Plum wine
History
Summer 2025
July 12, 2025
Picked up a bunch of Santa Rosa plums from Andrew and Barbara.
July 18, 2025
Processed the plums. Unfortunately, several went bad over the past six days, but still managed to salvage 4,813g (10.6lbs) of flesh, about a pound more than the pears I used for Pear wine.
I did 70% of the plum weight in sugar, which was 3,370g (7.4lb). Previously, I did about 63%, and with my pear wine, I used even less, because I didn't have enough sugar. I also added a cup of honey wine, so there was some added sweetness, but probably not 7% worth. So it will be interesting how well this works.
I added slightly more than 1.5 gallons of cooled, boiled water (24.5 cups).
It's all in my hangari for fermenting! I plan on mixing twice a day to prevent fungus build-up.
July 19, 2025
Added 3/4 cup of lemon juice on top and peel from three Meyer lemons to try to prevent fungus.
July 20, 2025
I've been mixing a few times a day. When I checked in the evening, it was bubbling heartily!
July 21, 2025
Still bubbling vigorously. Decided to strain the liquid into my 5-gallon carboy for fermenting. It tasted watered down, so I added two cups of sugar (about 400 grams). Then I realized a lot of the sugar I had originally added had sunk and congealed on the bottom of my 항아리. I don't think the extra sugar is a bad thing, but we'll see. I'll try to swish the carboy regularly to dissolve the sugar, although I'm sure the sugar will continue to dissolve as the wine ferments.
I have 2.5 gallons in the carboy! Used the dregs to start a plum vinegar.
August 16, 2025
Transferred contents to a 3 gallon carboy. More compact, easier to handle, also hope it helps release the carbon. It tastes like sweet plum juice with just a hint of fermentation. All the sugar that had settled on the bottom dissolved.
My previous airlock was full of fruit flies. It was gross. David Buchanan (AKA Mr. Carboy) suggested putting vodka in the airlock to keep it disinfected. Not sure it would have solved the fruit flies issue, but it seemed like a good suggestion, so trying that now.
August 22, 2025
Noticed a pellicle forming on the surface. (At least I think it's a pellicle.) Worried that I might have a vinegar forming. Need to do some research.
September 12, 2025
Looks like a layer of mold. May just need campden tablets.
June 5, 2026
No more mold on top. Tasted. It was very sweet, with just a hint of fermentation, but it clearly had not fermented. That thick layer of sugar on the bottom was still there.
June 6, 2026
Purchased a packet of red wine yeast from Preserved and added it to the carboy. Will taste in a few months.
Summer 2021
July 15, 2021
Picked up Santa Rosa plums from Andrew and Barbara.
July 31, 2021
Cut and depitted 12 plums. Made about 2.25 cups (didn't have a scale on me). Added 3 cups of granulated sugar (about 600 grams) and 6 cups of water (filter, boiled, and cooled). (Gonna try it totally wild this time — no lemon honey wine starter this time.) Put it all in my 항아리. Once again, smells great!
August 2021
Fungus. :-( Fail.
Summer 2020
June 24, 2020
Picked Santa Rosa plums from Andrew and Barbara's garden.
June 29, 2020
Cut, depitted, and mashed 858 grams of plums. Added 535 grams of (mostly raw turbinado) sugar, 1 cup of a lemon honey wine I had made from Eun-Joung's lemons and Nova Scotia raw honey, and 5 cups of filtered water (boiled for 30 minutes, then cooled). Put it all in my 항아리. Smells so good!
July 1, 2020
Starting to bubble! That lemon honey wine is doing its thing.
July 5, 2020
Bottled the liquid with a fermentation lock, adding a good amount of sugar. Ground up the solids and added apple cider vinegar to make plum shrub.
August 22, 2020
I thought the fermentation was done, so I siphoned the wine into a bottle. Then I noticed it was still bubbling slightly. Jessica and I tasted the wine. It was really good! It's still slightly sweet, and it's not super complex, but it's fruity and delightful with just a hint of booze. Decided to add it back to the carboy to ferment a little more before bottling, but I think it's nice right now.
June 19, 2021
Enjoyed the finish product over dinner with Andrew and Barbara!
