Favorite 1 Gallon Recipes

[ForsbergFotos]

Just looking for you to share your favorite 1 gallon recipes, or something that you might make in 5/6 gallon that might be worth trying in 1 gallon.

I've got 5 open gallon jugs and 3 free primaries, help me fill these suckers up.

I do have a bunch of apple based stuff in the works at the moment so aybe steer clear of apple forward wines.

 

[bernardsmith]

Go to your supermarket and look for quality 100 % fruit juice. Pineapple? Mango? Raspberry? Apple? Pomegranate? All good.
Check the gravity and add enough sugar to hit 1.090 or if you are looking for a session wine don't exceed about 1.050.
Add pectic enzyme. Pitch D47 or 71B or any non champagne yeast. Rack when the gravity drops to about 1.005. Check to see if the fruit is likely to be rich in tannins. If not add tannin. Allow to age, tasting as you age. If the wine needs additional bite determine the key acid of the fruit and add some to taste. Degas. Bottle.

 

[ForsbergFotos]

I was hoping for more specific recommendations on what to try, but this will likely be my game plan

 

[bernardsmith]

IMO, it's not about recipes but about protocol. Any fruit can be used to make a delicious wine. If you like the fruit you will love the wine. The secret is not to dilute the juice with water, (water is for cleaning only) not to ferment at too high a temperature; to provide the yeast with the nutrients it needs and to incorporate air and remove CO2 as the yeast ferments the sugars. The other secret is patience. The higher the ABV the more time the wine needs to age. The simpler the wine the less room you have to hide faults.

 

[ForsbergFotos]

I went with a Concord Grape and a Apple, kiwi, strawberry, passions fruit mix with frozen raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. We'll see how that one turns out

 

[raguido]

First, I would note that wines made from fruit will NOT always taste as you might expect. The distinct fruit flavor that you expect might not be there although the wine will still be satisfactory. To avoid the hassle of using fruit with Nylon sacks, crushing, etc. I would recommend a number of juices that are readily available. I've used juices from Trader Joe's, Costco, as well as from general supermarkets. I've made wines with the following juices:
Mango nectar, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, lemon juice, and Lemon-Ginger Echinacea.

I'll be making wines from some blends soon: apple-orange-pineapple and apple-banana. You might also want to try some tea-based wines, of which there are a large variety (check Jack Keller's homepage for suggestions). I'm starting a batch right now of spice wine with Twinings Camomile-Honey-Vanilla tea.

 

[Grog79]

I make primarily small 1 gallon batch wines, mainly because I love having a variety of wines at hand, and have alot of 1 gallon carboys.

I'm currently working on two special small batch wines. Blueberry and an Apfelwein ( I know you said your staying away from apple, but thought I would share)

Blueberry Wine (top up with blueberry cocktail)
1 gallon blueberry cocktail (ocean spray)
1 cup seedless raisins (chopped)
3 1/2 cups cane sugar
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/2 tsp wine tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp yeast energizer
1/2 pack of Lalvin 1118
OG 1.102

Cran - Apfelwein (top up with cranberry juice cocktail)
1 gallon 100% apple juice (store brand)
1 cup craisins (dried cranberries) chopped
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups cane sugar
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/2 tsp wine tannin
1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 pack of Lalvin 1118
OG 1.10

 

[meatcleaver]

next time you free up your fermenters...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31294
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=33636
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=49106

 

[Titan88]

IMO, it's not about recipes but about protocol. Any fruit can be used to make a delicious wine. If you like the fruit you will love the wine. The secret is not to dilute the juice with water, (water is for cleaning only) not to ferment at too high a temperature; to provide the yeast with the nutrients it needs and to incorporate air and remove CO2 as the yeast ferments the sugars. The other secret is patience. The higher the ABV the more time the wine needs to age. The simpler the wine the less room you have to hide faults.

What fruits are you using where there is enough juice to avoid using water?

 

[bernardsmith]

Any fruit in sufficient quantities will provide enough juice. The secret is to use the fruit rather than assume that wine is made of water. I am not saying that you use no water at all but you certainly don't treat your wine as flavored water. This may mean that you use 5 or 7 or even 10 lbs of fruit for each gallon. There are reasons for using water but the reasons include fruit with a very low pH or fruit with very high tannin levels, not because 7 lbs of fruit costs too much. If the price is too high then you make less wine - and not you dilute the wine with water to make 5 or 6 gallons of wine (flavored water).
That said, there are exceptions - and these include when you make wine from flowers (hibsicus, elderflower etc) or from leaves (tea) or from honey (mead). Then you can use significant amounts of water

 

[lukebuz]

Agreed. I learned the hard way. More water = thinner wine. Use less water!

 

[bernardsmith]

Agreed. I learned the hard way. More water = thinner wine. Use less water!

And with fruits other than wine grapes you can always freeze concentrate the juice. Many fruits have only about 1 lb of sugar per gallon of juice, compared to wine grapes that may have 2 or 3 lbs of sugar (SG of about 1.090 +/-). So what you might consider is freezing the expressed juice and allowing that frozen juice to gently thaw - You capture the first 1/3 and in that will be just about all the sugar and flavor. What remains frozen is ... water. The SG of this first 1/3 will be about 1.090- and the only sugar in this fruit wine will be the sugars FROM the fruit itself... Of course the "downside" is the reduced volume AND the increased cost per bottle of finished wine. The "upside" will be the improved quality of the wine and its flavor and aroma...

 

[raguido]

I agree with lukebuz regarding too much water. I found that when I made a 6-gallon wine kit that the wine was weaker than I liked. I found that using 5 gallons of water instead of the 6 gallons recommended gives much better results. You can always add more water later, but you can't take out extra water once it's been added.

 

[xjedifishx]

Just stopping in to see the comments. I'm about to fill up a few 1 gallon batches as well so I might try some new recipes!