Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[Delmonteman]

Hello all (again!)

I have some kiwi's ready to tackle a wine number 3 but they are a bit unripe.

I have put them with the bananas in the fruit bowl to try to ripen them but am now wondering if this technique actually works?

Does anyone know?

[Mamgiowl]

Yes it does - to an extent, BUT watch them carefully as they can go from ripe to rotten in no time at all.

[Clank007]

Hello all (again!)

I have some kiwi's ready to tackle a wine number 3 but they are a bit unripe.

I have put them with the bananas in the fruit bowl to try to ripen them but am now wondering if this technique actually works?

Does anyone know?

Hi,
I made the newbie mistake of not reading the recipe for wine number 3 properly: Instead of 4lbs of kiwi fruit I read it as 1 lb.
So, looking for a cheaper alternative than buying a lot more fruit I've decided to use tinned raspberries instead.
But I'm nor sure whether to include the syrup in the must? I've heard the best thing to do is freeze the raspberries and then let them defrost, but can the syrup be kept and used too? (as I suppose it has sugar in it)
Simon.

[Mamgiowl]

Yes, do use the syrup, but you don't need to freeze the raspberries. This is done with fresh fruit to help release the juice but tinned ones are soft enought to hand squidge so no need to go through an extra stage.

[Clank007]

Hi,
Thats great thanks - I will be starting the batch on Saturday.

A friend of mine is wanting to start winemaking now, but unbelievably she has no computer! She's only in her 30's too....very strange not to be online but there you go.
Anyhoo, she's been reading over my shoulder and had 3 questions that I should have been able to answer but couldn't!

The first is she wants to know if she should rinse out her demijohns etc with water after sterilising them? A friend of hers at work sterilises and then uses the equipment straight away without rinsing, yet her brother says no, she must rinse with cold water afterwards, and then leave to dry?

And secondly she asks why airlocks come with a small red cap attached? She says surely the water is added for fermentation and the top is left exposed?
If the cap is left on she thinks it will surely pop out under the pressure of fermentation?
It's a question I'm struggling to come up with an answer to to be honest!

And finally she asks when making wine from fruit juice (wine number 1) should she be using juice made from concentrate to go with the pressed apple juice, or juice not made from concentrate?
Cheers,
Simon

[Delmonteman]

Your first question depends on the steriliser that is being used... Some are no-rinse (such as starsan or videne), or if pulp fermenting perhaps they are using sodium met/ campden. Presumably they leave the must over night to soak and add yeast after the sulphites have done their thing (like with wine number 3).

My advice would be to follow the instructions on the packet/ bottle of whatever your freind intends to use. Personally I use domestos bleach for heavy sterilizing/ cleaning (5ml/l is enough to sterilize) but then rinse 2 or three times.

For airlocks, if you look at the inside of the cap you'll probaby see a couple of steps that will maintain a small air gap when the cap is fitted. This lets air out but helps to keep foreign bodies/ dust out of the water - which is my guess as to what the caps are for...

Out of interest - how much tinned fruit did you use as a substitute for the 4lb of kiwi??? A tip from me for tinned fruit would make sure you use a bit extra pectic enzyme...

[lockwood1956]

The first is she wants to know if she should rinse out her demijohns etc with water after sterilising them? A friend of hers at work sterilises and then uses the equipment straight away without rinsing, yet her brother says no, she must rinse with cold water afterwards, and then leave to dry?

1st things first...you cant sterilise, (well you can but it lasts a nanosecond) you can sanitise, depending on what you use to do this will determine if it needs rinsing. some are no rinse like star san, I personally use metabisulphite, and let it drip dry with no rinse.

see here

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1561

And secondly she asks why airlocks come with a small red cap attached? She says surely the water is added for fermentation and the top is left exposed?
If the cap is left on she thinks it will surely pop out under the pressure of fermentation?
It's a question I'm struggling to come up with an answer to to be honest!

The caps are there to prevent dust and fruit flies etc getting into the water in the airlock and potentially contaminating it (a slim chance but there you are) they work fine without, they wont pop out, unless you put them on top of a pulp ferment, or juices that contain lots of pulp, like pineapple , mango etc, if fermenting these, they should be started in a bucket first, till SG drops to around 1.010.

And finally she asks when making wine from fruit juice (wine number 1) should she be using juice made from concentrate to go with the pressed apple juice, or juice not made from concentrate?

either works fine, I prefer if I can find it, to use pure juice, but dont worry about it if you cant find it. For wine No2 I used "juice drink from concentrate" as it was all they had, and it turns out fine.

hope that helps
regards
Bob

[Former Canuk]

I'll tell you, this site is so good for info it's amazing. I had left the "red cap" on a brew to find it blown off the next day. From that day forward I never knew the reason for it, guessing it was only a bit of shipping decoration. Too funny!!.

[Clank007]

1st things first...you cant sterilise, (well you can but it lasts a nanosecond) you can sanitise, depending on what you use to do this will determine if it needs rinsing. some are no rinse like star san, I personally use metabisulphite, and let it drip dry with no rinse.
see here

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1561

The caps are there to prevent dust and fruit flies etc getting into the water in the airlock and potentially contaminating it (a slim chance but there you are) they work fine without, they wont pop out, unless you put them on top of a pulp ferment, or juices that contain lots of pulp, like pineapple , mango etc, if fermenting these, they should be started in a bucket first, till SG drops to around 1.010.
either works fine, I prefer if I can find it, to use pure juice, but dont worry about it if you cant find it. For wine No2 I used "juice drink from concentrate" as it was all they had, and it turns out fine.

hope that helps
regards
Bob

Hi Bob,
Yes that helps a lot, thankyou.

You couldn't cast your experienced eye over the attached pic of my 2 wine number 1's after degassing today could you please?
I degassed each with vigourous 1 minute shakes for a good half hour, but this is a photo taken 15 minutes later. Is it normal for there to still be that much froth?
I've popped a crushed campden tablet into both as they were exposed to oxygen for quite a while.
The one on the left is pineapple and the one on the right apple and mango.
Simon.

[lockwood1956]

They look just fine......


Had you added a campden tablet before degassing? if so, it wouldn't have needed another...but dont sweat it.


the foam may stay on top of the wine for a while, but dont worry, you can rack the wine from under it when ready, CO2 being released, gives bubbles, shaking the wine up, gives foam (you will always get some foam)

all will be well

regards
bob

[lockwood1956]

Forgot to add....


now its degassed, it may drop more sediment...this is natural

[goldseal]

Is it normal for there to still be that much froth?

Here is my theory on degassing :

The foam is formed by aeration - when you shake or stir, you introduce air, and this is what contributes to the foaming.

When there is lots of CO2 in the wine, the escaping CO2 will cause the foam to disperse. You may find that, immediately after you stop shaking there is foam, but you can hear strng fizzing as the CO2 continues to escape. The foam might clear quickly and the fizzing stops at the same time.

When there is little CO2 in the wine, the foam remains longer, because there is no longer lots of CO2 to disperse it.

I still degas most of my wines by shaking (yes, you can degas this way in 5 gal Better Bottles, but I wouldn't recommend it for 5 gal glass carboys).

For 1 gal batches I split between two DJs or 5l plastic fermenters. My gauge is my thumb - if I hear more than the slightest hiss when I release my thumb from the top of the bung after shaking, I let it rest for a few minutes then shake again. Every time, the more foam generated and the more time it takes to clear, the less CO2 remains.

(ducks for cover, expecting lots of opposing views )

[lockwood1956]

I agree with Pete

except i roll my better bottles on a tennis ball to degas....(I add boiling stones too if I am going to rack immediately afterwards)

anything in glass (bigger than 1 gallon) is degassed by vacuum

regards
Bob

[Clank007]

Interesting.
I had a phone call last night from a friend who is making a Youngs Kit wine (eldeberry - 1 gallon). He was asking me (as if i'm an expert! ) for my views on degassing, so I pointed him to this website.

His issue is that on the youngs wine kit instructions it states that after the fermentation process the stabaliser and the clearing agent are added without transferring to a different demijohn. Then is says to agitate the demijohn afterwards, 6 times in 24 hours, and leave 10 days to clear.

He has followed these instructions but now has 2 inches of foam at the top of the demijohn which hasnt cleared, and his airlock is bubbling again.
Suerely these instructions are going to create wine grenades after bottling?
Simon

[Knight03]

I racked the apple raspberry 2 nights ago on to 1 camden tablet. I took a smell today, it smells like sulfer. What did I do wrong or need to do?