Wine from Apple & Plum Jam?

[Dutto]

SWMBO had me mucking out kitchen cupboards today and I found 2 x 1 litre Kilner jars full of Apple & Plum Jam that I made about three years ago!

The tops are still "IN" so they will be okay with regard to mould but in the last three years the fruit has separated from the syrup and I hate "runny" jam.

So here's Plan A. i.e. The plan I will go with if no-one has any negative comments!!

1) Sterilise 2 DJ's.

2) Pour one jar of jam into each DJ.

3) Add a cup of strong Earl Grey Tea to each DJ along with a teaspoon of Pectolase and half a teaspoon of Yeast Nutrient.

4) Dilute the jam/tea mixture with boiled and cooled water until SG gets to ???? (Comments please. At the moment the jam is nearly solid!)

5) Sprinkle a packet of Wilco's Wine Yeast (don't have time to find any other type) into each jar, fit an air-lock and leave to ferment for three months!

I did something very similar last August with a bottle of Rose Hip Syrup that had been "lost" in the shed for about three years and at the moment it is maturing into a very dry rosé wine which will be chilled and served as a Kir if it ever gets warm enough to sit outside!

Looking forward to comments! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

Maybe add some honey or grape juice. Ive got some conditioning in the garage now.

 

[cheapbrew]

I would check the SG before pitching yeast, you may need to add more sugar but I guess it depends on how strong you want it, how much sugar is there in the jam?

I don't know what the pectin in the jam will do for haze and clearing, but if its a problem you can just use more pectolase.

 

[Dutto]

I would check the SG before pitching yeast, you may need to add more sugar but I guess it depends on how strong you want it, how much sugar is there in the jam?

I don't know what the pectin in the jam will do for haze and clearing, but if its a problem you can just use more pectolase.

Good News - Apart from the natural pectin in apples I don't put any in my jam; which is why it has gone so runny! On the other hand, better be safe than sorry so I will up the pectolase to two teaspoons per DJ.

Bad News - It was made over three years ago so "Sugar content?" goodness knows! :whistle: :whistle:

I guess that because I will be leaving it to its own devices a high-end ABV would be preferable so I will check the SG and dilute or mix in sufficient brewing sugar to give me an OG of 1.090.

If it then ferments out to 0.990 it will deliver an ABV of 13.13% and if it sticks at 1.01 an ABV of 10.5%. Either way, a decent strength for a wine to drink on its own.

Thanks for the input. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Dutto]

The deed is done!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Checked the SG and discovered that it was short so added 1kg of brewing sugar and "Bingo!" spot on the nail at 1.090. :grin: :grin:

Put in the Pectolase, brought it up to boiling point and let it cool to 60 degrees before transferring it to the DJ's, adding the yeast nutrient and letting it cool before adding the yeast.

Spotted the less than deliberate mistake yet? I forgot the tea!!!!

Not to worry, when the temperature got down to 20 degrees I sprinkled in the yeast. (I think "Pitched" is too fine a word to use for just sticking in a packet of Wilco's yeast into a DJ!) :lol:

As you will see from the photo I was also checking out the latest brew whilst waiting for the temperature to drop!

That is supposed to be a Pale Ale! It looks a bit dark to me but after only a week it is clearing nicely and the taste is passable. i.e. the glass is now empty!!

 

[cheapbrew]

Yopu can still add the tea now if you have the room in the dj.

 

[Dutto]

Yopu can still add the tea now if you have the room in the dj.

Thanks! :thumb:

There should be enough room or a small cup of tea in each DJ.

I'll knock up the tea and go and have a look to see how it's performing.

I'm a bit leery because I still have stains on the worktop from a couple of Wilco brews that went mental when I added the extra water last August!

Edit No.1

Okay. Missus is now even more convinced that I have a mistress out in the garage!

Don't believe me? Try going out to the garage at 11 o'clock at night carrying a cup of tea!

I reckon she suspects that the girl called Demi John is a bit like Demi Moore with a bit of Glynis Johns for sultry good looks! (I wish!!) :whistle:

Garage down to 9 degrees so fermentation is slow but on its way!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Dutto]

Amazing!!

Twenty-Four hours in and despite the low temperature there is a heck of a generation of krausen and trub!

I reckon that if I had the DJ's in the old "Warm Cupboard" I would be beating the brew back into the DJ with a club! :lol: :lol:

 

[Dutto]

Took the air-locks out and it smells like wine so the three months hasn't turned it into vinegar.

I then added the usual Finings, stirred everything in and now 36 hours later it still hasn't cleared and I still have the three inches of sediment at the bottom of the DJ's!

I reckon that, apart from the yeast lees, it must be the pulverised apples and plums so Plan "A" is to wrap four or five layers of fine muslin over the end of the tube and syphon the stuff into another DJ and then see if I can get it to clear with more finings.

I'm beginning to think that binning the jam might have been a much better (and definitely easier) option! :whistle: :whistle:

 

[Dutto]

Wine now syphoned into another DJ.

The syphoning was very hit and miss as too fine a bit of muslin and it clogged straight away and not enough resulted in sediment passing through! In the end I decided to leave what was in the bottom and just take the "nearly clear" stuff from the top.

As a result I have finished up with a single DJ completely full from which I expect to be able to syphon off 4 litres of wine when it has cleared. Not bad I guess for some jam that had remained forgotten in a cupboard for three years!

The Final Gravity of 0.998 will give me a very dry rosé wine with an ABV of just over 12%. It tastes a bit "puckerish" at the moment but with a bit of Cassis added it will make a fine Kir for an aperitif.

I'm very pleased with the result. Thanks for all the input. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Dutto]

WOW! Sods Law has struck again!!

I am drinking one of the best wines I have EVER made and I just cannot make it again because it was a total accident!

The Apple and Plum Jam Wine has matured over the last couple of months into a VERY drinkable wine. It has somehow regained some sweetness and only needs the slightest touch of Cassis to turn it into a very drinkable Kir.

With glass in hand, I am sat watching the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics (we are up to Colombia - land of the Colombian Marching Powder!) and the only thing I can guarantee is that this particular wine will not be available by the time we have the next Olympics!

In fact, there is a very good chance that it may not even survive the end of these Olympics! :thumb: :thumb: