Temperatures for wine fermenting

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nakros

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All the wine kits I have done so far (5) have called for fermenting termperatures between 68 and 79F.

Currently, I leave my fermenters in a 30' x 28' crawl space that has a few baseboard heaters and a thermostat, so I can dial it in to whatever the yeast would be happiest at. I have left it at 68F and so far, it makes pretty good wine.

The problem is that I also brew beer in this crawl space (opposite sides of the room), and would like to start some experiments with lower temperatures and how they affect the beer. Would wine yeast be negatively affected by temperatures less than 68F?

If I turned my thermostat down to 62 or 64, would the wine yeast get lazy and refuse to ferment my wine at such temperatures?

After reading the beer-brewing part of this forum and how much temperature makes a difference, I wonder how much of a difference temperature makes for wine making?

Thanks for any insight or experience!
 
It sounds like it will be fine, at slightly cooler temperatures. Wine yeast likes to be warmer, but cooler temperatures don't cause any off-flavors. Just keep an eye on it, and make sure it's fermenting ok and you'll be alright.
 
Do you ever sleep? :)

Thanks for the reply -- that was my thought, but wanted to see if anyone else had experience with it. Thanks Yooper!
 
Do you ever sleep? :)

Thanks for the reply -- that was my thought, but wanted to see if anyone else had experience with it. Thanks Yooper!

Also, I noticed that wine especially seems to create its own heat, more so than beer, so you may really do well at lower temperatures. Maybe toss a blanket around the fermenting wine, to ensure it stays warm.
 
Thanks again for the reassurances -- I'll try turning the crawlspace down to 64 and see if it makes a difference in the wine and/or beer. I will also throw a few spare towels around the wine.

Seriously though -- Ever since I've become obsessed with brewing (3 batches wine, 3 batches beer, 1 batch apfelwein fermenting at all times now), I have had this recurring dream about you, Revvy, and a fat, exercise-deprived llama sitting in a dark cave somewhere waiting to see a beacon in the sky whenever someone posts a new question. Once the beacon appears, you all jump into an odd shaped grape and zoom off into the sky to sprinkle the antediluvian brewing wisdom upon the masses, allowing them to sleep better at night.

sigh It's definitely time for bed.
 
Seriously though -- Ever since I've become obsessed with brewing (3 batches wine, 3 batches beer, 1 batch apfelwein fermenting at all times now), I have had this recurring dream about you, Revvy, and a fat, exercise-deprived llama sitting in a dark cave somewhere waiting to see a beacon in the sky whenever someone posts a new question. Once the beacon appears, you all jump into an odd shaped grape and zoom off into the sky to sprinkle the antediluvian brewing wisdom upon the masses, allowing them to sleep better at night.

sigh It's definitely time for bed.

Well, you made me shoot beer out of my nose. Bet that wasn't in your dream, now, was it? :D
 
Well, you made me shoot beer out of my nose. Bet that wasn't in your dream, now, was it?
I can't really say for sure -- I always see the flying grape from afar, so I can't really see exactly what it is that you are all sprinkling down upon us.
 
How much homebrew have you been drinking before bed, cuz damn that's one crazy dream haha.
 
How much homebrew have you been drinking before bed, cuz damn that's one crazy dream haha.
There is a reason why I have so much (and not enough) fermenting at any point in time!

Another part of that same recurring dream starts to get a bit more religious (Revvy's influence?). I begin to understand that God is more of a beer/wine brewer. We are the yeast and making his brew for him. The only part I struggle with is whether we are doing a good job, or are an infection.

I have at least come to the realization that the rapture is when God finally opens that bottle and drinks us. The ones left behind are the sediment.
 
Keeping with a wine theme (given the forum), I assume that if God were making wine, then the JW's win. Only 144,000 make it in, the rest become sediment or filtered out before the rapture (drinking).
 
Keeping with a wine theme (given the forum), I assume that if God were making wine, then the JW's win. Only 144,000 make it in, the rest become sediment or filtered out before the rapture (drinking).

Nah. I think the JW's are the sediment, and the rest of us make it in. Not too much sediment in 6 gallons, ya know? But, about 144,000 pieces of sediment, and the rest is all good.

Edit- crap, with all this religious talk, I'll have to ban myself. gotta go now!
 
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