Wine from kits

Ok, beer brewer here who's thinking about trying his hand at a kit wine. Probably use White Labs yeast and pick a fairly sweet wine to start with. Any recommendations, hints, tips?

Reply to
Ronin
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Start with a white, no matter what. Don't use potassium sorbate unless your really doing a sweet wine. Follow the instructions to the letter. Do a google search on all the topics that confuse you or for instructions. Go with a good quality kit.

Don

Reply to
dshesnicky

Robin:

1) wine kits are designed to ferement dry and then be back sweetened if desired with wine conditioner or juice. A few kits come with a sweetener for this purpose. 2) most beer brewers freak out cause wine yeasts are slower and less active fermentations. be patient 3) 4-week wine kits aren't ready to drink after 4 weeks, especially reds. be patient 4) not that may kit makers use liquid yeasts. you may wish to stick with the provided dry yeast, at least initially. 5) be patient 6) can't guess where you live or what kit brands are readily available to you, so its tough to suggest a kit. 7) Be patient 8) Follow the instructions 9) since you're an experienced beer brewer, cleaning & sanitizing shouldn't be a problem Some people like to get a separate primary for their wine. This keeps the beer flavours & hops out of the wines (and vice versa). 10) there's a good discussion forum at
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Whites are sweetened more than reds. Rieslings, gewurztraminers, blushes are often sweetened.

If you have a local shop, ask them about a good kit for a first wine.

OH and the best advice I can give you 'be patient', Steve

Reply to
Steve

Welcome, Beer brewer. My neighbor is also one, I've tried to convince him to expand, but he makes such good beers! smile. But his wife likes wines, so here was my advice. Pick a Pinot Gris or Chenin Blanc to start with, since she liked those.

Tips - hmm. Kits are 6 gallons not 5, so new carboys are needed. Instructions are absolute, follow them. From what I hear, beer making is different. Can't wait to try, though. Hope my neighbor and I can swap equipment and try.

Good luck, DAve

R> Ok, beer brewer here who's thinking about trying his hand at a kit

Reply to
Dave Allison

Beer brewer here who also does wine from kits. I've exclusively used Winexpert kits--very good. Like Dave A. says, you're going to need a bigger carboy--7.9 gallons--for you're primary. I've only seen these as buckets.

Make a white first, that's a pretty good idea. Also, Winexpert makes a brand called "Island Mist," think Boone's Farm but a bit better. If you do decide to make a red at some point, make sure you de-gas it very well.

Dave

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Dave Allis> Welcome, Beer brewer. My neighbor is also one, I've tried to convince

Reply to
Homebrew Exchange

Thanks for the advice, keep it coming. I have the blessing of being in Austin, thus I have access to an AWESOME brew shop

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I have a 7 gall> Beer brewer here who also does wine from kits. I've exclusively used

Reply to
Ronin

I do primary fermentation in open food grade buckets, ranging from

6-1/2 gallons to about 30 (depends on batch size).

Carboys are glass water bottles, ranging in size from 5 US gallons to

13-1/2 (if there are bigger ones I've never seen 'em). Typical sizes are 5 and 6 gallons -- I've seen 6-1/2, 7, and 7-1/2. I've got a bunch of 5 gallons, with a couple of 3-1/2 gallon ones.

I've been doing kits in recent years, since I moved to NC from Upstate NY. I've had trouble finding grapes, and haven't liked the ones I found. I may make a run to the Finger Lakes of NY next fall ....

The wine kits often call for making up 6 gallons. I typically dilute to about 5-1/2. Allowing for sediment loss I end up with a full 5 gallon carboy (which is really about 5-1/4 gallons). I don't believe in topping up with water (dilutes the wine) so this works out for me.

Watch the SG with the kits. They'll tell you what the initial SG should be, but I've found that they're often a bit low -- one kit I started recently was WAY low. A few cups of confectioners sugar fixed that. [I used confectioners sugar because it stirs in easily -- white sugar works fine.]

Two final pieces of advice that others have already mentioned, but IMO are THE source of problems with wine kits (and wine making in general):

1) Hygiene -- Be scrupulously clean with everything. I rinse everything with sulfite water prior to use, and just shake off the excess. There is no such thing as too clean!

2) Follow the Directions!!! The kits are designed to function a certain way -- one kit currently in production requires stirring the sediment up when adding the clearing agents, but no racking at this time. According to the directions the sediment is required to make the clearing process work.

I need to research this, for my own curiosity, but from previous experience with kits I'm following the directions -- regardless of whether or not I understand the "why" part. :-)

Bryan

Reply to
Jake Speed

Ahh, what I meant was I didn't know the capacity of my carboy, but I see how the statement was confusing. I am not sure how, but in my beer brewing I have managed to accumulate 2 of everything, thus if I get into wine, I can have wine and beer going at the same time.

More alcohol for me :D

Jake Speed wrote:

Reply to
Ronin

Ah, good idea. I just finished Winexpert Island Mist's Cranberry Shiraz and Mango Citrus. The Mango Citrus has EVERYONE liking it - like a wine cooler - only 7% alcohol. The Cranberry Shiraz is great for the holidays, IMHO, like with turkey, and I serve it slightly chilled. Wine drinkers that like it dry won't like these, but they are a hit with almost everyone.

DAve

p.s. Bo> Beer brewer here who also does wine from kits. I've exclusively used

Reply to
Dave Allison

New here myself, and I have learned a lot from the experienced people here already.

My husband, though, is a experienced home brewer. It is his recommendation that as far as equipment goes, you would be well advised to have separate equipment for both beer and wine making. The reason for this is that metabisulphite is extremely incompatible with beer making; even a tiny amount trapped in a minute crevasse in a tube will ruin an entire batch of beer.

This is not something I would want to risk. But, as the saying goes YMMV.

Abby

Reply to
Childfree Abby

Abby,

I would certainly like to hear more about "even a tiny amount of" sulphite ruining a batch of beer. I, as well as other brewers, regularly add Pot. Meta. to my mash and sparge water and I'm very confident that my beers are not ruined.

And yes, I use the same primary fermentors and carboys for both beer and wine with no ill effect on either.

Does he have any references or research to support the sulphite comment?

Andy

Reply to
JEP62

Childfree Abby wrote "My husband, though, is a experienced home brewer. It is his

This is entirely untrue. I don't know where your husband came across this information but I would like to see his references. There are many beer makers (myself included) that use K metabisulfite to instantly neutralize chlorine and chloramines in city tap water before it goes into the mash. If anything K metabisulfite will act as an antioxidant in beer. The reason it's not routinely used in beer making is that the pH of beer is considerably higher than wine and the amounts of SO2 that would be necessary to protect beer from oxidation would be too high.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

Reply to
William Frazier

It is mainly a matter of taste. he found that the sulfite left an unpleasant taste of sulfides. It more than likely the fact that he is more sensitive to this than most people, which precipitated his interest in home brewing some thirty years ago.

In Labrador, at the time, the last shipment of beer came in before freeze up, and the next one didn't arrive until after the thaw - some six months later. This does horrible things to commercial beer which had a preservative in it that began to break down after 3 months. It gave him horrible migraines. It was better to make his own - which he did.

But as I said earlier, your mileage may vary.

Abby

Reply to
Childfree Abby

I use my beer primary fermenters, minus the lids, as primaries for 5 to 6 gallon batches of wine. Been doing it for 20+ years with no problems. I also use the same carboys, racking, and bottling equipment (well, not the capper! ).

At the same time I'm a poster child for hygiene and rinsing things -- compulsiveness in this area may contribute to my success. My final stage in cleaning my tubes is to rack a gallon of clear water through it to get out any final residue.

I'm also not sensitive to SO2, so I wouldn't notice something that a sensitive person would.

Bryan

Reply to
Jake Speed

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