First time wine questions.

I started with 24#'s of concord grapes, I had a thread previously about where to start, foot mashed them in my 6g ale pale, added water to get to about 4.25 gallons total goop, then added about 6#'s of sugar to get my hydro reading up to ~13%, tossed in the campden, then next day the wine yeast. Then it sit for the last 10 days bubbling away like mad.
Upon checking tonight, there is a huge pile of grape bodies on top of the wine. Do I need to mesh-bag and strain these since they were pushed up out of the wine? And at this point can I use a 6.5 gallon carboy to rack to at this point? I'll be picking up a 3 gallon in a few weeks to a month for aging, would i be better off leaving it in with the grapes until then?
And do I need to add campden again when I rack it to stop the yeasties?
Right now it's at .992, it looks like watermelon juice, and it doesn't taste too bad.




Ohh p.s...

If any noobs decide to mash grapes by foot, get rubber boots. My feet have been itching like mad since I mashed them. Sometimes to the point that I scratch them bloody. Next time a fruit press WILL be in the budget..

I stir my primary every day, and stir down that "cap". After the wine gets to 1.010- 1.020 (about 5 days), I rack to secondary and try to exclude the skins and pulp as much as I can. After another 30 days or so, I rack again and that pretty much gets rid of all of the "stuff".

I've found that using a fruit straining bag in primary makes a big difference! I use a sanitized mesh bag, and line the fermenter with it. Then, I put the ingredients in and tie off that bag. It really helps keep down the amount of stuff that makes it into the fermenter.

What's up Yoop?!

I second the fruit straining bag, it definatly helps contain all the bits and pieces as well as making racking easier (no muss, no fuss).

Other than that I pretty much follow what Yooper mentioned, except I do 60 days; but, I think it is a matter of preference....or laziness!

Thanks for the reply Yoop!! I see you all over the wine section.
So at this point I'm behind schedule using your method. I'll get it off the lees Sunday, that's my only day off.
Will I be ok using a 6.5g Carboy for the time being? I don't want that much deadspace, but it's what I have for now. I can purge with CO2 if need be...

This is the point where wineries (and wine making geeks) press the wine from the skins using a wine press. Most of us casual winemakers can't afford $300-$400 or more for a press so we use straining bags.

We were in Virginia last week and watched a commercial winemaker do just this with some Cabernet Franc grapes he had crushed and allowed to ferment on the skins for two weeks:

You definately want to extract as much juice from the skins as possible. Use a straining bag or press to accomplish this. The longer you allow the skins to be in contact with the must, the more color and possibly tannin you will extract. Be careful here because you don't want to leave them on the skins forever, because you will get to much extraction. Try this site for additional information and guidance on wine making at home: http://winepress.us/forums/index.php As mentioned above in other posts, you want to punch down the grape cap twice a day to keep the skins from drying out and getting nasty. When you rack to a carboy, you may need to have some additional space inside, because you will need to de-gas the wine later on in the process and you will have a lot of foam come out of solution due to the release of CO2 from the wine. Try to get your level up around the shoulder of the carboy (leaving at least 2 inches of space), You can top up later on with a similar wine style or use water (which ever you prefer). Also make sure you add at least 1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulphite to your wine when you rack from your primary to your secondary (carboy). That is of course if your fermentation is complete.

Sounds like you will have a nice concord for your first wine. Good Luck.

Salute!

Ridemywideglide said:

Ohh p.s...

If any noobs decide to mash grapes by foot, get rubber boots. My feet have been itching like mad since I mashed them. Sometimes to the point that I scratch them bloody. Next time a fruit press WILL be in the budget..

Click to expand...

Interesting, I've never heard of this b4 and I've stomped plenty of grapes. I wonder if you had a particularly low pH or maybe its something to do with concord grapes.

I stemmed them, and found some "thistle" looking parts in the bottom of the bucket. Small and harmless looking at the time, but later, I realized my mis-judgement.

I googled it, seems to be a common issue with "wild" grapes, I just had to learn the hard way..