Grapefruit Wine Recipe

1. Wash the fruit, remove 2 cups of zest (use a zester and do not use any of the pith "the white part of the rind").
2. You will need enough fruit to make 2 1/2 gallons of juice. Normally grapefruit has an acid level of 1.0 to 1.4. If your grapefruit has less acid, you will need to adjust the amount of water to juice accordingly. Use one gallon of grapefruit juice and add measured amounts of water until the desired acid level is reached and use the same ratio for the remaining amount of juice.)
3. Add one gallon of sugar water (4 ½ cups sugar dissolved in a gallon of water will give 22 brix) and stir. Ladle enough juice to fill the Hydrometer tube with the hydrometer inserted then spin the hydrometer to eliminate any air bubbles and then take a reading of the brix (the balling scale). The target is 22 brix.
4. Adjust to 22 brix by adding ¼ cup sugar for each 1¼ brix required per gallon tested. Example: 2 gallons tested at 18 brix (22 brix minus 18 brix equals 4 brix) 4 brix divided by 1.25 brix equals 3.2 (¼ cups of sugar) multiplied by the 2 gallons equals 6.4 (¼ cups of sugar) multiply this by .25 and it equals 1.6 cups of sugar. Add the remaining gallons of sugar water and the additional sugar from above to make up the five gallons and stir until mixed thoroughly.
5. Check acid level and adjust to .50/.70 grams using an acid blend. Example; 1 teaspoon of acid blend will increase acidity by .15 per gallon of must or wine.
6. Add ¼ teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite. This will give the juice 40-50 ppm of sulfite to aid in killing any wild yeast and bacteria that can be harmful to the wine.
7. Add yeast nutrient. This will help the yeast give a full fermentation (follow the instructions on the nutrient that you are using).
8. Add pectic enzyme. This helps break the fruit down during the fermentation process(follow the instructions on the pectic enzyme that you are using).
9. Prepare the yeast by using ¼ cup of luke warm water and ½ teaspoon of sugar dissolved add the package of wine yeast and stir let stand for 15-20 minutes until it gets a foam on top and the pour on top of the juice and cover. DO NOT STIR FOR AT LEAST 12 HOURS
10. Stir the juice at least 2 times a day, morning& evening. Up to 4 times a day it would be better. Morning, noon, evening and bedtime. Make sure that the cap (fruit) is mixed back into the juice when stirring. Always put the cover back on the fermenter after stirring.
11. After the third day of stirring you will need to start checking the brix using a hydrometer before stirring, preferably in the morning. When the brix drops to 5-7, it is time to remove the juice and place it into the secondary fermenter (carboy).
12. When you are ready to transfer the juice to the secondary fermenter, do not stir the cap before removing juice. Remove the fruit on top of the juice (cap) and place into another vessel such as a large bowl.
13. Remove the remaining juice by straining through a straining bag or several layers of cheesecloth and put into the secondary fermenter (5 gallon carboy). If you need more juice, then gently squeeze the fruit that you removed through the bag or cloth. If you still need more juice then you can add a sugar water by dissolving ¼ cup of sugar in 1 quart of water. Leave 3-4 inches of air space in the carboy for foaming purposes. Put the air lock in place and let set until there are no bubbles. This should take 2-3 weeks.
14. Add 2 teaspoons of potassium sorbate to kill the yeast and insure that the wine will not restart when you do the adjusting later.
15. You can add a clearing agent such as sparkolloid or bentonite to aid in clearing the wine. Let stand until there is a compact layer of sediment in the bottom of the carboy. This will take 1-2 weeks.
16. Siphon into another 5 gallon carboy, being careful not to get any of the sediment. Now is the time to filter if you wish.
17. Remove (1) 750 ml bottle of wine and adjust to your personal taste.
18. Adjust the bottle of wine by adding 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time and tasting until you find the level that you like. Adjust the wine in your carboy by calculating the number of bottles (per carboy) times the amount of sugar you have put in the adjusted bottle. For example if you liked the wine with 2 tablespoons of sugar, then you will need to add 2 x 24 bottles = 48 Tablespoons or 3 cups of sugar
    • Add the bottle of wine that you removed for adjusting back to the carboy and top off with distilled water
    • Add 1/8 teaspoon potassium metabisulfite.
    • Now the wine is ready to bottle (you will need (25) 750ml bottles).
    • Clean and sterilize the bottles.
    • Fill the bottle leaving 2 ½ inches air space from the top this will allow ¼ to ¾ inches of space under the cork.