Pluot Wine Started

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TedLarsen

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I'm a pretty raw beginner -- I made a Stag's Head Merlot from a kit last year; and right now I have a Chilean Cab working from grape juice imported from Chile.

Anyway, I'm now trying my hand at my first fruit wine. I prefer dry red wines typically, so I decided to make a dry plum wine. I used Jack Keller's basic plum recipe, except I used pluots instead of plums (I like the complexity of the flavor of that fruit).

I used 10 pounds of fruit to make 1.5 gallons of wine. Pitched the yeast 24 hours ago -- so far it doesn't seem to be doing anything exciting, but the essence of winemaking seems to be patience, no?

I will say the must already has a very gorgeous red color (with a slight orange tint). It may get darker, as the pectic acid continues to break down the skins, but it's pretty already.

I'll keep you posted as it goes along, but so far it's pretty edifying.
 
Well, just in case anyone wonders, the must is now working and foaming and bubbling and doing good things. At least it seems to be good things!

I love this hobby!
 
I bottled this wine last weekend. It ended up very clear, with a very pretty red color.

Ah, but the taste.....is rawer than raw.

I know that plum wine requires a lot of bottle aging, but it has a very very tart flavor (endemic of the fruit itself (and partly why I chose that particular fruit). So much so that, while it had a pleasant (but extremely raw) taste upon first sip, the acidity and tartness made for a unpleasant mouth feel and finish.

I know it will mellow -- I intend to age it at least 2 years -- and I expect the acidity and mouth feel to age right out....but I wonder about that tartness. Any chance that will change, too? Or am I stuck with a wine that is pucker city?
 
That pucker may be due to the acidity of plums. Though a pluot may be lower. Many times backsweetening is used to balance the acid on the backend. Definitely give it some time snd maybe open a bottle in three months. Have you tasted this chilled vs room temp?
 
Yes, I'm sure you're right -- I should have backsweetened (hadn't paid enough attention to the acidity, and Jack Keller's recipe didn't call for sweetening). Ah, well -- it's in the bottles!

On the other hand, I had planned on aging this around 2 years before opening anyway, so I'll be crossing my fingers (in 2014) that all has mellowed.

Live, brew, and learn!
 
Yes, I'm sure you're right -- I should have backsweetened (hadn't paid enough attention to the acidity, and Jack Keller's recipe didn't call for sweetening). Ah, well -- it's in the bottles!

On the other hand, I had planned on aging this around 2 years before opening anyway, so I'll be crossing my fingers (in 2014) that all has mellowed.

Live, brew, and learn!

So, I finally opened the first bottle of this. Not bad! The tartness (most of it) mellowed out really nicely. It's amazing what simply letting wine sit in the bottle can do, isn't it?
 
A couple of weeks ago I picked my Sauvignon Blanc grapes, the grapes tasted really nice and the brix was 23, so they were good and ripe. After the sugar has fermented away, which is less than a week for me, the wine tastes very sour, not something i would want to drink. I am a bit impatient so I pitch MLF culture to get things going. As well, the tartaric acid from the juice starts to precipitate out as tartrate crystals on the side of the fermenter. In a few months the wine will be much nicer, then after a while it starts to lose a bit of fruit flavour as it gets smoother.
 

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