Grape Wine newbie questions

[ilikemax]

I have an out of control grape vine in my back yard that has produced a bumper crop of delicious (concord?) grapes. I want to make wine out of them and am fairly sure I can fill my 5g primary.

Basically, I would like to know the simplest and most effective process. I brew my own beer so I have the equipment and general know-how. Is there a good recipe on this site/forum that you can point me to?

More specific questions are (I understand some of these are preferences rather than rules):

1) Should I use a sweetner like Honey? If so, in what ratio?
2) Should I use yeast and if so, which one? I have a packet of champagne yeast in the fridge... but have a feeling it may not be suited for wine. Are natural yeasts on the grapes enough for fermentation?
3) What sort of ratio of water to grape should I use?
4) Can I simply mix water with the crushed grapes in my primary or should I extract the grape juice & extract seeds/pulp first?

As far as the conditioning, racking, bottling etc, I think I can work that out myself. I just want to make sure I start with the right recipe!

thanks

max

 

[Yooper]

Concord grapes can make a nice wine! I use sugar to boost the OG (as they have very little natural sugar, compared to wine grapes), and water to dilute some of the acidity.

The easiest way to do the wine is to crush the grapes, and ferment for 5-7 days or so, then press and put in secondary.

I don't have a crusher, or a press, so I smoosh the grapes in mesh bags and ferment on them for a week or so, then pull the bags out and squeeze hard. That's my redneck crush and press.

Jack Keller has some great tips on wine making, especially with native grapes. http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques10.asp

Most of the time, he leaves out basic winemaking instructions, and just has the recipe, so you may want to take a look at the basics here: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/basics.asp

 

[ilikemax]

Thanks Yooper. That really helps. Guess I'll need to get some mesh bags... or I assume cheese cloth will work as well

 

[ilikemax]

So last week I finally got down to business and "made" the wine. My recipe was partially Jack Keller from the link you sent me and partially from the homebrew supply store wine expert guy.

I crushed all my grapes, dumped them into primary and added sugar (about 4kg) and water until the must reached the 5 gallon mark in the primary and the OG read 1070 - which I was I was told hit by homebrew guy. I then pitched my yeast, a bit of yeast energizer and some acid. I didn't strain out the fruit or put them in a bag. I simply left them in the must. For the first few days I stirred the top layer to break up the collection of fruit pulp. It's now been a week and I'm not sure if I'm ready to move to carboy or not.

I just did a reading and got 1025... which gives me an alcohol content of 6.6%... about half of what I was expecting. I realize I started with a fairly low OG but I was simply following 'trusted' directions.

What do you recommend? Remove fruit skins & pulp and let the wine age some more in the primary? Move to secondary? Add more sugar and/or yeast energizer?

 

[Yooper]

So last week I finally got down to business and "made" the wine. My recipe was partially Jack Keller from the link you sent me and partially from the homebrew supply store wine expert guy.

I crushed all my grapes, dumped them into primary and added sugar (about 4kg) and water until the must reached the 5 gallon mark in the primary and the OG read 1070 - which I was I was told hit by homebrew guy. I then pitched my yeast, a bit of yeast energizer and some acid. I didn't strain out the fruit or put them in a bag. I simply left them in the must. For the first few days I stirred the top layer to break up the collection of fruit pulp. It's now been a week and I'm not sure if I'm ready to move to carboy or not.

I just did a reading and got 1025... which gives me an alcohol content of 6.6%... about half of what I was expecting. I realize I started with a fairly low OG but I was simply following 'trusted' directions.

What do you recommend? Remove fruit skins & pulp and let the wine age some more in the primary? Move to secondary? Add more sugar and/or yeast energizer?

Yes, it's about time to move it to secondary. It might be hard separating the fruit from the wine now, but try your best. I normally rack to secondary, when the wine is 1.010-1.020 or so as the co2 being produced will continue to help protect the wine from oxidation as you try to get the solids separated from the liquid.

It should continue on, to .990 or so, over the next week or two.

 

[jungatheart]

My anecdotal experience: My concord wine went from tasting like donkey piss to exquisite wine but it took almost three years. When it's done, I'd recommend you put it away and forget about it for a couple of years.

 

[ilikemax]

@yooper, it looks like i got my hands full tonight. I think between my bathtub, large strainer and cyphon i should be able to get things separated accordingly.

@jungatheart - that's pretty much what I've been reading. Jack Keller recommends not touching it for at least 2 years. The last thing I want to drink is Donkey Piss... - http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques10.asp