Has anyone made wine from concord grapes? Any recommended recipes?
Crazy stuff up here… I haven’t had a successful gathering for a long time. When I did, I got a finished ABV of 14% and grape colored mittens for a few days! (my hands)… It was like high powered Welches grape juice! Sneezles61
Check out Jack Keller’s site, he has some great info on concord wines. The trick is that they are very acidic, so you have to dilute the must with water to lower the acidity, and then boost the sugar back up to get an appropriate amount of alcohol and acidity. Without watering it down too much.
Are Concord grapes the wild ones that grow every where?
No, the wild grapes are vitis riparia and concord are vitis labrusca. If you are from eastern US you may have seen them in the wild but here in the Midwest the only wild grapes are riparia
Thanks! I have heard that the skins impart an unpleasant odor to the wine. Apparently, if you want to have a red wine you need to be very cautious about how long you leave the skins in the must. Any words of advice on this?
You’d want to de-bug the grapes, then allow the initial fermentation to start… When its slowing down, transfer, leaving the lees, and skins behind… Rack once a month until the gravity is close to 1.000, then time to age… Sneezles61
