First time wine making questions.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

eon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
476
Reaction score
3
Location
Corvallis, OR
Ok, so i figured I'd give wine making a try. I am will be making a very SIMPLE version of wine. I am making the recipe in this video:



So basically, I'll be using fruit juice bought from the grocery store, sugar, raisins, and bread yeast.

The fruit juice I have is Cranberry-Raspberry (Flavored juice cocktail in a blend with apple juice) from concentrate. On the back of the bottle it says "Contains 15% juice."

Supposedly, you are supposed to use Juice without preservatives. I tried to get one without preservatives but I am not sure. Here are the ingredients:

Filtered water, high fructose corn syrup, apple juice concentrate, cranberry juice, sugar, raspberry juice concentrate, cranberry juice concentrate, natural flavors, citric acid, fumaric acid, SODIUM CITRATE, ascorbic acid, red 40, blue 1.


So the one ingredient that I'm worried about is the Sodium Citrate. I did some research and here's what I found on wikipedia:

Sodium citrate is chiefly used as a food additive E331, usually for flavor or as a preservative. Sodium citrate is employed as a flavoring agent in certain varieties of club soda. Sodium citrate is common as an ingredient in lemon-lime and citrus soft drinks, such as Ting, Chinotto, and some Ocean Spray juices, contributing to their tart tastes, and can also be found in such energy drinks as Rockstar and Red Bull.

Does anybody know anything about sodium citrate? Looks like it could be used for flavor or preservative. Probably a preservative in this case huh?

My other question is that I've noticed this recipe doesn't involve anything like campden tablets or anything I've seen in other wine recipes.

So basically, does anybody know if this recipe will work with the juice and ingredients I have? If not, can somebody tell me how make a successful wine from regular store bought fruit juice? I just want to make something simple and have fun. Thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Your recipe will work fine but I doubt it will produce anything nice to drink.

Try this:
2.0 lb Raspberries (frozen or canned works fine)
2.0 lb Blackberries
1.5 lb granulated sugar
Yeast (if using fresh berries you can use the wild yeast already present)

Juice the berries and boil the granulated sugar in water to dissolve then pour over berries (if using wild yeast make sure water is only lukewarm or the wild yeasts will die) to extract extra flavor/sugar/color.

If you really have your mind set on using juice then make sure it's 100% juice and not a "cocktail" and scan the back for any preservatives before buying.
 
I think I'm going to go with apfelwein or make both! Your recipe sounds good airdusters. How much does your recipe make? Also, can I use wine yeast? If so, how much? I was thinking about using this for your recipe:

http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=48

Also, how would I make this with frozen or canned berries? Do I boil them and add the sugar solution like you described?

airdusters, how does this wine taste? how long should I age it before bottling? At what age does this wine taste the best? I always hear the longer the better!

Thanks for your help!
 
It's a recipe for 1 gallon, and yes wine yeast is fine if not preferred. You won't need to boil frozen/canned berries since they are already pasteurized; just juice 'em, run hot water over it, and discard. The wine is very tasty even when young. It was actually my best tasting batch, and I even used canned raspberries + frozen blackberries!

I'd let your wine sit on the yeast cake for a month before bottling. Age in the bottles for as long as you can stand. Longer is usually better, although some fruit wines don't improve much with time when compared to others.

Good luck, you will find wine making is actually very simple once you've got a batch or two under your belt.
 
Yes, fruit in syrup. I thaw the berries in hot water, toss them in the blender, and strain the pulp out using a small paint strainer bag (only a few $$ at Home Depot).
 
It's a recipe for 1 gallon, and yes wine yeast is fine if not preferred. You won't need to boil frozen/canned berries since they are already pasteurized; just juice 'em, run hot water over it, and discard. The wine is very tasty even when young. It was actually my best tasting batch, and I even used canned raspberries + frozen blackberries!

I don't think that frozen berries are pasteurized. I agree about canned berries, though.
 
I have a couple of super easy recipes posted- one using Welch's juice (any variety except one with sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate) and one using apple juice from the store if you want to try those. I have pretty good instructions along with the recipes.

If you're using fresh or frozen fruit, you'll want to get some campden tablets to sanitize the must with.
 
Ok, so I think I'm going to make my wine (1 gallon recipe) today. I just want to clear a few things up because I am still a bit confused on the actual process. Here are the ingredients I have on hand:


Four 15 oz. cans of OREGON Whole Purple Plums in Heavy Syrup
One 15 oz. can of OREGON Blueberries in Light syrup
1.5 lb table sugar
Wyeast 4267 Bordeaux

Here is the equipment I have:

1 gallon Carlo Rossi Wine jug
Rubber stopper for jug
Airlock
Ale pail (6 gallon?)

So I do not add any water? Should I puree all of this fruit in a blender? I'm confused. I need to have a gallons worth of juice right?

Can I make wine with these ingredients? If so, what is the process?

Would appreciate any info. Thanks!
 
Back
Top