Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[Big Dave]

I also have a Christmas Pud wine on the go - first rack into DJ on Sunday - added 1/4 tsp of nutrient

DJ airlock is bubbling - albeit slowly

Extra bit in a 500ml bottle Airlock has not moved (it has a good tight seal) ?????

Not worried though as it will mix with DJ at next racking

[Bodubbley]

Hi there, i'm going to start making my first wine tomorrow, just been off and got all my equipment from my very handy home brew shop! I'm going to follow the recipe for the dry white...very excited! However being a total newbie i have a question:

How do you check the SG after the yeast has been added to the must? Am i right in thinking that once the yeast goes in and the airlock in place the bung should not be removed?

Thanks!

[goldseal]

I would check your starting SG before you add the yeast.

Once the must is fermenting it is best not to remove the airlock too often. During the early stages though, the fermentation should be quite vigorous, and lots of CO2 will be produced, This forms a 'blanket' on top of the must, protecting it. If you take the bung out it will disturb the CO2 blanket, but the fermentation will replace it quite rapidly.

In the later stages, little or no CO2 will be produced, so you should only remove the bung when necessary (i.e. when checking the SG). Make sure all your kit is sanitised before drawing off a sample for the SG check, and pour it carefully bback into the demijohn after (avoid splashing and introducing more air).

[the_real_dr_bob]

Having just racked a batch of christmas pud wine to DJs for the first time I find I have 1 and a half demijohns worth - obviously not an ideal situation. Can anyone suggest smaller bottles I can put a airlock on? I have screw-caps for 5l bottles or standard DJ bungs to put the airlocks in.

[Big Dave]

Can anyone suggest smaller bottles I can put a airlock on?

I have also been looking for a bottle / jar that would fit a standard bung. I've got a Chrimbo pud wine overspill in a Hipps baby juice 500ml glass bottle (I have twin boys aged 20 months)

[RTPFUN]

3rd batch of white wine number 1 fermented out but this time on a taste test it tastes a little flat the 2 previous tasted very zesty. I'm tempted to add some citric acid to get it to taste the same before bottling. The only change has been to the grape juice which was less expensive than the prevous two which were Asda's usual offering at £1 per litre.
what should I do?

[goldseal]

firstly, I would wait a week. Wines can change dramatically in a short period of time, so it might vbe worth waiting to see if it improves.

If it doesn't ...


It sounds as though it could be less acidic.

I would take a small sample and add a little citric or tartaric acid, a little at a time, and see if that helps.

If it does, I would first set aside a little wine as-is, then acidify the rest. If you overdo the acid additions you can always add the set-aside wine to reduce the acidity.

[Bung]

I've just got to the back-sweetening stage of Wine #2, and wondering what next? Do I leave it to clear a bit like #1, obviously it's red not white, but it is a little muddy compared to a shop-bought red?

[lockwood1956]

give it a little time, if it doesnt clear on its own, then you can add finings

patience young Jedi

[Bung]

Good stuff! I'll bide my time and keep you posted Yoda

[lockwood1956]

haha


get another wine on the go while you wait

regards

Bobby wan kenobi

[Leon]

So wine number 1 has two litres of juice, and wine number 2 has three. What difference does this water to juice ratio have? Does it make it juicier? Does it add vinosity? What would happen if I used 4 litres, apart from it being less cost effective? Or made a wine number 1 with three litres?

Just wondering. I know there is only one way to really find out, but I thought I would find out the logic in the recipes first.

Thank you kindly.

[lockwood1956]

t just isnt the same with more juice, I have tried it in all combinations and find that these measures suit my palate well. Yours may be different, so a bit of experimentation is on the cards eh?

Im my experience 4 litres of juice makes it less fruity (less is more) and it takes longer to mature, and is less....fresh.

let us know how your experiments work out

regards
Bob

[Bodubbley]

Thanks for the info! Such a great site and helpful forum. Wine #1 is in the early stages of fermentation. Wish i had more room in my pokey flat to have more on the go! Ho-hum!

[Leon]

When one is working out the abv of these wines, should the volume of liquid in the DJ be taken into account? Allow me to illustrate: I want to make a wine #2 with one litre of red grape juice and two litres of tropical juice, Aldi's finest. I want to start it fermenting with the litre of red grape juice and one litre of the tropical juice, with water and sugar up to 1080; then add the second litre when it has fermented down. My queery is thus, when I take my initial hydrometer readings to sugar it to 1080, I will be 1 litre of liquid shy from when I normally do this. Does this matter? Will it be a false reading because of the less liquid?

Also, this technique, if I've understood and am carrying it out correctly, gives more flavour to the wine, it will also add alcohol because you ferment down, re-sugar, then ferment down again and so have two drops to add together........right? And, and, would you ferment down to dry, then add the extra juice?

When I've got this mallarkey straight in my head I might move on to understanding acid in wine, or solving the economic problems of the Eurozone, which will probably be simpler.

As always, many many thanks.