aiptasia
Well-Known Member
So, we have two Queen Palm Date trees in our front yard. For years, i've known that these trees produced very sweet but fiberous edible dates with enough pectin in them to make your mouth pucker. They're very closely related to Pindo palms and their fruits ripen in the winter time (unlike Pindo, which ripen in the spring). The fruit flavor tastes like a cross between apricot, banana and sugary majool date. I have one tree that is ripening with what i'm estimating is about ten pounds or more of date fruits. I'm guessing that the fruits will be ready for harvesting by sometime in early February.
I've found two recipes for Pindo wine online and want to try them on these Queen Palm dates. I wanted to ask here if anyone has any experience making Pindo (or other) Date Wine to have a look at the recipe and offer up any suggestions. I know that I will have to use a good amount of Pectinase on the wine but have some questions on when to use it:
1) One recipe suggest freezing the dates first, letting them thaw and rubbing/mashing up the fibers to get the woody seeds out, then using pectinase to help break down the fiber from the sugars a bit and a campden tablet to kill off any wild bugs. Roughly a 24 hour soak in Pectinase and campden water. Does this sound right?
2) The recipe calls for a few rackings to get the lees and pectin settled out of the wine. What's the best use of pectic enzyme to help settle and clear this kind of wine, and when to use it? Are any other fining agents good for heavy pectin wines?
Here's the best recipe i've found:
Clark's Jelly Palm Wine
for three gallons
Began 11/7/09
9 1/4 lbs. Jelly Palm Fruit, picked, washed, frozen, thawed and crushed
and added to mesh bag.
Water to 3 gal. mark
3 crushed campden tablets
2 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
3 tsp nutrient
3/4 tsp tannin (grape)
1 tsp yeast energizer
13 1/2 cups sugar (brought S.G. to 1.80
3 tbsp Acid Blend (brought to .65)
__________________________________
11/8/09 tossed 1 pkg Lalvin 71B-1122
__________________________________
11/11/09 No fermentation
added energizer and nutrient and tossed Cote des Blancs
and whoa Nelly! Began an active fermentation.
__________________________________
11/13/09 Sg @ 1.45 in AM, and at 1.25 in PM. Racked (thru filter funnel) to carboy
Lots of junk to clear. Lees, pectin
___________________________________
12/23/09 Racked and added some Sparkaloid as there was so much stuff
clouding the wine. Looked like a very pulpy orange juice.
___________________________________
12/27/09 Degassed and added a tad more sparkaloid. Nearly clear now.
Putrid smell emanating from carboy during racking.
___________________________________
1/1/10 Very clear, smell is almost gone. Real aroma of fruit begining.
Pretty clear color, Golden Orange.
***** Update****03/13/2011
This wine is remarkable (IMHO) It does need to age in bottle a full year.
I've found two recipes for Pindo wine online and want to try them on these Queen Palm dates. I wanted to ask here if anyone has any experience making Pindo (or other) Date Wine to have a look at the recipe and offer up any suggestions. I know that I will have to use a good amount of Pectinase on the wine but have some questions on when to use it:
1) One recipe suggest freezing the dates first, letting them thaw and rubbing/mashing up the fibers to get the woody seeds out, then using pectinase to help break down the fiber from the sugars a bit and a campden tablet to kill off any wild bugs. Roughly a 24 hour soak in Pectinase and campden water. Does this sound right?
2) The recipe calls for a few rackings to get the lees and pectin settled out of the wine. What's the best use of pectic enzyme to help settle and clear this kind of wine, and when to use it? Are any other fining agents good for heavy pectin wines?
Here's the best recipe i've found:
Clark's Jelly Palm Wine
for three gallons
Began 11/7/09
9 1/4 lbs. Jelly Palm Fruit, picked, washed, frozen, thawed and crushed
and added to mesh bag.
Water to 3 gal. mark
3 crushed campden tablets
2 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
3 tsp nutrient
3/4 tsp tannin (grape)
1 tsp yeast energizer
13 1/2 cups sugar (brought S.G. to 1.80
3 tbsp Acid Blend (brought to .65)
__________________________________
11/8/09 tossed 1 pkg Lalvin 71B-1122
__________________________________
11/11/09 No fermentation
added energizer and nutrient and tossed Cote des Blancs
and whoa Nelly! Began an active fermentation.
__________________________________
11/13/09 Sg @ 1.45 in AM, and at 1.25 in PM. Racked (thru filter funnel) to carboy
Lots of junk to clear. Lees, pectin
___________________________________
12/23/09 Racked and added some Sparkaloid as there was so much stuff
clouding the wine. Looked like a very pulpy orange juice.
___________________________________
12/27/09 Degassed and added a tad more sparkaloid. Nearly clear now.
Putrid smell emanating from carboy during racking.
___________________________________
1/1/10 Very clear, smell is almost gone. Real aroma of fruit begining.
Pretty clear color, Golden Orange.
***** Update****03/13/2011
This wine is remarkable (IMHO) It does need to age in bottle a full year.