Apple wine

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.

newbiewinemaker

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
179
Reaction score
6
Location
Madison
Hey everyone. So my grandpa called me this year and told me to come get some apples and I dont eat apples regularly so I decided to make some wine. I found a recipe on line and it said to cut them up and pour 3-4 gallons of hot boiling water on them. I did this and followed the recipe and after the fermentation stopped, I transferred to the secondary. I topped this up with a gallon of apple cider, and no I did not add any sorbate....Big mistake! It exploaded out the top with the gunky apple mess. After I got it cleaned up I added the sorbate that i should of added earlier. After i added the sorbate i put it back in the secondary and was about a half a gallon short from the top so i added cool water. This was two weeks ago. I tasted it today and it taste watery. IS there anything i can do or should i just let it work for now?


Thanks
 
Let it work for now. Give it some time to age and let sediments drop out. When you rack again get some frozen apple concentrate and back sweeten/top up with that. It should help to add some body back. Also tannins can be added to round it out and give a better mouthfeel. You can use grape tannin from the LHBS or black tea can be added for tannins. 1 tea bag per gallon just cold steeped for a week could do the trick.
 
honestly there wasn't any reason to add the sorbate after you already restarted fermentation but its okay you are new. Sorbate is too only be added when the wine has cleared. You need set up your recipe for topping up with water or when you rack from primary use a smaller carboy so you can fill it all the way too the top(this is what I do). Some people use store bought wine or wine from a previous batch to top up with. This is okay but I don't do it with my wines because I don't want my wine too be mixed with someone else's wine.
 
Let it work for now. Give it some time to age and let sediments drop out. When you rack again get some frozen apple concentrate and back sweeten/top up with that. It should help to add some body back. Also tannins can be added to round it out and give a better mouthfeel. You can use grape tannin from the LHBS or black tea can be added for tannins. 1 tea bag per gallon just cold steeped for a week could do the trick.


Cold steeped? Would that mean putting the entire carboy in the fridge? Sorry like I stated before this is my first go outside of a kit

Thanks
 
Sorry, cold steeped tea just means you are not heating the liquid to make the tea. So I just meant adding the tea directly to the carboy with nothing special is all.
 
Ok guys I have a question about this. The apple wine has been in the carboy for close to a month now. It is starting to get clear. Is there a need for me to stir up the sediment at the bottom and de gas this? In all my kits I have had to do this but am unsure with this apple wine? Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
h Sorbate is too only be added when the wine has cleared.


I have a question about this? ALL of the kits I have done, the instructions have said to add the sorbate after the sediment has been stirred back in and the wine has been degased. Then add the sorbate and the clarifying agent and then it clears? Granted I am new to the home wine making but I have never heard of adding sorbate after the wine has cleared? The only thing I have ever added after having clear wine is camden tablets.
 
Camden tablets are added before bottling or racking in order to help prevent oxidization. Sorbate is added to prevent further yeast cell division. Or rather the yeast will not ferment anymore. Sorbate also has a better chance of working in the presence of Camden (sulfites). So if you have a dry wine and there is absolutely no chance of further fermentation the sorbate is generally not needed. If your wine is sweet and there are residual sugars then the ABV has to be above the yeast alcohol tolerance killing them off or you need to heat pasteurize in order to kill off the yeast if not using sorbate. Otherwise further fermentation takes place after bottling and if that goes for too much the bottle will explode.

Hope that explains out the sorbate.

I normally don't stir the sediment back in. I usually rack when I get a chance to after it is mostly clear and then rack again every 30+ days until there is no sediments dropping. After a few months it degassed on its own. But if you want to bottle sooner then sure add 1 Camden tablet per gallon, stir it up good to help degas and then add your finings.
 
Ok guys I have a question about this. The apple wine has been in the carboy for close to a month now. It is starting to get clear. Is there a need for me to stir up the sediment at the bottom and de gas this? In all my kits I have had to do this but am unsure with this apple wine? Any suggestions?

Thanks

On the contrary, you want to rack off of the lees and leave them behind.

Then top up (a simple commercial white wine will do), and let it sit. Once no lees fall at all after at least 60 days in a new carboy, and the wine is clear, it can be bottled.
 
I am with your thinking Yooper that we do want to rack off the lees. The only reason I could think of that may be a reason to stir all that back in and then hit with finings is that all the sediment will create nuclear ion points for dissolved Co2 allowing the wine to degas a little faster? But then again I think the whole racking process with a racking cane will accomplish that same end.
 
THanks guys! I have already topped up with APPLE concentrate once. I am not sure I want to top up with some one elses wine tho. What else can I use to give it some body. Also would now be an ok time to add tannins possibly? I want it to have a good mouth feel. After racking of course. I do not think I will degas this however I am going to need something to top up as my next smallest carboy is a 3 gallon and this is in a 6 gallon. The 5 gallon is full of peach wine :)

Thanks again!
 
Do you have a larger primary bucket to rack back into then rack back to your 6 gal after it has been cleaned and sanitized? This isn't ideal in what I have read so far (I'm new to wine making also) but it looks to me like your in a fix.
 
Yes I do and that is what I have been doing. I just need some suggestions on what to top up with this next time I rack. I haven't tasted it for quite a while so maybe its not so watery anymore. I would like to top up with something that will give it some body.

Thanks
 
Back
Top