100% muscadine juice wine

I have way more grapes than fermenters this year. My question is has anyone done a wine using 100% straight muscadine juice and not diluting it with water? I have about another 100 lbs of grapes on the vines that I need to do something with. Where I live in Louisiana, everyone has muscadines so I can not even give them away.

Varieties include Ison, Darlene, Sweet Jenny, Pam

I am getting around 3.5 gal of juice / 50 lbs of grapes.

Any opinions welcome

Hmmm...

Me thinks the SG will tell you the answer to this question!

Squeeze a cupful of juice and read it's OG, if you've got access to a hydrometer.

I don't see why you couldn't just fill your primary with the pure muscadine juice, even boosted with sugar if the OG reading demands it, and then simply add a token hat-full of skins/pulp, like some kits, for more body, taste, etc.

Pogo

Well, muscadine juice isn't the best tasting juice out there. I think that's why you don't find many 100% muscadine wines.
If you do some acid reduction, though, you may find it will make an outstanding wine. If you don't have an acid test kit (they do have some really cheap ones from LD Carlson), you could taste the juice and see how acidic it is, and how much you'd like to reduce it. I've used calcium carbonate to reduce acid in grape wine, and it works well. I've used it in rhubarb wine, too, with ok results.

Jack Keller's website has two recipes that look really good for muscadines:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques15.asp

toddrod said:

I have way more grapes than fermenters this year. My question is has anyone done a wine using 100% straight muscadine juice and not diluting it with water? I have about another 100 lbs of grapes on the vines that I need to do something with. Where I live in Louisiana, everyone has muscadines so I can not even give them away.

Varieties include Ison, Darlene, Sweet Jenny, Pam

I am getting around 3.5 gal of juice / 50 lbs of grapes.

Any opinions welcome

Click to expand...

Hi toddrod: Depending on what you want for your end product, you might try using the following yeast (maybe in combination with calcium carbonate) on your muscadine juice: Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) : This yeast metabolizes more of the malic acid during fermentation than most other yeasts and should be considered for wines which are high in malic. It is noted for producing "fruity" reds such as vin nouveau and works well with high-acid native North American grapes, producing rounder, smoother, more aromatic wines that tend to mature quickly. Because it is also known for making blush, rosé and semi-sweet wines with a tropical fruit character, it promotes these styles with Cabernet Franc, Gewürtztraminer and Riesling. For obvious reasons, is often the yeast of choice for a great many malic fruit and berries and for vegetable-grape concentrate blended wines. Alcohol toxicity is predictable at 14% and its temperature range is 60-85°. F. I've never used it on muscadine, but I've had good results with it on other types of juices. Hope you find this info useful, GF.

Thanks for the info so far. I have Jack's page book marked and have read most of his information.

The recipe I am using right now is a traditional South Louisiana one, which means it is a SWEET wine, and is as follows.

5 gal recipe

Crush grapes and add yeast (I used Montrachet) in fermenting bucket
After 4 days, strain juice from pulp (I use a press)
Take 1 gal of juice (I used 1.5 gal) to fermenter and then add 15 lbs sugar and water to make 5 gal.

I have 10 gal of this in the fermenters right now and the SG came out to 1.132. My friend that does 150 gal a year of this recipe tells me that it ferments dry and he resweetens after 10 monthes. He uses sorbate at that time.


Gratus - I have some Narbonne coming in this week that I had planned on using for the next batch (this one will be a white as I have green muscadines as well) once I decide on if I am going to go all juice or this recipe again. I have another friend that uses Narbonne and he likes the results

+1 on the Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) to reduce the acidity. I used this yeast on a batch of pineapple wine (no water, just fresh pineapple juice) and the difference between when I used cote de blanc on the same juice was very noticeable.

toddrod -

I've got plenty of muscadines here, too.

I've decided to try a batch myself, thanks for the recipe BTW.

I just checked with my LHBS and have acid test kits on their shelves, so I'm on my way there this afternoon.

I have to presume that your SG of 1.132 is after adding the sugar, right?

Would you happen to know the SG of just the juice itself?

Since I now understand that acid is the source of the complications, I thinking that by using no water, just pure juice, if it's SG is sufficient, and then use calcium carbonate, etc., to 'Arm and Hammer' the acid levels into submission, the creation of a new animal may be just around the corner.

Of course, there's no guarantee that it will be a nice animal, huh?

Pogo

BTW - I read an article in the newspaper the other day about the hazzards of drinking sports drinks, which are high in acid!

They dissolve the enamel on our teeth. I realize that only winos drink wine like most would do sports drinks, and that most wines don't have the acid of muscadines, but reducing the acid level here would still be a 'win - win.'

I hope that you meant you also use the green 'scuppernongs' to make wine with, rather than 'green' brown muscadines.

Pogo - Sorry, I just crushed the grapes and added yeast. My next batch I will do all the correct measurements and documentation.

One thing I noticed is that I sure need some pectic enzyme in this stuff. The top od my fermenters look like they have some sort of a jelly layer on top.

Are the wild grapes Muscadine? I think they are, right?

Could also be Mustang grapes.

toddrod -

If you have yet to add the sugar, then THAT is the OG!!!

I can't imagine where it would end up after adding 15 pounds of sugar!

This is VERY high! 1.132 equals a Brix of over 31!

Ripe grapes are considered ideal at a Brix of 22, which = 1.0982.

There must be something else at play here, the acid I guess, to yield such numbers.

Are you fermenting with all of the skins and pulp in the fermenter, too?

I need to study this further.

Pogo

To clarify = That SG is after fermenting the juice, pulp and skins by themselves for 3 days. I then pressed and strained the juice. Took 1.5 gal of juice and then added the sugar and water. Then I took the gravity reading. Sorry for the confusion.

toddrod said:

One thing I noticed is that I sure need some pectic enzyme in this stuff. The top od my fermenters look like they have some sort of a jelly layer on top.

Click to expand...

I've never used muscadine, but I had a batch of wine with a lactic bacteria infection once; it looked like sort of jelly-like too. You might want to check for that by swirling & looking for "oily" or "ropy/stringy" bits. I've seen test kits for this in a catalog, but never used one. Just thought I'd mention that as a "just in case" type of thing. Hope your wine isn't infected. Regards, GF.

I racked my muscadine wine into another carboy today. It is some good tasting stuff but is still somewhat sweet. I do believe that I will need to add some acid to it as there is very little bite on the tongue.

What would be better. Adding grape tannin or acid blend. I will be getting some acid test strips from work today to check ph.

I also plan on adding some oak chips and letting it age.

toddrod said:

I racked my muscadine wine into another carboy today. It is some good tasting stuff but is still somewhat sweet. I do believe that I will need to add some acid to it as there is very little bite on the tongue.

What would be better. Adding grape tannin or acid blend. I will be getting some acid test strips from work today to check ph.

I also plan on adding some oak chips and letting it age.

Click to expand...

I don't think tannin and acid blend should be either/or. You may need both. I'd take out a sample, and add the acid blend to see how it improved it. Also, if it's sweet, maybe it's not done fermenting and if the SG drops, you may have too much acid. So, check the SG first to see if it's finished or if it may be stuck.

I did a little playing around with a little of the wine today. I added some acid blend and tannin. It did make a big difference in the taste of the wine. I ended up adding 1/2 tsp of tannin and 1 tsp of acid blend to one of my 3 gallon secondary and will leave it sit for a while and recheck. I do not want to go overboard.

Just a revist to my topic. It has been a yr since the first batch. Final ABV% came out to 10% on this batch using Montrachet wine yeast. Was hoping for a little more ABV but the flavor is great but it is a little sweeter than I like. I made a second batch using Champagne yeast and the ABV came out to 12%. Added acid blend and grape tannin to both batches. The second batch definitely is better tasting than the first batch. I think this yr I will go with 2 gal of juice for the recipe.

and how much you'd like to reduce it. I've used calcium carbonate to reduce acid in grape wine

I do not know if it is just me, but I do not find my homegrown Ison and Darlene variety of muscadines have alot of acid as compared to the wild growing varieties. That is why I added acid blend to my batches, but then again, I only used 1.5 gallons of juice to a 5 gallon batch.

You can freeze grapes as well, make more batches as your equipment frees up.

I cant wait till the wild vines flower near my house.

Todd, your experiences with the new improved cultivated Muscadines mirror mine.....

The old recipes used wild grapes that were massively sour with a brix of 15 or 16..... They also have a very intense "Musky" flavor....

The new Ison's varieties produce grapes that will easily run 22 - 23 brix... Higher if you let them sit on the vine until they shrivel a bit.... and the flavor doesn't have much of the funky musky weirdness of the really old fashioned grapes.....

I tested my batches last year - The reds Acid came out spot on without any water..... The straight Bronze was actually on the low side on acid - I ended up blending it with the Red to bring it up into the right range....

Sampled it this year during bottling... Quite good and without the weird funk that Muscadine wine sometimes has....

Thanks

A winery owner told me my white muscadine wine, to him, reminds him of a very good Sauvignon Blanc with a mellow pleasing muscadine flavor.

I leave mine on the skins for a little longer than that recipe calls for..I also add sweetner after all fermentation is done at about 2 pounds per 10 gallons as it is usually dry without it and most people prefer the muscadine wine to be sweeter.

I use Montrchet yeast. This wine is a deep burgandy color and very pleasant... the acid seems right each time I make it.

I use grapes I picked myself from the family farm here in Georgia. I usually use a mix of scuppernogs and muscadines (about 25% are white grapes the rest I use the dark purple/ black ones)



I ALWAYS freeze my grapes before crushing. I will pick approxiamtely 20 gallons of grapes. theya ll go into the freezer for atleast a week .. then I pull out enough for a batch or two.. and leave the rest in the freezer for 6 months when grapes aren't in season and pull them out.


The freezer helps to break down the inside cell structure of the tough muscadine. This really helps me to juice them.


I always use yeast nutrient and a spoonful of acid blend along with my grapes. 20% is water rest is juice.


The wine really mellows out after a year but at two years it is as fine of a wine as can be had. It looses some of it boldness and unique flavor but picks up some other more complex flavors.

I made wine from wild muscadine grapes growing in a state park. The wine had a tangy taste that my wife really liked. I asked her what type of wine kit she would like me to use for my next wine and she said muscadine over a cabernet, ice wine or zinfadel. I add to add sugar to my harvested muscadine grapes but did not adjust the pH. Perhaps they were picked early before the sugar content was high and before the pH was higher. I probably wont be able to reproduce what she liked unless I harvest more wild muscadine grapes in Texas. I was looking for a muscadine wine kit because in Texas the harvest for wild muscadine grapes has already passed for this year. Anyone know where I could find such a kit

Now a complaint: I entered my date of birth and was insulted with an add on this site with a picture of some very busty and sexy women around the age of 50 with the the following statement: " We don't like older men. Come join us". Is that what my date of birth was used for? To be insulted by an add for old desperate unmarried men?

Hello I also live in Louisiana and if u would like to donate muscadine
I am trying my first batch now but taste bitter can contact me at [email protected]
thanks
Brian