Making Plum Wine

My sister- in- law graciously let me pick some of the wild plums they had growing in their yard.  I have made wine before but only from a box and really wanted to try making if from fresh fruit. My one other attempt at wind from a can a blackberries ended in disaster when the glass carboy fell off a table and broke, leaving a glass shard filled sticky mess! This time I opted for a plastic carboy! I found a recipe online but ended up having to change it a bit. This is what I did.





Makes Three gallons


Ingredients




9 pounds pitted plum

1 1/2 gallons water

6 pounds sugar

11/2 teaspoon acid blend (I used 1/2 tsp due to my wild plums being acidic)

11/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme

3/8 tsp wine tannin

3 teaspoon nutrient

3 Campden tablets, crushed (I ended up not using)

1 package wine yeast

1. First I washed the plums. I had a hard time figuring out the best way to pit them. Because they are so small I thought it was going to take forever to cut the seeds out. What I ended up doing was squeezing them until the pit popped out. I then placed the pits in a bowl with a little bit of water. This way I could wash the seeds to use the pulp that was attached to the seed. What was left of the plum I put in the nylon straining bag, skin and all.

2. Once I had the bags full, (I ended up using two of them) I tied off the tops and placed them in a 3 gallon food grade bucket.(Primary fermentor) I then added the water.










3. Because I did not have any Potassium Metabisulphite on hand. (thought I did and was really worried about what do to next. I consulted a wine making supply store and they said that as long as I put the yeast in right away, (and my yeast is stronger and does not let any other yeasts in the fruit take over) I should be fine. ) Normally I would have added either 3 campden tablets or equivalent Potassium or sodium metabisulphite to kill any existing foreign yeasts before adding my yeast 24 hours later.

4. So along with the yeast, I added the pectic enzyme, tannin and the yeast nutrient. Because wild plums are already acidic, I decided to add less acid blend then my recipe called for, so I added 1/2 tsp. (found this out by researching the Internet.)


5. I then mixed it all together and used a spoon to mash the plums that were in the bags to extract as much juice from them as I could.


6. I did this every few day, mashing and stirring and then recovering the bucket.


7. After 6 days, I was ready to transfer the wine to a secondary fermentor. This is when I used the 3 gallon plastic one. I was told that I could have used a 5 gallon one as well, but it is best to use one that will allow for the least amount of air space to prevent other bacteria or yeast from growing. As the juice ferments, the oxygen turns to carbon dioxide and takes up that space. So I siphoned the juice out and into the 3 gallon carboy. I put in the plastic plug and added the air lock, (lets out the O2). The juice actually smelled and tasted pretty good. I was told if it smelled like vinegar, then a foreign yeast would have taken over and I would either have to turn it into cooking vinegar or throw it out. I was happy to see that it smelled and tasted like the beginnings of a good wine.

I will update when I get to the next step!