Jam / Grape Juice / Canned Blackberries wine

[floydmeddler]

Howdy winos!

I'm completely new to wine brewing. I have two kits on the go then yesterday, (as advised on here) I bought 2 jars of jam, 1L of pure grape juice and a tin of blackberries. I boiled the lot up and mashed it up at the same time. I then added a cup of strongish tea (for tannin) and lemon juice ( for citric acid). I cooled it and passed it through a sieve into a 1 gallon fermenter. Gravity was 1070. Then I added wine yeast.

Will let it ferment out for a week or so then rack it. What happens then? Do I add chemicals like I've been doing with my kit wine? How does it clear?

Help! I need some solid easy to follow instructions!

Thanks

[arturobandini]

You'll need to add some pectolase as the Jam will contain plenty of pectin which will cloud your must. In order to clear it you can use finings like Bentonite or Issinglass or you can just leave it to drop clear on it's own. This will take some months and you will need to move it off yeast deposits as and when they build up.

[floydmeddler]

Cheers for the reply. Is it too late to add the pectolase? It's vigorously fermenting at the min. Also, when should I add the bentonite / isinglass?

Cheers!

[timothio]

Alas, I cant help you, but will be watching this thread with interest for the same advise! I got a Bramble Jelly "wine" on the go yesterday, 4 jars of jam, 250 gm sugar (dont think it really needed this), lemon juice, and a cuppa, all heated up in a couple of litres of water to dissolve everything, then stuck in a 5 litre water bottle and topped up with a bit more water, and finally a heaped teaspoon of wine yeast. The OG was around the 1.115 mark, this could be a seriously strong brew... Didnt realise I had to add pectolase, what exactly is its purpose and is it essential? Do I need to add anything else between rackings?

Cheers, ears!

[floydmeddler]

pectolase destroys pectin. Why this needs to be done I'm not entirely sure. Hoping a wine brewer can let us know.

1.115?

Nice

[timothio]

Ah, cheers for that, now hopefully someone will come along and tell us why we need it...!

1.115?

Nice

I know... Almost off the scale! WOrried me slightly, maybe I shouldnt have added the extra sugar. I worked out that with the sugar already in the jam and this extra, I had nigh on 1.5 kgs of sugar in there...

[arturobandini]

Jam contains Pectin so when making wines with Jam, or fruit containing Pectin, it's important to add some Pectolase, or other pectin destroying enzyme, to prevent a cloudy wine. You should be good to add it now and to be honest I'd say sooner the better. You should add it at the start and I've never added post initial fermentation but the worst that can happen would probably be it not working.

[DREADSKIN]

i make this all the time( drinking a blueberry jam wine at the moment.) i now add pectolaise now, but in the past i didnt and they all ended up ok (ie: clear after a monthor two). however a batch i made with lydells finest jam( in the wee jars) must have been loaded with pectin as when you look in the botles there are big gluppy 'bubbles' of pectin. it kinda looks like a lava lamp. however is i give it a shake before pouring it goes cloudy again and doesnt affect the taste.

as for the other chemicals you done need to add them if you are patient. i add bentonite if i cant be bothered waiting anymore or i have some other mad bru i wanna make. but appart from that time is the best additive.


as for your bru mate it sounds good, tho i would have stuck in another jar for the craic... tho saying that i dont know what 1070 would end up as. ive lost my hydrometer... a long story... but not a kinky story

[floydmeddler]

Right, will have to get my arse to my HB shop asap. Thinking Friday will be the earliest I can get away early though. If I racked it, could I add it into the secondary or is that just stupid?

Cheers!

[DREADSKIN]

dont do it! it will be fine. even if its cloudy it will still be tasty. tho i would add more jam...