First wine ... help please

[Trish]

Ok, I have 1 1/2 Lb blackcurrants, 1lb raisins and 1L of red grape juice. Would this be suitable for making some wine and if so how do I know the amount of sugar to add? And do I check SG before adding ANY sugar? New to this winemaking lark, so please bear with me
Thanks

[Hippie]

Sounds like you have the makings for a gallon of wine there.

You need an hydrometer to take a specific gravity (SG) reading. The hydrometer should also show potential alcohol (PA).

Yes, always check SG of your must before adding sugar. Add the sugar as simple syrup (2 parts sugar melted in 1 part water, cooled) in small increments, until an SG of 1.080 - 1.090 is reached.

Please read the tutorials...

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=62

[Trish]

Thanks, Hippie.

I've started it off now

I simmered the grape juice, as advised. Heated the fruit in water. Then put it in a straining bag,added that & the grape juice to the fermenting bucket. Added pectalose, citric acid, camden tablets & nutrient. Checked SG. It was 1030. 3lb 2oz sugar raised it to 1080. So it's covered with the lid (thought not on tight)
The liquid is sitting at 2 gallons ... is this too much liquid for the small amount of fruit? Do I need to do anything else other than wait 24hrs to add the yeast?
Thanks

ps I've had a read through the tutorials (excellent stuff) but sometimes it's handy to be able to get questions answered directly. Hence this post

[Mamgiowl]

I'd definitely get more fruit if I were you, and there is no need to heat fruit in water, you're just diluting everything unnecessaryily.

[lockwood1956]

I simmered the grape juice, as advised.

where was this advice?

it needs deleting, please try wherever possible to not use heat in processing your fruit or juice, it isnt helpful, it can release pectins and give the must a cooked taste.

regards
Bob

[Her Lushness]

where was this advice?

it needs deleting, please try wherever possible to not use heat in processing your fruit or juice, it isnt helpful, it can release pectins and give the must a cooked taste.

regards
Bob

It was on this thread here: http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/s...=1928&page=127

and was on the subject of supermarket juices and preservatives...

[lockwood1956]

ahhhhhh

thanks for that


using gentle heat (but not to boiling point) to drive off sulphites is ok, but other than that its not a good idea to use heat in the winemaking process

[Her Lushness]

ahhhhhh

thanks for that

Can I have a brownie point please for saving your time searching the forum to find where that advice was posted?

[lockwood1956]

Indeed you can

[Duffbeer]

where was this advice?

it needs deleting, please try wherever possible to not use heat in processing your fruit or juice, it isnt helpful, it can release pectins and give the must a cooked taste.

regards
Bob

Haha heheeeee, lmao, was you ready to do some spanking Mr Morton.

[fatbloke]

Ah, probably my fault then (again).

So, gentle heat ? on the 2 occasions I've done that, I just brought it up to a simmer for, 5 or so minutes.

It seemed to work fine.

Perhaps there's a definition of "gentle heat" that I've missed completely, or maybe there's a certain temp that can be measured with a jam making thermometer (like pasteurising) or have I, once again, missed the point completely ?

Plus I understood that the cooked taste thing is mainly a problem with apples ? Or can they (well the juice) still be heated in a similar way to drive off preservatives (and/or kill off "wild yeasties" that some recipes seem to mention) ??? without getting a "cooked" flavour ?

regards

JtFB

p.s. Oh and apol's for any confusion - except I'm confused as hell now. How to sort out conflicting ideas from different sources - what's right, what's wrong, what's good, what's bad, even "what the hell"!

[Trish]

@ Deleting the advice regarding heating the juice

Thanks for all the tips, everyone. It's my first go at any sort of homebrew ... so I expect a few mistakes along the way, to learn from

FB, from what I've read, your advice about heat to get rid of preservatives is right .... if it's not, then I'm confused too lol

I think you may be right about more fruit, lushness .. Do I just add it to the must and should I then also add more pectalose .... before adding the yeast, which was due to go in this afternoon?
Thanks again for your help everyone.

[Hippie]

Your must is fine. Pitch the yeast and ferment as is.

[lockwood1956]

Opinions vary throughout Winemaking about methodology, but as far as using heat goes...it belongs with spreading marmite on a piece of toast and using it as yeast nutrient (it works but ask yourself......would a vit B1 tablet designed for the job or a good nutrient that contains all the mineral salts and vitamins like Tronozymol or Minavit do a better job?)
it also belongs alongside recipes that say "add X lbs of sugar" your hydrometer is your friend! use it...never blindly add sugar

these are old world ideas and need removing from winemaking, as better ideas and materials are available to us

my take on heat is this:
Heat in Winemaking is to be avoided wherever possible, it has been used to sanitise musts in times past.....this practice can be replaced by the use of sulphite (a naturally occurring by-product of fermentation) heating your ingredients will drive off aroma and flavour compounds, it can cause an off taste, a cooked taste, and certainly (without exception) will release extra pectin where it is present. If wild yeasts really are an issue for you...use a strain of yeast like Lalvin K1V-1116 which will overpower any other yeast around, wild or otherwise (the K at the start of the name indicates killer strain of yeast...strong competitive yeast that will dominate a fermentation) but again, using sulphite to stun wild yeasts and mold etc will allow you to use a yeast that will enhance your fermentation, for example Lalvin 71B-1122 on stoned fruit can metabolise up to 40% of the malic acid present, giving you a softer easier/earlier drinking wine.

Heat is required to drive off preservatives from "some" store bought juices......but I think it best not to buy this kind of juice if it can be avoided, and if you do use heat....not to boiling point.

your best option?
buy juices without preservatives and not from concentrate if possible. Like in all things winemaking...better ingredients make better wine (again no exceptions)

hope this clarifies things a tad
regards
Bob










its only when you start giving this kind of answer you realise how much you have learned, I never thought I would have the level of knowledge that was imparted to me in my early days (when I knew bugger all) thanks go again to Hippie, Pat Cuthbert and stevec and others who found me as a fledgling winemaker and helped me be a better one.

and i did know bugger all

Hi all
Its time for you all to save my life once again, I have pulped and juced 20 Lbs (UK) of the grapes from my greenhouse and followed the recipe for grapewine. it all went very well bubbling away merrily for the first 6 days in the fermentation bucket, I strained it and put it in the I gallon Demijohn with airlock and it bubbled nicely for two days and it then stopped. the several demijohns either side of it ( full of the apple ,dansom, plum and elderberries from the garden)are still bubbling nicely. What have i done wrong (woe is me) the wine has cleared ever so slightly and has sediment at the bottom of the Demi


any ideas?

Bob

The ferment had finished in case you didn't know

[Zebedee]

To Quote Luc Volders again...

Elderberries contain sambunigrin. Not all people have an issue with this but for some it may be toxic.

Now there are three methods to process the berries. It does not matter which procedure you follow BUT THE BERRIES HAVE TO BE HEATED !!!!


I have no problem with that,but he the goes on to say....


The three methods for processing elderberries are:
- The steam extractor
- Boiling and fermenting on the pulp
- Boiling and immediately pressing


So the issue for me here is the word 'Boiling'

Are Elderberries an exception to the rules ?

or

Would heating them to just below boiling suffice ?