Ahh A dual airlock ! i got given some wine making stuff a few weeks ago and have only just Got round to researching what some of it is . Its a good idea just add water and go !

Please help a newbie (that's me) out: I am unclear from the instructions how much water to add (and when) in order to fill the 2 gallon jugs at the end (or am I misunderstanding that part?). If I follow correctly you end up with ~3L of water, but somehow you're filling 2 1-gallon containers, correct? Please advise... Otherwise love the instructions and am looking forward to utilizing all of these wild plums I have! :)

Great how-to. I was thinking about writing one for my own plum wine that I just made. My recipe: 3.5 lbs yellow plums (cal native, found in the hills, more acidic than normal) 1.5 lbs sugar 1tbsp grape tannin Used sodium metabisulfite instead of campden tablet, and Lavin K1-V-1116 Montpellier yeast to gun for a more fruity flavor. In the past I've used drier yeasts that wiped out the fruit flavor. (Champaign yeast is the worst for that) It also dominates the heck out of any wild yeast that might sneak through. Woot. I'm hoping for good results, as I just had to pour out 5 gallons of fig wine that got tainted somehow. (sadness)

Good to see that the art of home-brewing is still alive! I too am a brewer. Ah, very nice looking I bet it tastes a treat too -- what's more I don't even like plums! I have been drinking my way through my second batch of cherry wine recently, it's delicious -- fairly strong too! Also been drinking my apple wine -- first batch. This instructable is well-written, not at all misleading, easy-reading informative and just generally a piece of p*ss! This makes the fermentation of solid fruit easy to understand -- rather than the slightly easier, but less tasty and slightly wasteful method of just using store-purchased nectar -- such as my cherry brew MK I&II (hangs head in shame -- I just don't have the space for a fermenting bucket really.) Another great addition to the instructables archives on the whole. :-)

did you cover the mix during the 5 day fermentation process? or leave uncovered?

What kind of plums are you using? It only took me 20 plums to reach 4.5 pounds. Not if I did as many as you recommend it'd be twice as many pounds. Just curious.

Umesha......... Here in Kyushu Umesha is actually a liquor not a wine. You can buy kits also. Plums,sugar and SHO-Chu (a 35% distilled liquor made from sweet potatoes similar to vodka.) Very tasty and potent !! Let it set 30-90 days or even 1 year. I recommend 30/90 days, no real reason for longer periods except a small gain in smoothness.

I am in the process of making this right now. Needed a use for my huge crop of plums. I bought a low priced wine kit as a substitute for the grape juice concentrate. I'm going to make a second batch this week to use more plums and the rest of the grape juice.

I am in the process of making this right know I had a ton of wild plums and the are better than any you'll find in a store. I also use tea I did it last year when I made a batch of apple wine from the tree in my front yard. I used peach, chammomile and chi spiced tea it adds so much more flavor. So I used the same in the plum we will see how it turns out.

Does it taste good?

How much wine does this make?

Oh, wow. Can I buy some from you? I understand that plums can be pretty volatile, but they're delicious enough to be worth it, aren't they? Obviously, I'm a bit of a plum nut (one of my online favorites is http://www.plums.com), but even if I'm not, I'd still say you're absolutely brilliant.

You mentioned a lack of balance in the final wine. Actually plums are a difficult fruit to work with because they contain toxin substances. Here in Japan we use plums infused with strong distilled liquers to make Umesha. Your recipe would be fitting well with Dark Red California grapes. Good instructions however!!

your airlock is cool. is it glass? i had a plastic one once that was similar but not nearly as cool. i've used another plastic airlock as well that you can see in my instructable.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-moonshine/

Is the purpose of a fermentation lock to let air out but not let air in? Could I use a balloon if I don't have a real ferm. lock?

Looks good, love to make some. So it supposed to be clear when its done?

I have that same juice press at home! :P Found at a garage sale for a few dollars :P