How Much Fruit is Needed?

One of the most frequently asked questions....

At our shop, country fruit wines are made in either a 11.5L or 23L batch size.  This works out to either a half batch of about 15 bottles, or a whole batch of about 30 bottles.  For simplicity's sake, let's talk about making a full batch of wine.

The fruit you bring in will be added to the fermenting bucket with the sugar, water and other winemaking ingredients. The more fruit you add to the batch, the more flavour, more body and aroma you will get out of the wine. 

But why does the amount of fruit matter?  Take a look at the diagram below and compare the fruit to water ratio.  The more fruit you use, the less water is added to make up the volume of liquid required to make a batch of wine.  Batch #1 is mostly fruit and probably a good amount of juice that came off your fruit while it was thawing. (Always save that juice!)  It's more concentrated, and therefore, more flavour and body.  Batch #2 has more water added so it will be lighter in both flavour, body, and alcohol!  

Our current shop recipes work best with at the very minimum of 4 gallons, 16L or about 20-30lbs. of prepared fruit.  (And by prepared, I mean cleaned, chopped and frozen as per instructions.  See THIS POST for more information on fruit prep.)
Remember:  1 gallon or 4L = 1 large Ziplock freezer bag full

What if you don't have enough fruit?

• Make a 1/2 batch instead
• Get more fruit (we won't tell anyone if you add a bag or two from the grocery's freezer section)
• Add some juice.  As long as there are no preservatives that could hinder the fermentation process!  We also sell white and red grape juice concentrate at the shop for this reason.
• Add raisins - a old winemaker's hack!