Recipe sought how to re ferment pressed grapes???

[MaStiKa45]

Hi all i'm new to this site and wine making/fermenting in general but have a little knowledge on distillin'

Wine is ready for the barrel and grapes to be pressed.

Would like to re use the grapes and re ferment them to take out the remaining sugar/alcohol in the skins strictly for distillin and not drinkin.

Looking for suggestions on how to achieve this.

Also if i put aniseed in with it from the start will the aniseed ferment also, and does the aniseed need to be crushed/ground?

Are 50 million questions in the OP permitted on this site?

[Grappa-Gringo]

start by getting a big enough primary fermentor. Some of our relatives used the big wooden barrels... Dump a good enough amount into it, add a substantial amount of sugar, exact amount is up to you....nothing was ever measured back home...add boiling water... again...a good amount...enough to cover the pressed grapes....stir with a big ol' wooden paddle or stick. Let it cool a bit... add yeast.... half barrel would probably need about a quarter cup.....let it start foaming up....give er a good mix...cover with a cloth or use an air lock...again, depends on what you're using,,,,
Once it's stopped fermenting... syphon out your liquid...and distill...

[MaStiKa45]

Hey Gringo thanks for the reply & info.

Have a few 220litre/58gal food grade plastic fermenters which i use.
They were initially used to import olives.

I might be able to get my hands on some really late end of season grapes at a very "economical" price.

DO you think i would be better off using some of this rather than sugar( and still use the yeast for a really good cook)?

DO you think if i put aniseed in while it is fermenting the aniseed will also ferment and impart it's oils and will it survive the distillin process or be lost?

I have put aniseed in the still with a grappa wash, brought it to the boil then turned it off and let it sit 24hrs then fired up the still again and distilled and got a substantial amount of aniseed taste & aroma in the finished product, just wondering if there is any benefit to doing it in the fermentation stage??

Or am i totally delusional, mainly from over sampling my own product

[Grappa-Gringo]

i've never added any flavorings prior to or during.... I would think what you previously did by boiling the aniseed and then letting it sit for a time period would be better. Make sure you cap it or the flavors may escape.....
gg

[blind drunk]

I recommend you use the wash calculator from the Parent Site. It calculates the exact amounts of sugar and water required to achieve the ABV of your wash, whatever ABV you choose.

[MaStiKa45]

Thanks for the info GG

Boiling water & sugar worked a treat.

It started "cookin" without any yeast added and was bubbling away.

Did add yeast though.

Lid tightly sealed now.

Thinking of giving it about 3-4 weeks and then makin a run.

In the mean time plenty of readin on this site for edumacatin'

[MaStiKa45]

I recommend you use the wash calculator from the Parent Site. It calculates the exact amounts of sugar and water required to achieve the ABV of your wash, whatever ABV you choose.

Blind drunk i appreciate your suggestion and had a look at the PS and have made a note for future reference.

I am a little confused so your opinion might clear something up for me.

As i am trying to extract the remaining sugars in the grape berries after the wine fermentation i can't calculate the amount i am going to extract.
Do you believe there is not enough sugar/alcohol left because according to the calculations i will need 25kg of sugar = $60-$80

I purchased 75kg of end of season grapes for $25.00 and have that fermenting away in a separate barrel and was thinking of mixing it all in together.

Would it be better to use the grapes or adding sugar for a higher ABV?

[blind drunk]

I'm also a little confused about what you're trying to do. At first I thought you were wanting to use the skins to make a second wine, for distillation. So I suggested you use the calculator in order to determine the amount of sugar and water you needed to add to the skins to get a decent ABV for the second wine.

Would it be better to use the grapes or adding sugar for a higher ABV?

Just ferment the wine as is, then you can either keep it as wine or distill it and make brandy.

Make a second wine with water, sugar and skins and distill it to make a brandy/grappa-ish distillate. Keep this second wash @ around 7-8%.

Hope this makes sense.