- 12-16 lbs Summer Grapes
- 1/2 to 3/4 lb finely granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pectic enzyme
- 1 crushed Campden tablet
- 1/4 tsp acid blend
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- Montrachet wine yeast
Pick the grapes when fully ripe. Wash, destem and crush the grapes in primary fermentation vessel. Strain enough juice to float your hydrometer, measure specific gravity and return juice to primary. Add sugar to bring S.G. to 1.088 and stir with wooden paddle. Add crushed Campden tablet, stir, cover primary, and wait 12 hours. Add pectic enzyme, acid blend and yeast nutrient, stir, recover, and wait additional 12 hours. Add yeast and recover primary. Punch down the cap twice daily for 7-10 days (until S.G. is 1.010). Strain and press grapes and pour juice into secondary. Top up and ferment under airlock 30 days, rack into sterilized secondary, top up and refit airlock. Rack again every two months for six months. Stabilize, sweeten if desired, wait 10 days for dead yeast to fall, then rack into bottles. This wine can be consumed immediately but will improve with age.
I did get the sugar a little high, being unused to this amount of natural sugar in my grapes, so I started just about 1.090. It should be have plenty of kick!