Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

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oldbloke
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Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by oldbloke » Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:27 pm

Try tartaric instead of citric, see if it's better: good chance.
I bet you could leave out the pectolase and it'd still be fine.
If you could leave it longer I reckon you could get away without the finings, too.

Capped
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Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by Capped » Sun Aug 21, 2016 2:25 pm

I think you could be right on all three counts, oldbloke. Especially the first one - will try that next time I'm shopping for sundries.

sunshine

Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by sunshine » Tue Aug 30, 2016 12:33 pm

Capped wrote:
gobuchul wrote:Capped - I might give this a go.

I have never made wine before, can you give a bit more information?

You make 5 gallons with 10 litres of juice - is the difference made up of water?

What are the "usual cheap wine kit techniques"? Do you have a link to a decent website?

Many thanks
This is EXACTLY how I do it.....

Get a pan or pans big enough to hold enough water to dissolve the sugar. Keep the water to the absolute minimum required or you'll overshoot the temp of the stuff in the FV. Dissolve the 3kg sugar in the boiling water and leave to cool for an hour or so. Meanwhile tip the 4 litres of red grape juice and 6 litres of apple juice (Asda's own but any will do, just make sure none contain 'preservatives') into the FV. Add the sugar solution, then top up the FV with tap water, rinsing out the pans and juice containers with it. Temp will end up at the higher end but is fine. Then I stir in 2tsp citric acid,2tsp pectolase,2tsp nutrient and 2tsp Young's Super Wine Yeast Compound. Give it all a good stir, bung on the lid with airlock and leave it for a week. By this time there is usually NIL activity from the airlock but I give it an extra couple of days from that point just to be sure. Then,add 2tsp stabiliser, which is a mix of sulphite and potassium sorbate. Leave for a day. Then, run the wine from the FV via the tap into another FV, taking care to introduce as little air as possible. Once in the 2nd FV, add two-part finings as instructed on the pack and in 3 days it is star-bright. From there I run it into demijohns or if I have the time and inclination, straight to bottle. To me, the whole process is a chore but it's now as routine and as simple as making a cup of tea and the ultimate in simplicity. Suits me fine as like I say, the missus just loves it. O.G is around 1085 and ends up at 995 so by my calculations that's approx 12% alc. Don't tell the missus but I dilute it a little at the time of bottling. No links sorry, I made it all up myself.
So you actually stabilise the wine in the FV and not after racking ?

Capped
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Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by Capped » Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:16 pm

^^^^^ Yup, and never had a problem.

oldbloke
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Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by oldbloke » Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:23 pm

I generally wait for fermentation to finish then rack onto the stabilising chemicals, leave to clear, then bottle.
But, whatever works for you is what's right

sunshine

Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by sunshine » Tue Aug 30, 2016 2:28 pm

Cheers - doing my first batch ever. Didn't realise I needed to top up to the neck of the DJ 1 until it was 9 days old (still bubbling away) and hoping I haven't exposed it to too much air.
So I guess wait now until it only bubbles once every 2 min or so then stabilise, degass, and fine - can I do all three of those on the same day ?

Capped
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Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by Capped » Tue Aug 30, 2016 7:53 pm

There's method behind my apparent madness. I figured that chucking the stabiliser into the undisturbed FV right at the end of fermentation knocks out the last of the yeast thus aiding the subsequent fining/clearing by reducing the yeast count to a minimum and allowing a fair bit to drop out of suspension, also completely eliminates the chance of introducing oxygen due to racking and waking up any stubborn bleeders which remain. Like I say, always worked for me and I've done god knows how many like that. I guess there are many technically better ways but I always seem to be trying to keep up with the missus' voracious appetite for the stuff.

sunshine

Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by sunshine » Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:36 pm

Brilliant. I have 2 identical bottles on the go so might try each method on both and see what happens !

sunshine

Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by sunshine » Sat Sep 17, 2016 9:51 am

Just an update.

Got tired of waiting for my first effort to drop further so at 1.001 I have dropped in (to 11.3 litres / 3 us gallons) 4.5 campden tablets and 2 tsp potassium sorbate. 1n 24 hours I will rack degas and kwick clear.

@ Capped - you only use 2 tsp of everything for 5 gallons ? Are these measure teaspoons or are they the ones you stir your tea with ?

bobsbeer

Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by bobsbeer » Sat Sep 17, 2016 10:09 am

I always use measuring teaspoons, not stirring ones. You need a unit you can replicate. :D

john21wall

Re: Wine from superstore "juice from concentrate"?

Post by john21wall » Tue Sep 27, 2016 12:34 pm

The grape variety of this juice is Concord. The President’s Choice brand is not in the United States, it’s the Real Canadian Superstore store brand. You should be able to get something similar from Costco – or even Safeway in the U.S.

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