How many wine makers do we have here?

[mjdtexan]

¿How many wine makers do we have here? I am having a sip of strawberry wine right now.

 

[outlander]

Garsh...sure! I'll describe how I make apple scrap vinegar.

I save the cores and peels from whatever apple project I've got going on. You can store your scraps in the fridge if necessary to save up a bunch. It's perfectly okay if they turn brown...but no mold! Don't freeze them, that will kill off the natural yeast - which is what you want.

When you think you've saved up enough (the amount depends on how big your fermenting container is), plop all your scraps into a glass or glazed stoneware container. Dissolve 1/4 cup granulated sugar in 2 quarts of de-chlorinated water (set water out overnight, the chlorine will gas out). Pour this water over your scraps until the whole mass floats a couple inches from the bottom of the container. Depending on the size of the batch, you may need more than 2 quarts of water...be sure to de-chlorinate more than you'll think you'll need.

Cover the container with a tight weave - yet breathable - material, and secure with a tight fitting rubber band. I prefer bandanas. No matter how many layers of cheesecloth I use the fruit/vinegar flies always manage to find their way in. Set the container in a dark place at ambient room temperature above 65 degrees but no warmer than 90 degrees. A pantry or closet is perfect.

I let it sit for at least a week, undisturbed. Some folks say to stir it every day...I've never had to. It does it's thing without my interference. After a week, put your nose close and take a good whiff. Vinegary? That's good. Let it sit up to another week or as long as you can stand it.

Using non metal utensils, dip out or strain away the fermented scraps. Don't feed 'em to the chickens! Ever seen drunk birds? Amusing yes, but not good for them. Compost the scraps...maybe you'll see a hungover raccoon in the morning.

The liquid in the container should now smell sharply of vinegar, and may be quite thick and syrupy. It will thin out as it ages. Re-fasten the cloth cover and let it sit for several weeks. At least six. You can do it.

Feel free to check on it periodically, but don't stir or slosh the liquid around. Eventually a soft white mat will form on top...this is the Mother. She doesn't like to be disturbed...shhhhh!!

After waiting several weeks, give it a taste. If it's to your liking then you can go on to bottling. If it's not to your liking, wait some more and taste once a week until satisfied.

I prefer unfiltered, un pasteurized vinegar...so I mix in the Mother and bottle it up. Sometimes I will use a glug or two of bottled vinegar to jump start the next batch if the fruit of origin matches. If you desire, you can use cheesecloth to strain the vinegar and pasteurize on your stovetop...a good idea for gift giving if you think Aunt Myrtle will get the willies from a bottle of suspiciously cloudy liquid with stringy floaty things in it.

I've used this method with apples, pears and peaches. Tomatoes are on my to do list. Enjoy!!

 

[muddstopper]

Quote:
There is nothing illegal about distilling essential oils, and you can purchase legal

"stills" for just that purpose. I like Oils of Apple and Peach, and try to stay away from the grains like corn and rye.

 

[Totalcolour]

Pretty much all you need is the fruit juice and powder yeast and wait, then you got wine

yeah, but the really hard part about winemaking is

"THE WAIT"!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Great!! Looking forward to the recipes. Too bad we can't taste here on BYC.

yeah it would be a very tipsy place if we could  

ill type my recipe up tonight and get it posted so you can get started as soon as possible x

and if anyone has questions or gets stuck, just ask away..

I will definitely ask questions.

 

[Canieldonrad]

Well the gel would be from pectin. A lot of brewers use a pectic enzyme which will break it down when you begin fermentation, allowing for more material to use when fermenting. It also helps with clarification by breaking up the pectin and allowing the wine to be more transparent. All of the remaining material will find its way to the bottom of the bucket for easy clean up later on in the process. Any fruit based alcoholic beverage will contain pectin in some shape or another. So its not an uncommon thing for people to use.

 

[Totalcolour]

Hope you don't mind a few comments! While everything you mention has good uses, it is far more than a beginner would need. Also, it's a lot of money on a new hobby which the person may not like after all.

I would start off with an empty 1 gallon milk jug, sugar, lemon juice, an airlock, yeast, and a good recipe. If the wine turns out halfway decent and the new hobbyist likes it, then go ahead and purchase some/all of the other stuff.

I am putting together a list of wine supplies that is suggested that a person would need to start off making wine at home. I will add things that I have omitted. If anyone sees anything that is not on the list, please let me know so that I may add it.

Hope this helps any new wine makers like myself.

Wine Making Supplies and Wine Making Additives
Lalvin Wine Yeast
Red Star Wine Yeast
Yeast Energizer
Yeast Nutrient
Acid Blend
Citric Acid
Malic Acid - hard to use properly and may cause an unwanted malolactic fermentation
Tartaric Acid
Ascorbic Acid
Calcium Carbonate
Bentonite This is a wine fining and clarifyer , Sparkaloid is another one
Pectic Enzyme
Wine Clarifiers and Finings
Wine Conditioner and Smoothers
Oak Chips
Tannin Dry - either will work, you don't need both (expense)
Tannin Liquid - either will work, you don't need both (expense)
Campden Tablets
Potassium Metabisulphite - cheaper than Campden tabs and made of the same stuff
Potassium Sorbate

Chemicals
B-Brite Cleaner
Campden Tablets - duplicate of above
Potassium Metabisulphite - duplicate of above
B-T-F Iodophor Solution

Wine Making Equipment
Starter Kits
Filter Systems
Presses and Crushers
Hydrometer and Test Jars
Glass Carboys
Thermometer
Fermenters
Corkers
Air Locks
Bungs
Spoons
Funnel
Strainers
Siphon
Bottles
Wine Thief

Wine Testing Equipment
Wine Acid Test Kit
Titrets Sulfite Test Kit
pH Test Strips
Fermtech Wine Thief
Refractometer
Vinometer
1000ml Erlenmeyer Flask
2000ml Erlenmeyer Flask

 

[Totalcolour]

kuntrygirl - we have a couple of iak barrels, and yes, they were expensive, also hard to maintain as you have to keep them wet all the time so they don't shrink.

Just in case anyone's interested, I thought this could be useful for determining yeast to use for different types of wine.

 

[Totalcolour]

Wow, very informative!
Thanks so much!
Where do you get all the chemicals?
In the past I purchased kits that already had them measured.
I really like dry wine, this sounds good.
Now to try and find produce on sale (peaches at food lion were $1.99/lb last time I was in there)
What is the alcohol percentage?

Alcohol is variable since the fruit sugar is variable. It should be around 11-13%. Farmer's markets are always (around here) a good source for fruit. We also have a local homebrew shop with the chemicals, but if you don't, just check online for winemaking chemicals and supplies. I have never tried a kit since I prefer to "meddle" with different fruit combinations, and different types of yeast. (I do the same with baking!)

Also, there is a good book as a free downloadable pdf - "First Steps in Winemaking" by C.J.J. Berry. It was one of the first books I bought.

Happy winemaking

 

[Totalcolour]

I don't think there is a right or wrong way. I think there is a preferred and non preferred way. When Jesus walked the earth, I'm sure people didn't have campden tablets and other wine supplies to make wine. I wasn't alive back than and I don't know anyone who is still alive. So bread yeast is my preferred method over the wine yeast. So bread yeast is not wrong to use. It's preferred. That's the problem people run into when the "professionals" turn their nose up at what they call the nonpreferred (wrong) way. I belong to a wine forum and I laugh at those who try to tell me that bread yeast is "wrong". After giving them a piece of my mind and ripping them a new one, they see where I'm coming from and back down. My preferred method is just that. MY method.

As I said in my post, it's your tastebuds, and of course you should do it the way you prefer. It is your method, and you have chosen to do it that way. However, there is a right and wrong way, and there are a lot of reasons for doing it a certain way, the way that professionals do it for example.

The reason for not using bread yeast, is that it is totally unpredictable. You may have had good luck so far, but it may not always be that way. Plus, bread yeasts can go horrible wrong (as can any yeast done badly). Wine yeasts are more stable, and produce consistently better results.

As far as Jesus walking the earth, if he ever existed, I'm sure he didn't make wine. Back then, people didn't even know what yeast was.

From Wikipedia

In 1680, Dutch naturalist Anton van Leeuwenhoek first microscopically observed yeast, but at the time did not consider them to be living organisms, but rather globular structures.[12] In 1857, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved in the paper "Mémoire sur la fermentation alcoolique" that alcoholic fermentation was conducted by living yeasts and not by a chemical catalyst.[11][13] Pasteur showed that by bubbling oxygen into the yeast broth, cell growth could be increased, but fermentation was inhibited – an observation later called the "Pasteur effect".

And as far as "After giving them a piece of my mind and ripping them a new one, they see where I'm coming from and back down" this is simply rude. Nobody has given you a piece of their mind, nor ripped you a new one, so when you do it to others you are just showing your ignorance of this wonderful hobby and how it is done.

You have every right to do what you like and enjoy, but not to be rude to others, especially when they are giving you valuable information that may improve your product.

I hope you continue to enjoy your efforts, but I do hope you will not confuse knowledge with folk lore that you have learned from others like yourself, who also don't have any real understanding of the craft. Good luck with your efforts.