I have tried the balloon wine thingie before and I want to step up...but with baby steps, meaning that I want to use the bare minimum and want to know why certain other ingredients are needed. I'm going to start a new batch this week (hopefully) and would like for wine vets to educate this cheeky newbie ;-)
To begin with, here is my proposed recipe for a semi-sweet white wine:
1. 3 cans of 100% frozen grape juice - Wellch's white grape
2. 1 cup of sugar
3. Balance water to make up 1 US gallon
4. 1 teaspoon (~3 g or half packet) Lalvin K1V-1116 yeast
My process is normally to boil the water, add sugar to it, add grape concentrate, dump the mix in milk jug, add yeast, shake, put a latex glove as lid. And then 3 weeks down the line, add 0.5 tablet of Campden, 1 day later add half pinch of bentonite, 2 days later siphon off to individual bottles. Begin downing it instantly :rockin:
The main problems I've had are:
1. Low alcohol content (used bread machine yeast earlier)
2. rubbery taste (this time airlock will come in)
3. the biggest peeve - wine turns dang sour (vinegar?) on some occassions even within 3 weeks (I swear I haven't opened the glove for more than 2-3 times each for no more than 5 seconds) . And yes, I do put a rubber band around the neck of the bottle. And no, I do not make holes in the glove, tried that once and it turned very definitely into vinegar in less than 3 weeks.
Here are my questions (first three questions specific to Yooper's recipe/method):
1. If I cover the mouth of the jug with just a napkin (paper napkin or cheesecloth?) for 5 days, won't this wine be well on its way to becoming vinegar?
2. Why wait 12 hours to add yeast?
3. Yoooper's recipe has the same 4 ingredients as mine. How come his recipe gets to desirable stage in 60 days, when mine can't even last that long without oxidising into vinegar?
4. Does my *faux* must (grape concentrate, water, sugar) contain enough nutrients for the yeast, or do I need to add some? If so, what and how much for the sweet white I am trying to make?
5. I used to use 8 g (full packet) of bread machine yeast. I see that that wine maker's yeast will be reduntant if used at that quantity. Is my 3 g good for a gallon? I surely want the 18% ABV that Lalvin promises, but don't want to end up having a pizza scented wine!!!
6. Lalvin's instruction (
http://www.lalvinyeast.com/images/library/ICV-K1_Yeast.pdf) don't indicate adding sugar to activate. How does that fare with experience?
7. Any other ingredient or method to improve the ABV and smoothness?
Hmm...I think I have blurted out all I could think of for now. Looking forward to be enlightened now :fro: