Satsuma Wine?

[Johnd]

Our satsuma tree was really loaded with fruit this year, way more than we could consume. Went out and picked this morning, kept some for us and looked at the other three buckets full and decided to try to make wine with the excess. This is the 20 gallon fermenter with about 80 pounds of peeled fruit.

 

[Johnd]

Did a little mashing with my punchdown tool to loosen it up a bit, then stuck my drill driven degassing paddle in there and liquefied the must. Initial Brix was 11, boosted that up to 23.3, pH was 3.35, left that alone for now. A little SO2, 5 tsp pectin enzyme, 3 tsp wine tannins, will pitch some yeast tomorrow along with nutrients and see what I can do with this.....

 

[Stressbaby]

I've made satsuma wine. I juiced mine first and used some bananas for body. It came out pretty good. Surprising how well it has aged.

 

[Johnd]

This little experiment seems to be moving along quite well. Fermentation started right on track and it got a dose of Fermaid at the onset. The smell is really nice so far, just keep punching down the cap, hit it with another Fermaid in a day or two and see what happens.

 

[wineforfun]

Should turn out fine. I have made wine from orange juice, which is essentially the same thing you are dealing with. Ended up crystal clear (with the help of SuperKleer). Racked onto some dark chocolate after clearing.
What type of yeast did you go with?

 

[Johnd]

Should turn out fine. I have made wine from orange juice, which is essentially the same thing you are dealing with. Ended up crystal clear (with the help of SuperKleer). Racked onto some dark chocolate after clearing.
What type of yeast did you go with?

Two packs of K1-V1116 was the choice of the day.

 

[mikewatkins727]

Hmmm. Thought Satsuma was a plum. Well, yeah, it is; but also a citrus fruit. Never too old to learn, I guess.

 

[Johnd]

Since I was going out of town for a few days, decided to go ahead and press the wine early Thursday morning to get it into carboys with airlocks until returning on Sunday.

Scooped the pulp out with a strainer and dropped it into the press, pretty much expecting a gooey mess, and was not disappointed. It was like trying to press pudding, oozing up between the press plate and the basket.

Abandoning that idea, put the goop into a straining bag and back into the press, with a little more success. The bag kept it from oozing up, but it was a really slow and arduous process, but got 'er done.

Returned Sunday to see all was well, a 6 gallon and 3 gallon carboy bubbling along very lightly, SG down to 1.001 in both. Still pretty much looks and smells like orange juice, maybe even a little screwdriverlike. Small, compact layer of lees at the bottom of each vessel, should be finished up and ready to degas and rack by the end of the week

 

[Johnd]

Been at .999 for a couple days, lees piling up pretty good in the partially filled 6 and 3 gallon carboys. Racked off of the lees and filled a 6 gallon, but didn't degas or sulfite, gonna let it fester for a few more days to see if it'll get down a little lower. No big deal if it doesn't, I'm pretty sure this will need some sorbate and sweetening later anyway. It's less orange after the lees settled out, looking forward to seeing the color after it's cleared.

 

[Amanda660]

Gotta hijack and ask: I made a similar wine (orange) that I wanted to turn into a orange chocolate dessert wine. It took 18 mos before it was something I was confident I could make anything drinkable out of. Several times I almost dumped it - my notes contain some very colorful adjectives to describe its progress or lack of. Is it normal for a citrus to take so long to be palatable.

 

[Johnd]

Gotta hijack and ask: I made a similar wine (orange) that I wanted to turn into a orange chocolate dessert wine. It took 18 mos before it was something I was confident I could make anything drinkable out of. Several times I almost dumped it - my notes contain some very colorful adjectives to describe its progress or lack of. Is it normal for a citrus to take so long to be palatable.

Afraid that I can't answer that question, don't make much non-grape wine and this is my only attempt at anything in the citrus world. I'm glad you posted your experience, at least it is known that it might be a long ride for this one...

 

[Johnd]

Got up early, and since it was time to rack the satsuma, decided to do a little extra with it. It was a nice, clear yellow color, ran it through the super jet with the polishing pads to make it shine, looked great after the filter rack, so I took a taste. Hmmmmm, not good, very tart (which I expected), not much discernible citrus flavor, and very bitter on the back of my tongue. I worked hard to be open minded, but found no redeeming qualities.

Not one to avoid a challenge, or bail out on an infant wine, I took a few additional steps to move it along. Since the carboy wasn't full from filter racking, I added sulfite, sorbate and about 4 cups of sugar, which topped it up very nicely. It was a little better, not much, it'll have to be sweetened more later.

A satsuma wine that's yellow just doesn't seem to fit, so I decided to see if I could monkey with that a bit. Calling upon my kindergarten training, I recalled that "yellow and red makes orange" and went to work with a little red food coloring. A drop at a time, it changed from a yellow wine to an orange wine.

It's back on the carboy rack to sit and age, I'm not really stoked with this experiment, but maybe this ugly duckling will grow into something drinkable.....

 

[ceeaton]

but maybe this ugly duckling will grow into something drinkable.....

Kmeta the crap out of it and hide the carboy for a year or two. Will probably turn out to be the elixir to cure all ills. Look up the story of Worchestershire sauce to get you stoked for the good things to come.

 

[jimhill]

Hello, I have not posted in awhile, but I have been reading and researching. I am planning on starting a satsuma wine this week, and I was wondering what you would have done differently to improve it.
I am planning to mash and stir the satsumas as you did, then adjust SG with sugar and check pH. I was just seeking any further tips, and how did yours finally turn out. Thanks. Jim Hill

 

[Johnd]

Hello, I have not posted in awhile, but I have been reading and researching. I am planning on starting a satsuma wine this week, and I was wondering what you would have done differently to improve it.
I am planning to mash and stir the satsumas as you did, then adjust SG with sugar and check pH. I was just seeking any further tips, and how did yours finally turn out. Thanks. Jim Hill

Hey Jim. Not sure I can tell you yet how it turned out, it's still just sitting in a carboy, and hasn't been tasted in months, Christmas Eve to be exact. It's due for some sulfite soon, so I'll be checking and tasting soon, maybe it's mellowed a bit and the sugar will have helped bring back the orange taste.

As far as the process, I'm satisfied with that part, just need to see if satsuma turns into a good wine.

 

[AkTom]

You gotta love these sagas.

 

[Cxwgfamily]

all,

Let's keep posting on Satsuma Wine. I made 6 batches at 3 gallons each this year to test different process variables. I adjusted things like Fermentation Temp, Yeast strains, and malolactic fermentation. I will do a taste of the 6 batches in the coming weeks with some friends who helped me get that many satsumas. I will do a post after the tasting.

cxwgfamily

 

[Cxwgfamily]

Tasted the 6 batches made from 2017 satsumas. Some had a nutty taste some did not. 2 batches were deemed to be better than the others so I bottled them. I combined the other 4 batches and bulk aged them for about 4 months, then I bottled them. A friend made a Sangria out of the combined batches and everyone at a tailgate just loved the Sangria. I have not tasted any of the two batches deemed to be better than the others
I am starting my 2018 Satsuma batches today. I am going to change my procedure and NOT stir the batches very much during fermentation. Add Bentonite to the primary before pitching the yeast. I will also check and adjust the TA if necessary. Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.
Cxwgfamily

 

[Johnd]

Looked back over the thread, it's almost Christmas and I still haven't tasted this wine, guess i'll need to do that soon.... My tree only produced 6 satsumas this year, it seems to do that, bumper crop one year, next to nothing the following year. Keep me posted on your progress.

 

[Cxwgfamily]

Satsuma Wine update,
I made another three batches of Satsuma Wine from this year's harvest. I changed up the fermentation methodology this year trying to improve the outcome. The results are very encouraging. First, my basic process:

1) I juice the satsumas and then freeze the juice. It can stay juiced and frozen for as little as a couple of days to several months. The driver for duration frozen is "when do I have the time to do the batch."
2) Fermentation at a reduce temperature (typically between 50 and 60 oF). Then to secondary for a month or so and then a tertiary.
3) Usually will bottles within about 4 months of starting batch.​

The changes made this round of batches were all in the fermentation step. Previous batches I would conduct the fermentation much like I would a batch from the fruit musk like strawberries or blueberries. (ie. I would stir the bath twice a day for five to ten minutes). For this batch, I ran the fermentation like a Kit Wine fermentation. In other words, I added bentonite at the beginning of the fermentation, added all the additives, then yeast and sealed the fermentor with an air lock. I only checked the Sp Gr a couple of times during fermentation. After the Sp Gr got to below 1.0, transferred to a Secondary.

I tasted the wines over the last couple of days. There is no "nuttiness" on the finish and the wine is actually enjoyable. I still have work to do but at least now I have a enjoyable wine to drink. I hope this helps add to the body of knowledge to those who like to make citrus wines.

Cxwgfamily