How many wine makers do we have here?

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Why didnt i see this thread sooner? Wow! I can't wait to get started!
Questions.

1. where do you buy airlocks?

2. Whats a Carbouy?

3. Whats a yeast Nutrient and where do you get that and yeast from?

4. Someone mentioned a mesh fermentation bag..do you all use one and where to buy those as well.

5. Noticed that most of you live in colder climates. I live in Florida, will that affect the fermentation any?

Thanks so much!
Cheers!
 
Quote:
There are many places on the web to get wine making supplies, just do a search and I am sure you will get many hits. I found supplies at my local health food store.

A carbouy is a glass jug for fermenting the wine. Glass is used because it is easy to clean and it doesnt give off any odd taste to the wine product. Most consider a 5 or 6 gal glass jug to be the standard size for a carbouy vessel. I prefer to use 1 gal glass jugs simply because the smaller jugs are much easier to move. It takes a number 6 1/2 rubber stopper for the one gal glass jugs. Fermenting pails are usually plastic buckets. I have gotten several food grade buckets at my local grocery store from the bakery section for free. Just buy a rubber 5/8 od x 3/8 id rubber grommet and drill a hole in the bucket lid to accept the grommet and airlock and you have a primary fermentation bucket for about $0.50 plus the cost of the airlock. Look for these symbles from this chart
14833_plastic-types-and-toxicity.png
on the bottom of your plastic bucket so you dont get something you shouldnt use

I dont use any extra yeast nutrients, which are nothing more than fertilizers. Dap, is short for Dia-ammonium Phosphate or 18/46/0 fertilizer, Potassium nitrate, is potassium and nitrogen. All of this can be found in a bag of 10/10/10 fertilizer. I dont know who came up with the ideal of using fertilizer to make wine, but I will just keep the extra chemicals out of mine. That is not to say using some extra organic materials to feed the yeast cant provide some benefit, just take the time to read the lables so you know just what you are really buying.

My only experience with a mesh fermentation bag is simply a painters bag to help strain the juice from the fermented fruit. Similar to a cheese cloth, only finer mesh. These can be found at a paint store, I bought several at Home Depot, they are fairly cheap and come in packages of 2 or more.

I am sure that there are many folks in Florida making their own wine. I think your only problems might be if you where trying to make your wine in a outside storage building or similar. I make my wine in my kitchen and its kept either on the counter top or under the sink at room temperature. If your house has heating and cooling, your wine should turn out just fine.
 
I know when making Rhubarb wine it is good to freeze it first because it helps to break the fibres down? Though I have mine in the freezer right now we have not started to make the wine as yet!

Oesdog
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Thank you. They are ripening now. Can't wait to get started.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/6612_1persimmons_001.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/6612_2persimmons_002.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/6612_3persimmons_003.jpg

ok, so I think what I've got in my backyard is a persimmon tree... they look like those. what do persimmon leaves look like? I'm not sure there's enough there to make a decent batch of wine, but maybe I should try. recipe?

oh, and just discovered this thread! happy to be here.
going to search the thread for pumpkin wine now...
 
and... a question (although it may be answered in here somewhere and I just haven't found it yet)...
my hubby and I made wine for our wedding 10 years ago, but it's been that long since I made any. when I've made wine before, we used a brewers yeast from the wine and beer making store - can you use baking yeast? is the wine different if you do?
 
Freezing fruit before making wine

Ok, the reason to freeze is simple. As someone already mentioned, it breaks down the fibres in the fruit. When you thaw the fruit, you will notice the berries or fruit is a bit soggy. The tissues break down and help to release the juices, and makes winemaking much easier.

Chemical addition or not

Some people like to ferment just the juice, and nothing but the juice. Sadly, not all fruits have the same amounts of nutrient for a good fermentation, and will often "stick" (stop fermenting before the sugar is converted to alcohol). I add a nutrient to many of the frouts I know are low and they NEVER stick!

Potassium metabitsulfite (sulfite, k-meta, metabi, etc)

Again, not necessary. HOWEVER; I like to use bleach on my kitchen counter tops to kills nasty microbes so I don't get food positioning. Same for wine - the K-meta will kill nasty microbes in the must (the fruit pulp that you make the wine with) so you don't end up with a bunch of really icky wine that potentially could harm you. Or at least make you feel very sick! If you have a reaction to sulfite, DON'T use it, but take every precaution to keep airborne germs out of the wine and use very clean fruit.

ACID or Acid blend

If the wine isn't acid enough, the wine can stick and/or turn out a bit flabby. Plus the acid helps to prevent oxidation. If you don't want to add acid, you can use fresh orange or lemon juice.

Wine Yeast

There are a lot of different wine yeasts on the market. Each yeast give a different character to the wine, even from the same batch of fruit.
http://www.lalvinyeast.com/strains.asp
This is one place to start - look at the description of each and choose the one you think would fit your style.

Ok, I think that's enough for now - I did this for some folks coming over from another thread, so if this is repeat information, please forgive me. I haven't read the WHOLE thread yet
smile.png


One reall good book (I loaned mine out and never got it back) is "First Steps in Winemaking, by C.J. Berry, and you can download it free here:

http://www.4shared.com/document/XquJUZE6/First_Steps_in_Winemaking.html

Good winemaking everyone
thumbsup.gif
 
Quote:
zzyGypsy,

Welcome to the thread!

Heres a link with persimmon tree pix:

Persimmons

And a recipe:

Persimmon Wine

And another recipe for ya:

Pumpkin Wine

wool hoo! Jackpot!
must be my birthday or something... heehee!
thank you!
big_smile.png


ETA: yes, what we have is a persimmon tree, with fruit. there's not a LOT up there, but might be enough for this wine recipe.

and you KNOW I've got enough pumpkin...
this will be fun. thanks!
wee.gif
 
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