How many wine makers do we have here?

[Unclebean]

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I got pears yesterday at our farmers market. How will you be making your pear wine? My wife also wants to can some pears.

 

[chicken stalker]

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I got pears yesterday at our farmers market. How will you be making your pear wine? My wife also wants to can some pears.

Not sure yet. I usually follow these directions . They are all for 5 gallons. Thinking maybe adding some cinnamon also......

 

[muddstopper]

Here is where I get most of my recipies. http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp
There are tons of more info to help anybody get started.

For the hard cider does it require a glass secondary?

No, you dont have to have a glass secondary for any of the wines. You do need something that is food grade so as to not impart any off taste or chemical residues. Now for the good news, The white tractor supply 5 gal buckets are number 2 plastic that are safe for food, so are the lids that come with them. I have also found number 2 buckets at Homedepot, Ace hardware, and Lowes. Number one buckets are the best, but I have never found any of them. Number 3, 6, and 7 buckets are unsafe, I have never seen a number 4, but it is safe to use and I get free number 5 buckets ( also safe to use) from the deli and bakeries at Ingles food store.

You will need to drill a 1/2inch hole in the bucket lids and install a rubber grommet, ($.25 each at Lowes), and you will need a air lock. A heck of a lot cheaper than buying a 5 gal glass carbouy.​

 

[misterhandsome]

I wish we had your ambition! Husband and I head off to the u-brew shop in the city several times a year to make kit wine. It's quite good for the most part, and runs about 4.50 a bottle. We did up a batch of malbec today. By no stretch of the imagination would I call myself a wine maker, but I'd most definitely call myself a wine drinker. And a whisky drinker. Husband wants to try his hand at making vodka, but I'm afraid he'd either blow up the house or blind everyone who drinks it.

 

[Zonoma]

Did someone say winemaking?

 

[wekiva bird]

I was thinking about trying it this year, I have lots of blueberries. I not sure to try 1 gal. or 5 gal. for my 1st try.

 

[Zonoma]

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Husband always says that the smaller batches are easier to mess up.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Does anyone make grape wine? Sounds like most are into the berry wine. I have a customer who brings into my wine shop, her dear departed husbands recipe. I have to admit, we enjoy it.

 

[Zonoma]

We make grape wine and are always looking for a good recipe.

 

[Unclebean]

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We bottled one batch of grape wine in August and have two more batches ready to bottle. One batch is made from Concord grapes we picked on our property. We didn't have enough Concord so we picked up two flats of white Thompson seedless grapes from the farmers market. The day after we purchased the white grapes my MIL called to ask if we wanted grapes. It turns out a Walmart distribution center in our area over ordered (by $200,000) red Flame grapes. They offered the grapes to employees because they did not have cooler space for them. My MIL's neighbor works for this distribution center and she filled an F-150 truck box staked as high as the cab! Well we took 12 flats from her for making wine. I was always told table grapes from the grocery store won't make good wine well I can say this wine is some of the best I've made! Even the Concord/Thompson mix tastes very good! The concord smell and taste is still there which I was afraid I was going to loose by mixing in the white grapes. I wouldn't hesitate to use grocery store grapes again!