Timing apple harvest for wine

[ChuckD]

So I have this apple tree (variety unknown but may be a Zestar) that is loaded! I have been tasting them and the sourness has declined a lot in the last week. I have heard the seeds should be brown and they are. When do I harvest?

This is the first time any of my three trees has produced more than a handful of apples. And despite my benign neglect they are almost blemish free! As long as they aren’t dropping should I leave them
On the tree?

There is also a crab apple along the road that has bright red fruit. Between the two I probably have enough for a five gallon batch!

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Where are you located. Most apples aren’t ready until September October. I would Leave them until they start to drop

 

[ChuckD]

Where are you located. Most apples aren’t ready until September October. I would Leave them until they start to drop

Northeast WI. Not too early for some early varieties. I’ll let them hang for a while yet but the crab apples seem to be falling already. I guess I can always pick those and freeze them.

 

[BigDaveK]

That's great!
In a couple years you'll be making applesauce, apple butter, cider, wine just to use up the apples. You'll have a boatload!

Generally, seed brown, flesh white or cream not light green, separates from tree easily. Apples in sun might be ready sooner than those in shade.

Drops are fine to use if they're in good shape. (Some cider makers use them no matter what they look like.)

Do some research - as I recall picked apples benefit from ageing a bit, don't remember why or for how long.

Apples are very popular with the local wildlife, that's for sure.

 

[CortneyD]

Yes, the conventional gardening wisdom is when they come away freely. I was taught that when you gently hold the apple from the bottom in your palm and lift up and turn it slightly it should come away from the tree freely- that's when they are ready for harvest. Once you have a couple that do that, you are free to harvest everything. Looks like a great harvest this year!

 

[Rice_Guy]

One guideline I use is what are the locals doing? The local winery has invited the vinters club to help pick one variety Thursday. Grapes are non-climateric.
@ChuckD i have been thinking about Maple Valley Orchard (would like to sample heirloom apples/ scions I got in spring) in your part of the state. ,,, ie What are the commercial guys doing? I have picked some HoneyGolden and RedDelicious, fruit wise the acid and texture was good, gravity a bit low 1.042. The seed test was not really dark brown yet. The only way to learn about this tree is to sample it, time for a pie? Finally, We have had early apples available at the farmers market for about three weeks (ex Milton).

Apples are a CLIMACTERIC fruit. This means that they will continue to decrease acid and soften/ bruise/ increase sugar/ aromatics after they are picked. They will not increase size if you pick now. In contrast, With peach I pick firm but good color/ large size to prevent wildlife from damaging them, ,,, and then finish ripening them in flat tomato boxes.

 

[ChuckD]

@ChuckD i have been thinking about Maple Valley Orchard (would like to sample heirloom apples/ scions I got in spring) in your part of the state

Have you called them? The owner seems very helpful but I don’t believe the orchard operation is his day job, so im sure he’s very busy in the fall. He told me he’s not a wine or cider maker but I don’t hold that against him. If you make a trip up this way let me know. Perhaps we could meet up.

I have seen activity at the few small commercial orchards here ramping up. Time to start visiting a few.

The seeds in my apples are not real dark brown and they are still holding onto the tree fairly tight. I’ll give it some time.

 

[Hazelemere]

Pick the windfalls and remove any ants. After that try to store them in a wine cooler (I have a walk in version) or a surplus fridge. If they are slightly under-ripe they'll give a slightly tangy juices. We put them through an Italian electric apple grinder but have use a gas powered home made grinder as well (1/4 inch pieces) double pressed either way in our case with a pneumatic water bladder press with ~1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite for ~5 Imperial gallons of juice or 180 lbs of apples. We make cyser by adding unpasteurized mild fragrant honey e.g. blueberry or cranberry blossom to get the SG to ~1.085. We mix King, Cox Orange and Russets all home grown organic. Sometimes we mix the Cyser with second run homegrown white wine from pressed skins soaked with pectic enzyme and sludge from first run pressing to get about 1/2 the volume of first run grape wine as second run. We don't add any water and can usually get 1.080 to 1.087 SG on the re-pressed 2nd run pulp and sludge. Sometimes we take all of the 2nd run white wine and mix it with some or all of the apple cyser to make Apple Cyser Pyment which can be very good. The windfall apples give you the tannin and acid that you need. We add bentonite slurry about 6 days into a ferment treated with high grade B vitamin nutrient to feed the honey ferment to remove protein. We mix it into actively fermenting must with a plastic stirrer on the end of an electric power drill. This always turns out really well.

 

[ChuckD]

So far I have only fermented chopped apples but I picked up a small
Hand cranked crusher and a small press so I’ll try juicing most if not all of them first.

 

[BigDaveK]

So far I have only fermented chopped apples but I picked up a small
Hand cranked crusher and a small press so I’ll try juicing most if not all of them first.

That's what I have. Work, but worth it.
Expect to use a bit over 15 lbs of apples for a gallon of juice. Let it rest over night, you'll drop a lot of sediment.
And if your plan is wine, try not to drink too much, it's good!

 

[Rice_Guy]

@Hazelemere do you have a photo of your grinder?/ plans? I would like a versatile tool which I can use on small stuff like crab apple and gooseberry and maybe even 3” apples.
@ChuckD , @BigDaveK ,,,, brand name for grinder? How versatile is your tool?

thanks

 

[Hazelemere]

 

[ChuckD]

@Hazelemere do you have a photo of your grinder?/ plans? I would like a versatile tool which I can use on small stuff like crab apple and gooseberry and maybe even 3” apples.
@ChuckD , @BigDaveK ,,,, brand name for grinder? How versatile is your tool?

thanks

I have read about people buying garbage disposal grinders for this purpose. There are even recommended units for this purpose. You could pick up a single basin stainless bar sink to hold it.

I have yet to use my hand cranked one.

 

[Hazelemere]

View attachment 92282

there are smaller ones available

 

[BigDaveK]

@Rice_Guy this is my little set up.
The crusher is a "Roma" that I've had for 10+ years. Works great. Crushes and drops fruit into press. I hinge-mounted it so it folds out of the way when I'm ready to press. A motor could be attached and I would still use it for larger quantities.

The small press is a "Joffrey", also 10+ years. If I did larger quantities I would definitely get something bigger.

Having everything on a cart is a big time saver.

 

[Rice_Guy]

The focus on this is that I have crab apples picked and should process them. I limped through gooseberry crushing them with an antique cherry stoner.

There is a ways to go, > hopper/ drop chute/ ,, and toys with motors are more fun.

 

[Scooter68]

There are times when you have a choice between picking apples slightly less than fully ripe, OR letting birds, squirrels and any critter that can get to them take them or just ruin them.
In NW Arkansas I started picking a week ago. About 10-15% of the apples are already well pecked on by the birds. When the birds see that change in color from green to red (To any extent) they attack. Today I had a bird fly into the tree I was picking from, didn't leave until a waved my picking pole at it.
Regardless those slightly green apples are making some great apple juice and the rest will ripen off the tree. They just won't reach the full sweetness and color of a properly tree ripened apple.
Sometimes you just have to make the best of the situation.
So Far I've harvested about 6 bushels off of 2 trees and tossed about 3/4 of a bushel or more that were already too pecked out to use or undersized.

(For Juicing I am using an Omega Slow Horizontal Juicer and the juice if full of pulp. I run them through my apple crusher first and then feed them in.)

Remember that the best wine or hard cider doesn't come from the super sweet apples. You need a mix of sweet and tart apples for the best wine or cider.

 

[Hazelemere]

@Hazelemere do you have a photo of your grinder?/ plans? I would like a versatile tool which I can use on small stuff like crab apple and gooseberry and maybe even 3” apples.
@ChuckD , @BigDaveK ,,,, brand name for grinder? How versatile is your tool?

thanks

My son in law bought this on his own dime. It is works perfectly. You can probabaly find a smaller and cheaper one. We us this to grind apples and then press them through a pneumatic water bladder press to male cyser i.e. apple juice sweetened with unpasteurized bludberry honey to get the SG to 1.085

https://www.winemakersdepot.com/Zambelli-MuliMAX.aspx

 

[Scooter68]

Note to Apple cider makers - Sanitize your fruit as soon as you get it (wash the apples at a bare minimum) Secondly as soon as you get the apples cut up, crushed, juiced or however you prepare them - Treat the batch with K-meta. You can even dissolve the K-meta in a bit of water and pour it over the crushed or cut apples before you juice them - just don't fail to protect them if you have a lot of apples in the area where you doing this. The fruit flies are very diligent in seeking out Fruit to spread their "Gift" to you.

Here's why - I am now making 3 1/2 gallons of Apple Cider Vinegar. I failed to treat my juice with K-meta immediately and the bacteria went to work. Within 2 days the smell went off and by day 5 it became very very clear that I was now making Apple Cider VINEGAR and NOT Hard Apple Cider. Lesson learned the hard way.