Wild Grapes, froze them, recipe anyone?

[coboll]

My husband brought home 107 lbs of some wild grapes found along a fence line. I'm trying to research what type they are and can't pinpoint it. We're in WI. They are large (1/2-3/4") and juicy, dark purple, somewhat sweet and tart with seed in the middle. They kind of have a Concord taste to them.

Anyway, our carboys are tied up so I froze them with the stems on. I hope this is ok. When we're ready to make grape wine what is the best way to destem them? Or do we thaw them out and just juice them?

Anyone have a good recipe for wild grape? These are really nice grapes for being wild.

 

[Yooper]

I destem them before freezing, but you can do it after if you want.

They definitely sound like a concord or cross. Maybe a beta X or something like that.

There are lots of ways to handle wild grapes. The thing with them here in the US is that they tend to be low in sugar, and quite acidic.

You'll need to dilute with a bit of water (to reduce the acidity) and add some sugar to boost the alcohol to make wine.

I LOVE this website for Native grapes, how to handle them, and how to ferment them: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques10.asp

I use 6-7 pounds of grapes per gallon of wine, and use about 2 pounds of sugar per gallon. I normally freeze the destemmed grapes, and then hand crush when I put them in a sanitized mesh bag to thaw. Then I ferment for 5-7 days, when I pull out the bag of pulp and squeeze all of the juice out of the pulp and then rack to secondary.

 

[coboll]

Thanks, I used a JK recipe for my plum wine and apple wine recipe.

I was thinking of testing for acid and possible ph for the grape wine. If I did that in what stage would I test. If high in acid I should add water right?

I'm thinking I would need to thaw out the grapes and juice them to get rid of stems since they are frozen or would it be better to keep the skins somehow. I guess my goal is to not have stems on when fermenting.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks, I used a JK recipe for my plum wine and apple wine recipe.

I was thinking of testing for acid and possible ph for the grape wine. If I did that in what stage would I test. If high in acid I should add water right?

I'm thinking I would need to thaw out the grapes and juice them to get rid of stems since they are frozen or would it be better to keep the skins somehow. I guess my goal is to not have stems on when fermenting.

I destem then when I freeze them, as it's easier, but you can destem them anytime.

I test for the acids when I mix up the must, and then treat/dilute accordingly.

 

[coboll]

Ok, I'll will be making the grape wine in Spring. I hope I can freeze them for 6 months.
I'll be checking in then with more questions. Thanks!