Apple Wine Part 2: Racking [10/31/17]

[10/31/17]

Today, the apple wine started on 10/22 was racked with standard racking procedures. Wine was racked into a 1 gallon carboy, to the brim. Carboy was then sealed with a bung and airlock. Racking was done to prevent lees entering auto siphon. Hydrometer reading taken from the top of the sample showed a reading of SG 0.995. Original SG was 1.090. Online calculator with standard calculations show a ABV of 12.5%. Alternative, supposedly more accurate calculation shows an ABV of 13.2%. Conclusion: the wine is approx. high 12% range.

Wine has ceased to bubble and fermentation has presumably finished.  Wine is noticeably cloudy and opaque, but not as carbonated as expected. 1 campden tablet was added after racking (crushed and straight into the carboy on top of the wine). Wine started fizzing when crushed campden was added.

Lees remaining in plastic pail after wine was siphoned and the remainder drained:

Racked into 1 gallon carboy: 

Drained the remainder wine into a glass, careful not to disturb lees:

The next step is to fashion a insulator for the carboy from old cardboard boxes, to prevent sunlight from hitting wine, and to regulate temperature for colder days. Possibly re-rack in one week (11/7). Next re-rack maybe the last before bottling, depending on how much wine clears.

Another picture:

Tasting Notes #1

#1 [10/23/17]

Palacio del Conde
Gran reserva 2010

• High acid
• Med-high tannins 
• Oak, cherry, dark red fruit
• Musty old oaky fruit
• High acid throughout till end
• Med low body 
• Almost vinegary
• End notes
• would not purchase to drink
• 4.5/10 table wine.

Vinha do Fava
Touriga nacional 2015

• Smells acidic, almost fruity
• Hits with dark amber caramel flavor (kind of chocolately)
• Noticeably sweet, dark plum, cherries. Very fruity (hits you in the face with fruit)
• Chalky mouthfeel towards the end 
• Solid med body
• Med high acid
• End notes
• use in Sangria (for fruitiness)
• 7.5/10 

Apple Wine Part 1: Starting from Concentrate Juice [10/22/17]

[10/22/17]

Making apple wine from supermarket apple juice- 1 gallon batch. Time: noon

Juice Details-

• Stop & Shop 100% Apple Juice from Concentrate (1/2 gallon bottles)
• Sugar: 448g/ gallon
• Potassium: 3.84g/ gallon
• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid): 1.15g/gallon
• concentrate from China

Must Details-

• 1 whole packet of Red Star Cote des Blancs yeast.
• ~1.1 gal Apple Juice
• 1 tsp Acid Blend
• 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
• 1/4 tsp wine tannin
• ~0.9 tsp Pectic Enzyme
• ~1.1 lbs Cane sugar (~2.4 cups) diluted in ~1.2 cups water to make 1.090 SG (Approx 12% potential ABV)

All ingredients (apart from yeast) were stirred in a 2 gallon pail. Hydrometer reading taken with approx 1 cup of must, and then discarded. Yeast added ~20 minutes later by sprinkling on top and lightly stirring with sanitized spoon.

Wine Details-

• Primary Ferment in 2 gal plastic pail, covered with cheesecloth initially.
• Rack to 1gal Secondary glass carboy with airlock within 7-10 days (by 10/30-11/2)
• Approx fermentation period: 5-7 weeks. Bulk aging to 3 months. Bottle aging period 3-9 months.

Bubbling started after 8 hours. Room temp hovering around 58-65 degrees F.:

24 hours later, still bubbling, no signs of foam, slightly cloudy. Room smells like fermenting yeast. Stirred once. Noticeable carbonation.

48 hours later, bubbling slightly faster than before. Cloudy liquid. Starting to foam.:

72 hours later, bubbling has decreased significatly. Cheesecloth taken off, and sealed container with cover and airlock. Shaken slowly once.