bottle using all the stuff shown? thanks

 

[groran]

Should I use this same recipe for fruit juice from a bottle or change things?

 

[winemaker81]

Should I use this same recipe for fruit juice from a bottle or change things?

No. Under no circumstances will I boil fruit. It's completely unnecessary and it changes the nature of the fruit.

When you have juice, measure the SG/Brix. If the value is high, dilute it, otherwise add sugar.

Before you proceed, what do you have?

 

[groran]

I have 1 gallon of calamansi lime nectar from Costco. thanks

 

[Khristyjeff]

I hope we didn't scare off the original poster of this thread @SmokinDawg. He's been quiet.

 

[groran]

No, y'all didn't drive me away LOL. I've done some research and I'm using the Red Star Premier blanc yeast for the lime and mango wine I'm making. The raisin(my 1st) is settling and I racked it once so far. It has a strong alcoholic taste and I can hardly taste the raisin. Did I let it ferment too long? I didn't SG the must on the raisin, but I did on the mango and the lime. I chose the 16 or so ABV amount of sugar on the SG chart. I thought I read that I was supposed to stop the fermentation at a taste of sweetness that I desired, but figured I would let it ferment until the alcohol killed the yeast and back sweeten it and maybe add some other flavor to the raisin wine. Am I doing it right?

​

 

[groran]

Also, on the gelatin finings, I see an ounce is $7. There is also a 1lb bag for $19. Does this stuff go bad? I want to say thanks to all of you for being so nice to me and for all your help.

 

[winemaker81]

Did I let it ferment too long?

Wine ferments until the yeast runs out of sugar to eat or it produces enough alcohol to poison its environment. You did fine.

I thought I read that I was supposed to stop the fermentation at a taste of sweetness that I desired, but figured I would let it ferment until the alcohol killed the yeast and back sweeten it and maybe add some other flavor to the raisin wine. Am I doing it right?

Stopping a ferment at the "right" sweetness is difficult for home winemakers. Consider that professional have dozen or hundreds or even thousands of barrels or tanks, so they blend to get what they want.

The best way for home winemakers is to ferment dry, stabilize, and backsweeten to taste.

 

[groran]

Having a problem with the calamansi lime nectar wine. I started the ferment 3 days ago and it hasn't started yet. I added an energizer last night. It's been a little cool like about 75* degrees so I put a heating pad and brought the temp of the must to 91* and still no action. The must and yeast were the same temps when I mixed them. I put the Red Star Premier blanc in warm water with a little sugar at about 90* and let it sit in water for about 20 minutes before mixing in the must. What do I do next?

 

[winemaker81]

Having a problem with the calamansi lime nectar wine. I started the ferment 3 days ago and it hasn't started yet. I added an energizer last night. It's been a little cool like about 75* degrees so I put a heating pad and brought the temp of the must to 91* and still no action. The must and yeast were the same temps when I mixed them. I put the Red Star Premier blanc in warm water with a little sugar at about 90* and let it sit in water for about 20 minutes before mixing in the must. What do I do next?

91 F is way too hot. The yeast likes it, but it's not good for the wine. I ferment my fall wines at 63 F to 68 F (cellar temperature) and have no problems.

What is the pH of the must? If it's below 2.9, that's hard for the yeast to live with.

I suggest making an overnight starter, my method is documented here. The starter lets you know if the yeast is viable within 30 minutes, and you inoculate with a larger initial colony, which helps the ferment take off more quickly.