Richard's Red Variant 1

[Spectre]

I saw this on Homewinemaking.co.uk and adapted it a little due to the inavailability of red grape juice around here.


Richard's Red Variant 1

The object is to make a decent red wine and apparently this is difficult unless from a kit with the result typically lacking body.

Just red grape juice proved somewhat elusive yesterday so I bought four 900ml bottles of Morrisons Red Grape & Pomegranate for £4. I also got some Red Grape Juice Concentrate from Wilkinsons for £2.50. The sugar was 99p from Tesco.




I'm using a Vintner's Harvest R56 yeast here which is ideally suited to reds and should preserve the colour. I'm a bit concerned due to the low temperature at the moment as it is recommended to ferment at 22C ~ 30C with this yeast and I've seen temperatures down to 9C in here recently. This yeast will ferment to 13.5% ethanol so we'll aim for about 13% or just over. I'll insulate the demijohn with a bag to help stabilise the temperature a bit and maybe find somewhere warmer for it.

The juice contains 15.6g sugar per 100ml and I estimate the content of the concentrate to be 168g from the increase in specific gravity reading after adding it. To achieve 13.4% ethanol we require 1212g in 4.5L so an additional 623g will be required.

I might top up using the fourth bottle of juice depending on what happens.


Method

• Added 2700ml juice to a demijohn (going to leave room for it to ferment)
• SG is 1.066
• Added concentrate and SG increased to 1.080
• Total sugar is 589g (1212g required, 623g to add)
• Added 95g Tate & Lyle as I had a bag open and it will increase the SG a bit (528g to add)
• Added 1g pectolase
• Added a small cup of strong tea
• Stirred with drill and mixer to dissolve sugar
• Added 4g R56 yeast and swirled to mix
• The recipe calls for citric acid but I had none, I might source some or risk not adding it
• Added 2g citric acid on day three

Here's the colour and the WOW Variant 1 on the right.




After an hour or so a bit airlock activity had started, note there isn't any yeast nutrient in yet. I read it was best to leave it a day or so to let the yeast get started on the nutrients already in there.

 

[digital worldz]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

Well I hope this comes out alright.

From what I have readmost juice reds always seem to come out rose.

Please do post a pic of the wine after it has stabalised

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

Well I hope this comes out alright.

From what I have readmost juice reds always seem to come out rose.

Please do post a pic of the wine after it has stabalised

I've read that too and I've seen producing a nice table red called the "Holy Grail" of juice wine making .

I'm just a beginner but maybe some advances can be made with serendipitous juice and yeast choices .

I think wine kits are like a big bag of the grape juice concentrate, which is the expensive component.


Good or bad I'll update the threads .

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

There's about 1cm foam on the top of the must. It took a while to get going but it's fermenting nicely at 15C external air temperature around the demijohn. I don't think I'll add anything today in case the fermentation really gets going which it might when the yeast colonises the must.

Smells good .

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

Yesterday, the specific gravity had dropped to 1.070 at 16.5C must temperature yesterday so I added 101g sugar bringing the total to 785g with 427g left to add. I also added 2g yeast nutrient and swirled the demijohn to mix.

Today, I've added 2g citric acid, 2g yeast nutrient and 99g sugar (328g to add).

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

The yeast has been busy! The must is down to a specific gravity of 1.012 at 16C today.

I've added 100g sugar with 87g to go excluding the sugar in the last bottle of juice. The colour has been preserved I think but there is more fermenting to take place and of course clearing. I think I'll add the fourth bottle of juice after another sugar addition in the next few days and then let it ferment out.

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

The last 87g Tate & Lyle went in yesterday and today I'm going to add the fourth bottle of juice .

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

Still fermenting and the specific gravity was down to 0.995 at 16C (hydrometer is calibrated at 20C).

I racked it to another demijohn to continue fermenting. There wasn't much in the way of sediment in the primary so as an experiment I'm going to ferment more of the same juice back-to-back in there but with no red grape juice concentrate added. This saves on the yeast .

It is still very dark and will hopefully hold the colour while it ferments out .

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

08.02.2012

Specific gravity is 0.995 at 16C still so I don't think this is fermenting now. I've added the finings and will let it settle out in a cool place.

It is still very dark and has held colour well.

 

[Spectre]

Re: Richards Red Variant 1

15.02.2012

Still not cleared.


16.02.2012

Decided to add stabiliser and a Campden's tablet in case there was some residual fermentation preventing clearing.


17.02.2012

Tried a second dose of finings to no avail .


22.02.2012

This might clear if I leave it forever but it was supposed to be an early drinking one. It might be a pectin haze or maybe 3.6L juice and a grape juice concentrate was too much?

It won't be wasted but in the meantime I've got another on the go with less juice in it