With your “Pumpkin Jack” recipe, about how long does it take from the day you do all the processing until the pumpkin is ready to be poked and drained? We have a pumpkin cooking contest every year at work, and I have never won first prize (hard though I work at it, and good though my baking is). I thought if I plied them with pumpkin alcohol I might be in with a better chance. ;D (As much as I’d love to learn to make proper wine, my schedule is too busy and I have too many classes to focus on learning anything else new at the same time.)

Basically, 2lb sugar to 1 quart water. Core the pumpkin to remove the seeds (smaller hole is better). Fill the pumpkin with warm water (not boiling! should be hot to the touch) and allow to cool, add yeast (1 yeast tablet or packet per quart of water), stir, cap and seal with wax. Place on a board with a hole drilled in it appropriately positioned to poke the drain hole in the bottom when ready. Soft pumpkins do not like being moved/handled and the board helps a lot.

Big pumpkin, big batch, small pumpkin, small batch. I was going to experiment this year, but like Errol posted, the time passed too quickly to grab a few pumpkins for this.

I’ve taken some photos of my Pinot Noir, and once I have that roll of film processed, I’ll post them to the blog. In the meantime this post on pruning shows one of my grape vines out of the pot as I trim the roots.

I really would like to know how things go with the pumpkin wine!

Erroll

Don’t go out of your way for me. I’m just curious. I didn’t know you could successfully grow fruit trees in five gal buckets. Or grape vines, for that matter. Yeah; when you get around to shooting them I’d love to see them, but don’t put more on yourself for my curiosity’s sake.

Thanks again. I will be sure to let you know how my pumpkin wine comes out.

– John

I’m excited for you, and I hope you’ll let me know how it turns out.

Most of my grape vines are in five gallon buckets, but the Pinot Noir and the Swenson Red are in terracotta pots. Since they’ll look more presentable, I’ll go out and photograph them for you. I sometimes borrow a digital camera, but mainly shoot film. Once I’ve shot the roll, I’ll have it developed and scanned, then I’ll post the photos – bear with me!

Erroll

Thank you for the detailed response. I guess I just didn’t know that DAP and yeast nutrient are the same thing. I do have nutrient, so all I’m lacking is the ability to test for PH and TA. I think I will bravely dive in and give this pumpkin wine a try anyway. And thank you for your helpful advice. Good luck with your future endeavors!

Sincerely,

John Hance
P.S. Where can I see pics of your “bosai” plants? Are they online? I saw some close-ups of grapes on your flikr acount, but I didn’t see the whole vine. I’ll go look again…

I’ve heard of people fermenting pumpkin without mashing, so you can do without the amylase.

It will be harder to get it right without TA and pH measurements, but it can be done. You will need to start with a small amount of acid, maybe one teaspoon, and then taste as the wine matures. Every time you rack, taste and make notes. If you think it needs more acid, add a little – no more than half a teaspoon . Don’t rush; expect to do this over the course of a year.

Tasting like this wont work until after it has fermented out, because the sugar in the must will mask the acidity. Also, young wine might not be very palatable, but you’ll have to ignore that and just pick out how “tart” or how “flabby” the wine is. I made wine this way before I got an acid test kit, and I didn’t always get it right. It can be done, though.

Without yeast nutrient, like DAP, you’ll be counting on whatever happens to be in the pumpkin flesh to sustain the yeast. If you go this rout, expect a slow and risky fermentation. If the fermentation sticks, it will be hard to diagnose and hard to get going again. I would strongly advise you to buy some nutrient. It’s easy to get by mail order and it’s not expensive.

I like making my own wine, but I love making wine from something I grew myself. I live in the suburbs, though, without enough room for a vineyard or an orchard. I grow grape vines and fruit trees anyway, its just that I keep them in large pots (5-gallon buckets, actually). Since they are so vigorous, I need to trim the roots every year to keep them healthy. So, I treat them like bonsai plants, at least below the soil, and that’s why I call the whole collection my “bonsai vineyard” and “bonsai orchard.” I have pictures of individual vines and trees, but now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve taken a photo of the whole “orchard” or “vineyard.”

Maybe I’ll have to do that. Good luck with the pumpkin wine (do consider getting DAP)! I hope to make some myself.

And thank you very much for the kind words. I’ve been a little overwhelmed lately, but I hope to make more wine and write about it soon.

Erroll