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.