How to make first wine (?)

ClimberC

Hi all,
I am hoping to make my first batch of wine in the next few days. I have absolutely no experienvce i8n this area barr some of the science behind it

I am planning to get the following in the next day or two

- A bucket with cling film to cover it (for the first stage
- A bung and an air lock to fit onto a demijon
- A demijon
- Yeast
- Yeast nutrient
- Milton to steralise everything

Do i need anything else?
Is it better to start with fruit, or fruit juce? How long would each take to be ready to bottle?

I have been saving grolsch bottles to store the wine in, as they have that resealable cap thing and they are green , to prevent light from interacting with the light.

Am i completely missing out on something or am I on the right track?

Thanks in advance!!

Funsterdelux

Its more than what I started with!

I used Blackberries from the hedges, but I'm sure either fruit or fruit juice would be fine. All wine is is water, sugar, flavour, yeast and most important, time and patience!

Good Luck!

Its all about experimenting!

Saruman

ClimberC wrote: »

I have been saving grolsch bottles to store the wine in, as they have that resealable cap thing and they are green , to prevent light from interacting with the light.

I'm afraid that green bottles are not much better than clear to be honest. Only brown will prevent light struck. However I don't know how this would affect wine because being light struck is usually an interaction with hops so it only happens in beer to my knowledge.

TinfoilTinman

Funsterdelux wrote: »

I used Blackberries from the hedges

Did you include the seeds? Or strain them through muslin?
I've heard that including the seeds for Blackberries gives a woody taste.

Funsterdelux

Saruman wrote: »

I'm afraid that green bottles are not much better than clear to be honest. Only brown will prevent light struck. However I don't know how this would affect wine because being light struck is usually an interaction with hops so it only happens in beer to my knowledge.

I've read that one should use green/brown bottles for a red/coloured wine as the light affects the colour!

TinfoilTinman wrote: »

Did you include the seeds? Or strain them through muslin?
I've heard that including the seeds for Blackberries gives a woody taste.

I strained them indeed! But I kept the pulp (seeds and all) intact when I threw in the yeast at the start, then strained it when I put it into the demijohns.

FlipperThePriest

My first proper attempt at wine followed the following recipe:

Makes 1 Gallon

Silver Medal Winner 2003 Keystone Country Festival

2 11.5 ounces Welch’s Grape Raspberry Juice (I replaced this raspberry concentrate with a white grape pear and apple juice also made by welshes - found in tesco - 4 or 5 litres)
3 Cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons Acid Blend
1 Teaspoon Yeast Nutrient
1 Campden Tablet
1/8 Teaspoon Grape Tannin
Pack of Dry Wine Yeast


Original Gravity 1.100

Racked January 12, 2010, Gravity was 1.020, 4 ounces of sugar, 1 campden tablet and potassium sorbate added.

Racked February 1, 2010, Topped off with water

Racked March 2010
Bottle May 2010


I topped off with other wine instead of water as I heard that this assists with finishing. I also added gelatin which really sped up the process.

I may have added a little to much sweetening sugar during racking - having done a few taste tests people said it was a little acidic - but sure I never took into consideration the mellowing stage.

Also I remember bringing in some actual tesco bought wine and letting on it was mine and some family tasters said - oh quite acidic - I replied hmm maybe this was from the top of the batch, I'll try a sample from further down (to which I took a sample from my wine as opposed to the store bought) - the reaction was, yeah this is much better - peoples perception has a lot to do with it I reckon. Anyway, after a few months my wine finished out and tasted far better than I expected... I wish I left it a little longer though, as after a month or 2 in the bottles there was a little sediment gathering, I thought it was fully clear - obviously not.

afatbollix

I'm making my first kit at the moment Going good I think. I'm 2 weeks into a 4 week kit. Its starting to change colour and is smelling a bit of sparkling wine I'm guessing this is because it is full of co2?

If it wasn't working out would it all ready start to smell of vinegar?

Mr Benevolent

I made 5L of red, it's currently maturing and is around the 10-12 week mark now.

Stuff:

5L spring water bottle
5 x 1L Tesco red grape juice (not from concentrate)
600g white sugar
Sachet of Lalvin EC1116

Dump it all in together, heat a bit (to body heat) and pour into 5L container. Shake.

Wait 8 weeks.

Bottle.

Wait another 8 weeks.

It was originally horrible but it's getting better and is now quite drinkable. I'm planning to sneak it on people at Christmas.

ClimberC

the wine from my origonal post is bubbling along quite nice in the demijohn. Im hoping to have it for christmass, is this phesable?

On sunday i bought half a kilo of strawberrys and a honey melon and mashed them in a backet, poured on 5l of sugar water. It smells so good but there is so much foam :eek:

bbam

ClimberC wrote: »

the wine from my origonal post is bubbling along quite nice in the demijohn. Im hoping to have it for christmass, is this phesable?

On sunday i bought half a kilo of strawberrys and a honey melon and mashed them in a backet, poured on 5l of sugar water. It smells so good but there is so much foam :eek:

Did you add any yeast ?

ClimberC

bbam wrote: »

Did you add any yeast ?

of coarse, didnt think it needed mentioning :rolleyes:

Buataisi

ClimberC wrote: »

the wine from my origonal post is bubbling along quite nice in the demijohn. Im hoping to have it for christmass, is this phesable?

On sunday i bought half a kilo of strawberrys and a honey melon and mashed them in a backet, poured on 5l of sugar water. It smells so good but there is so much foam :eek:

Your original wine may be drinkable by Christmas, but it definitely won't be at it's peak. It varies from one wine to another, but generally speaking you're looking at 6 months to a year of trying not to drink it. If you're stuck for wine at Christmas or just want to show it off, young wines can be used to make a nice mulled wine (the spices and such cover up the young taste a bit).

The foam is simply a sign of a vigorous fermentation. If it's foaming through the airlock it's a good idea to change or wash the airlock and clean the outside of the demijohn to prevent an annoying bug infestation.

ClimberC

Buataisi wrote: »

Your original wine may be drinkable by Christmas, but it definitely won't be at it's peak. It varies from one wine to another, but generally speaking you're looking at 6 months to a year of trying not to drink it. If you're stuck for wine at Christmas or just want to show it off, young wines can be used to make a nice mulled wine (the spices and such cover up the young taste a bit).

The foam is simply a sign of a vigorous fermentation. If it's foaming through the airlock it's a good idea to change or wash the airlock and clean the outside of the demijohn to prevent an annoying bug infestation.

I had a taste of the first wine 2 days ago, it tasted better than i expected but it was fairly sweet and had a strong alcohol taste.

The second wine is 5litres in a 10liter bucked covered in cling film. im going to transfer it into a demijohn next week hopefully. it started to gain a strong vinigar smell last week so i decided to give it until wednsday before i dumped it. The smell went away so hopefully all is well :pac:

Buataisi

ClimberC wrote: »

I had a taste of the first wine 2 days ago, it tasted better than i expected but it was fairly sweet and had a strong alcohol taste.

The second wine is 5litres in a 10liter bucked covered in cling film.

Glad to hear it's going well for you!

Try to avoid having a lot of empty space in your containers, as it can lead to oxidation which will spoil your wine.

ClimberC

Buataisi wrote: »

Glad to hear it's going well for you!

Try to avoid having a lot of empty space in your containers, as it can lead to oxidation which will spoil your wine.

Im using a bucket double the volume to allow for the foaming
I was hoping to avoid oxidation due to the high CO2 conc.