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FAQ-Fruit wine Kits

Question: Can I use frozen concentrate to make wine?
Answer:

You can make wine using frozen concentrate if you want. This is particularly handy in the harsh winter months, or when a fruit is out of season. Frozen concentrate works because the makers of the concentrate rarely use preservatives because the juice is frozen. Anything with a fermentable sugar can be used to make wine. Frozen concentrate is also very useful in the situation that you need to top off some of your fruit wine. Let’s say you’ve made an apple wine from fresh fruit in late October, and now it is mid-November and you’ve just added metabisulphite to your wine. You notice that you have a ½ gallon of head space in your fermenter, which is not good. Seeing apples are out of season, you need something to top off the wine with. Instead of using water, make up some frozen apple juice. Your wine gets to remain at full flavor, and you don’t run the risk of oxidizing, or getting a bacteria, in your wine....Click to Read full Answer

Question: I don’t want to invest in expensive equipment, is there anything cheaper to make a small batch of fruit wine?
Answer:

You’ve got some fruit lying around, but you’ve never tried to make wine before and you aren’t sure if making wine is for you. This is something that we hear all the time at Midwest, and there are some options that are very inexpensive to give fruit winemaking a try. Let us tell you now that there is no cheap way to go on the fermentation equipment. What we are talking about here is the crushing and pressing equipment that can be very expensive to buy. Don’t go cheap on the fermentation equipment as you will live to regret it. Crushers A crusher is a very handy item to have when making larger amounts of wine. They make life so much easier, but they are not at all necessary to make wine. If you have several people willing to roll up their sleeves, get dirty, and sweat a bit, then you can make your own crusher. Presses There really isn’t a cheap replacement for a press, but there is a way to squeeze the juice out of the fruit without having to invest in one. Take a nylon straining bag, or even a clean pillow case will work, fill the bag ½ way full with fruit, and wring out the bag like you would a wet towel. Hint: Do not use a fruit juicer to extract the fruit. We’ve heard so many people burn up the motor that we’ve lost count. Feet good, fruit juicer bad....Click to Read full Answer

Question: Is it okay to freeze fresh fruit until I am ready to use it?
Answer:

Why yes there is something that you can do. You can freeze the fruit until you are ready to use it. Just place it in a zip-lock bag and try to get as much air out as possible. Then simply toss the fruit into the freezer until you need it. Fruit will store very well in the freezer, but try to watch out for freezer burn. This will make the juice taste funny and it will be very apparent in the wine. Sometimes by freezing the fruit you are able to achieve a better juice extraction at pressing time. This is usually due to the wall of the fruit breaking down when frozen. As the fruit is brought back to room temperature the fruit wall stays a little softer making it easier for the fruit to be pressed. If you are like a lot of people that get too much fruit at once and can’t use it all, place the fruit in the freezer so you can enjoy it later. Keep in mind that we aren’t worried about what the fruit looks like when making wine. We are only concerned about the fruit not being oxidized, and any bruised parts are removed before pressing....Click to Read full Answer

Fruit wine Kits

Our fruit winemaking kits are the perfect way to start making wine from your own fruit. Each batch requires about 4-8 lbs. of fruit per gallon, depending on the recipe. If you're looking to make wine in 6 gallon batches but don't have the right equipment for processing that much fruit, consider one of our wine-from-concentrate Equipment Kits instead.