Wine from store bought juice

[Duster]

HELP! I am still very new at this hobby so if this question seams a bit retorical I appoligize. My wife realy wants me to make a peach wine for her however theres a slight problem, IT'S NOVEMBER!!! with no furit in the freezer i desided that I would buy 100% furit juice instead.
Can this be done?

I found (Old Orchard 100% juice) No sugar added. the ingreadents list is as follows;
100% juice from Apple/Peach,
water,
citric acid,
mango puree,
ascorbic acid.

Will it work?

Should I use a standard peach recipe, just omit the fruit?
will the absence of the fruit pulp cause problems with the wine?
Should I dilute the juice with water or use it straight? The SG of the juice straight from the jug is 1.049.
I plan on trying a 1gal batch this weekend unless you guys and gals advice otherwise.
If I am good to go does anyone have a good "wine from juice recipe"?

 

[Julie]

That will work, don't dilute it, buy enough to make a gallon and add enough sugar to bring the sg to 1.080 or there abouts, heat some of the juice and add the sugar to that so it disolves easier. if you don't have one yet, get a titration kit to check the acid.

 

[Wade E]

As long as the ingredients dont state sorbate or benzoate it can be fermented. Sometimes these juices will list sulfites and even those can be fermented by simply not adding additional sulfites in the beginning. You wont need to add any sulfites to this batch either as those juices are processed (probably pasteurized) so sulfites to hold off any wild yeast is not needed. Just bring the sg up to around 1.080-1.085 as Julie suggested and even though an acid test is a good idea if you dont have one dont fret. I would add about 2 tsps of acid blend as it will almost surely be light on acid and when its finished fermenting taste it and to very small tests with adding some more and decide if it needs more to youyr taste. When you start doing bigger batches I do advise doing acid and ph testing though. You do have a hydrometer right?

 

[Duster]

Thanks Julie, wade. I appreciate the quick response! this forum is great!
Yep, I do have a hydrometer but no way to test the Ph or acid levels unless pool strips work? I do believe I will be getting something soon. What Ph should I be shooting for?
Thanks for all your help.

 

[Wade E]

3.2 - 3.5 is best. Ta of .55 - .75 (acidity)

 

[Julie]

Hi Duster,

Welcome to winemakingtalk, didn't do that before. I can't help you on the ph, Wade will be able to answer that but a titration kit costs about $8 and that I can help you with. The acid should be about .60% - .70%.

 

[Tom]

I make wine from COSTCO juice all the time. Ck it out if you are a member.
What I do is add 5 1/2 gal of 100% juice and add sugar to 1.085 (take 1/2 gao from bucket and heat to dissolve sugar). For a f-pac I simmer another gal by less than 1/2. After that I back sweeten to taste. Been working for me for years.

 

[Duster]

with the help and encouragement of this forum members,
1.7 lbs of sugar,
2t of acid blend,
yeast nutrients,
yeast energizer,
1/4 t tannin,
1 gal of peach & mango juice
and a package of red star champagne yeast,
I have a concoction that is fermenting nicely and smells great!
Thanks to all

 

[Wade E]

I think I can smell that sweetness all the way over here.

 

[ffemt128]

with the help and encouragement of this forum members,
1.7 lbs of sugar,
2t of acid blend,
yeast nutrients,
yeast energizer,
1/4 t tannin,
1 gal of peach & mango juice
and a package of red star champagne yeast,
I have a concoction that is fermenting nicely and smells great!
Thanks to all

Smells good to me. I have used 100% apple juice in the past an ti tyrned out great. Recipe sounds fine and as Tom said, Costco is a great source for juice and fruit all year round.

 

[PhilDarby]

@duster the pool strips you refer to, if they are yellow, that is called universal indicator, I have some I got from ebay (but don't use them often)

They are a very good indication of ph value.

 

[Whitehrs]

I am new, and I have seen acid testing mentioned. I have seen confusing information, or at least have made myself confused. So, on the acid test strip you show... If there a general area you want your wine to be? Is it dependant on your fruit, or grape? is it dependent on you taste? Any information on this would be great.

 

[Scooter68]

Think the best way to answer your question is to point you in the direction of some reading for you. I just "googled" > acid levels in wine < and found a number of good response. Just try to remember the type (source fruit) of wine you are making should drive you the numbers you want to hit.

A couple of the more applicable Google responses were:

http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/measure_acidity.htm

http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-acidity

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp

https://winemakermag.com/547-phiguring-out-ph (my Fav but deep reading)

Personally I use an Electronic PH meter and have found it to stay close in calibration with some good housekeeping practices. For me reading a PH strip depends on how sharp your eyes are AND that you are not color blind.

 

[Whitehrs]

Think the best way to answer your question is to point you in the direction of some reading for you. I just "googled" > acid levels in wine < and found a number of good response. Just try to remember the type (source fruit) of wine you are making should drive you the numbers you want to hit.

A couple of the more applicable Google responses were:

http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/measure_acidity.htm

http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-acidity

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp

https://winemakermag.com/547-phiguring-out-ph (my Fav but deep reading)

Personally I use an Electronic PH meter and have found it to stay close in calibration with some good housekeeping practices. For me reading a PH strip depends on how sharp your eyes are AND that you are not color blind.

Thanks Scooter,
That clears up a bunch. I'm a simple guy, that like to break things down simple, and I realize there is much more detail than I express below, but in it's simplest form: (And correct me if I'm wrong, it has happened a couple times before, and will again I'm sure.)
1. Desired Acidity depends on the wine.. White/red, Sweet/Dry, Fruit/Grape.
2. there are a couple different ways to test.
3. Adjustment is a matter of longevity as well as taste.

 

[Scooter68]

Exactly!
Best to test pH and SG:
1) Before fermentation,
2) At the end of fermentation
3) Before first racking with no significant lees evident (After that point your rackings are at longer intervals and you can see if pH is straying off target and needs adjustment
4) Before any backsweetening - stabilizing
5) And of course immediately before bottling. (I like to put SG, pH, And ABV on my labels)

By the way my electronic pH meter was less than $20.00 and buffering solutions aren't much either. I pre-soak and final rinse it in distilled water ($.88 / gallon at wallyworld)

Have fun and enjoy - just don't over think it all.

By the way they do have some finer grained pH test strips so be sure that if you go that route, does the one you buy cover the ranges you expect to hit? (You might want to buy strips to cover above and below you desired ranges in case you have a very low/high initial reading.
(That's why I went Electronic)

 

[Whitehrs]

Thank You. Scooter. I will be Buying an electric PH Meter, and checking every milestone.. it looks like I'm going to need to find a way to figure PH on the recipes I try.

 

[Scooter68]

I just try to keep it between pHs of 3.4 - 3.6 If It's a little over or under until I get to the longer aging time I just monitor it. It's easier to increase acidity (lower the pH) than to raise it so I don't mind a 3.5-3.65 if I'm not aging it yet. Of course knowing the dominant type of acid in your fruit helps to understand what sort of changes to expect. If I see a strong shift in the pH during fermentation and early aging then I start reviewing what went in and acid types. I had a couple that were at 2.8 along the way - yeah that had me concerned. But when I got ready to bottle it had mellowed up to 3.18 - 3.28.

Interesting point. Look at some winery sites that give details about thier wine. I've seen several bottled and labeled with a pH 3.1 - 3.3 - commercial wines.