2014 Persimmons

In our yard sits the largest largest persimmon tree (Diospyros virginiana) I've ever seen.  For years we let the deer, raccoons, dogs, and any other critter eat all they wanted.  We occasionally made some bread and cookies from the persimmon pulp.  When I started winemaking, persimmon wine seemed like a good idea.

It turns out that, at least for me, persimmon wine is the most difficult of all wines to make.  The first difficulty came in managing the skins and seeds.  Some recipes suggest that you remove the seeds to avoid excessive tannins.  Anyone who has picked truly ripe American persimmons knows that when ripe, the fruit has the consistency of baby food.  Once frozen and thawed, the seeds and skins and pulp are just mixed together in a big gooey mess.  I managed that by just throwing the whole lot in a mesh bag.  It turns out that concerns about excess tannins are unwarranted.

Persimmon wine has an unbelievable amount of pulp.  In my batches, easily 1/3 and sometimes 1/2 of the initial volume is lost as pulp.  Getting the volume right has taken some doing.

Finally, unattended, my persimmon wine tends to develop a smell on about the third day of fermentation that can best be described as that of an old gym bag.  This smell diminishes minimally over time, so if there is any significant degree of what Lisa and I call "the funk," the wine is ruined.  Dealing with "the funk" has been the greatest challenge.  Using K1-V1116 wine yeast, step feeding the nutrients, and strict control of fermentation temperature proved to be the answer.

So yesterday we picked the first of the 2014 persimmons.  I have room in the freezer for about 50 pounds, which should be enough for a couple of 3 gallon batches and some persimmon bread as well.

For a 3 gallon batch:
16# persimmons
3 cans Welch's white grape concentrate or Apple concentrate
Sugar: 5-6#, aim for OG 1.085
Campden:4 tabs
Yeast nutrient: 3t stepwise
Yeast energizer: 3/4t
Tannin: 1t
Pectic enzyme: 12t divided
Acid blend: 3T-4T, aim for pH of 3.3-3.4
4.5 gal water
Bentonite

Freeze fully ripe fruit in 1 gallon Ziplocks, 4#/bag.  Thaw 4 bags, 16# of fruit.  As soon as the fruit starts to thaw, add one crushed and dissolved Camden tab to the bag and work it through the fruit.  8 hours later, add 2t pectic to each bag, mix thoroughly, and wait 12 hours.  When fully thawed, add to nylon mesh straining bag and put in primary.  Boil the water, add 5# sugar, and add to primary, along with the concentrate and tannin.  Let cool, then add 4t pectic and 3T acid blend.  Wait 12 hours.  Make any acid or sugar adjustments to get pH 3.3-3.4 and OG at 1.085.  Add the energizer, make a yeast starter and pitch the yeast.  At the end of lag phase add 1t yeast nutrient, then add the second and third teaspoons at about 1/3 and 1/2-2/3 sugar depletion.  Use ice packs to keep the temp around 20-21C.  Add 5g bentonite at the end of fermentation day 3.  Usual care thereafter.