Hawaiian Punch wine

[Killer_Robot]

I've been toying around with the idea of a Hawaiian Punch wine. No, not buying the red stuff and dropping yeast in, I mean going to the source ingredients.

Apparently the base formula is apple, apricot, guava, orange, papaya, passion fruit, and pineapple. Juice is readily available at reasonable prices at the nearest supermarket for all of these but apricot - peach is available, and I think close enough to substitute.

The question then is one of proportion. At an immediate guess I jotted down:

• 1 gallon apple juice
• 1 gallon pineapple juice
• 1/2 gallon peach juice
• 1/2 gallon guava juice
• 1/2 gallon papaya juice
• 1/2 gallon passion fruit juice
• 1/2 gallon orange juice
• 1/2 gallon reserved to add sugar syrup up to desired gravity

I haven't decided what yeast is best for this yet, but after fermentation I'm thinking of adding a little powdered mix or concentrate to backsweeten, flavor match, and give it the vivid red color anyone is going to expect out of the name. Unless the flavor's especially good already, then just some sugar and coloring.

Anyone have any suggestions for proportion or yeast though? Or other concerns, for that matter. I know orange juice can't make a drinkable wine on its own, but I'm thinking 10% of the must would be okay there.

 

[Annubis]

you could probably find preservative-free apricot nectar/juice in a decent grocery store's organic section, if you feel like adhering to the recipe strictly. Not sure if there are naughty additives like high fructose corn syrup, though.

As for proportions... it wouldn't hurt to make a batch of must, taste it, tweak it, taste it, etc, then add the yeast. Off hand, the papaya and guava might not need as much, as they are strongly flavored.

Also... consider going for the lowest pulp content in your juices. I remember reading in the mead forums that pulp can add a bitter flavor to the finished wine.

Other than that... keep us updated! This looks like a fun recipe =D

 

[Killer_Robot]

I got this started last weekend, and fermenting good and strong now. I did end up using the peach nectar, and the flavor in the must is maybe a bit too pronounced, but not bad. It wasn't quite like the red stuff: even before adding some sugar to boost gravity it felt more syrupy and less tart than I recall, but I have no idea how fermentation will change that and can tweak acid levels later if it's still low.

As far as pulp goes, I used no pulp orange juice, but some of them were nectars made with pulp so it was hard to avoid.