• Please visit and share your knowledge at our sister communities:
  • If you have not, please join our official Homebrewing Facebook Group!

    Homebrewing Facebook Group

Wine from concentrate

Homebrew Talk

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

chewie

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Messages
3
Reaction score
2
Hi Team, my first post here, im a newbie. I have inherited all my dads wine making equipment, and have a basic only understanding of what is required to make the wine my dad made. For my first attempt i am wanting to order a 265 litre bladder of Shiraz concentrate, to make wine rather than start with the fresh grapes method.
Would someone mind explaining the process i need to go through to me as if i'm a 10 year old :)
i have the tools and hydrometers here, just need a better understanding of how much water to add etc etc, when to rack if required, adding tablets etc, the basics for 1st timer then i will experiment more as i go for next time - i will greatly appreciate any help - spending time on google just hasn't cut it

cheers from downunder
 
For my first attempt i am wanting to order a 265 litre bladder of Shiraz concentrate, to make wine rather than start with the fresh grapes method.
265 litres=70 gallons of concentrate?
Seems like a lot of concentrate for a first time wine maker.
Maybe start out with a 5 gallon/19 litre batch?
I've been making wine for 15+ years and always wait until I can get fresh grapes or buckets of wine grape juice. I haven't used wine kits or wine concentrate so I can't help you with that. I've tried making all kinds of fruit wine with store bought concentrates and juices and the results don't really suit me. I'm not saying don't use concentrates, but I am saying use the best possible ingredients you can get in your area.
If you're just starting out, maybe make a few 5 gallon kits and when your harvest season comes around, get some grapes or juice.
:mug:
Here's a HBT thread were the up and downs of making wines with concentrate are discussed:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/why-are-red-wine-kits-disappointing.422986/
 
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I also have access to fresh cab sav grapes. I would appreciate the details for this. I have been thru this process with dad. But would like to know finer details te: fermenting time, what to add and when etc. I was think of starting out with 20 boxes of grapes as this is the minimum order
 
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I also have access to fresh cab sav grapes. I would appreciate the details for this. I have been thru this process with dad. But would like to know finer details te: fermenting time, what to add and when etc. I was think of starting out with 20 boxes of grapes as this is the minimum order
Do you have a grape crusher?
If yes, then all you have to do is crush the grapes into a 5 gallon buckets, (get rid of as many stems as you can) If no crusher you can crush by hand with a potato masher, but after 1 or 2 boxes, you'll want to give up.
Add the campden tablets, to the crushed grapes (not everyone does this) wait 24 hours, pitch your yeast, punch down the floating grape skins twice a day, (pull out more stems)
after about a week, or when the fermenting has almost finished, press the grapes in your wine press, put the wine in a carboy, add an airlock and let it sit a while.
There's a whole bunch of stuff I've skipped, like taking gravity readings, making adjustments, multiple rackings, sanitation and bottling, but the above is the basic process.
Maybe there is someone in your area that would split the 20 box grape order with you?
Any winemaker clubs around?
For fermenting time, the wine will be done when its done. Take gravity readings, and tasting (after a year for reds) and you'll know when its ready to drink.
As far as "what to add", I don't add anything to my wines besides the yeast and sulfites. I make taste adjustments by blending different varieties/vintages of wine I have on hand. Other wine makers add all kinds of chemicals and additives to their wine with great results, I just choose to keep things simple and easy.
If you start out with decent grapes, you really don't have to do a whole lot of adjustments to make good wine.
I recommend the book "From vines to wines", there are many other good wine making books available. There are also lots of videos on you tube that show the wine making process.
 
Thankyou. Yes i have the crusher and i will go halves with someone. I only want to add the yeast and sulphites too. Dad though hardly used yeast and these are the finer details i dont understand yet. But will do what you recommend and read up. Thanks so much
 
Back
Top