Janet Galpin wrote:
The message .com
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:


Larry Stoter wrote:
[...]
Mixed summer fruits works well, too - basically, anything that is
around, boil it all up and add sugar to get the OG right.

You do need a proper wine yeast.

I'd never boil, though: for my taste, it spoils the flavour. I've never
bothered with measuring OG, either: I just work on the principle that
every quarter-pound of sugar in a gallon, if fermented right out,
raises the alcohol by [[WRONG]] 1%. [[WRONG]] So for most fruits, [[WRONG]] three pounds or so [[WRONG]], added
in two or three stages, plus some grape juice or concentrate, is about
right.

Will soaked raisins do as well as grape juice?

Yes, but they have a characteristic flavour, which you may not want in
ordinary wines, though it can be nice in a stronger dessert one.
Sultanas may be a better everyday choice: more expensive ones are
usually better, I'm afraid. A p.i.t.b. is that dried fruit is often
lightly treated with preservative or liquid paraffin or both: a swish
round in boiling water should get rid well enough. Once soaked, they
need to be broken up: squdging with clean hands or a potato masher will
do it.

And _please_ note that my remark above about sugar is a bad bloomer. As
David points out, you get 1.5% for each quarter of a pound of white
sugar. For 12%, 2 lb sugar. Of course, you're doing well if you achieve
that (and the theoretical maximum is a little higher).

In a book, I've scribbled that sultanas and raisins contain between 50
and 75% sugar; so an average to work by is about 60%. Allow for that
when adding sugar; but I really don't think precision is necessary. In
the real world you won't get all the sugar out of the dried fruit
anyway.

--
Mike.