Muscadine Grapes

[glfclbs1]

Anyone have a Muscadine grape recipe? Really want a brandy, not necessarily a grappa.

Thanks in advance?

[NZChris]

Tread grapes, destalk, pitch wine yeast, when finished press and double distill with a pot still.

[Dougmatt]

Muscadines are a little different than other grapes, but process is mostly the same. Thick skin globe grapes and depending on the type, are very acidic. Here are some random notes from over the years of making wine, some of which gets distilled (especially second run):

1. Do not add water to first run fermenter. Repeat: Do not add water. You will just have to add sugar, and lemon juice and all kinds of adjustments so as much as you might want to, don’t.

2. Freeze your grapes solid and then allow them to thaw before crushing and making wine. Your yield will jump.

3. Use pectic enzyme even though you froze the grapes. Add a teaspoon more per 5 gallons than is directed on the label. It will boost the yield in muscadines.

4. Bag your crushed grapes in 5-gallon paint strainer bags from Lowes or HD. It takes 3 to 5 bags to do 60 pounds.

5. 60 pounds of muscadines yields about 8 gallons of must (100% juice and grapes), which yields about 5 gallons of wine to go into secondary once it all is siphoned and pressed.

6. When it is time to press, squeeze as much juice as you can out of the grapes while still in the bags. After that, dump the grapes from the bags into a press and get what’s left

7. Do make a second pressing wine with the grapeskins left. You can make another 5 gallons. Add water and sugar to raise SSG and referment. It will be a weaker muscadine taste but is still excellent. The second pressing wine is also excellent as a blending wine with blueberry or other flavors or to make sangria, or even to use as a base for the brandy to make a fortified desert wine.

8. once you have your wine made, do a 1.5 or 2x distillation depending on preference (I do 1.5x). Put on medium toast french oak or whatever you like at around 58-60% Abv.

Hope this helps.

Doug

[NZChris]

2. Freezing and thawing is expensive. Treading frozen fruit is painful and time consuming and is not something that you will do many times before you give up on the idea. It might be ok for small ferments for small stills.

3. Pectinase will increase the amount of methanol in your final spirit, but not by much. If you are recycling the pomace to make a useful sugar wash using the pressings and feints, (7.), I doubt that there is much advantage to using it in the original ferment.

[glfclbs1]

Thanks guys!

[mountainmurphy8194]

Bearded and Bored did one on his YouTube channel, but I believe he topped it up with Concord grape juice to get a little more volume.

I believe he froze his fruit and treated it with pectic enzyme, but definitely check out the video for yourself. His recipes aren’t always super specific, but can give you a good idea.

[Stump Lake]

I know this is not what the OP asked. I have been applying the "Strawberry Panty Dropper" receipt to Muscadines. Everyone that taste it claims it is the best thing I have made so far.

[Dougmatt]

I know this is not what the OP asked. I have been applying the "Strawberry Panty Dropper" receipt to Muscadines. Everyone that taste it claims it is the best thing I have made so far.

Interesting. Do you put them in whole or lightly crush them before macerating?

[Stump Lake]

They are frozen. I put them in a quart jar whole, with 2 Tbsp sugar and squeeze 1/2 of lemon in the jar. Then fill the jar up with my 100P moonshine. Wait about a week.

[Dougmatt]

They are frozen. I put them in a quart jar whole, with 2 Tbsp sugar and squeeze 1/2 of lemon in the jar. Then fill the jar up with my 100P moonshine. Wait about a week.

Sorry for taking this off topic so will make this my last response, but sounds interesting. I will be trying this with some of next years crop.

Thanks for sharing.

[muscadine]

Tread grapes, destalk, pitch wine yeast, when finished press and double distill with a pot still.

+1

[muscadine]

Ferment on the skins to dry.