Making an apple wine from fresh apples question

[larry_stewart]

In the past Ive made wine from excess fresh kiwis.

Each year I make apple cider. After grinding and pressing the apples to get the cider, I have a lot of left over crushed apples. I usually feed this excess to the chickens, but this year I figured I'd try to make wine out of it. Problem is, I am making the cider tomorrow, but won't be able to make the wine until next weekend.

So here is my question:

Can I freeze the crushed apples ( so it doesn't rot) and then make the wine in a week from the frozen apples ?

larry

 

[Steve Kroll]

Yes, you can freeze it. In fact, there is an advantage in doing so, because freezing helps break down the cell walls to release more juice.

But why not just make wine from the cider itself? I've made many, many gallons of apple wine, and that's how it's normally made. You just add enough sugar to the cider to bring the SG up to 1.080-1.090 and add your yeast. That's really the only difference between cider and wine: the alcohol level.

On a side note, I belong to a large winemaking club in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Every year our group buys 500 gallons of fresh pressed apple juice from a local orchard. About 80% of it goes for making wine. Some also make hard cider, and others just buy the juice itself to drink. We normally get it for a ridiculously low price, due to the volume. Last year, as I recall, it was $2/gallon for fresh pressed juice.

I mean, you can't even buy milk for that price.

 

[larry_stewart]

Cider would be easier, but the cider press I have is not as efficient as I would assume a professional cider press would be, so there is quite a bit of left over apple pieces, that just can't get the juice squeezed out of it. So, instead of feeding it to the chickens, I figured Id benefit out of it

Also, the apples cost me about $150, and its not going to make that much cider, making each glass of cider a small fortune.

I could easily just buy a few gallons of cider from the store, but its become a family tradition to go apple picking, then almost have like a mini family apple festival, so Im keeping up with tradition. Its actually my parents apple cider press that they passed down to me. I have pictures of my kids ( when they were very young) making cider with their grandfather.

Thanks for the info, freezing it will make my life a whole lot easier. I don't make wine often, so I prefer to have some time to do my research, rather than just rushing into it. Freezing the fruit will buy me some time.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Cider would be easier, but the cider press I have is not as efficient as I would assume a professional cider press would be, so there is quite a bit of left over apple pieces, that just can't get the juice squeezed out of it. So, instead of feeding it to the chickens, I figured Id benefit out of it

Also, the apples cost me about $150, and its not going to make that much cider, making each glass of cider a small fortune.

I could easily just buy a few gallons of cider from the store, but its become a family tradition to go apple picking, then almost have like a mini family apple festival, so Im keeping up with tradition. Its actually my parents apple cider press that they passed down to me. I have pictures of my kids ( when they were very young) making cider with their grandfather.

Thanks for the info, freezing it will make my life a whole lot easier. I don't make wine often, so I prefer to have some time to do my research, rather than just rushing into it. Freezing the fruit will buy me some time.

If you end up purchasing your cider be careful to read the labels and ask some questions. In Central New York the grocery store cider includes additives like potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate that prevent or inhibit natural yeast formation and improve shelf life.