Mandarin Orange Wine (First country wine attempt)

[Amadeus]

Ok, first attempt at a country wine here.

20 Mandarin oranges, Zested, peeled and chopped (£3 from morrisons).


Added 1 KG of sugar and 2 pints of boiling water and mashed the mix to a pulp.

Added a further 4.5 pints of water (room temp)
1 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp citric acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 crushed Campden Tablet



The plan is to add 1 tsp pectic enzyme tomorrow morning (12 hours later) then add 1tsp of youngs super yeast tomorrow eve.
Keep it in the FV until the rush is over then strain through a nylon bag into a DJ.

This is my first go at this sort of thing so any comments welcome on if i've made any mistakes.

[edit]
Added 8oz of washed and chopped sultanas (Thanks Wurzel)
& 1tsp of Pectolase this morning

 

[wurzel]

That is looking good mate! probably would have added 8oz of chopped sultanas myself but.....hay ho

 

[Amadeus]

That is looking good mate! probably would have added 8oz of chopped sultanas myself but.....hay ho

Was wondering about that myself.... so just chopped up 8oz of Sultanas and bunged them in along with the Pectolase before leaving for work. :thumb:

Should I add another campden tablet now because of the sultanas added late?

 

[wurzel]

Should I add another campden tablet now because of the sultanas added late?

Nar should be OK.....did you rinse them? I give mine a rinse with boiling water before chopping

 

[Amadeus]

Rinsed them several times but with cold water only....

If I add the campden to be on the safe side will that bugger up the pectolase?

 

[wurzel]

No it won't hurt the pectolase but you will then have to wait another 24 hours before pitching the yeast.....I would just pitch now.

 

[Amadeus]

Fair enough, i'll put the yeast in tonight.

I assume I leave the fruit it until the initial burst is over then strain out and put in a DJ right?

Cheers for the advice, it's a bit nerve racking doing this without an instruction list!

 

[wurzel]

I assume I leave the fruit it until the initial burst is over then strain out and put in a DJ right?

Yes mate :thumb:

 

[Amadeus]

Just pitched the yeast and will keeping this in the sink in case it gets a bit lively.

 

[Amadeus]

We have lift off :thumb:

Fermenting nicely and making a sound like a bowl of rice crispies that's just been doused in cow juice.

Stirring the fruit cap twice a day though wont be home tomorow to do it.
Hopefully this wont affect matters too much.

Any guess on how long until I put this in a DJ?
Just a bit worried about nasties getting in until I get an airlock on it.
Got a lid on it with 2 cans of soup to weigh it down.

 

[Aleman]

Any guess on how long until I put this in a DJ?
Just a bit worried about nasties getting in until I get an airlock on it.
Got a lid on it with 2 cans of soup to weigh it down.

Two to three days, then strain into a DJ. . . . As long as you have a lid on it it is unlikely to become infected, as a blanket of CO2 forms under the lid, which keeps the nasties out.

 

[wurzel]

As above, although I would give it more like 5 days on the pulp.

Providing it is fermenting vigorously i.e. the the cap is sitting proud on the top it will protect it's self

 

[Amadeus]

Well it's had 5 days on the go now and i've just strained it.



looks pretty thick and strong. Got over 1 gallon of stuff that looks like
concentrated orange juice.
Going to dilute it to make 2 gallons now instead of one. :thumb:

edit

split the mix between DJs add more water to make up 1 gallon and added 1 kg of sugar each.
Also added another 1 tsp of yeast nutrient.

Gravity stands at 1.070. Being a silly ******** I didn't think to check it before I added the water....
Pictures to follow tomorow

[edit]
Pics added.

 

[Amadeus]

Well been 3 and a bit months so thought this is now a vintage and should rack it!...
Back sweetened with some white grape juice and it's very nice.
Needed a lot of degassing though.

Lovely mandarin aftertaste, I think the zest really helped.
Would do again if I ever see cheep mandarins.