Supermarket juice wine and Wurzels orange wine

[bridgitonboat]

After having a look around the recipes, Ive made the first batch of Wursels and its bubbling nicely, going to get fruit T-bags tomorrow and have a go with them.

I usually do country wines and if fruit comes up special offers I will take advantage of them.

At the moment I have Sloe wine
Elderberry and runner bean
Elderberry and blackberry
Sloe ( different recipe)
Parsnip

These are all still in D.J waiting to finish

In storage waiting to mature I have

Rosehip
Elderberry
Blackberry
Grape ( made from supermarket juice)
Pineapple
plum
dandylion
I think Ive kept them long enough to start sampling

Cheers :thumb:

 

[Polymath]

Tesco's near me have started stocking a new juice, it is White grape mango and coconut, sound crazy, I think ill pick up a couple of litres of that later and give it a whirl.

And you know that's why I think this thread will just keep on going on this forum. its great, new variations, new possibilities. All great stuff.

 

[evanvine]

Thats nearly as adventurous as putting chicken into beer!

 

[sueelleker]

Or rats into cider barrels!

 

[Moley]

I'm probably not going to improve on Wurzel's white grape & orange combination for a white wine, but the quest goes on for a decent pink wine.

I've just picked up some different juices from Lidl, on offer at 69p a litre, so last night I started the following:

Grape & Cranberry
1 litre Red Grape Juice, 500ml White Grape Juice
1 litre Cranberry Juice Drink (25% cranberry, the rest's water and a glucose/fructose syrup)
900g Sugar (boiled to a syrup)
Water to about 4.25L for starters, will top up to 5 litres later
1/2 tsp Tannin, 1 tsp each Pectolase, Glycerine, Yeast Nutrient and GP Yeast Compound.

Grape & Pomegranate
Exactly as above but substituting 1 litre Pomegranate Juice Drink.

I didn't read the small print when I bought that, all I saw was “37% fruit juice, no preservatives”.
When I did check the ingredients while looking for the sugar content it's actually something like 30% pomegranate juice, 5.6% red grape juice and 1.4% lemon juice, plus water, sugar, vitamin C and folic acid. I had a taste, it's drinkable but not something I would go crazy about. Why would anyone buy this? Is it a health thing?

The Cranberry concoction could be promising, I will reserve judgment on the other for now and report back when it's finished.

 

[milster]

Just sampled the first few glasses (pints) of my 5 gallon batch of this:

3l white grape
2l red grape
3l orange
2l cranbarry and respberry

Not bad at all, not quite the rose colour I anticipated, looks more a dark white wine. Turned out just below 15% so certainly does the trick. Very drinkable but have to admit, no improvement on classic wurzles

 

[rickthebrew]

I`ve been meaning to get a few gallons on, i`m a big fan of Wurzel`s and have brewed about eight gallons of original so tonight a spent around eight pounds on this:

White grape and apple OG:1090
White grape and mango OG:1080
Red grape and cranberry OG:1085
Red grape, pomegranate and blueberry OG:1090

 

[rickthebrew]

The cranberry and blueberry/pomegranate are still just ticking over! (low temp in kitchen) The apple and the mango stopped about a week ago so i racked off and added finings - however the mango had a FG of .... 0886!!!!!! Never seen anything go this low - checked my hydro and all ok (the apple finished at 0992) Is this possible or a freak reading?

 

[Moley]

however the mango had a FG of .... 0886!!!!!! Never seen anything go this low

I hope you mean 0.986 :wha:

I've never seen one go that dry, although I'm not saying it isn't possible.

Otherwise, looking and sounding good. :thumb:

Those jars which are finished / clearing, especially the apple, really should be topped up to the base of the neck, or you risk oxidation if anything gets left for any length of time.

 

[rickthebrew]

well spotted Moley - 0986!!

The pic with the DJ`s in was taken when they started - i topped them up a week later

Will post a taste test when they are ready! :drink:

 

[Alibro]

Just supping the first glass from my 25 litre batch of Easy White, Apple and Grape juice. Got to say it is fantastic, I never would have believed such a simple wine would taste so good. Up until now I have always been a red wine drinker and have made six or seven red kit wines. I truly believe this is better than any kit wine I have bought and I've been buying Beaverdale, Kenridge Classic and California Connoisseur so not cheap and nasty. I will be drinking more whites from now on.
Much easier on the head the next morning too :lol:

Alibro

 

[Moley]

That really is one helluva recommendation but I can't take any credit for these, I've started with a Wurzel's and a Basic White and am still experimenting from there.

Ironicaly, I've got my first ever Beaverdale Rioja and Cabernets about ready for racking and fining, but the easy whites and pale pinks will remain as my regular brews

Cheers Alibro :

 

[rickthebrew]

I can really recomend cranberry for a lovely rose wine :thumb: The options are endless for different flavours - I just put on a couple more gallons of cranberry, but noticed that the cranberry juice was no added sugar!!! so one litre of artifically sweetened cranberry per gallon :? I reckon that at this ratio it will not be overly sweet :whistle:

Moley how come you`re trying out a couple of kits ?

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Thats nearly as adventurous as putting chicken into beer!

LoL :rofl:

 

[Moley]

Moley how come you're trying out a couple of kits ?

I really am unsure how that came about, I have frequently made the comment that I have never made a kit wine in my life and probably never would, but I've read quite a few threads about how good some kits can be, and I do like a good full-bodied red but have completely ceased buying commercial wines (high days and holidays excepted) so I thought I would try a couple. I think they are fermented out and ready for racking, stabilising and fining now. At that price they'd better be good.

 

[rickthebrew]

Keep me posted :thumb: I love a nice red once in a while

 

[Cussword]

:wha: I would appreciate some advice. I've been making Easy White for some time & I can't even remember which forum I got the recipe from. The trouble is I can never get the SG above 1084,the recipe is:

5 Litres Grape juice
5 Litres Apple juice
4 Kilos Sugar
Citric acid
Pectolase
Yeast nutrient
Yeast
Occasionally I will add a 245g Youngs Definitive Enricher.

I've just had the same problem with an orange Wurzel with a 1088 SG the recipe says adjust if necessary. How do I adjust :pray:

 

[didgeman]

Great instructions ,mate. I had never considered making wine from juices until I logged onto this site yesterday.
I have always done it the hard way- picking the fruit like rosehips (my wife still rembers the 36 pound of the little critters) Top and tail them and then of it goes into a 100 ltr fermenting container. But what a result . A year on it was an amber colour and tasted wicked. And i had about 70 bottles.
But I like the idea of juices and many thanks for sharing your instructions. I,m just planing to get some more DJ,s as I sold off all my kit when I moved back to the UK.

Is there no limit to what juice you use? Is it all pure juice or this " from concentrate

 

[tubby_shaw]

the recipe says adjust if necessary. How do I adjust :pray:

If you want the gravity to increase add more sugar, if you want the gravity lower add water :thumb:

 

[Moley]

Cussword: I generally use around 800g sugar to the gallon to get an OG around 1.090 and an ABV around 13%, which to me seems about right for a juice wine, but I have pushed it to 1kg giving an OG of 1.105 and 15% abv.

WTF is “Young's Definitive Enricher” ?


Didgeman: I make quite a lot of country wines which need 6-12 months bulk maturation or bottle time, but I use juices for everyday wines which are drinkable within a month or so.

Use whatever takes your fancy, but usually 1 litre grape juice + 1 litre some other juice to the gallon. Grape juice can be “100% Pure Pressed” or “From Concentrate”, it doesn't seem to make any difference. Other juices are usually from concentrate, but read the cartons and make sure it's just juice and no preservatives. Watch out for “Juice Drinks” which are mostly water. Cranberry Juice Drink is ok but some others can be a bit thin and might require 1 litre grape juice + 2 litres juice drink.

I quite agree about the rosehips, that's a personal favourite and can make an excellent wine but they can be a PITA to prep. Fortunately, it only needs 2 lbs to the gallon. I usually pick a pound or two at a time, wash, top & tail, smash them and freeze them until required.