Using a juicer in fruit wines

[taggus]

Hello all,

I have a question on using a juicer. I was thinking of trying this for gallon batches but I am unsure if it's possible or how much to use.

If a recipe calls for 3lbs of blueberries would I juice that and add water to make my gallon or would I need to make one gallon of pure juice.

Thoughts?

 

[BobF]

I would dilute pure juice just enough to bring the acidity down to the desired level. I've tried steam juicing elderberries using the same amount of fruit I would have fermented directly and it was thinner by a good amount.

 

[taggus]

Bobf - thank you checking for the acidity level never crossed my mind

 

[SBWs]

I use my pH meter to determine the amount of steamed juice/water to use. I try and get the pH as close to 3.4 as I can.

 

[saramc]

You definitely need to evaluate the sugar content and natural acidity of the fruit you are targeting. Then decide the style of wine you want. And then decide how to handle the fruit component. It is a personal choice, deciding to go with 100% fruit/juice or fruit/water. If you are opting to use water with your fruit, the more fruit you can use the better your wine will be. But you always have to make sure everything else is in line too. You can use 5#/gallon of berries, but if your pH, acidity and sugar content is not in the right proportion(s)....you have some work to do to get it right.

In regard to the juicer, you also need to consider the type of juicer you are using. All juicers are not created equal. You have steam juicers, centrifugal juicers, masticating juicers, etc. http://www.harvestessentials.com/whatjuicisri.html
I personally have a centrifugal juicer, but plan to add a steam juicer this year. Don't forget when you do juice, you can opt to place the resulting pulp in a straining bag and add that to your primary.

Good luck with your blueberry creation.

 

[SBWs]

I have a recipe for a full body blueberry wine on my BLOG. There are a few other recipes for using steam juice also they may give you some ideas. BLOG address is on my profile page.

One other note, you didn't say what kind of juicer you were using. Be careful not to use anything that will grind up the seeds.

 

[taggus]

Thank all of you for your comments. I am taking them all into consideration. As for my juicer I am not sure if it grinds seeds. I will test that before I dive into it.

Thanks