Sorry in advance for the ridiculous length of this! If you want to just tackle a single paragraph instead of the whole post, I totally understand.
Anyways, I have a lot of experience making beer, but I've never made a wine (unless you count Edwort's apfelwein). I decided to just dive in headfirst while my electric brewery is being built, and ordered 3 high-end wine kits, not seeing the point in going with the cheaper stuff after spending so much time and money (and space!) to produce the wine. The three kits I ordered are all from RJ Spagnols brands, as my LHBS doesn't carry Winexpert or Cellar Craft, and their kit prices are damn good (considerably better than even any stores I've seen in the US, which is completely opposite the case for everything else they sell... strange, but I can't complain!). I pick these up on Tuesday:
(En Primeur) Italian Amarone
(Cellar Classic Winery Series) California Old Vine Zinfandel
(Cellar Classic) German Gewürztraminer
When I pick them up, I want to buy some fermenting vessels for them... I'm thinking carboys or better bottles (any problem with BBs?). What size vessels will I need for these? I often hear people start in a 6.5gal carboy (is 6gal okay?) and secondary in a 5gal... is that what I should plan on doing with these kits? I have no idea how much wine they're supposed to produce - the only volume I saw labeled for them is the volume of the concentrate they provide, and as such I'd guess bigger is better - but my best guess would be 23L. Is that correct? And while I'm there, should I pick up any additional ingredients?
To figure out how many vessels of each type I need, I also need to know the timelines for these wines. ie, how long should each of those styles stay in the primary? And then how long after that should they stay in the secondary? Will I need to rack it beyond a second (eg tertiary, quaternary, etc)? And just so I have an idea, how long would you recommend I let each style take (fermentation AND aging) for a good balance between timeliness and quality?
Also, is agitation (like a paint stirrer or wine whip on a drill) more than adequate for degassing, or are those vacuum degassers noticeably better?
And just a couple more questions I haven't come across I might as well ask now, based on my experience with beer. For instance, temperature control is *EVERYTHING* when making beer, but how critical is it for wine? I'd rather not have to control the temperature, but if the lack of temp control can ruin wine like it does beer, I'd do it anyways. Should I oxygenate the must like I would oxygenate beer wort? Is some sort of yeast starter recommended? And lastly, beer kit instructions are notoriously poor... is the same true of wine kits, and if so, how should I proceed with these kits in particular?
Sorry again for such an onslaught of questions, but I figured that a million questions in a single thread is probably better than a single question in a million threads, and if you think this took a long time to read, consider that this was all typed on my phone! I am very comfortable with most of the process, so I would MUCH rather do things the BETTER way than the simpler and easier way that's often suggested to beginners (if it makes a real difference in the finished product, of course), so please, none of that "just follow the included directions for the first few times" nonsense... if I'm going to spend the money and wait such a long time to drink the wine, I want to make it the best I possibly can.
Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read and (hopefully) answer this. And if anyone has any more tips for an experienced brewer just getting into wine making - particularly the things that are different from the beer-making process, or what a brewer might otherwise assume - they would be much appreciated!
Anyways, I have a lot of experience making beer, but I've never made a wine (unless you count Edwort's apfelwein). I decided to just dive in headfirst while my electric brewery is being built, and ordered 3 high-end wine kits, not seeing the point in going with the cheaper stuff after spending so much time and money (and space!) to produce the wine. The three kits I ordered are all from RJ Spagnols brands, as my LHBS doesn't carry Winexpert or Cellar Craft, and their kit prices are damn good (considerably better than even any stores I've seen in the US, which is completely opposite the case for everything else they sell... strange, but I can't complain!). I pick these up on Tuesday:
(En Primeur) Italian Amarone
(Cellar Classic Winery Series) California Old Vine Zinfandel
(Cellar Classic) German Gewürztraminer
When I pick them up, I want to buy some fermenting vessels for them... I'm thinking carboys or better bottles (any problem with BBs?). What size vessels will I need for these? I often hear people start in a 6.5gal carboy (is 6gal okay?) and secondary in a 5gal... is that what I should plan on doing with these kits? I have no idea how much wine they're supposed to produce - the only volume I saw labeled for them is the volume of the concentrate they provide, and as such I'd guess bigger is better - but my best guess would be 23L. Is that correct? And while I'm there, should I pick up any additional ingredients?
To figure out how many vessels of each type I need, I also need to know the timelines for these wines. ie, how long should each of those styles stay in the primary? And then how long after that should they stay in the secondary? Will I need to rack it beyond a second (eg tertiary, quaternary, etc)? And just so I have an idea, how long would you recommend I let each style take (fermentation AND aging) for a good balance between timeliness and quality?
Also, is agitation (like a paint stirrer or wine whip on a drill) more than adequate for degassing, or are those vacuum degassers noticeably better?
And just a couple more questions I haven't come across I might as well ask now, based on my experience with beer. For instance, temperature control is *EVERYTHING* when making beer, but how critical is it for wine? I'd rather not have to control the temperature, but if the lack of temp control can ruin wine like it does beer, I'd do it anyways. Should I oxygenate the must like I would oxygenate beer wort? Is some sort of yeast starter recommended? And lastly, beer kit instructions are notoriously poor... is the same true of wine kits, and if so, how should I proceed with these kits in particular?
Sorry again for such an onslaught of questions, but I figured that a million questions in a single thread is probably better than a single question in a million threads, and if you think this took a long time to read, consider that this was all typed on my phone! I am very comfortable with most of the process, so I would MUCH rather do things the BETTER way than the simpler and easier way that's often suggested to beginners (if it makes a real difference in the finished product, of course), so please, none of that "just follow the included directions for the first few times" nonsense... if I'm going to spend the money and wait such a long time to drink the wine, I want to make it the best I possibly can.
Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read and (hopefully) answer this. And if anyone has any more tips for an experienced brewer just getting into wine making - particularly the things that are different from the beer-making process, or what a brewer might otherwise assume - they would be much appreciated!