Hello, I'm starting my first batch of wine tonight - Apricot wine. I've found several recipes online, and searched these forums for recipes as well. Some recipes are very specific; others are slightly more general.
My question: does it matter how much fruit I start off with? i.e. I've seen one generic recipe that says 3 to 5 pounds of fruit; more for lighter flavored fruits, less for stronger flavored. One recipe I looked at calls for 2.5 pounds of apricots. Another recipe calls for 3 pounds of apricots. I have 24 pounds of apricots, so way more than enough for 3 gallons of wine. (My intention is to use my 3 gallon carboy) Can I just say, "oh, what the heck" and put in, say, an extra pound of apricots per gallon, and adjust the amount of pectic enzyme upward slightly - would this give it a fruitier or more of a hint of apricot when the wine is ready?
And, should I aim for a total volume of 4 gallons in the primary fermenter, so that when I rack after the primary fermentation, I can be certain to be able to fill the carboy high enough, plus reserve a small bottle's worth to top off after a second racking? (Would that be necessary/good idea?) I assume dumping excess is some sort of cardinal sin, but everything is cheap enough that I'm not too concerned with a bit of waste in order to get everything else as ideal as possible.
Wife wants a sweeter wine, so I'm aiming for 1.120 SG prior to fermentation,
Lalvin 71B-1122, this sound about right? I'm very much a noob at this. I realize sterilization is critical before I start; I must wait a full 24 hours before adding the yeast, to allow time for the sodium bisulfite (campden tablets) to do their thing and to gas out of the system, leaving it conducive for the yeast I introduce to thrive. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how everything else interacts for the flavors.
My question: does it matter how much fruit I start off with? i.e. I've seen one generic recipe that says 3 to 5 pounds of fruit; more for lighter flavored fruits, less for stronger flavored. One recipe I looked at calls for 2.5 pounds of apricots. Another recipe calls for 3 pounds of apricots. I have 24 pounds of apricots, so way more than enough for 3 gallons of wine. (My intention is to use my 3 gallon carboy) Can I just say, "oh, what the heck" and put in, say, an extra pound of apricots per gallon, and adjust the amount of pectic enzyme upward slightly - would this give it a fruitier or more of a hint of apricot when the wine is ready?
And, should I aim for a total volume of 4 gallons in the primary fermenter, so that when I rack after the primary fermentation, I can be certain to be able to fill the carboy high enough, plus reserve a small bottle's worth to top off after a second racking? (Would that be necessary/good idea?) I assume dumping excess is some sort of cardinal sin, but everything is cheap enough that I'm not too concerned with a bit of waste in order to get everything else as ideal as possible.
Wife wants a sweeter wine, so I'm aiming for 1.120 SG prior to fermentation,
Lalvin 71B-1122, this sound about right? I'm very much a noob at this. I realize sterilization is critical before I start; I must wait a full 24 hours before adding the yeast, to allow time for the sodium bisulfite (campden tablets) to do their thing and to gas out of the system, leaving it conducive for the yeast I introduce to thrive. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how everything else interacts for the flavors.
