Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[helenvw23]

Great, thanks all.

[lockwood1956]

How remiss of me....

Welcome aboard Helen

good to have you here

regards
Bob

[spritzer]

I actually quite like wine number one made with pineapple instead of apple
I always have some on the go

[helenvw23]

Hi,

We've had a go at Wine 1, which turned out great (thanks for the notes by the way) and we're moving on to Wine 2. How long does wine 2 need to be aged for, and how long do either of them keep once bottled?

Thanks,
Helen

[lockwood1956]

wines 1 & 2 are drinkable almost immediately but are better after about 3 months

the length of time they will keep depends on many factors, sulphite levels and storage conditions being the most critical.

they are designed to be early drinkers, but should keep easily for a year

regards
bob

[helenvw23]

Many thanks again. Wine 2 is fizzing away happily as we speak

Helen

[Delmonteman]

Blueberry wn2 is a delight after 6 months if you can leave a bottle alone for long enough!

[Wobblin]

Hi,

I have a very cold house (around 50 deg. in winter) I've made a fermentation bath using an aquarium heater but what I need to know is: Regarding the recipe for wine number one, does the DJ have to sit in this bath until complete, or do I move it to a cooler area to finish off, and if so, when?

Thanks,

Jules.

[yawdum]

hi all
i am having trouble with wine number 1
i have followed the instructions to the letter
it fermented well and finished nearly dry at 992
i racked it and left it two weeks but it didnt clear much at
i degassed it thoroughly and it left small amount of sediment , returned it to sterile dj and left it a further week
i added youngs finings two part a and b yesterday (easter sunday)
it dumped about a centimetre of sediment overnight and
although it is definately clearer it is still cloudy so as you cant clearly see through it
oh and it tastes lovely.

i used a cloudy apple juice because it was the only pure juice not from concentrate
and with no sweetners
is some thing wrong ? what do i do from here , i would like it to be a bit clearer
p.s wine number two on the go as well

[gitface]

Hi Yawdum

If it taste lovely don't worry.

As to it still not as clear as you'd like this is more than likely due to the 'Cloudy Apple Juice' you used, it may have a bit of pectin or starch (think that's the right one) in it. Drop a bit of Pectolose (Think that's the right spelling) in and see if that sorts it. This is used if you use fruit and is put in at the start. Otherwise time is your friend.

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

[yawdum]

hi
another 12 hours gone and it is definately clearing , looks like the finings are doing their job, so will wait and see what the next 24 to 48 hours bring before trying the pectolose .

thanks for the advice

[Wobblin]

Hi guys,

Been a bit poorly so not been lurking on the forum.

I have just started a wine No. 1. It's been bubbling busily for the last two days but the smell from the airlock has me concerned. Along with the smell of apple and alcohol, I'm sure theres a wiff of something sulphurous. I could be wrong as I don't really know what fermenting wine should smell like. Can anyone offer any advice? I followed the recipe religiously and sanitized for twenty minutes in a sealed new brew bucket with a 10% SM solution with added citric acid.

Is the wine spoiled or will it be okay?

Thanks,

Jules.

[lockwood1956]

Give it a little time, fermentations can produce odd smells, but more often than not they dissapear

regards
Bob

[Wobblin]

Thanks Bob, I'll let it do its thing.

Update: Okay so it seems I didn't follow the recipe religiously, I forgot to let the syrup cool before I added it to the DJ. Would this cause the problem?

[yawdum]

hi all
i just finished my first wine no 1 , it does taste really good , far better than the kits that i tried previously !
if you read my earlier post i had a few issues with it
because i used pressed cloudy apple juice the wine remained cloudy for 3 or 4 weeks
after i added finings it dropped about 1cm of sediment and over another 7 days it did
clear to a reasonable level
i have bottled it and although clear it does still have a very slight cloudy haze which i think may have
been pectin from the apple juice .

so some questions for the experts out there

question 1. should i have used pectolose and if so does it really matter add what stage i add it i.e. before or after fermentation?


question 2 i waited 2 to 3 weeks after first racking for it to clear naturally racked it again then added finings after which it cleared quite quickly , so is there any reason i couldnt have added finings after say 2 to 3 days and saved myself 2 weeks wait?

question 3 i have wine no2 on the go (exactly as mr lockwood made it) it has fermented out,i have degassed , stabilized and back sweetened and it too does not seem in any rush to clear.Does it need pectalose or finings or both if it fails to clear.

question4 does adding pectalose do any harm or change tast if used when not needed?