Venturing into the wine world

[AFAJ Brew Guy]

Hello all,

So I have decided that after a few successful years of brewing beer I thought that I would try my hand at wine. I am pretty sure that I can figure out the process and have already done a fair amount of reading on the subject.

I have decided to try out the Cellar Craft Orange Muscat Port as seen here.

The question that I have is concerning the yeast in the kit. Is this good yeast? I have not had luck with dry yeasts that are shipped with beer kits and I am not sure if it is the same with wine kits.

So if the yeast is not up to par, what would you recommend, or would you just recommend a different yeast for this style anyway?

Thanks, as always, you guys are great!

 

[beer_guy_dave]

AFAJ

I'm not familiar with the kit you are making, but have made many kits in the past. I haven't had any trouble with any of the yeasts included in any kit. IMHO, wine kits are easier than extract brewing (which is what I do), and the results ar usually very good.
I've found that the drier the wine, the longer the aging, the better they get. Kinda like beer - the bigger the beer, the longer the aging, the better they get. Good luck with the port. I wanted to make an orange/chocolate port a feew months ago, but everyone I bounced the idea off of thought it sounded horrible. I'll probably do it anyway.

Dave

 

[vanceromance]

I've made two Merlot batches from kits and have had no trouble with the yeast included.

 

[Saccharomyces]

The kits usually come with the Pris de Mousse champagne strain... which would be Lalvin EC-1118, or Red Star Primier Cuvee. For a icewine or a port wine, that is the best yeast of choice, so you are set there! The correct pitching rate for such a strong wine is a 5g pack per 3 gallons of must. Rehydrate the yeast for 15-30 minutes with GoFerm. Aerate well before pitching, and stir vigorously every 12 hours for the first 3-4 days. From the onset, I leave the lid on the primary fermenter loosely with a dry airlock, so the CO2 can escape without any head pressure. After 3-4 days of stirring, I snap on the lid and fill the airlock half way with water as usual, no need to stir anymore beyond that point. Let it sit for a minimum of 2 weeks in the primary. Up to 4 weeks is fine. Then follow the kit directions, but leave it in the carboy for an extra month beyond what they suggest prior to bottling.

 

[AFAJ Brew Guy]

Thanks for the info guys, I knew this was the right place.

I do have one other question. I have been reading that the "krausen" on wine can get a little out of hand. I am sure that I will be ok, but do you all think that doing the primary of this 3 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy will be ok, or should I use one of my 6 gallons? I am thinking that 2 gallons of head space will be plenty. Thanks again!

 

[vanceromance]

I've never had a prolem with the two batches I made from kits. I think the issue is more when you make wine from pressed grapes.

 

[brazedowl]

I do have one other question. I have been reading that the "krausen" on wine can get a little out of hand.

Not likely. Sometimes if you're using fresh fruit, the bubbles created during fermentation will cause the material to rise. So it needs to be mashed down. So with a kit this is not going to be a problem. If you do switch to fresh fruit, I put mine in one of those nylon straining bags and it eliminates the problem altogether.

 

[truckjohn]

Remember -- making wine isn't really like making beer.... Yes - the yeast do the job... but your part in the whole thing is very different....

Making Beer is super input intensive up front.... This amazed me after making a bunch of batches of wine.... Beer is like 500x more work!... You do a whole bunch more work up front... Grain bills, crushing, gelatenizing adjuncts, Mixing extracts, multiple temperature rests, mashing, lautering, sparging, boiling, cooling and filtering trub, etc....

Making wine -- you drop some sulphite and nutrients and maybe pectic enzyme... then pitch yeast and off you go! You strain off the fruit pulp after the 1st week... then let it run all by itself for a while..... and viola.... Wine!

Thanks

 

[brazedowl]

Making wine -- you drop some sulphite and nutrients and maybe pectic enzyme... then pitch yeast and off you go! You strain off the fruit pulp after the 1st week... then let it run all by itself for a while..... and viola.... Wine!

To be even EASIER...

I recommend the 10/10/5 method if you're just getting started...

10 containers frozen fruit concentrate (whatever flavors and brands you like)
10 Lbs sugar (It'll ferment out sweet and high abv, you and adjust from there)
and bring it all to a little more then 5 gallons of water

Total cost? ~$20 at walmart + ~$5 at your HBC (yeast, nutrient, energizer)