Help with attempting to make a "Wine Cooler" that tastes like Apricot Stone Sour

[Justwingnit]

I'm a newbie at creating recipes so please help me tweak this attempt to make something that may taste close to my wife's favorite drink "Apricot Stone Sour"
I don't want to call it a "Wine Cooler" but I cant think of a better way to classify it.

Sand'Angelo's
Sour Apricot Cooler 001

1 can 15 oz apricot ½’s (100% natural no preservatives)
2-1/2 lb light brown sugar
1 lemon Juice Only
1 lime Juice Only
1 snack pack Pineapple
7 pints bottled water
1 crushed campden tablet
1 packet of Champagne yeast

Juice apricots, pineapple, add lemon and lime, simmer water with sugar until all sugar is dissolved

(pre-fill glass gallon carboy with exactly 16 cups of TAP WATER and mark your jug as this is 1 gallon, dump water back out)


Add all ingredients except yeast into gallon carboy, cover, let sit in warm place (about 70 F) for 24 hr


Following yeast packet for a starter but substitute warm water for equal parts of your juice parry and sugar water, when starter is ready add to carboy and top off carboy to your “1 Gallon” mark and fit air lock,

Stir daily for 10 days then rack to secondary through cheese cloth, lightly squeezing juice from pulp caught in cheese cloth and fit with air lock

Rack to secondary again and bottle after air lock activity has stopped, back sweeten if needed with Splenda

Serve cold with orange juice (if desired).

Larry
Toxic Cellar

 

[RPh_Guy]

First, looking at the recipe I would try to talk you out of this. I'd say leave cocktails as cocktails. When my wife wants a margarita, she gets a margarita, not an artificially sweet, salty lime-orange-agave wine. Just sayin. Do what works for you though.
Maybe a dry sparkling apricot wine, served with orange juice like a mimosa would be good.
----

On to the recipe.

What is "acid reducer"? Potassium carbonate? How much? Are you checking pH? Seems kinda random.

What's the deal with that rehydration process? Either rehydrate the yeast properly or just sprinkle it in.

Consider some yeast nutrient, especially SNA.

Are you going to monitor specific gravity? You want to stop aerating after 1/3 sugar depletion, otherwise you risk oxidation.

I'd consider dialing back the lemon and lime. They are pretty potent. Not sure about the other fruit quantities.

Hope this helps...
Cheers

 

[Justwingnit]

First, looking at the recipe I would try to talk you out of this. I'd say leave cocktails as cocktails. When my wife wants a margarita, she gets a margarita, not an artificially sweet, salty lime-orange-agave wine. Just sayin. Do what works for you though.
Maybe a dry sparkling apricot wine, served with orange juice like a mimosa would be good.
----

On to the recipe.

What is "acid reducer"? Potassium carbonate? How much? Are you checking pH? Seems kinda random.

What's the deal with that rehydration process? Either rehydrate the yeast properly or just sprinkle it in.

Consider some yeast nutrient, especially SNA.

Are you going to monitor specific gravity? You want to stop aerating after 1/3 sugar depletion, otherwise you risk oxidation.

I'd consider dialing back the lemon and lime. They are pretty potent. Not sure about the other fruit quantities.

Hope this helps...
Cheers

Was just trying to think outside of box, and increase wife support on this newest hobby. As for potassium, i was trying to think of the name, thanks, as for amount, i don't know.

This may never get made, this is why I'm asking for input.

All imput will be considered positive or negative, thanks for replying

 

[RPh_Guy]

Was just trying to think outside of box, and increase wife support on this newest hobby

Totally understand! I always keep something bottled for my wife for the same reason.

Just based on the favorite cocktail (and most women) I would suggest working on a sweet single-fruit wine (or cider or mead) 5-7% ABV. If needed you can increase tartness with acid blend after back-sweetening.

Making a sweet wine by exceeding the alcohol tolerance of the yeast also produces great results and is fairly simple, if you don't mind 13-16% ABV. Fermentation is a little more tricky because you need good temperature control.

 

[Justwingnit]

Totally understand! I always keep something bottled for my wife for the same reason.

Just based on the favorite cocktail (and most women) I would suggest working on a sweet single-fruit wine (or cider or mead) 5-7% ABV. If needed you can increase tartness with acid blend after back-sweetening.

Making a sweet wine by exceeding the alcohol tolerance of the yeast also produces great results and is fairly simple, if you don't mind 13-16% ABV. Fermentation is a little more tricky because you need good temperature control.

i have made 7 variations of apple cider one apple wine and one hard limonaid/tee and wife has not ben willing to do more than try them
any recomendations, she likes fruty drinks

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Make up the must for a sweet berry wine, aim for OG of around 1.10. Ferment until it reaches down to around 1.025. Cold crash add some sorbate. Then freeze it in a plastic jug, in the deep freeze, for at least a week or so.

The result is very fruit, sweet and a bit hit with my wife. Sometimes it tries to restart fermentation when it thaws in the fridge. But most of the time it does not. We make 1/2 jugs like this and she loves the stuff. We call it "momma's happy juice." I have made it from raspberries, blackberries, muscadines and figs. Raspberries are the best.

If you want my detailed recipe I will send it. But its really just having some fun with ingredents.