Wine Brewing temp

[acott]

Hey all, so my kit finally arrived and I have everything in the bucket sealed up and ready to go...but on reading the instructions it says the wine needs to be at or above 20 degrees for the best possible brew. The only problem is our house is 140 years old and with the current weather it tends to be quite cold! Me and my girlfriend are at work all day so no heating until we get home, from 6 onwards.

I've placed the batch in the warmest possible cupboard in the house but it might not be a constant 20 degrees all day, Will this hinder the wine from brewing? Has anyone else this problem, and maybe a simple solution? Except leaving the heating on all day any help is much appreciated!

 

[DoctorCAD]

Cooler seems to work better, according to lots of winemakers. It just takes longer.

If it really gets cold, get yourself a brew belt, that will keep the bucket at the right temperature.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Big swings in temp are worse than a constant, but slightly low temp. Can you make a constant temp happen somewhere in the house? If so you are good to go!

 

[neo71665]

Heating pad to get warm while you are home. Turn the pad off and wrap in a thick warm blanket while your gone.

 

[acott]

Thanks very much folks, I had a look at the wine this evening and it looks like fermentation has started! I wrapped it up in a large beach towel and a couple of old tshirts, I had a thermometer in the cupboard and it was reading 18 degrees. Hopefully with fermentation started and the wrapping it should do the trick. Haven't seen any action in the airlock but it's early days I suppose!