Suggestion for a beginner
- Thread starter JustKay
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
roadymi
Well-Known Member
If you believe you will be in this hobby for the long run:
Buy decent equipment, I upgraded to a floor corker......worth every penny.
Plastic or glass carboys will both work well.....each has their pros and cons.
If you want to develop a nice pipeline of product...you will want at least 2 secondary fermentors ( carboys).
Start collecting empty bottles now. Friends and family are good sources.
There are lots of recipes available around here, You can opt for a kit wine (generally you get what you pay for)........or.......you can make a fruit wine cheaper. I believe cheaper is better while you are perfecting your techniques.
Don't rush your wine, patience is a virtue. Procrastination can actually be wise when it comes to racking and bottling. It seems so many ppl want to bottle the second their wine or cider stabilizes at a FG....let it bulk age properly.....will only get better with time.
Hope this is what you were lookin for
Buy decent equipment, I upgraded to a floor corker......worth every penny.
Plastic or glass carboys will both work well.....each has their pros and cons.
If you want to develop a nice pipeline of product...you will want at least 2 secondary fermentors ( carboys).
Start collecting empty bottles now. Friends and family are good sources.
There are lots of recipes available around here, You can opt for a kit wine (generally you get what you pay for)........or.......you can make a fruit wine cheaper. I believe cheaper is better while you are perfecting your techniques.
Don't rush your wine, patience is a virtue. Procrastination can actually be wise when it comes to racking and bottling. It seems so many ppl want to bottle the second their wine or cider stabilizes at a FG....let it bulk age properly.....will only get better with time.
Hope this is what you were lookin for
OK i have been making wine years before i started brewing beer but after i brew several AG beer batches i come to the conclusion that it is very difficult to make GOOD wine and its relatively easy to make excellent beer at home. Simply you need very good starting material (grapes/grape juice or other fruits) as this is the most important factor in wine making so get the best fruits/juice as you can. Process itself is rather simple, if dealing with whole fruits turn it in to must/juice (liquidish form in general), there is few methods to do that and some work better for different fruits, for grape wine traditionally wine press is used, then recommended is treatment with compound to kill all wild yeast and bacteria but some ppl do wild fermentation, then adjusting sugar and acid content (different fruits different adjustment but most often sugar is added to achieve 12-14% alcohol level) at 20-30h after adding compound wine yeast are added and primary fermentation takes place, again different time for different wines but anything from 7 days to several weeks is normal, then wine is racked to another vessel for 2ndary fermentation/aging then rack again after few months and again if necessary to separate from the sediments. At the end (months later) wine is bottled and left for aging for several months
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
roadymi
Well-Known Member
glass pros....easy to sanitize, 100% air tight, don't scratch and discolor over time.
cons....Heavy, prone to breakage, have heard they may shatter for almost no reason
though I have never experienced this.
Plastic pros....light weight, won't shatter
cons...have to be very careful not to scratch or they are hard to sanitize, some
claim they may be permeated by oxygen in long term storage.
I have never used plastic so this info comes from what I have read in this forum. Make sure plastic has the proper food safe designation (not sure what that is). I also am not sure how the price compares between glass and plastic. I have bought a few of my carboys on amazon at a pretty good discount.
cons....Heavy, prone to breakage, have heard they may shatter for almost no reason
though I have never experienced this.
Plastic pros....light weight, won't shatter
cons...have to be very careful not to scratch or they are hard to sanitize, some
claim they may be permeated by oxygen in long term storage.
I have never used plastic so this info comes from what I have read in this forum. Make sure plastic has the proper food safe designation (not sure what that is). I also am not sure how the price compares between glass and plastic. I have bought a few of my carboys on amazon at a pretty good discount.
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
cyberlord
Well-Known Member
+1 on the better fruit makes better wine. I made 5 different fruit wines using different juice to fruit ratios and I have to say the 100% fruit Blackberry has more characteristics of a good wine than the mostly juice recipes even though my Agave Apple Raspberry made from 100% juice and frozen concentrated juice is quite good too. But I'll also add I don't regret making them either. It was a valuable learning experience that can only come from a hands on approach. The wine will be drinkable so there is no loss.
So pick/purchase good ripe to slightly over ripe fruit when it's in season (cheaper) and freeze it until you are ready to make your wine.
My other suggestion is READ READ READ as much as you can. The internet is a wealth of information from people who've made great wines. I've spent 10 times more time reading than making wine. You're off to a good start by asking questions here. :rockin: I also recommend Jack Keller's site, Winemaking Magazine website, and EC Kraus website.
Check this link too though it's mostly dealing with brewing beer
it's still a good place to start.
If you think you're going to make more than a few gallons of wine then you should think of purchasing a Hydrometer, pH meter, and an acid titration kit. They are the workhorse tools for building a balanced must. If you're just curious to whip up a batch of grocery store juice/concentrate I would still recommend a Hydrometer to ensure you're not making flavored sugar water or souped up rocket fuel.
Welcome to the forums and to the world of winemaking.
So pick/purchase good ripe to slightly over ripe fruit when it's in season (cheaper) and freeze it until you are ready to make your wine.
My other suggestion is READ READ READ as much as you can. The internet is a wealth of information from people who've made great wines. I've spent 10 times more time reading than making wine. You're off to a good start by asking questions here. :rockin: I also recommend Jack Keller's site, Winemaking Magazine website, and EC Kraus website.
Check this link too though it's mostly dealing with brewing beer
it's still a good place to start.If you think you're going to make more than a few gallons of wine then you should think of purchasing a Hydrometer, pH meter, and an acid titration kit. They are the workhorse tools for building a balanced must. If you're just curious to whip up a batch of grocery store juice/concentrate I would still recommend a Hydrometer to ensure you're not making flavored sugar water or souped up rocket fuel.
Welcome to the forums and to the world of winemaking.
cyberlord
Well-Known Member
It's assumed that the follower of the recipe is familiar with the winemaking procedure as it is no different from one recipe to another. The recipe is usually just the fruit to juice ratio and sometimes the racking schedule. It's very repetitive to read the same things over and over in recipes once you are familiar with winemaking. I'd even venture to leave out the racking schedule if it follows the normal curve for most wines. IMHO
The basic steps.
A more compact list.
edit: Sorry, forgot Jacks basic steps were already listed in an earlier reply.
The basic steps.
A more compact list.
edit: Sorry, forgot Jacks basic steps were already listed in an earlier reply.
