Rhubarb Wine

[Yooper]

Ok - Getting ready to do this on Saturday, and I am a total newb to wine making so I have a few (dumb) questions. I have made one batch of wine.....errrrrr...... vinegar about 12 years ago. I think we will make 3.5-4 gallons with the hopes of eventually getting 3 gallons into a 3 gallon better bottle for secondary/tertiary..... (assuming there will be loss at rackings, etc.)

1.)White grape concentrate/or raisins..... is this just the frozen juice concentrate that you would find by orange juice in the grocery store? Is there a preference between the concentrate and the raisins?

2.) Yeast Nutrient..... Do I triple the yeast nutrient for 3 gallons even though I am not tripling the yeast?

3.) When you put the initial fruit in primary it says to dissolve sugar in "a little" boiling water and pour over rhubarb and later it says: after a couple days "remove rhubarb and add rest of ingredients with cold water"...... So..... I am NOT adding the 7 pints of water/per gallon batch to this primary?
How much water do I put in with the rhubarb? Do i subtract that from the "7 pints" total per gallon batch?

4.) If I put sugar, rhubarb and water in a bucket (without yeast) for 2-3 days..... what keeps it from becoming a bacteria festival of infection?

5.)Adding "campden every other racking"..... So, does that mean add it for the first racking into secondary? Or does it mean I added it to primary and not at secondary and then again at tertiary.... etc. And, If I am doing 3 gallons - 3 tablets each time?

Thanks for the help - Want this one to turn out better than my initial attempt at wine making.

1. Yep, the welch's "niagara" concentrate is fine- but if you get the "white wine concentrate" from the brew store, that's even better. I don't love the raisins in this, but they are definitely body builders if you don't use the grape concentrate.

2. Yes, but this wine seems to do just fine even without the nutrients (yeast do well with the sugar, rhubarb, and grape concentrate) so don't sweat it too much.

3. Just get to about your batch size, you don't have to really measure it that close. In my ale pail, I top up to my a bit taller than my batch size, realizing that when I remove the rhubarb, the level will drop.

4. The campden.

5. Without an S02 meter, I'm trying to guestimate the amount of S02 in the wine. Using 50 ppm is pretty standard, but still less than commercial wines, so using it at every other racking and at bottling is a pretty good guestimate in my opinion. Don't sweat it too much. If it's been a while since you've added it, and you're racking, then go ahead and use some. If you just racked last month and have a ton of lees so you're racking again, you're probably good.

 

[Braufessor]

Great - thanks for the help. Got everything I need I think - including the white wine concentrate from my LHBS. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan. I set a really low bar, 12+ years ago, with my "backyard concord grape/garbage can wine." Time to redeem myself

 

[Braufessor]

1 more question - fermentation temperature. My basement is 62-64 degrees, Upstairs is 68-70 degrees. One better than the other?

 

[solbes]

Mine is in my basement (and I'm north of you). However our basement is currently sitting at 68-70. I have a digital thermometer stuck to my primary that is reading between 70-72F. Wine can be fermented warmer than beer and seems to be more forgiving than beer. I would imagine wild fluctuations for temperature would be bad, so try and keep it consistent.

I will likely rack to secondary with an airlock tonight after confirming the drop in gravity.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Can this be done without the tannin? Or would u recommend using tea to get some?

 

[Yooper]

Can this be done without the tannin? Or would u recommend using tea to get some?

Sure, and it might be great without it. I like it for some of the "bite" to keep the wine from being bland but it's certainly not necessary.

 

[bernardsmith]

Sure, and it might be great without it. I like it for some of the "bite" to keep the wine from being bland but it's certainly not necessary.

I agree with Yooper. Rhubarb wine is often pleasantly acidic, so unlikely to be bland but your local home brew store will have tannins (some come from wine and others come from chestnuts). You might also consider adding some oak.

 

[Braufessor]

.....Well, I though I was done with my questions. But then I walked by my fermenting bucket of wine and it smelled like a rotten egg. I actually thought my dogs were having ..... issues.... at first. I pitched yeast about 2 days ago or so. The strong sulfur smell has me a little worried. Is this normal? If it is not normal - will it ferment out like it does in beer? It was the montrachet yeast as called for. Fermenter is sitting in room with temp. between 68-70.

 

[solbes]

Montrachet has a tendency to create H2S in the presence of sulphur. Did you perhaps use a sulphur based anti-fungal dust/spray on or near your rhubarb? Could also be a lack of yeast nutrient.

I have used Montrachet 4 or 5 times and only had a problem with H2S once in an apfelwein batch. Turned out okay, though not as good as my first batch.

 

[Braufessor]

No sulphur that that I know of.... I did some more digging on line and saw several suggestions to aerate it - dumping back and forth between pails, etc. I did not do that..... but I stirred the hell out of it several times. The vigorous stirring brought a lot of CO2 out of solution and the off-gassing seemed to take the "rotten egg" smell with it. It smells more like bread and rhubarb/fruit now...... Hopefully I caught it quick and the aeration helped dissipate the odor from the wine.

 

[Yooper]

Keep stirring and that will help the sulfur dissipate.

 

[progmac]

thanks for this thread and recipe, Yooper! I just did my own version of this adding some tart cherries - both for taste and a bit for color (because I perceive the best rhubarb as being red or having hints of red)

 

[Helly]

Well I got 11 lbs from our rhubarb patch and my father in law pitched in the final 4 lbs. Got things started today for 5 gallon batch. I just re-read the whole thread and I'm very excited for this wine.

 

[Yooper]

thanks for this thread and recipe, Yooper! I just did my own version of this adding some tart cherries - both for taste and a bit for color (because I perceive the best rhubarb as being red or having hints of red)

Let me know how it turns out! My friend made "rhuberry" wine last year- using rhubarb, blueberry, and a few strawberries and it was unbelieveably good!

Well I got 11 lbs from our rhubarb patch and my father in law pitched in the final 4 lbs. Got things started today for 5 gallon batch. I just re-read the whole thread and I'm very excited for this wine.

I hope you like it as much as we do.

 

[truvr]

Rhubarb is in the freezer and I'm pretty stoked to give this recipe a go. Just a question or two? I'm making 1 gallon. I cut the rhubarb into 1 to 2 inch pieces before freezing. Should I go smaller? I have bulk potassium metabisulphite instead of campden. Any suggestions on how many grams I should use in place of 1 tab? And finally, is it best 1 year after starting, or after 1 year in the bottle? Thanks!

 

[truvr]

Oh, and, what do you top up with? I'm sure these questions have all been answered in the previous 20ish pages. I did read them, but it has been a while. :sly:

 

[Goofynewfie]

I topped up with a Chardonnay

 

[AlbertaGuy]

thanks for this thread and recipe, Yooper! I just did my own version of this adding some tart cherries - both for taste and a bit for color (because I perceive the best rhubarb as being red or having hints of red)

I did that last year and it turned out wonderfully! The cherries gave it an awesome color and just a hint of sour cherry. I have 2 batches of normal rhubarb wine going this year, one is taking a really really long time to clear but the other is looking just fine. I'm going to try a rhubarb apple here as well to empty the freezer out. Yummy stuff.

 

[Yooper]

Rhubarb is in the freezer and I'm pretty stoked to give this recipe a go. Just a question or two? I'm making 1 gallon. I cut the rhubarb into 1 to 2 inch pieces before freezing. Should I go smaller? I have bulk potassium metabisulphite instead of campden. Any suggestions on how many grams I should use in place of 1 tab? And finally, is it best 1 year after starting, or after 1 year in the bottle? Thanks!

Let's see. 1/4 teaspoon of k-meta powder is for 6 gallons, so 1/8 teaspoon would work for 3 gallons. It'd be tough to measure 1/16 teaspoon, though. You could mix up 1/8 teaspoon in 3 teaspooons water, stir it well and use 1 teaspoon of the solution in your must. By my quick and rough math, that would be about right.

Oh, and, what do you top up with? I'm sure these questions have all been answered in the previous 20ish pages. I did read them, but it has been a while. :sly:

I think it's fruity and dry like a pinot grigio, but it really doesn't matter that much.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Have you ever had a problem with this clearing? I started a batch in July and have racked four times, adding sparkalloid the final time last week since I was getting very little sediment but has not clear any

 

[Helly]

My batch is starting to clear. I racked it today. Tastes great already.

I inherited 5 more pounds of rhubarb and I've got some strawberries frozen from last year. Anyone do a strawberry/rhubarb wine? Meaning throw it all together to ferment, not blending at the end when finished? I'm thinking of trying 5 lb rhubarb, 5 lb strawberries and make a 3 gallon batch. Has anyone tried something like this? Any guidance? Thanks!


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[solbes]

Goofy,

Sounds like a lot of racking. The one unfortunate thing with fruit/country wines is they take a long time to clear and age properly. Usually 9-12 months. Not only will the yeast eventually give it up and fall out, but the taste will really start to pop around the 10-12 month mark. After mine ferments out in primary and secondary, I rack into tertiary and let it sit until early spring. Then I rack it one more time and wait for it to be completely clear, then bottle. Usually is about 10-11 months old at that point.

Helly,

My first rhubarb wine was 15 lbs rhubarb, 3 lbs straberries. It was quite delicious, so I'd say go for it! Could have used a little more strawberry, maybe 13 lbs rhubarb/5 lbs strawberry or even 12/6. Second year was rhubarb/peach (drinking this year, also good). Next years batch is in tertiary with a mix of blueberries/blackberries/raspberries/strawberry. I think about 5 lbs worth.

 

[Helly]

Thanks solbes. I will do some experimenting. I think I'm gonna do the rhubarb/strawberry first. I wasn't planning on making as much wine this year but I fell into a lot of rhubarb and just discovered grapes and crab apples on my parents property and I'm anxious to try a batch with each of them.


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[truvr]

I just pitched the yeast this morning. My pre-pitch SG was 1.083. It occurred to me after that this was probably a little low. If it ferments out to 1.000 my ABV will be just under 11%. I think I ended up with a little too much volume. Anyway, my question is, should I add more sugar solution to up the SG so my final ABV is closer to 12% for the extended aging? And if so, how much would you add? :/ Thanks.

 

[solbes]

I just pitched the yeast this morning. My pre-pitch SG was 1.083. It occurred to me after that this was probably a little low. If it ferments out to 1.000 my ABV will be just under 11%. I think I ended up with a little too much volume. Anyway, my question is, should I add more sugar solution to up the SG so my final ABV is closer to 12% for the extended aging? And if so, how much would you add? :/ Thanks.

I would plan on your wine getting to .988-.992, so that will boost it a tad more. Maybe just a tad more sugar to get it to 12-12.5%. Looking back at my records I have been in the 13-13.6% range. Maybe a tad strong, but not much detectable alcohol tastes after the 12 months it takes to get to bottling.

 

[truvr]

I would plan on your wine getting to .988-.992, so that will boost it a tad more. Maybe just a tad more sugar to get it to 12-12.5%. Looking back at my records I have been in the 13-13.6% range. Maybe a tad strong, but not much detectable alcohol tastes after the 12 months it takes to get to bottling.

Thanks for the reply. I decided to let it ride, mostly because the yeast was already active and I had no idea how much extra sugar to add without overdoing it. As you stated though, if it gets down to 0.992 it will be just a hair under 12%. So it should be good.

 

[Rambunctious]

I just started a 5gal batch. Let 10 lbs of frozen chopped rhubarb stems sit on 4lbs of sugar for 4 days, pressed the juice out and added 6 lbs sugar and 3gal of water for full volume of 5.5 gal O.G. 1.080 also added 5 tsp ea. yeast nutrient and energiser. Yeast lavlin EC-1118. Plan to rack into carboy from bucket off the lees in 1mo. Est. A.B.V. 10%


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[johngottshall]

I have a 1 gal. Batch of Peach Rhubarb that is 1 1/2 years old still a little hazy I am going to add some more pectin enzyme to see if it will clear

 

[bernardsmith]

I have a 1 gal. Batch of Peach Rhubarb that is 1 1/2 years old still a little hazy I am going to add some more pectin enzyme to see if it will clear

Have you tried bentonite? May be a little late for the clay because it benefits from the action of the yeast producing CO2 - so the particles are in constant motion picking up and collecting more and more of the particulates. (if I use benotonite, I generally add this to the primary or just after racking to the secondary)

 

[johngottshall]

In some wines I use Bentonite I guess I may be drinking my Golden Haze.