Citrus Wine, Day 1

The primary was empty so . . . next batch.

Here is the recipe I slapped together:

4 lbs juice oranges

4 big tangerines

4 lemons (this might be too many lemons)

1 pkg Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast

2 lbs sugar

1/4 tsp grape tannin

1 tsp yeast nutrient

1/2 tsp pectic enzyme

3 3/4 quarts of water

I put the zest of 2 oranges, 2 tangerines, and 1 lemon in a nylon bag. Then I peeled and sectioned all the fruit, removing as much of the white pith as possible. This is a big pain in the ass. Then with freshly scrubbed hands I squooshed all the fruit in the nylon bag in the primary fermenting bucket. Meanwhile I boiled the water and dissolved the sugar in it. Once the fruit was squooshed, I poured the boiling sugar water over it and then added the tannin and nutrient. When it is cool, I will add the pectic enzyme, and then tomorrow I will pitch the yeast.

All the fruit, pre-squoosh

Edit: Potential Alcohol before I pitched the yeast on 10/30 was about 12%

Blueberry Wine, Day 12

I went ahead and racked to the secondary. PA is still 4.5%

Purplish, but not grapey

Bubbling slowly . . .

Blueberry Wine, Day 9

Fermentation stuck at about 6% potential alcohol for the last couple of days (and was never very vigorous), so I decided to send in the marines.

The stormtroopers of yeast

I dissolved a packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee dry yeast dissolved in a 1/4 cup of warm water. These beasties are supposed to have a high tolerance for environmental conditions and ferment aggressively. 

Go get 'em fellas!

Blueberry Wine, Day 4

Yesterday I added the sugar, acid, nutrient, then twelve hours later I mixed in a crushed campden tablet.
I measured the potential alcohol at 13.5% and today I pitched the activated Red Star Pasteur Red dry yeast.
Looking good, meanwhile the pineapple wine keeps bubbling gently along . . .

Blueberry Wine, Day One

As the pineapple wine bubbles away in the secondary, I start a new batch. This is the recipe I'm using (cobbled together from multiple sources):
50 oz. Frozen Wild Blueberries
9 oz. dark raisins, soaked in warm water, then chopped in the blender.
1 pkg. Red Star Pasteur Red dry yeast
3 1/2 quarts of water (including the raisin soaking water)
2 lbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp Acid blend
1 tsp Wyeast yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme.

Wild Blueberry Must

I started today by bringing the water to a boil, then pouring it over the blueberries and chopped raisins which are in a straining bag in the primary fermenter.
I'm going to let that steep, covered for two days before I continue with the rest as recommended in an article by Jack Keller in the August/September 2013 issue of WineMaker.
+Jack Keller

Pineapple Wine, Day 5

Potential Alcohol dropped all the way down to 1%, so I racked it. It's very cloudy; still the color of pineapple; smells yeasty.

Cloudy with a chance of pineapple.

Pineapple Wine, Day 2

Today I pitched the Cotes des Blancs yeast with a dose of Motorhead in order to stimulate the "Kilmister Effect" in which organisms continue to survive in high alcohol environments. This is an established scientific fact which I just made up.
For some reason the specific gravity went down after I added the fruit and nutrient and pectic enzyme. Maybe that's normal.

Pineapple Wine, Day One

Let me start by saying that, I AM NOT AN EXPERT in this area. I don't need to be, and I'm not.

Today I started a batch of Pineapple wine, based on the recipe in Terry Garey's The Joy of Home Winemaking.

Must Ingredients: Canned Pineapple, Golden Raisins, Sugar and Red Star Cotes des Blancs dry yeast

Heres the recipe as I used it:
1 3/4 pounds of sugar dissolved in
3 1/2 quarts of water with the juice from
2 20 oz. cans of crushed pineapple which went into the primary fermenter with
1/2 lb. of chopped golden raisins and
1 tsp of Wyeast Wine Nutrient.

I boiled the water and dissolved the sugar in it. Then I added the pineapple juice from the cans and measured the PA (about 13%.) I poured the sugar water over the fruit (which I put in a nylon straining bag) in the fermenter and added the nutrient. When the must is cool I'm going to add 1/2 tsp. of pectic enzyme, and tomorrow I'm going to pitch the yeast. Stay tuned . . .

Pineapple Must. Smells Pineppley.