Cognac / Wine

Unsensibel

So, there's a local guy here selling grape juice by the bucket and drum (chilean harvest).

-> Does anyone have experience with fermenting wine & distilling it?

Compared to my grain bills, it's a bit pricy @ $70/5gal bucket but it's interesting

Smaug

Some of our pro customers started with processing their own fruit. As time passed they noted that results (and more specifically yield) were not as consistent as hoped.

With the use of the bulk juice they are able to calculate results and labor costs far more accurately.

Unsensibel

@Smaug Thanks for the feedback!

I'm also thinking about the trade-off on flavor as I'm missing skins & don't know how much of a contributor that is towards flavor.

Kapea

You will need to know the sugar content of the grape juice to be able to calculate the finished spirit yield. Many home wine makers make wine from grape juice concentrate. Some wine making suppliers sell fresh grape juice to their customers during harvest season.

Go to a winemaking/brewing store website like MoreWine for tips on fermenting grapes.

Unsensibel

It's fresh grape juice (I believe pasteurized though) & I've already done some wine with it - drinkable result with the Sauvignon Blanc. So I'm not concerned with the sugar content or the fermentation of it.

From what I know about fruit brandy's, most of them are distilled in more or less thick must or with the whole fruit mashed up & in it. With my heating element in the pot, I won't be able to do that and with a filtered / clear wine I'm wondering if the resulting product is going to taste fruity or is going to be an expensive sugar wash?

Also, if someone already made some, is there a preference of grape varieties? Reds over whites? What flavors typically transfer over in the distillation better? etc...

I have the following options:

• Barbera
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Malbec
• Merlot
• Pinot Noir
• Zinfandel
• Chardonnay
• Pinot Grigio
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Voignier

dellae

A couple years ago I got a stack of pinot noir grape juice from our main wine region and fermented and stilled it just like a sugar wash.

Made an excellent Brandy.
The grape skins provide tannins - I don't know if they would come over in the spirit.
Each harvest I have access to as many truckloads of grape skins as I want - just a damn pity I don't have the room to process them.
Lab lady tells me they contain ~10% sugars after pressing and are excellent for distilling.

punkin

Google 'grappa'. One of the most home distilled products in the world I reckon

Telluride

If I remember correctly I was getting 5 gallon buckets of grape concentrate of pretty much any variety for $70, you can make a quite a bit more booze with 5 gallons of grape concentrate vs 5 gallons of grape juice. The hooch was awesome with that stuff, I did some runs similar to a pisco aromatico with a muscat concentrate and the help of some peruvian friends. Super fun to compare the product with his stash(several dozen bottles of different brands and types) to what we made, and we were quite satisfied.

TheMechWarrior

I've had the good fortune of making brandy from Chardonnay and from Pinot.

They both made great brandy, unaged my preference was for the Pinot. Aged my preference was still for the Pinot but each was special in it's own way. I combined the two and it's amazing.

Unsensibel

Pinot Noir or Grigio?

To all - thanks for the feedback

TheMechWarrior

Pinot Noir, sorry.

BTW, the new make spirit is incredibly delicious, chocoblock full of fruity esters. I love grape wine as a base for a neutral for numerous products as well.

rossco

@punkin said: Google 'grappa'. One of the most home distilled products in the world I reckon

Yeah but you need to include the skins in the boiler to make grappa, otherwise you end up with brandy. This is a problem for me because we are electric.

I just finished three ferments, Barbera, Pinot & Voignier. The final products were very different and all are on uncharred french oak sticks with raisins ATM. Raw I had a strong preference for the Pinot but time and oak will tell. Because it is uncharred, the french oak seems to bring out any heads in the spirit in the early stages of the oaking process. Thinking that this may take 12months till it is drinkable. Had a small test batch of the Barbera that finished early, result was really excellent and very delicate.

Put a SD oak stick in with one jar to see what the combination does, it is darker and lacks the redish tinge that comes from french oak. Thinking it may age much quicker.

BTW these batches make a lot of heads compared to grains of molasses, so I took an extra heads cut than normal. Used the heads, left over wash and some wine to make some single pass vodka. The hint of grapes made excellent vodka.

Sadi

@rossco said: The hint of grapes made excellent vodka.

I like that :-bd