Just peachy

I recently made a 5 gal batch of peach wine. This was my first batch, so I now realized I made some mistakes and plan on making a second batch. This was my first batch-

1. 4 gal water
2. 10lb sugar
3. 20ish peaches
4. 2 packets of Red Star (regular off the shelf bread yeast, NOT turbo yeast)

I let this all sit until it was done bubbling. I made a home made airlock. Mistake #1 was- I didnt really pay attention to the type of yeast like I shouldve. As well as the raisins, and I neglected to stir it on several occasions. Mistake #2- I didnt siphon out my product, I just poured it all into another container to filter, bottle etc. Mistake? #3- I wasnt sure on how long to let it sit, and when I did, thats when all this weird sediment settled at the bottom. Im still not sure what that was, but I eventually separated it. I plan on doing a second batch with this. Let me know what you think.

1. Cote de blanc yeast. (amount for 4 gal of water?)
2. Another 20ish peaches, as well as some canned peaches for the syrup/flavor.
3. raisins. (again, how much?)
4. 1 lemon. (whats the purpose?)

Any help is greatly appreciated! My first run turned out ok for my first try, but was really a learning experience, more than anything. Sorry for such a long post!

First off I would buy the equipment needed, like an auto siphon, so you don't oxidize your wine while racking and to limit the sediment you transfer. Also I would buy a hydrometer to determine the gravity and potential alcohol in your must. The hydrometer will also be a good guide for when to rack and bottle your wine.

Bread yeast will not have a high alcohol tolerance like a wine yeast does so you probably ended up with a low alcohol sweet wine with a strange after taste. There are many wine yeasts out there that will yield different results from dry to sweet. People use raisins as a yeast nutrient and the lemon is for the acid. I'm sure other people would be much more useful for your questions as I typically just brew beer and dabble in wine.

What kid of equipment do you use?

I have a pretty cheap set up. My fermenting vessel is a 5 gallon blue water jug from an upright water dispenser, and my airlock is a home made rig from youtube. I knew the bread yeast wouldnt get me where i should be, but had to start somewhere. Now, Im just curious as to how many grams per gallon of the CdB yeast I need to use on this next batch. Thanks for the help

Usually one package of yeast is sufficient for 5-6 gallons

Peach throws a ton of lees. On a 10 gallon batch, we wound up with 7 gallons after the first racking. This the 2nd time we made peach wine. This year we went from 5 gallons in 2012 to 10 gallons because it is everyone's favorite. We used 56 pounds of fresh peaches for 10 gallons.

Agree on pack of yeast is plenty. We actually used 1 pack of yeast for 10 gallons because it was all we had left in stock. Fermented like a charm. We did add a few pounds of very ripe bananas from the freezer to add even more body.

Ok so I’m bringing this thread back to life. I started another batch last night. I used a can of peaches on top of my original recipe, minus 2 lbs of sugar. This came out to more than my 5 gallon pot could handle, so I’m using a gallon jug as well. Its in my closet bubbling away right now! Ive got my raisins for when I rack it as well. Now, when I do rack it, what difference do you thing it would make if i threw in a couple cans of peaches after I put them through the blender for just a second?

If I use fresh fruit I do like to add fruit to the primary and secondary. It gives a more "fresh fruit" flavor to the wine. The only issue with that is when you do that you add more sugar to the wine. That means if the yeast have not hot it's ABV limit then fermentation will pick back up. It does not matter if you wait 6 months and rack 5 times to make it super clear. There is almost always yeast left behind and a fermentation can pick up.

That is why many people stabilize wine by add crushed Camden tablets/K-meta and potassium sorbate. That will prevent further cell division by the yeast.

Also there is no need to blend the peaches. All the flavor will leach out easily enough. Definitely add the raisins. A good amount for 5 gallons would be about 2.5 cups. That would be about 23 of the little one ounce boxes or just under a pound and a half.

It may be too late now but a good thing to always add to peach wine is pectic enzyme. Peaches have a lot of pectin and can cause a wine to be slightly hazy and not crystal clear. So you could try adding a double dose of pectic enzyme to the secondary and giving it about 30 days and see if it clears up well. Otherwise on your next batch just use the enzyme 12-24 hours before pitching yeast and it will do wonders.

I'm not sure how many times I'll rack this, it's just started and there's plenty of time. This will probably be the last peach wine I make, it seems like peach has more tricks than others. So the Camden tablets stop cell division, which then just allow all the yeast to die to stop fermentation? I'll post a pic of the last quart I have so you can get an idea of how clear/hazy it is. I didn't add pectin enzyme to that.

Camden does not stop cell division. That is actually the sorbate. Sorbate just work better in the presence of sulfites. Also the yeast do not die. They just go dormant. If you dilute the wine after stabilizing reducing the amount of sorbate percentage per volume then fermentation can pick back up.

Ok so heres from my first batch with no additives. Im not going for high grade, sell on a store shelf quality, so pectin isn’t really a concern for clarity. Is there a ‘too late’ time to add camden tablets? At the earliest, I could get camden tablets on saturday, which is a week into fermentation, also when I plan on racking.

It looks good on the clarity. I would not be ashamed of that at all. There is no "too late" for Camden and sorbate unless you already added more sugar or let it get infected. Also with wines if you do not have the stuff you need. Just let it sit till you get the stuff. If you need to wait a couple weeks for another paycheck then that is fine. Nothing will ruin in that time.

Ok. Well, I plan on adding a can of peaches when I rack on Saturday, Ill also make a run to the local home brew shop and that guy is a pretty good help as well. Thanks! Heres a pic of whats in my primary now. Ive got cut up peaches, and then some peach halves from a can as well.

Looks good.

I have always preferred peaches fermented on the skin rather than off from canned peaches. I just like that slightly tannic and sweet first bite into a peach taste and canned peaches alone does not do it.

Ok so another update! I racked last night after having it sit for a week. I used a 1/4” siphon hose (last time I ever use one that small again) and moved it into this blue jug. Added a can of peaches, and 2 1/2 cups of raisins. I do believe there is too much head room in my secondary. Should I add another can of peaches or more raisins until its at a higher level? Im seeing a bubble in my airlock about every 3 seconds. I wrapped the towel around to keep the light out as well.

With fermentation still going that headspace is not bad. But it would not hurt to add some more peaches.

Thanks for all the input!

So I went out of town for the weekend, and when I came back fermentation had come to a grinding halt.. Today I took a reading on the hydrometer and it was floating just shy of .990. I took a little sip and wow! it was very bitter/acidic. Its been two weeks and 2 days since I pitched the yeast. I need to rack again but don’t have another big jug. What is everyones opinions on siphoning it to a big pot, cleaning my actual carboy, then siphoning it back into it. I have bout 3/8 of lees and sediment at the bottom.

A bucket or large pot will work. Try not to oxygenate it. Use campden in the carboy when you rack back if you have some.

rhino farts and rocket fuel!

The bitter acidic flavor will mellow some with age. Thats a normel flavore for a young very dry wine.
I have an old poland spring jug I sometimes rack into when all my carboys are full. It uses the same airlock as my betterbottles. This way I can keep it airlocked while washing the betterbottle. After I wash out the carboy I rack out of the poland spring jug into the original carboy. I have used a five galleon bucket with a lid as well.

Ok thanks a lot. I got worried I would I would have to dump it

Hurry up and wait is the best remedy for many wine making issues

Wine making is sure testing my patience! I racked last night, and am checking pretty regularly for fermentation to pick back up. I thought it was pretty odd that fermentation stopped 2.5 weeks into it.. This seemed pretty sudden? I added sugar, 4 smaller cans of peaches and a half pound of raisins (the other half to go in when I rack later) and its approaching 24 hours, and still no signs of fermentation. Some peaches have risen from the bottom, but not all, and not like when I went from the primary to secondary!

At .990 it was done fermenting. It rarely gets any lower then that. Most wines are done with active fermentation in a week. By adding more peaches you added more suger. The yeast was resting and sometimes takes a day to get back to full speed. If peaches are floating then it is starting to ferment.
What was your starting gravidy? What yeast did you use? It is possible the abv is high enough to kill off the yeast. Especially if you did not use yeast nutriants. You will just get left with a less dry wine, less of that acidic bite you did not like.

Fermentation did pick up again. Im not using a yeast nutrient, I heard raisins were just about as good? I knew adding sugar would cause it to pick back up again, I more or less wanted to just see what would happen.I didn’t have a hydrometer when I first started, so who knows! I used Cotes de Blanc yeast.

Contes de blank yeast dies off around 13-14% abv. After about 4 cups of suger plus fruit per gal it is aproching its max abv. Any suger or fruit added after that point may not ferment to dry. (Of corse yeast is a living thing and will do as it pleases! So a different abv is possible.)
Yeast nutriants will help the yeast last longer and keep the stinky stressed yeast fart smells away. If you are not smelling anything stinky and are noy trying for a hight abv then you are fine without them. Raisons are not the same, but are yeasties favorite food, kinda like a snack food. Better then nothing and will give the yeast a tiny bost.
If its fermenting again then all is good!



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