In article ,
Tim wrote:

Ok, here is the recipe as given to me :

3 gallons water
3 lemons, sliced
1 large cake of yeast
10 lbs sugar
2 quarts fruit of choice, pitted, sliced
4 box's white raisins

Boil water for 5 minutes, let cool completely.
Add all ingredients, except raisins.
Stir once a day, for seven days.
Add raisins.
Let set for 21 days, strain, bottle.

Now, I have seen other recipes similar to this on the net,
some have said to cover (airtight) after adding the raisins,
some not....I know enough that I should cover with something
to keep the fruit-flies out, but will the fermenting be done
after only seven days?
Thanks to all for any hints, tips, or experiences......


Tim

Tim,
the recipe is for one very sweet dessert wine. Figure that an American
pint is a pound, then you are talking 10 lbs. of sugar / 24 lbs. of
water = 42% sugar. This is an approximation as the volume will increase
somewhat but not much. "If" you could ferment that dry (of sugar), you
would have a wine that is 23% alcohol (but you can't, because the
fermentation will stick at 18% or earlier). Then there is the matter of
the raisins, which are about 80% sugar.

This much alcohol and sugar "should" insure that the wine won't restart
fermentation later. If it survives the first 18 months, you are home
free because the yeast can't remain viable longer than that.

The there is the matter of the acidity. Table (grape) wines will
typically have .7 to .5 grams of total acidity per 100ml. I haven't
worked with dessert wines but according to
http://www.wineperspective.com/the_acidity_of_wine.htm dessert wines
have a higher acidity to maintain balance. The example given is
1.1g/100ml for a wine of 21% residual sugar. PH is a better indicator of
acid taste (sour) than total acidity (TA) but the more total acid, the
lower the pH. That said, I'd guesstimate the probable sweetness of the
final wine at 9% + the sugar from the raisins. Then based on
1.1g/21% sugar and 0.7g/2% sugar calculate the acidity based on the
projected sweetness above.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid one ounce (fluid
I presume) of lemon juice contains 1.44g/(1/8) cup.
1.1g/100ml X 3 gal X 3.785 liters/gal X 10 deciliters/liter = grams of
acid/deciliter. Divide this answer by 1.44g to get how many 1/8 cups
(1 fl. oz.) of lemon juice you will need to reach this level.

I should tell you that citric acid tends to generate acetic acid during
fermentation, although I doubt that it would be very noticeable in a
wine this sweet. It would probably give the wine a sherry-like quality.
If you aren't adamant about using this recipe, I would recommend that
you use tartaric acid. The resulting wine will taste more like the
flavoring ingredients that you have added.
Just about anything can be added for flavoring to your basic wine
recipe. besides the ones you have listed, including dandelion flowers,
ginger, cloves, and orange and lemon peels (organic: to avoid dyes and
insecticide residue).

Hope this helps :O)
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

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