Strawberry Wine from Frozen Strawberries

[Kristi]

If I want to use frozen strawberries for wine, should I thaw them first? If so, do I add all of the liquid that thaws off of them along with the strawberries?

Thanks!

 

[Northerngal]

Yes and yes. I would let them thaw intermixed with sugar and pectinase. Good luck!

 

[Kristi]

Yes and yes. I would let them thaw intermixed with sugar and pectinase. Good luck!

Great, thank you!

For reference, here is the recipe I'm planning on using:

Strawberry Wine Recipe #1
Provided by Judy.

Makes 1 gallon.

Ingredients
4 – 4.5 pounds strawberries
1 gallon water
2 pounds sugar
1 teaspoon acid blend (do acid test)
1/8 teaspoon tannin
1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet
1 package Côte des Blanc or champagne yeast (can substitute regular wine yeast)


Instructions
Wash and remove the stems and leaves.
Use a straining bag and fill with the strawberries. Tie the top, commence crushing and mashing. Leave straining bag in a sterilized bucket.
Add water, sugar, and acid blend (if needed, do test), tannin, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrient. Stir well.
Before you add the yeast, you will need to sterilize the must. Crush up one Campden tablet and add to the must. Stir and cover for 24 hours. Now you may add the yeast. Stir well, cover, and stir every day for 4-5 days.
Then siphon into your 1 gallon jug, put the rubber stopper on and airlock.
Siphon every 2 weeks and add 1 crushed Campden tablet every time you rack. It will take about 2-3 months before your wine is clear enough to bottle.
You can make more than just 1 gallon if you just multiply out the recipe to however many gallons you want to make. One pack of yeast will work well for 5-7 gallons.
(from http://www.homebrewit.com/two-strawberry-wine-recipes/)

Is pectinase the same as pectic enzyme? For 4lbs, how much would I use? The same as what is in the recipe? Also, if I allow them to thaw in the sugar, would I use all or a portion of the sugar recommended in the recipe?

Thanks so much!

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Kristi ,
In my opinion, the less water and the more strawberries you use the better the wine will be. I think you may want to use 8 lbs of strawberries.
The amount of sugar should be dependent on the gravity at which you want to begin fermentation. If it is to be about 1.090 then about 2 lbs sounds about right - but why not simply measure the gravity of the juice the strawberries produce and base the amount of sugar on that? (I think - but am not certain - that most strawberry juice will have a gravity of about 1.030 or thereabouts (a brix of about 8)
You need to be careful about color stability with strawberry wine - the color often degrades because of the degradation of anthocyanins and I am not sure if too much acidity or too little stabilizes the pigmentation but I do think light does degrade the color - significantly.
Pectinase is pectic enzyme
Good luck

 

[Northerngal]

Hi Kristi ,
In my opinion, the less water and the more strawberries you use the better the wine will be. I think you may want to use 8 lbs of strawberries.
The amount of sugar should be dependent on the gravity at which you want to begin fermentation. If it is to be about 1.090 then about 2 lbs sounds about right - but why not simply measure the gravity of the juice the strawberries produce and base the amount of sugar on that? (I think - but am not certain - that most strawberry juice will have a gravity of about 1.030 or thereabouts (a brix of about 8)
You need to be careful about color stability with strawberry wine - the color often degrades because of the degradation of anthocyanins and I am not sure if too much acidity or too little stabilizes the pigmentation but I do think light does degrade the color - significantly.
Pectinase is pectic enzyme
Good luck

Yes to all of this!

 

[wineforfun]

If I want to use frozen strawberries for wine, should I thaw them first? If so, do I add all of the liquid that thaws off of them along with the strawberries?

Thanks!

I make a wine using exactly what you are. Thawed, frozen strawberries.
I use 6lbs. of frozen strawberries per gallon.
I do use just under 1 gal. of water, with all other added ingredients, ie: nutrient, acid, pectic, etc.
I use Cote des Blanc yeast.

What I will add is I add an fpac using 2lbs. of strawberries simmered down. It helps keep the nice red color and really enhances the flavor. This has become one of my wife's favorites.

Also, adding onto Bernard's comments, use a hydrometer and get your SG to 1.085-1.090. I never go off of a poundage of sugar in a recipe. Too many variables at play. Always use a hydrometer.

 

[Kristi]

Thanks everyone!

Ahh ok---so what you guys are saying is to just work toward a beginning s.g. of my liking, rather than an amount of sugar? That makes so much sense.

Is there a place where I can learn how each beginning s.g. would translate to alcohol levels after fermentation?

 

[BernardSmith]

Thanks everyone!

Ahh ok---so what you guys are saying is to just work toward a beginning s.g. of my liking, rather than an amount of sugar? That makes so much sense.

Is there a place where I can learn how each beginning s.g. would translate to alcohol levels after fermentation?

One pound of sugar (or equivalent) will when added to water to make a gallon will have a density (gravity) of 1.040 (so two pounds to make 1 gallon will have a density of 1.080).. Typically, - typically - you want to aim for a starting gravity of about 1.090 . A gravity of 1.090 has the potential (all other things being equal) to ferment dry and give you a wine of about 12% alcohol by volume (ABV). Rule of thumb: to convert gravity to potential alcohol multiply by 131 (so .090 * 131 = 11.790 - the 131 is slightly less than the actual conversion factor and 11.79 suggests an accuracy that is not valid)
12% ABV can be handled well by any wine yeast and at 12% even a dry wine can taste sweet enough (very subjective though). 12% is also relatively easy enough to balance with acid levels that provide the zing a wine needs so as not to taste dull but not so much that it peels the skin off your mouth. Same with tannins. In short wines work well at 12 % (plus or minus 2 or 3 % ) and at 12 % they will prevent any bacterial infection for years..

 

[Jericurl]

What I will add is I add an fpac using 2lbs. of strawberries simmered down. It helps keep the nice red color and really enhances the flavor. This has become one of my wife's favorites.

I've been wanting to boost the flavor in the strawberry mead I've got going.

Do you use strawberries only in this f-pac or do you add any sugar/honey, etc?

 

[wineforfun]

I've been wanting to boost the flavor in the strawberry mead I've got going.

Do you use strawberries only in this f-pac or do you add any sugar/honey, etc?

I only used strawberries. Dumped 2lbs. into the frying pan and brought to a simmer, smashing them down with a spoon along the way, until they were mostly all broke down. Then I strained the juice off and added to the carboys. Worked great for me.
After doing this and clearing, then I backsweetened with sugar to get the flavor I want.

I know Joeswine does something like this(making an fpac) with grapes, except he does add wine to them while simmering. He then ziploc's them for later use.

 

[Kristi]

One more question---when I thaw them, should I thaw them in the fridge, or can I thaw them overnight on the counter? What is best?

 

[dralarms]

On the counter should be fine. I filled my bucket with them when I did it.

 

[Kristi]

Thanks so much!

 

[Kristi]

Ok guys---I switched my recipe to the Master Wine in the True Brew book, which calls for 3-4lb fruit (I used 4), and 2-3lb of sugar. I ended up using 3.5 lbs of sugar to reach the starting gravity of 1.090 (which includes the mashed strawberries/juice). Does this sound right? It seems like the starting gravity should be higher..... What do you guys think?

 

[dralarms]

1.090 is a good place for stawberry. Much more and the alcohol will overpower the flavor.

 

[Kristi]

Ok cool. I was hoping I didn't mess things up by adding too much sugar, but with just 3lb, the reading was 1.070 and I wasn't sure whether I would have any issue with the alcohol being too low and bacteria growing if I left it too long. Thanks!

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

No water, just fruit, like 10 pounds of strawberries/gallon, they are so cheap and you want a lot of flavor from such a delicate fruit, no water at all. Thaw, crush, pectinase, add sugar or even better honey to your favorite sg but you probably dont want it over 1.100. If you can add a little tannin to help keep the color and even a very small amount of toasted oak, not enough to barely taste. When we open a bottle of this it fills the room with strawberry sunshine and still holds plenty of strawberry taste. We also like to add a couple of more pounds not crushed up towards the end of the primary for a couple of days to boost even a little more strawberry flavor and then strain them out while racking. WVMJ