Advanced Home Wine Making - Volume 1

[Growley86]

Question.. Im a beginner and am making a chardonay from fresh local grapes. I ended up with a tart wine " i think because my og was too low" and i have a white film on the surface of the wine in my carboy does this sound like a problem? Im worried if the og was too low it didnt produce enough alc. allowing mold or something to grow.

[littlemanmays1187]

Hey Merddyn....I have a quick question and hopefully I didnt screw up I am making a 5 gallon batch and using Lalvin K1-V1116 Wine yeast....I started to activate the yeast and I didnt wait 15 minutes as instructed on the packet on accident and after I rehydrated it I pitched it right in my batch and then realized I screwed up.... my question is by not waiting the instructed

15 minutes will the yeast still work since technically the yeast was probably not fully activated????

[merddyn2002]

@littlemanmays1187 I almost never hydrate yeast anymore. It's not necessary. It's not a BAD thing, but it doesn't really matter.

[thepresident1981]

thank you very much i am making black berry frozen and was about to make it with non frozen berries and now i use to use my campden tablets thank you ur a life saver

[SuperAmin00]

Hi...I saw this video of you .22 apr 2011..it is very helpfull for me as a bigginer .quality of the film is not good but words very usefull and among many films i have seen .I can say this is one of the best.......congratulate

[mikeygeneral]

he's got more chemicals than wine.

[kazukooooo]

can I use ruber glove with needle holes to cap a bottle instead of buying the air lock? I just started making wine so I am not equipped also not want to buy stuff if I don't really need them... Thanks.

[shreddingskin99]

Thanks alot for the info! Cant wait to start off a batch.

[spaceman1x]

thanks for passing on your knowledge. very helpful video and very interesting. Thanks again.

[jasonjet25]

Well thank you for your advise yesturday. I hope you dont mind a few questions as I get close to starting my first batch. Have you ever seen vacuum degassing, and if so what are your thoughts or cautions? Also do you know of a kit or recipie for a Lodi 337 wine? Thanks again!!! Jason

[merddyn2002]

@jasonjet25 no idea on the recipe kit but applying a vacuum to the wine works very well for de-gassing. I don't mind questions at all. Anytime.

[5tonyvvvv]

@merddyn2002 Ive made wine from Honey and grapes and I added No sugar or yeast, isn't that how it was done in ancient times?

[mikeahboy]

Did this guy just sing his own openig?????

[androshi]

Q-can we double ferment the wine by adding more sugar to the ferment after the fermentation process?

Q-where can i buy bentonite in my neighborhood?i cant order it online-have you ever used kitty litter?

Q-when clearing the wine should i use bentonite plus egg white?

Q-using egg white's-how do we make this?i read its egg white,pinch of salt and water. then what?

Q-i have real isingglass and irishmoss ,how can i use this? will it leave a taste in the wine?

[merddyn2002]

@androshi starting a 2nd fermentation is possible, but it's likely not what you think. It will generally not create more alcohol than a single fermentation would create. It's an advanced brewing technique use for flavor enhancement. I would not worry about experimenting with that until you get a better handle on the basic of brewing.

[jat1668]

What is the sediminte on the bottom?

[stobknuckle1]

How many gallons of dewberries would I need to make ten gallons of wine and how much sugar per gallon? .. And can I leave the solids in with the juice when workin it?

[fardisghomeshi]

hi real deal wine making guide don't miss this one 100% authentic, tired of people leaving the most important steps out? try this guide i guarantee you wont buy another bottle of wine, share cash(DOT)org/download. php ?file=767344

[xkingx2009]

kiss my ass donkey

[iamther]

A freind of mine got free apples and made apple wine in the 70's in a garbage can we got very drunk on horrible wine untill it turned to vinegar I geuss all the additives were important,but that batch was fun

[kyral210]

Fair enough. I made some mead a few months back and it's still fermenting!

[kyral210]

Don't you need to let them ferment in the demijohn for 6 months, and then sit for another 6 months in the bottle?

[doriecronin]

thanks for the cool video. We are going to give it a try. Is Florida air temp of 85 degrees a problem? dcg

[campru1]

I used to make wine a couple of years ago. Watching you has made m want to start again.

[pureraver91]

For my primary fermenting I'm using a balloon for an air-lock on a 1 gallon carboy. Its been 15 days, the balloon is still standing up fine and it still has co2 bubbles rising to the top. Im wondering when I should rack it to the second fermenter, how would I judge on when its ready?

[jlebard]

0.9-1.3 grams/gal depending on the chemistry of the raw juice.

[slither888]

It's funny that the word "chemical" has become synonymous with something poisonous or evil. What people fail to realize is that everything, the world around them, is/contains chemicals! Ignorant people would even go so far as to try to ban dihydrogen monoxide, lol.

[mxdm]

haha, dihydrogen monoxide, good stuff!

but then again it depends on your definition of what is poisonous; i.e. if you prefer natural occurring elements as opposed to something synthetic.

[slither888]

But all elements are natural! With that game we're just trying to draw the line somewhere ambiguously to delineate where we've had a hand in something and where we haven't. But I see what your saying. If you could isolate a useful product from naturally occurring bacteria and purify it, would it be natural? Or would you having a part in it make it "unnatural"?

[mxdm]

I didn't specify it clearly, but you put it in good words; My idea of unnatural would be something we, humans, have had our hands on as opposed to a nature refined combination of elements which was not touched by humans; natural.

So I would consider all the chemical additives (Sodium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate) unnatural as they do not occur in nature as a complete element.

[teddyd30]

Do you know if there are any varieties of yeast that produce less CO2 than Red Star Champagne yeast?

All the corks are popping out of my bottles. I think I'm going to put the (open) bottles in boiling water before corking next time. But, I'm afraid that will prevent any interesting flavors from developing later on.

Any advice? Thanks

[merddyn2002]

not to my knowledge. beer yeast die off faster, but produce far less alcohol. Heating the bottles up will likely evaporate most of the alcohol before the yeast die. Your best bet is to follow my instructions in the video and if that doesn't work just attach balloons to the bottles until they stop inflating.

[jlebard]

Situation #1 is usually due to a stuck fermentation.  On a profession level we call red wines dry at 0.2(g/l) /g/f or 0.02%. You can have your wine tested at Vinquiry or Ets both are certified for analytical wine services. What happens is you have glucose and fructose in the wine you are fermenting. For various reasons the glucose is fermented first and the fructose is twords the end of primary. When the fructose is not metabolized at the first attempt it is difficult to get it going again.

[jlebard]

Thus the ultimate solution for situation #1 is to choose a more fructafilic yeast when choosing your primary strain. You will have far less problems getting the wine to go dry when starting the ferment with saccharomyces cerevisiae strain and adding a bianas strain about 1/3 of the way through fermentation. Use both at a rate of 2#/1000gals along with a Go-ferm product at 2.5#/1000 gals. Sorry for the long response hope it helps! Have fun!

[jlebard]

I appologize for all my comments being in the wrong order....If i only knew youtube as well as i know winemaking:P

[jlebard]

Ok lets address this properly-

All yeast produce C02, it is a biproduct of fermentation. Having said that there are different yeasts are generally more agressive and ferment hotter/faster as well there are yeast strains that ferment less vigorously creating less C02. Without knowing what kind of wine you are making and your techiniques it is hard for me to tell you exactly what is causing your corks to pop. Here are the 2 most obvious problems.

[jlebard]

1- You did not fully complete primary(alcoholic) or secondary (malolactic) fermentation.

2- your fermentation temps as well as your post ferment temps were low. Usually this happens in cold fermented white wines. Your dissolved C02 levels stay at or above 2500ppm and as a result as your bottled wine warms up the C02 starts to come out of solution, thus creating pressure and pushing on your corks.

98% of the time i have seen this problem it is due to situation #1.

[teddyd30]

jlebard, I read all your comments. Thanks! I appreciate your advice.

My fermentation temps were about closet temperature (65-75 F). Right now, I let them ferment for about 2 weeks before drinking. Should I be letting fermentation run for longer at higher temperatures?

[doriecronin]

Jl, we liked your video and want to try wine making. We are in FL with loset temps at 85 or so. Is this a problem? thanks dcg

[Adol666]

@teddyd30 You didnt degass your wine. After you stabilize your wine you need to stir it really good and get all the C02 out of the wine. This will prevent bottle bombs hehe

[bradrjord]

could sum1 please tell me if adding more sugar makes the alcohol content higher please!

[drunkfux1]

yes it will but check with your hydrometer and don't add too much or the yeast will die

[wictro]

You can only burn about 7 kg of sugar in 5 gallons of water, after that the alcohol % is too high (over 15%) for yeast to survive.

.w

[bradrjord]

k thanx for the advice

[jlebard]

Alot of comercialized strains today are known to ferment to 17%. UV43 and DV10 both will ferment to this level. Although i wouldnt suggest doing this unless you were making a still port.

[box262]

i never use any chemicals or yeasts in my wine. Me and my dad have been doing it for 50 years and always is good.

1. I buy the grapes - enough for 550 liters

2. I crush them and punch down in my garage and let sit for about a week. I even leave the stems in !!!

3. I press in my garage.

4. I transport to my wine cellar.

5. Let sit in demijohns with open top from Sept to Jan.

6. Rack and put Airlock on. - can also start drinking now.

7. Rack again in March before hotter weather.

[box262]

No acids, no clarifiers, no sulfides etc etc

[timt020]

did everything you said, got 1 gallon of appel fermenting, the air locks bopoling

[gonzon22]

Great Vlogs!!!

Informative, thorough and not overwhelming.

Bravo.

[knutfheifer]

Thats the same guy who sings mai hai hee mai hai ho

[ambergerftriley]

thanks a lot for the video. i needed a good demonstration of proper chemicals and tools. i started with your super simple getups and now im moving on to four 5 gallon containers. so thanks.

[dazigg]

Is that Leonard Cohen?

[drunkfux1]

yup

[Amberscion]

Nice instructional video. Lots of inaccurate information, but none really capable of ruining anyone's starting attempt at wine making.

Scripting your video, even just running through it dry a couple times, will improve your presentation enormously. Keep working at it, you'll get there.

[data790]

Agreed, and it is also nice that you have left constructive criticism. Nice to know there are nice people out there.

[pooisgood123]

this is fukin shit. its very clinical and annoying! and fuck you amberscion, i hope ur wine tates like asshole!! ur a fukin blow job!

[daikaiju20]

James, when making wine from fresh picked grapes, would you leave any skins after pressing to go into the primary fermenter with the juice? perhaps no advantage to doing that?

[merddyn2002]

The skins from fresh picked (dark) grapes will impart some color into the wine. From white grapes it doesnt matter. The big thing to remember with fresh picked grapes is that they have a lot of natural yeast on them already so you need to use something like campden tablets to kill the wild yeast, otherwise you may end up with some very funky brews.

[daikaiju20]

Thanks much merddyn!!

[gorak142]

I'm making a gallon of mead, and would assume that I have to sulfite it before bottling so that I can add sweetening honey to it. How much sodium metabisulfite should I use per gallon?

[merddyn2002]

i wouldn't recommend adding any sodium metabisulfite. I would add potassium sorbate. It usually looks like little plastic pelets. That's about 1 tsp / gallon of wine. metabisulfite will make it taste like rocket fuel (in a bad way).

[Amberscion]

Oooh, very poor advice. If you add sorbate you really need to add the sulfite. Sorbate which ferments, which any wine or mead is still doing for a few weeks or even months after it looks like it's done, will produce a 'geranium' odor which makes the mead unpalatable.

Also, sulfite at proper levels (300ppm or less) does not cause any noticeable flavor, and even at horribly high levels it's not a rocket fuel taste so much as it is a sulfur flavor an aroma which is unpleasant.

[jlebard]

Generally correct on the sorbate although there are tricks to the trade when using it.

Wrong about S02. I assume you are talking about total S02 levels and not free or bound. Total S02 start affecting the perception of white wines at about 100-115ppm and red wines at 125ppm or higher. NEVER use 300ppm of S02 as an attainable lvl rather it be free bound or total.

[merddyn2002]

never used one. i think it basically does the same thing though.

[CandisSW]

Oops... didn't realize we were rating, as well. Kudos!

[CandisSW]

Thanks, guy! I've got a sour cherry tree outside just loaded and have been wanting to try this for some time. I've got books, but having someone "show" me is great. Really appreciate the effort, ((thank you, again))! - Candy

[merddyn2002]

pectic enzyme will break down the fruit which may make it easier to clear, so yeah, give it a try. Don't be surprised if it kicks off another round of fermentation too.

[vallo3838]

start making wine you are to long winded

[merddyn2002]

ya dont like it... don't let the door hit ya on the way out man.

[manzilla86]

Don't let 'em get you down. Congrats on putting out a good, informative video. People, like me, need to learn from your experience when they are trying to start out. If they think this is long-winded, over-informative,etc., - they are probably not looking into the right hobby for them.

-Manzilla86

[vallo3838]

video is dragged out to long,start showing more of actual winemaking.val

[trk1050]

To long and to drawn out. Lets make wine.

[merddyn2002]

yep it's because it's not done yet. :) After fermentation is done and it's cleared it'll tase a lot better.

[refritobandito]

good info, i made a shopping list. btw i made blackberry wine last year and didn't use campden and mine turned out fine snd it was chock full of creepy crawly nasties; or whatever you called them

[merddyn2002]

yep, i rarely use tablets myself unless i'm doing fresh fruit wines. You run a risk not using them on anything that could have yeast or naughty bacteria already on the fruit. Usually turns out fine without them, but i'd hate to have to throw out a batch that went sour cause i didn't use them.

[blackwater393]

very helpful

[xrl250]

Just got started making wine at home. Found this video and think its very well done. I`m having good success with my attempts at making wine. Lots of good reviews from friends.

[zoleebaa]

good job! there's always something new to learn! ;-) cheers

[dumbassAZ]

nice