Complete Newbie

The voices in the head of "Richard Knouse" caused Richard Knouse to write in news:BXyTd.63008$8a6.3546@trndny09:

It sounds to me like information overload - I'm in the same boat as yourself so all I do is to compile a list of terms as I read and then look up the meanings afterwards. It seems to come together that way and I wind up with a dictionary I can refer to.

You might consider getting a good quality kit and learn by doing. That way the terminology will have more meaning to you as learn by doing.

Try Jack Kellers site

Ken

So what you want is a more simple, basic website. Here's a couple:

You can start here:

And, for a more irreverent look at home wine making:

(You'll have to live with the psycadellic background on that second webpage)

For your specific questions: An airlock is a bubbler, or similar device. It uses a water trap to let gas out of your fermenter, so it doesn't explode, but not let air in, so your wine doesn't spoil. The websites above tell you you can do without if you REALLY want to, you just risk making spoiled or off-flavored wine.

Racking means to use a rubber hose to siphon clear wine off the sediment that forms at the bottom. You can't pour it off, this sediment is too light and fluffy. And you don't want to leave it there, 'cause it's not tasty or pretty to look at in finished wine.

I wrote this for people in our area who start with juice of some sort. It's basically what we do and is not the only way to make wine.

Joe

Wine juice is actually called must. All pre-packed must makes good wine. Wines should be made in a cool dry place out of direct sun. Best pre-packer in our opinion is Regina, then Lodi Gold; Delta Packing and Home Wines are about the same. Buy 6-gallon pails; they make 5 gallons of finished wine.

Procedure: Keep your equipment clean: hot soap and water are probably all that is necessary. As a precaution, we mix up a ½ teaspoon potassium metabisulfite with 1-quart water in a spray bottle and rinse everything that comes in contact with the wine, from utensils to bottles. (You don’t need to rinse it off, but you can if you chose to.) After wine begins fermenting, it becomes more sensitive to oxidization, always siphon when transferring wines, and don’t pour unless you have a good reason to.

• Bring home, rinse outside of pails; the sweet sticky juice attracts fruit flies. • Open pail. A lid lifter helps, but you can get the lid off if you really yank. If necessary, slit the slots on the edges with a sharp razor knife. • Pre-packers balance the juice and sulfite it in order to ship it cross- country; you really do not need to do the testing that follows if you aren’t that picky. That said…

Optional tests: o Sugar content: Use the hydrometer, it should read 1.080 to 1. 090. If the must is fermenting, the value will be lower. The initial value is the important thing; so don’t worry about it if it’s bubbling at all, you really can’t use the value if it has begun to ferment.

o Acid: Measure titrateable acid and pH, pH is more important. If the must is fermenting, take an ounce and microwave it until it just boils. Cool it off and measure, pH must be under 3.7 for reds, 3.6 for white. TA should be 5.5 to 6.5 g/l on reds 6.5 to 7.5 on whites. (Use the higher values if you are making a sweet wine, lower ones for a dry wine.)

o Free Sulfite: at least 50 PPM for both reds and whites. Whites can be lower while fermenting; but it’s really important to bump them up to 50 PPM at the end of fermentation.

• Balance the acid if necessary. • Let juice stand and get to room temperature. It’s warm enough when the pail stops sweating. • Add wine yeast. We prefer Lalvin brand; Red Star is ok too. Follow the instructions on the packet. Add wine yeast even if the must is fermenting. • Add Pectic Enzyme; following the instructions.

Fermentation • Fermentation in the pail is fine; just put the lid back on. You can transfer it to carboys now if you want. If you transfer, stir it first and put everything in the carboy. Stop at the shoulder. Leave airlock off the first few days and just cover neck with paper towel or clean cloth and rubber band.

• Juice will begin fermenting. The temperature should be between 55 and 80F.

o Stir slowly or shake at least once per day. Take it easy, there is a lot of energy at first, it can overflow pretty easily (like beer or champagne that was poured too fast.)

o Monitor the must for hydrogen sulfide smell, (stinks like rotten eggs); this is a sign of lack of nutrient. Just add DAP or yeast nutrient if that happens and rack or pour with lots of splashing. (Very rarely occurs.)

o Monitor fermentation progress with hydrometer; it’s complete when it reads 0.995 or lower. If it quits bubbling before 0.995, stir vigorously and rack it all into a carboy, it should restart.

• Transfer to carboys, top up to ½” from bottom of stopper, never let it get below 3/4” until you bottle. Remainder should go into smaller jugs or bottles, same rule applies. This is one of the most important steps. • Most wine will clear on it’s own, just rack (siphon) several times as the sediment settles. Typically the wine is ready to rack one month after fermentation ceases, two months later and a few months after. Monitor settling with a flashlight. Shine it though the wine starting at the top and working your way down. If you see stratification, wait a little longer.

o Monitor airlocks, keep half full of water

o Monitor sulfite level: It’s actually dependent on pH, higher pH needs higher sulfite. If you don’t want to deal with that, keep it at 50 PPM; check at each rack or just add 1/8 level teaspoon potassium metabisulfite at each rack.

o Optional: Add oak, heavier wines like Syrah, Cabernet, Sangiovese tolerate more oak, lighter wines less so. We prefer chips or beans to ‘sawdust’.

 2 to 6 ounces per 5 gallons for reds;

 1 to 2 ounces per 5 gallons for whites

o Optional: Fine to clear hazes. Follow the instructions

 Hot mix Sparkolloid for reds or whites

 Bentonite for whites

• Bottling & corking: Bottle when the wine is clean enough for you and tastes good to you. This could be 3 months to 1 year.

o Check free SO2 This is actually dependant on pH; but 50 PPM is a common rule of thumb.

o Siphon into bottles, keep level about1/2” from bottom of cork or cap.

o Screw caps are fine if you don’t want to deal with corks.

o If corking, a corker that compresses the cork with an iris is best; the funnel corkers are worthless. A good iris type hand corker is $20, floor corkers $40 to $80.

o Synthetic corks work well but require a good floor corker and possibly need 10 PPM higher SO2.

js

Richard Knouse wrote:

someone

He wrote that he had already. :-)

Richard - Go to

and click on beginners. Get their book. It's a great start. Then read Lum's great on-line winemaking book at You should be able to talk and make wine after digesting these sources.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

Jacks site should get you started just fine, it did for me(use the glossary). I'm surely a barely educated newb when it comes to winemaking, but I have made several decent wines and learn something new everytime. Don't try to understand everything up front. Just start with the basics, it kinda all starts to make sense once you've done it.Try one of the easy fruit wine recipes there. Once you do a batch or two you'll learn a lot of the things you feel you're missing through experience, the best way.

Another good book is Home Winemaking by Terry Garey; it has beginner, intermediate, & advanced sections which I found helpful as a newbie. This author doesn't go into wine kits or making wine from grapes as much as some of the other sources which have been suggested. Good-luck and welcome. Darlene Wisconsin

Thank you for providing the

URL. I rather like the list of available juices and grapes, but unless a person lives in the area the cost of going to the farm and bringing one's containers seems prohibited to me for small-time wine makers.

Their beginner kit is the least expensive that I have seen on the 'net so far. Damn shame they do not accept PayP@l.

You might try a book on Home Winemaking by Terry Garey. Its a very basic home wine-making book with beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections. I learned a lot from that book. This book talk much about wine kits or making wine from grapes as some of the other sites and books which others have suggested. Good-luck and welcome. Darlene

Try this FAQ too.. It is dated but is excellent