New winemaker

[melamus]

I'm new to making wine, and was wondering if anyone has any advice?

 

[novalou]

I'm new to making wine, and was wondering if anyone has any advice?

Boy where to start....

1. Keep things clean.
2. Sanitization is the utmost importance.
3. Use the best ingredients you can afford. It does make a difference. Yes, you can ferment Kool-aid, (some here do), you get what you pay for.
4. Do a search on this forum for various topics you need to research, most of the basics have been discussed.
5. Visit Jack Keller's wine making website, wealth of info there.
6. Did I mention sanitization? Yes, it is that important. I have yet to have a batch go bad.

 

[melamus]

Kool Aid? Seriously, lol? My budget may be tight, but not that tight! Though it may make my kids fun... ;-)

 

[novalou]

Kool Aid? Seriously, lol? My budget may be tight, but not that tight! Though it may make my kids fun... ;-)

Did any of that help? Or are you just going to laugh at the thought of making Kook Aid wine?

 

[melamus]

No, it helps, thanks. I'm sorry if I offended. I've got my second batch fermenting right now, and I've been sanitizing everything as I go. Nice to know it really is important. And I will definitely check out that website tonight when I'm off work.

 

[Sammyk]

There is a recipe here for making wine from 100% juice from the grocery and it is good wine. Back sweeten with same kind of simmered down juice. I simmer until it is half the original volume.

 

[Sammyk]

Here is a link from herehttps://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/sparkling-peach-white-wine-great-recipe-139225/

 

[TnBloodhound]

I am also new to the wine making myself ,tonight i start a 5 gal better bottle out of welchs white grape juice concentrate the receipe I made was /5 -12oz. Cans of concentrate,10lbs of sugar ,15 oz. of golden raisins ,10 tsp of acid blend, 5 -1/2 tsp of petric enzyme,5 tsp of yeast nutrient and 5 packs of fleischmanns highly active yeast i started the yeast until it had about an inch of foam built up dumped it in the mix and dawm it has just takin off .....I guess my question is how do you think I did and do you have any helpful words if advice?

 

[TnBloodhound]

Oh and I stuck a airlock on it should I be worried?

 

[oldstyle69]

Kook Aid wine?

i dont care if it helped him or not, im going to laugh at kook aid wine. hahahaha

 

[TnBloodhound]

Do you have any suggestions there old style ?

 

[oldstyle69]

wine is interesting me tho. beyond the kook aid wine. i love Sake and other rice wines. i should look in to making some for the ball n chain

 

[BobbiLynn]

Did any of that help? Or are you just going to laugh at the thought of making Kook Aid wine?

I really don't know if your pointers helped or not, good of you to tackle the vague subject. But, seriously, I'm still laughing about the kook aid wine!! Kook aid? it enables/aids kooks to make their own wine? What are you trying to say? We are a bunch of kooks because we make cheap wine sometimes?

Great response you gave, sanitize and all that.

 

[TnBloodhound]

Any suggestions from you bobbilynn?

 

[oldstyle69]

no. ive never made wine other then the junk we made in highschool. ive read ALOT about it. mostly rice wine with the intention of making Soju out of it. but have yet to pull the trigger on making wine. i do have 2 more carboys comming in the mail this friday, so i may put one in the works.

 

[BobbiLynn]

Any suggestions from you bobbilynn?

Yes, take a glass 1 gallon jug, 2 half gallon bottles of grape juice, boil about a cup or so of extra sugar to add to it, pour the juice into the jug, minus the amount to leave room for the extra sugar, plus leave maybe 4 inches head space, add some wine yeast. There ya go.

Added: check the juice you buy, pick one with at least 30g of sugar per serving, and still add more. The wine yeast will eat up the sugar fast, longer you leave it, more dry/less sweet it will be. Taste after a couple weeks, still to sweet, let it go longer to increase the ABV but at the same time, reduces sweetness. You can always add more sugar at any given point.

 

[BobbiLynn]

Any suggestions from you bobbilynn?

Forgot to mention airlock. In a pinch, sanitize a balloon and sewing needle, poke 6 or 7 small holes in the end of the balloon, the top portion, put the balloon over the top of the jug. You will be making your own pruno in no time flat!!

 

[TnBloodhound]

Is there anyway to get rid of the awful taste of the bread yeast?

 

[BobbiLynn]

Is there anyway to get rid of the awful taste of the bread yeast?

Wine yeast, not bread yeast. How long has your pruno been fermenting? Under your bunk, right?

 

[TnBloodhound]

Two days!!! Give the newb a break!!! LoL

 

[BobbiLynn]

Two days!!! Give the newb a break!!! LoL

I really was trying to be helpful... 2 days won't do, give it at least 2 weeks. wine yeast, not bread yeast!!!

 

[TnBloodhound]

I'm very grateful for the help I'm just trying to understand what your saying I know I screwed up by using bread yeast ,are you saying give what I've got going two weeks and then add wine yeast?

 

[BobbiLynn]

I'm very grateful for the help I'm just trying to understand what your saying I know I screwed up by using bread yeast ,are you saying give what I've got going two weeks and then add wine yeast?

No, I was saying use wine yeast in the first place, but you don't have a time machine do you? I'm sure it is fermenting in some fashion from the bread yeast. Sure, let the initial fermentation runs it's course, 2 weeks should be long enough. Maybe if you then add some more boiled sugar, let it get back to room temp, and add actual wine yeast, you don't need much for one gallon, then give it at least another 2 weeks... It's going to taste pretty awful, but rock on, drink the whole gallon and you'll be falling over drunk. And probably sick to your stomach as well.

 

[TnBloodhound]

How much wine yeast to 5 gal?

 

[TnBloodhound]

What kinda wine yeast would you suggest cause won't abv be pretty high?

 

[BobbiLynn]

What kinda wine yeast would you suggest cause won't abv be pretty high?

Yes, like 10-14 % - for 5 gallons, that is the normal amount that a single packet from your local brew shop carries. Buy it, add it. Put some more sugar in too, why not? Push it and try to get 20% ABV. I mean, hell, you are making cheap wine, might as well get bang for your buck.

 

[TnBloodhound]

But doesn't most yeast die off at 14%?

 

[BobbiLynn]

Yes, most of the wine yeast will die at 14%, but with that bread yeast you already added, who knows what will happen. It is possible to get wine over 14%, usually you have to try, but it can be done accidentally as well. Maybe 20% is impossible but I have heard of people getting 15 and 16%.

 

[saramc]

But doesn't most yeast die off at 14%?

Wine yeasts vary as far as their tolerance thresholds and then you can typically exceed up to 1-3% beyond that threshold under ideal conditions. Read up on various wine yeasts and you will see they tend to range 14-18% thresholds, ale/cider yeasts are lower...but if you control the sugar content you can control the alc content--ideally. Turbo yeast will take you to around 22%. Bread yeast--personally hit 13% making a batch of JMAO mead.

 

[TnBloodhound]

Thanks for the input you all !!!