Advice on Damson Wine

[Forsh7637]

Hi all.
I have a Damson tree in the garden and so far have collected around 3.5kg of fruit. I heard they’re good for wine type drinks so, following a recipe, I took half the fruit and boiled it, I got a lot of quite strong juice from it, added pektolase and fermented with sugar in a bucket with a wine yeast and not quite a gallon of water, most of the pulp removed at this point and no stones at all and the hydrometer read 1.060. I had an airlock fitted right away.
I then racked off to a demijohn on day 3 as per recipe and the hydrometer read 1.030, again airlock fitted. I’ve been stirring along the way.

Since joining this forum though some threads indicate I’m doing everything wrong.

Should I have not boiled the fruit, left the pulp, not used an airlock initially, waited much longer before first racking. Also 1.060 is a bit low to start, is this ok?

The actual brew tastes like an alcopop, which is quite nice and refreshing.

How do I add a pic?

 

[jof]

Well, if you like the taste - then who are we to say you are doing it wrong.

These are my thoughts - and hopefully others more experienced than me will chip in later.

The boiling does sound unconventional for a fruit wine, but then I have made ribeana wine recently & that requires boiling of the quash to drive out preservatives

You would normally extract the juice, either through pressing (or I have used food processor & straining in the past) & maybe add crushed campden tablets the day before adding yeast to kill off any unwanted nasties.

An original gravity of 1.060 does sound very low for a wine, to me it sounds like 'Lambrini strength'. But it would also explain why it fermented out quite rapidly.

How much sugar did you add? I think 1Kg/gallon (Thats total sugar - not just 1 bag/gallon) is about right. If you look in the WOW wine thread they typically quote sugar from juice and then top it up with sugar eg (200g from juices & top up of 800g)

An airlock is essential with wine - as it will sit in the demijohn a lot longer than beer.

I think you have 2 options:

1. Stop stiring it. wait for fermentation to finish & the wine to clear. Rack and leave a few months before bottling a lowish alcohol wine.
2. If there is space in the top of the demijohn, make up some strong sugar syrup and add that to increase the alcohol content. (don't add granulated sugar, as it could foam up & shoot out of the airlock if fermentation is currently bubbling along at the moment)

To add a picture - use the attach files link at the bottom left of the dialog box

 

[Forsh7637]

Thanks for the advice! Attached pic is what it looks like right now. It’s my first ever go so I’m happy if it comes out low alcohol, reckon 7-8% is the best I could hope for.
Initially I added 750g sugar as per recipe. I wasn’t aware of a calculation involved.
Next time I will try just stoning the fruit and crushing I think.

 

[jof]

Looking through an old wine making book on my bookshelf...
They seem to use about 2Kg of fruit + 1Kg of sugar per demijohn.
But I also don't know what the sugar content is for damsons.

Looks like you have plenty of space in your demijohn if you wanted to top it up with dissolved sugar to increase the strength.

But whats more important is that the first attempt works & is drinkable.
Then you have something to improve on for your next batch :)

 

[Hagrid]

I get it to around 8% depending on the FG (Final Gravity) but it’s not about strength (for me anyway) it’s about enjoying the process and the finished product.

Just be aware that when you mix it too much now it’s fermenting you might oxidise it. It’ll give it that vinegar flavour you get on the left over wine you find in the morning after waking up on the sofa with a stiff neck. Patience is often the best thing (but hardest!)

As jof said, you could add some more fermentable sugar (either refined or another fruit to give it a more complex flavour) as you’ve got the head space.

That alcopop flavour will deminish (for some reason my phone auto corrected to feminism?) as the yeastie beasties eat all the sugar. But you can backsweeten once they’re finished. I add Young’s fermentation stopper (potassium sorbate) which stops the horny buggers reproducing and then you add a sugar solution (to taste) before bottling to bscksweeten.

Also yeast fart like cows and produce CO2. I’ve got an old plastic coat hanger from Mrs. Hagrid and cut it so it’ll fit in the DJ (Demijohn) and use my drill like a whisk. It’ll degass (make it flat) you wine prior to bottling.

Keep going and enjoy it!

 

[Forsh7637]

Thanks for your response. I’d be happy with 7-8%. Honestly I’d be happy with 5% and drink it by the pint if it tastes good that way. Main thing is getting a handle on the process, and a drink at the end which will have come from my own fruits.

 

[Forsh7637]

Started my next batch this evening and used the boiling method again so that I’m using the same process. Got 1.090 this time!

 

[Forsh7637]

My first batch has been a little below 1.000 for two mornings. I racked it off tonight. It’s dry but quite pleasant to taste and still has a little fizz. I used a campden tablet and it’s now clearing. Fingers crossed.

 

[Hagrid]

You can get rid of the fizz (if desired) with Degassing wand <- instructions on making one.

Don’t forget you can backsweeten if you want, but this is the great thing about this hobby, if you like it, it’s good!

 

[Forsh7637]

Thanks Hagrid.
Would you get rid of the fizz now, or later prior to bottling? I’m assuming bottling with the fizz would be unwise?
I really like it dry, but I might have to backsweeten a batch for my wife.

 

[Hagrid]

Personally, I do it before bottling as any CO2 given off will help reduce oxidation. There’s nothing wrong with keeping the bubbles if you like them. What are you bottling in? Most can take a bit of pressure. If you’re worried then you can use 1 PET (the plastic bottles pop come in) bottle and give it a squeeze every now and then.

 

[Forsh7637]

Not sure what I’ll be bottling in, it’s going to stand in the demijohn for a week now, but most likely sanitised wine bottles we have, ahem, emptied..

 

[Hagrid]

Recycling will save the world! I like swing tops because you can burp the wine without letting any oxygen in and then just reuse them when they mysteriously become empty.

 

[johncrobinson]

Don`t see that you have done anything "wrong"

 

[Forsh7637]

Took a little sample today, seems to be clearing well.