First Wine Attempt

[Wineomatic]

Hey everyone! Just had a question regarding pear wine and this seems like the place to ask. My father owns a rather large seckle pear tree that never gets any good use from it other than the neighbors picking a few pears.

I wanted to make a wine from these pears and started researching recipes and such. I just want to post the recipe I have put together and make sure this will yield a decent wine. I have ordered my first supplies this morning so I will be ready in a few weeks to pick the pears and begin primary fermentation.

Any who's, here's the recipe I will use, please edit, comment and correct/critique as you see fit.

Thanks in advance!

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 TBS acid blend (per 5-6 gallons)
3 pounds of sugar (Cane sugar)
EC-1118 Yeast
5 Camden tablets
2.5 teaspoon pectic enzyme
5 teaspoon yeast nutrient
6 pounds of apples (or 30% apples)
16 pounds of pears
4 lb raisin

INSTRUCTION
Cut pears thin.
Boil hot water.
Add Sugar, pears in fermentation bag, and acid blend to primary fermenter.
Add Pear concentrate
Add hot water to primary fermenter and stir till sugar dissolves.
Wait till Must reaches room temperature and add enzyme
Add Campden Tablets
Wait 24 Hours
Add the yeast and yeast nutrient
Stir daily for one week Rack into Carboy at SG .99 and seal with airlock add 5 more Campden tablets
Add Bentonite one week after.
Add Sparkolloid (not be used less than 30 days before bottling time)

NOTES
Rehydrate 5 gram packet of yeast into a quarter cup of 100 to 104 degree water. (1 gram of yeast to each gallon of *~yield). 20 to 40 minutes for yeast to create a foam cap on top of the water.

Fermentation/Maceration will take 1 to 3 days to begin and take from 5 days to 2 weeks to completion. Once or twice each day push fruit down into the juice.

To clarify 6 gallons of wine add 2 tablespoons of bentonite to 1/2 cup of hot water. 1/4 to 1 gram of dry Sparkolloid powder per gallon of wine, made in boiling water, boil for 5-20 additional minutes after adding to water.

 

[saramc]

22# of pears/apples seems quite light for a 5 gallon batch. I would aim for all fruit, steam juice the pears/apples if possible. Honestly avoid water addition if you can. If want to work with whole fruit for the must I would freeze/thaw the prepared fruit as this will help with juice extraction. The fruit turns into pear pulp pudding but it really will give you 100% fruit wine. Better yet if you have access to a grinder and fruit press you could press juice straight off the tree, think fresh pressed cider. Do you have any cider mills or orchards that will process your fruit? Add bentonite three days after pitching the yeast instead of post-fermentation.

 

[Wineomatic]

I can try and find a local place that can process/press the fruit. If I can't locate one should I freeze/thaw and put that pear pudding into the ferm. bag then add straight concentrate? And I will change it to three days on my sheet, thank you!

 

[Yooper]

Depending on the acidity of the pears, there is probably too much acid blend there. I'd reduce it greatly. You can always add more to taste if you need it, but you can't take it out.

I generally use about 6 pounds of apples per gallon for an apple wine (I don't have pears). I'd start with an OG of 1.090-1.100, so your sugar addition will depend on how much sugar the fruit already has.

Rack to secondary when the SG is 1.010-1.020. You don't want to wait until .990 when it's done.

 

[Wineomatic]

That's were I was considering starting was with an OG at 1.100. I think I may have misread or made a typo, I just noticed I wrote 3 to 4 tablespoons apparently it was teaspoons! I will also make this change on my sheet for FG/SG, thanks!

EDIT QUESTION: My neighbor seems to own a fruit press. After I press the juice from the pears to yield as much fresh juice as possible I assume-

1. I can supplement any remaining amount of needed liquid with concentrate?
EG. 4gallons of fresh juice/1galon concentrate

2. Post pressing I can use the pressed remains to put in the fermentation bag? Or will this step even be needed with fresh fruit juices?

 

[Wineomatic]

Just did my first rack! My seckle pear & green green apple wine was put into the secondary fermenter on August 24th. It was sitting in a 5 gallon car boy with about 1.5 gallons of empty space (with my condo move, and all the purchases had to prioritize between carboys or important things).

I know oxygen leads to oxidizing, which is why I'm worried.

After racking into a 3 gallon carboy I decided to sample the wine for taste. The best way I could describe it was that it tasted like diluted rubbing alcohol.

Have I failed? Should I dump the batch? I added more sulfite (2 tablets) post transfer.

Thanks!

 

[Wineomatic]

Just did my first rack! My seckle pear & green green apple wine was put into the secondary fermenter on August 24th. It was sitting in a 5 gallon car boy with about 1.5 gallons of empty space (with my condo move, and all the purchases had to prioritize between carboys or important things).

I know oxygen leads to oxidizing, which is why I'm worried.

After racking into a 3 gallon carboy I decided to sample the wine for taste. The best way I could describe it was that it tasted like diluted rubbing alcohol.

Have I failed? Should I dump the batch? I added more sulfite (2 tablets) post transfer.

Thanks!

Buddy of mine came over this week (10/23/13) and smelled the wine, he said it smells like "paint".

It's been in the three gallon since August 11th.

Dump the batch? Add three more sulfite tablets and pray? Bueller?