Idiot proof wine

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Bigjack68

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Well I have successfully brewed up a batch of apfelwein so now I would like to brew up some wine. Anybody with some Idiot proof recipes they can share? Any suggestions would be much appreciated...
 
Congrats, go to the recipes forum, look for wine, there are a lot of recipes there, also you can go to ec kraus.com, they have a large selection of wine recipes, good luck on your next batch.:rockin:
 
The simplest wine I ever made that had the least fuss was my Welch's wine. Here is the recipe:

1 gallon Welch's wine

4 cans of 11.5oz Welch's frozen concentrate (I like white grape peach)
1 TBS of black tea (I like Earl grey)
Water to 1 gallon
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp yeast energizer
Yeast (lalvin 71B)

This makes a great dry young wine. Aging helps and it could be easily stabilized and back sweetened if you like but I think the white grape peach is awesome dry. Just let it ferment dry over 2 weeks. Put the jar/carboy in the fridge and wait another 2 weeks. Should be crystal clear. No need for secondary just siphon off the top. Should get 4 750ml bottles worth without disturbing the lees.
 
What is the purpose of the black tea? I have seen this more and more recently but I cannot figure out the purpose. Is it just for flavor?
 
So is it just loosely placed in with everything else ? Or in the bag or a grain bag if some type ?
 
I have several super easy recipes posted. (Either in the "tool bar" above, under recipes, or under my avatar on the left). I do a lot of simple fruit wines, from rhubarb wine to dandelion wine, and they are all very easy.
 
I am relatively new to winemaking as well, having four batches going; never bottled a batch as of yet. So, I would say I may be in a similar boat as you, just a tad downstream from where you are sitting.

I would suggest two recipes, these were (are) my first two that I did (am still doing). Dead simple.
For a mead: JOAM - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/joes-ancient-orange-mead-joam-45152/
and even simpler:
For a wine: Yooper's welches wine recipe. - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f79/welchs-grape-juice-wine-21093/

My notes on the two I suggest:
On the JOAM, do not under any ciecumstance alter the recipe. Once you have your first batch as a constant, then vary as your heart is content. Until then, just do the recipe as stated. There are copious threads of folks who alter the recipe without first doing it normally with problems. Do it how it reads first so you know what to expect. I just tasted mine after about two months; tasted like puke, but I will keep aging and holding out for it.

On Yooper's welches wine, I did mine with Welches apple cranberry juice. Tasted it at the one month racking; Wow. Tasted great (for what it is, of course) the better half liked it too - Which says a bit, she isn't a big drinker. I could have drank it then, but I racked anyway. This wine I did with Lalvin EC-1118 yeast, it was quick, and little foaming (read, dead simple, no mess).

I don't know if it's because I am a yooper as well, but I do love the simplicity of the Yoopers Welches Wine recipe. I am going to get ten more gallons of it going after I clear some room out.

Hope this helps, and by all means, keep us posted on your progress! Best of luck!
 
+1 on the Welches concentrate wines. I've done numerous batches of them and they tend to be my favorite. White grape peach and white grap raspberry tend to be the best flavors.

My recipes normally include 3 cans, 3/4 cup of sugar, yeast and yeast nutrient and water to 1 gallon. After 2-3 weeks, I rack and let age or start cold crashing.

Very tastey stuff made real cheap and easy. Takes maybe 10 mins to put everything together.
 
I agree that the welches are one of if not the easiest that I have seen.

Another point to add for the welches is that it seems (although I could be wrong, since I have not fully completed any) that they are a quick wine too. How long from combining ingredients to drinking? Like I mentioned I tasted mine after a month or so, and it was suprisingly good.

Another mention as it seems, is that it lets you meddle with the recipe a bit. Add some rasins, maybe some of this or that, substitute some of these for those, etc.. JOAM seems intolerable to torking on the recipe. Most recipes do let you meddle without totally botching the batch though I guess, as I have been reading.

Oh! One more point, which I am sure you already know: read, lots! This place has a metric ton of knowlege. I have just started posting here and there, but have been reading and planning for a couple years now. (I live in an apartment, and have moved every year for the last four years, and have been busy as heck. Early in a career... ya know, move where the money is.) You could spend an eon reading just this site alone. I just read through the dandelion wine thread, since it's that time of year! ( https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f79/dandelion-wine-21095/ ). There is a lot there, and you will learn a ton just from reading through other folks holdups and misteps.
 
What is the purpose of the black tea? I have seen this more and more recently but I cannot figure out the purpose. Is it just for flavor?

The tea is dropped in loose. It will fall with the sediment just fine. It adds tannins and a little body to the wine. Just rounds it out is all.
 
Arpolis said:
The tea is dropped in loose. It will fall with the sediment just fine. It adds tannins and a little body to the wine. Just rounds it out is all.

Does it matter what type or flavor of black tea ? Also does it change the color of the wine using tea in it ?
 
Does it matter what type or flavor of black tea ? Also does it change the color of the wine using tea in it ?

There may be a color change but I do not notice it really. Purple concentrate is still purple. Peach is still peachy... The tea does effect the flavor and the level of tannins is effected from tea to tea.

For instance black tea provides high tannins and better mouthfeel but can be more bitter. Earl grey has bergamot oil in it and I think that helps to soften the bitter tastes. Raspberry zinger tea from celestial sesoning is an herbal tea that has most of the "tea" coming from raspberry and blackberry leaves with hints of real raspberry, sweet orange peel and licorice root. That will give less tannin and mouthfeel but will accentuate some fruity character.

Just use what you like to drink and it should come out fine.
 
Arpolis said:
There may be a color change but I do not notice it really. Purple concentrate is still purple. Peach is still peachy... The tea does effect the flavor and the level of tannins is effected from tea to tea.

For instance black tea provides high tannins and better mouthfeel but can be more bitter. Earl grey has bergamot oil in it and I think that helps to soften the bitter tastes. Raspberry zinger tea from celestial sesoning is an herbal tea that has most of the "tea" coming from raspberry and blackberry leaves with hints of real raspberry, sweet orange peel and licorice root. That will give less tannin and mouthfeel but will accentuate some fruity character.

Just use what you like to drink and it should come out fine.

Thanks for the info. One last question, would this be the same as just using powdered grape tannin from my LHBS? Or is there any benefit of using tea over tannin powder ? Or vice versa ?
 
Thanks for the help folks... I think I'll try Yooper's Welch recipe. I may just use liquid grape juice instead of concentrate though ...
 
Thanks for the info. One last question, would this be the same as just using powdered grape tannin from my LHBS? Or is there any benefit of using tea over tannin powder ? Or vice versa ?

I have never used the grape tannin. The idea is the same but do not know if one is better over the other. I am just a big tea drinker and incorporated it into my brewing since it would accomplish my ends.
 
Been wanting to make this for a while now. I'm a fan of concentrate wines and this one sounds good. Been doing rice wines and loving it. I'll be doing this wine this weekend.
 
Yooper, I would love to try the rhubarb wine. Unfortunately that stuff when available is expensive down here in Texas. Definitely going to try a small batch!
 
Yooper, I would love to try the rhubarb wine. Unfortunately that stuff when available is expensive down here in Texas. Definitely going to try a small batch!

My neighbors told me that it's like $8 a pound at HEB! I couldn't believe it, because it grows like a weed here. When they bought a summer place in Wisconsin, the first thing they planted was rhubarb!

I wish I could give you some- I have so much that went to waste. I froze enough for a 6 gallon batch, the the rest is still out on the plants and no longer good (rhubarb doesn't do well in heat).
 
If you ever do a road trip to Canada, please take some of my rhubarb!!! I have three plants that produce insane amounts, plus friends constantly trying to give me some and a couple plants growing wild in the alley behind my house.
 
The simplest wine I ever made that had the least fuss was my Welch's wine. Here is the recipe:

1 gallon Welch's wine

4 cans of 11.5oz Welch's frozen concentrate (I like white grape peach)
1 TBS of black tea (I like Earl grey)
Water to 1 gallon
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp yeast energizer
Yeast (lalvin 71B)

This makes a great dry young wine. Aging helps and it could be easily stabilized and back sweetened if you like but I think the white grape peach is awesome dry. Just let it ferment dry over 2 weeks. Put the jar/carboy in the fridge and wait another 2 weeks. Should be crystal clear. No need for secondary just siphon off the top. Should get 4 750ml bottles worth without disturbing the lees.

Just started this tonight. I only had K1V on hand. Can't wait to see how this turns out. Now I have to get the items for Skeeter Pee and use the lees to start a batch with it.

The K1V should hold up nice through this for the Skeeter Pee right?
 
+1 on the white grape peach concentrate. It's mine and everyone else's favorite flavor that I do from concentrate.
 
Just started this tonight. I only had K1V on hand. Can't wait to see how this turns out. Now I have to get the items for Skeeter Pee and use the lees to start a batch with it.

The K1V should hold up nice through this for the Skeeter Pee right?

I have never used k1v in skeeter pee but I imagine that it would kick skeeter pees but, ferment through and produce a nice wine. I like k1v for many things so can't imagine things going wrong. For this concentrate wine if left dry should be very nice, crisp and refreshing chilled. Also wines and meads made with k1v seem to really benefit from long time aging so a year from now this wine should be spectacular. If you can wait that long... I couldn't with my last batch.
 
I have never used k1v in skeeter pee but I imagine that it would kick skeeter pees but, ferment through and produce a nice wine. I like k1v for many things so can't imagine things going wrong. For this concentrate wine if left dry should be very nice, crisp and refreshing chilled. Also wines and meads made with k1v seem to really benefit from long time aging so a year from now this wine should be spectacular. If you can wait that long... I couldn't with my last batch.

Nice! Think this will be ready in about 6 weeks? Ferment for 3, rack and then drink in 3 more?

One thing I didn't have is pectic enzyme... Not sure how that will effect things.
 
Since you are using a processed juice the pectic enzyme will not make the biggest difference but I think the wine clears more quickly with it. Yea 6 weeks should be good. Just in that second 3 week section cold crash the wine and that should drop out any leftover sediment. It should taste fine after that.
 
Since you are using a processed juice the pectic enzyme will not make the biggest difference but I think the wine clears more quickly with it. Yea 6 weeks should be good. Just in that second 3 week section cold crash the wine and that should drop out any leftover sediment. It should taste fine after that.

Awesome! Thank you for the feedback...I've seen you post this recipe a number of times and I've been wanting to try it for about 6-8 months now. I just found a Stop&Shop with Welch's white grape peach for $2.85 each. I'm going to pick up 4 of them and start another gallon this weekend.
 
Since you are using a processed juice the pectic enzyme will not make the biggest difference but I think the wine clears more quickly with it. Yea 6 weeks should be good. Just in that second 3 week section cold crash the wine and that should drop out any leftover sediment. It should taste fine after that.

I started this batch on the 8th and by mistake I added potassium metabisulfite and sulfate on 8/20 (I was supposed to add this to another batch of cider but got distracted) so, I'm not sure what's going to happen. I didn't take a starting gravity but with only 12 days after pitching, my only hope is that the K1V fermented it low enough. Its been in the fridge since 8/21. I'll let it clear, rack it and then take a gravity reading.

I was really looking fowrard to this too. Not to mention the batch of skeeter pee I had planned.
 
Tried a small sample tonight. It's not at all bad. It fermented completely dry. Tastes and smells like a fresh picked grape. I haven't even racked it yet but since it's been 3 weeks, I think I'll rack tomorrow. This stuff looks promising and I can't wait to bottle it and let it age for a month or 2...
 
Racked this tonight and poured a glass for myself. It's very clean tasting, a little thick in consistency (almost the thickness of syrup), strong grape flavor and strong alcohol.

I can say that the yeast cake and tea leaves are extremely compact and were not disturbed at all during the transfer.

Overall, good stuff considering it's from grape juice concentrate. Now I have to find the white grape peach and start another batch.
 
Can a novice like me get away with making a basic wine without the additives called for in most of these recipes? Will the wine be too nasty if I don't have access to tannins, pectin enzyme, yeast nutrients, or energizers? I mean just grapes, water and yeast?
 
Can a novice like me get away with making a basic wine without the additives called for in most of these recipes? Will the wine be too nasty if I don't have access to tannins, pectin enzyme, yeast nutrients, or energizers? I mean just grapes, water and yeast?

No, it should be fine. Just like if you make a stew and leave out the onions and salt and pepper, it will be fine, but better with some flavor seasonings.

Tannins and things are for flavor, while the pectic enzyme helps with clarity. Since the juice is already clear, that's usually no issue. Sometimes the yeast nutrients can make a difference in wine when the wine is nutrient starved, but not really a big problem with juice wines from grapes and many other fruits.
 
No, it should be fine. Just like if you make a stew and leave out the onions and salt and pepper, it will be fine, but better with some flavor seasonings.

Tannins and things are for flavor, while the pectic enzyme helps with clarity. Since the juice is already clear, that's usually no issue. Sometimes the yeast nutrients can make a difference in wine when the wine is nutrient starved, but not really a big problem with juice wines from grapes and many other fruits.

My biggest thanks for your reply. Everyone is very helpful here.
 
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