Crabapple wine fruit preparation questions

[bama_new_wine]

None of the recipes for crabapple wine are very detailed about treatment of the fruit. Must we remove the stems before pressing? Some recipes are conflicting as to pressing or chopping the fruit. Which way is best? I have harvested my tree, and washed and rinsed the crabapples in a vinegar/ water bath, and they are now in the deep freeze. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Yooper]

None of the recipes for crabapple wine are very detailed about treatment of the fruit. Must we remove the stems before pressing? Some recipes are conflicting as to pressing or chopping the fruit. Which way is best? I have harvested my tree, and washed and rinsed the crabapples in a vinegar/ water bath, and they are now in the deep freeze. Thanks in advance for the help.

I don't wash my fruit with vinegar or anything special. I remove the stems if it's convenient to do so.

I freeze, then smoosh them up when they thaw in the primary. I don't have a press, so we hand squeeze in the bags, as it's the same principal.

I do use sulfites (campden) to kill wild yeast and bacteria 24 hours before adding wine yeast to the must, but otherwise I don't do anything special.

Crushing and pressing are separate steps- you want to crush to break the fruit up (but not the seeds) and ferment on that for a few days before pressing. I hand crush (the "smoosh" I mentioned earlier) and then squeeze the bags since I don't have a press.

 

[WVMJ]

You dont want to use vinegar, its taste is not something you want in your cider. If you really feel the need to wash them you could add citric acid. We are doing our first crabapple. We froze our fruits, thawed them, ran them thru a scratter/crusher and then pressed them in a winepress. Pectinase Pectinase Pectinase and KM first. Cant say anything after that as its still bubbling. WVMJ

 

[harry_the_face]

I read an old book about the way they make wine in the Appalachian mountains the old way. For all of their wines they would just mash up the fruit and put it in the fermenter, add water and yeast and let it go. (I would use the tabs to sanitize)
When they transferred to secondary they would do a second batch on top of the fruit that was there.

 

[bama_new_wine]

Wow. Thanks, all of you. This looks like great stuff I can use. I'll let you know how it turns out.