Beer brewer gone wino

[Wild Duk]

I've been brewing beer for about a year, and am getting ready to do my first wine kit. I haven't bought it yet, and am saving up bottles.

My question is, how long is the process for fermentation and clearing in a carboy before I need to bottle. I need to know if I can start now while collecting bottles. It will be a Red.

Thanks

 

[Yooper]

It really depends on what you're making. They have those relatively inexpensive Winexpert kits, that are 30 day kits. So, they can be bottled in as little as 30 days. Now, they don't HAVE to be- you can rack to a carboy with a few campden tablets (crushed and dissolved- one per gallon) and let it sit as long as you want.

Some of the more expensive kits are 6 weeks or so, I believe. I'm making one now, and it was in the primary about 2 weeks, and it's supposed to be in the secondary 40 days before bottling. I'll probably rack it, and put it into the carboy again.

"Country" wines or non-kit wines can take from 4 months to a year before bottling, depending on what you're making. Some fruits drop a ton of lees, but juices tend to be quicker and faster.

 

[Dagatris]

SWMBO just made a batch of blackberry wine, from frozen blackberries. It was in primary for about 10 days, then racked to secondary. It'll be there for about 3 months, then we'll rack it again. About 3 more months and we'll bottle it.

So we've got around 6 months to gather our ~25 bottles.

 

[giligson]

If you let the wine clear naturally expect to keep it in secondary or tertiary for about a year. Alternatively if you fine or filter I would suggest at least 2 months from yeast pitch. (Oh all right you could do it in a month but you will have to fine the hell out of it and you will drop out a lot of your tannins and polyphenols.)

The best bet is to let it rest a year - the polyphenols in the red will polymerize and some will drop out of solution and the rest will taste less bitter.

Of course this is not the case with a white - you can reasonably have it in bottles in one month but I prefer to cold condition to allow the tartarate crystals to drop out.

 

[Wild Duk]

OK Thanks. Just got my Grand Cru Petite Sirah kit and will be starting it tomorrow. Been reading over the directions and the only thing that i'm not quite sure about is the bag of oak chips. How do I clean and sanitize it before I put it into the fermentor. Do I boil it, soak it in hot water lke the directions say, or could I put the chips into a metal steeping ball that I have.

Thanks

 

[summersolstice]

Just got my Grand Cru Petite Sirah kit and will be starting it tomorrow.

You'll be very happy with this kit!

the only thing that i'm not quite sure about is the bag of oak chips. How do I clean and sanitize it before I put it into the fermentor.

You don't clean and sanitize the oak chips. Just dump them in. If they're in a bag, just toss the whole thing in. Don't worry and just follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

 

[sidewinder02132]

I find myself gearing up for some winemaking as well. I'm planning to make a Grand Cru Pinot Noir and I'm wondering, without knowing about the instructions, will I have to leave the wine in a secondary for a year before bottling?

thanks in advance and keep the yeasties happy!

 

[Wild Duk]

The Grand Cru kit I am doing is a 4 week kit. Talking to the LHBS, you pretty much follow the directions with these cheaper ones. 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks in the carboy to clear, then bottle. Although, a few more weeks to a month or so in thecarboy supposedly never hurts.

But you are supposed to be ablt to drink it a few weeks after bottling. And the longer in the bottle the better I hear.

But don't take my advice for this is my first wine kit also...let me know how it turns out....

 

[LooyvilleLarry]

I use 6 gal pri and 5 gal sec. What will I need for wine?

 

[sidewinder02132]

Irr, you'll need both of those but, according to my local store, don't brew beer in them. If you're going to make some wine, get new primary and secondary and reserve these for the wine making.

Only four weeks to bottle, eh? Nice. Thanks for the follow up, Duck. Seems hard to believe but I guess the result will be in the bottle. *lol* I'll post some results when I get everything in motion. Cheers!

 

[Yooper]

I use 6 gal pri and 5 gal sec. What will I need for wine?

Wine kits almost always are for 6 gallons, so you'll need a 6.5 gallon primary (or a plastic bucket) and a 6 gallon carboy. Until I got a 6 gallon carboy, though, I used two 3 gallon ones, or a 5 gallon and a one gallon carboy.

I use all of my equipment for both beer and wine without any issues. I do have clean buckets/hoses, etc, and keep them clean. I wash them immediately after emptying and don't have any stains or odors in any of the gear.