I found a straightforward online how-to for making wine from my own grapes. Here's the link:
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. They have TONS of cool stuff.
I picked a crop of grapes and followed the directions and fermented about 5 gallons of must with the skins, seeds, pulp. I then strained it. ---I used an old juice press that I think is made of cast iron. I read that is bad to use on wine but that's all I had. Bad news?
Then I had about 4 gallons of wine in a 6 gallon wine-kit bucket. The link above said to fill up the gap with boiled, cooled water, then let it sit for a day then rack it off to another airlocked bucket then keep that filled over the next few months with wine or grape juice.
Well, I filled up the gap with wine and grape juice to start with. Then racked it a day later and now I guess my wine is in the 2nd-dary ferm stage. Am I OK?
I was thinking that I should keep the wine at 70F so that the grape juice I used to top off will ferment. ?? Otherwise, I'm currently storing the wine in the basement at probably 55F.
I also plan to add bentonite solution at some point to help in clarifying. Good idea?
The link info above says to let sit for 6 months, then rack and bottle and let sit another 6 months before drinking. Too long for me! : )
Most old wine presses are made of cast iron. It can cause certain problems, and most modern equipment is made of painted metal (which can cause just as many) or stainless steel. But, if contact time is short, it's not that great of a problem. I wouldn't worry.
A greater worry and strong possibility is that the wood in that old juice press might be contaminated. I hope it is not, and that the site whose instructions you followed advised you to wash, sterilize and rinse all your equipment before using it, and sterilize the juice with Campden tablets or metabisulphite.
Don't know. There are thousands of recipes out there. Most primary fermentations require 30-40% headroom, the addition of 50ppm sulfite, the addition of wine yeast sometime later, and a primary fermentation of 3 days to several weeks before moving to a secondary. Unless you are working with very acidic grape juice, it's not normal to dilute it by two thirds, and its never normal to top up the container during primary fermentation. [When fermentation begins, it will produce quite a bit of foam, and overflow.]
If the wine did not overflow the topped-up bucket, it is highly unlikely that fermentation has even begun. Even if you didn't add yeast, it may begin at any time. If it is now in a secondary (by which one normally means a narrow-necked carboy), you can expect a real mess when fermentation begins. If fermentation doesn't begin soon, you can also expect a spoiled wine.
One doesn't normally top-off with juice, and expect it to ferment. Nor is it likely to ferment successfully at 55F. One normally ferments at 65-80F depending on the type of wine, and the technique used.
Yep. If you are making white wine. At some point. According to the proper procedure, which involves preparing a measured quantity 24-hours in advance, and keeping it in suspension for at least 30 minutes after adding it to the wine, and keeping the wine at warmer temperatures for the 10-14 days it takes the bentonite to work. But this shouldn't be done until 1) the wine has fermented to completion, 2) the wine has been racked off the lees to a secondary, and 3) the wine has been cold-stabilized and racked again.
Then drink it today, if you wish.
I don't want to discourage you, but (from what you have related) it seems you've done everything wrong. I don't know if the fault lies in the instructions, your interpretation of them, or your report, but....
I suggest you read about basic winemaking at the following site before proceeding:
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If you have time, the following site would be valuable as well:
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Wine making can be quite simple, or as complicated as one wishes. But the basics are very important.
Hi again! My newsreader isn't working right and I can't see my original post, but I wanted to correct the helpful poster's impression. I hope I made it clear that my must went thru the primary just fine! It fermented and was still and reading nicely on the hydrometer when I pressed the pulp and got the 4 gallons of red wine which I then topped up and let settle for a day then racked to what is now, I gather, the 2ndary ferm phase. Sorry for any confusion! As I mentioned the instructions at the link provided said to top up with water before racking to the 2ndary but I used wine and grape juice. My main question was is that OK? Will the added grape juice now ferment in the 2ndary phase? Should I keep the wine somewhat warm in this phase? As posted, it's about 55F now but I could keep it at 70F if that would help it thru the 2ndary. THANKS!
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There's yet another option! : )
I've had a lot of luck with wine kits and beermaking. This is my first project with my own grape harvest. Thanks again! --JP
I don't like sweet wine. I'll probably try to restart ferm. Your explanation makes sense!
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Hmm, I have a fancy Thermafor heating pad (or some such name). But the darn old thing seems to just get hotter'n'hotter. We'll see. Maybe I'll have to nurse it while I work at the computer! : ) Thanks for the advice. --JP
If you warm it up to about 75-80F, it might kick in all by itself, and it's certainly worth a try. [I thought you had already tried this.]
If that doesn't work (give it 24 hours), you can try just adding a yeast starter and about 1/2 - 1 tsp. per gallon DAP or yeast nutrient, and wait another 24 hours.
If that doesn't work, try to restart it according to the procedure I gave you, or that at Jack Keller's website (which is similar), or that in other sources (which are similar).
If that doesn't work, blending it with a dry wine, or drinking it as is, are better than feeding it to the dog.
This happened to me a number of years ago, before I had a hydrometer, and I thought I could keep adding sugar to a ferment as long as it kept foaming. I ended up with a high-alcohol syrup of 1.030 sg. I was unable to restart it.
So, I made up a batch of rhubarb wine, which can be fermented to dryness at very high alcohol levels, and which tends to take on the flavour of whatever it's blended with (rather than changing the flavour). I got the SG down to
1.015, and used the wine for Sangria. [It was a very good Sangria, so all worked out in the end.]
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