Introduce Yourselves here

[goldseal]

Welcome aboard Matt.

If your airlock looks like this:

http://www.winemakingsuperstore.com/equipment/images/airlock2.jpg

- just fill it so the lower bubble is full each side, or maybe a bit less.

If it looks like this:

http://www.chicompany.net/images/AirLock%20-%20Dble%20Bubble.jpg

- it should have a 'max' line marked on it.

The cap can rest loosely on the top. It is a non-airtight dust-cap, to stop nasties and insects taking a bath

[madmatt]

Hi all, we'll, yesterday I took the plunge and bought all the gear for winemaking from the fantastic Happy Brewer shop in Bedford, including a 30 bottle kit(Beaverdale Merlot) and today I have got it all up and running!
I like medium/full bodied wines and just hope this turns out to be drinkable by Xmas. Need to source 30 bottles now, and my only question is to do with the airlock.i have half filled it(it half fills both chambers?!) and replaced the cap loosely. Is this correct or does this cap need to be clicked onto the airlock?
Many thanks for any replies in advance.
Regards
Matt
P.s. don't ya just love forums! I reckon it's what the Internet was invented for!

[lockwood1956]

Welcome aboard Stuart

regards
Bob

[Cellar_Rat]

Welcome aboard Stuart. This can be quite a virulent bug when it bites There is bucket loads of satisfaction to had making a lovely wines - the guys here are full of sound advice that will help for the tricky bits.

[Uncleboobot]

Hi - I'm Stuart - I have been making wine at home since January. My Dad bought me a Beaverdale kit last Xmas and let's just say I got bitten by the bug. All my sucessful wines so far have been kit wines and sadly each of my first three attempts at juice wine ( WOW and wine No1 ) have all been largely unsuccessful

I have currently got 1g of RGJ juice wine on the go which is stuck (is that a contradiction - on the go and stuck???), 1g of wine no1 which I've just added finings to tonight and a 15 litre batch of Juice wine fermenting nicely (measured tonight at 1.000)

I'm hoping to get some sound advice here as I'm nervous about another failed attempt!! Please be patient

[lockwood1956]

Welcome aboard Liam

You will find tons of info in the tutorials section and the new winemakers start here contains ()as John says) recipes designed to build a solid skill set.

also check out the tools and calculators section for lots of free info

regards
Bob

[skivers]

Thanks for the welcome Fatbloke

You are dead right about the price of kits - i thought £75 was expensive - right up until I tasted a glass ! The cheaper one was on a par with the cheaper Tesco type offers - i do not intend going under a certain price for kits in future.

I think am also going to try different yeasts on Recipe one - just to get a handle on how things work.

So far, all I have definetely learned, is that the biggest flavour enhancer is.............time!

Looking forward to the journey

Liam

[fatbloke]

Welcome to the forums Liam.

I suspect you'll find enough to keep you ticking over and more.

For cheaper glass, eBay is a good place to keep an eye on. Also, for decent priced consumables, check out posts by Duffbeer, as he runs a homebrew shop and gives forum members some discount.

With kits, it really does seem that the more you pay, the better they get.

The "training" recipes offer instruction for making batches from commonly available juices, but also offer technique to modify the recipes with many different juices to find something new.

Ha! Some of us who've been hereabouts for sometime, still haven't made them all.....

[skivers]

Ahoy!

I am returning to winemaking - even after very painful memories of making and drinking "Boots" red wine, many moons ago.

So perusing the interweb I found myself reading forums where people were delighted with the results - so I have had another go!

I've been flabbergasted at the quality of the kits I have tried! - So much so that the intention of laying down a cellar has been completely stymied by the drinking of the stuff.

So the Idea of recipie number "one" has got me making some - to give my big reds a chance to mature.

I started two, one gallon DG's yesterday.

One with Dextrose - the other with granulated sugar - just to get an idea of the difference in taste (the Dextrose was an "immediate" starter - the suger took off a few hours later)

Why oh why did i chuck out all my old equipment - I am mortified it all needs to be purchased again!

All the best

Liam

[SiSandrine]

Welcome DavidCH. If it works for you then that's what's important. Lots of info on here if you want to try tweaking your recipes or understand more about storage conditions. Likewise feel free to post your recipes if you like and other folk can try them. Happy wine making.

[DavidCH]

I haven't read any of the threads so, through relaying experiences here, I might be letting people know I know very little about winemaking. I started making some sort of stuff when I was a student 30 years ago, I got hold of a couple of demijohns and a tatty charity paperback country wines book and had a go. The simple starter wine therein was made of orange and pineapple juice and despite the odd messy experience things seemed to work. I knew even less then and with my, what my old Pure Maths Prof told me was an, immature palate I quite liked the stuff. I was popular at Student parties, turning up with a demijohn of the fall over water.

I picked up ‘wine’ making again about 4 years ago and experimented until I found a grape concentrate source I liked and that my snobby wife would drink the results from. Our large unheated utility doubles as a cellar and between May and September in the UK is just about warm enough to ferment, so unless I want to have the stuff fermenting in the house proper I have to brew most during these months. It’s probably a little warm for storage, although I admit I don’t know the effects of that on the wine. Since using the current concentrate I have had no poor results and we don’t buy anything but champagne or port these days.

People know what they get when they come to our house and seem to relish it, or is it my wife’s gastronomic delights? They sometimes bring some bought wine which we seldom open unless it’s something they specifically wanted to have, we often open some of it and it tends to end up in casseroles etc. Anyone who likes it can if they wish take a few home, I’m just happy to make something that is eminently drinkable, even though there is little skill involved, just methodical steralising. After a previous few years of just about satisfactory wine I’m happy with what we have now, and the vast savings accompanying it are still amusing me.

[lockwood1956]

Welcome aboard

I moved this thread to the introcuce yourselves here thread....

[shabro]

good morning!

I'm just saying hello, as I'm new to making my own wines, meads and beers, even though I have my first 3 gallons of mead, 5 gallons of lager and 4 gallons of various country wines on the go. I'm sorry if I seem to pick brains to much, thats the way I learn.
anyway looking forward to getting it right once in a while, cheers.

[gitface]

Thanks Bob

Think I'll get a few Wine No. 1 & 2 under my belt before tiring some fresh grapes, that way I'll feel less disappointed if it all goes wrong.

Mark............

[lockwood1956]

Hi Mark

welcome aboardw


ine No1 & 2 a good starting point.

You should find wine No1 quite acceptable in taste, but you might also want to try the lychee (in the recipe section) it has a very full flavour and is a tad like a gewurztraminer

Merlot?

well....we import Merlot grapes each year, so you could go that route (it all happens next sauturday..22nd) but Brian (supplier) offers some frozen

regards
bob