Thread for questions and discussion on new winemaker series

[Wobblin]

Well despite the possibly sulfurous wiff from the airlock, the wine itself (I took some out to do a SG reading) tasted fine, no sulfur. Actually tasted like dry cider. I am relieved. Going to get another one started tomorrow. From Tesco mixed fruit juice.

[Cellar_Rat]

Sulfurous or rotten eggy ?

[Wobblin]

I've never smelled rotten eggs so I wouldn't know!

Anyways, I've racked it today, all airlock activity had ceased and the SG was around 0.993 (but I think my hydrometer sits a tad high). Only five days to go from 1.08 to 0.993. Had a taste of the hydrometer sample and it tasted good. Topped it up with grape juice and a fresh airlock.

BTW, my brain has ceased functioning at the moment. When you make 500ml of the 10% sodium metabisulfite solution, how many teaspoons do you use? I would think 10 but it just doesn't sound right. I'm sure I've read somewhere that you use 1 x 5ml teaspoon in 500ml water, but surely that's a 1% solution?

I've only been using 5ml in my solution but when I take the lid off my sanitising bucket, the fumes don't half make me cough! Is this a sign that it's strong enough?? I worry.

Update: I now know where the confusion came from. On my 1KG tub of sodium metabisulfite, it says to add 1 TSP per pint of water. Which is right? Is this a typo on the label??

Never mind, I'm going with the 10% solution mentioned by Bob. I can only hope that the current batch works out okay. I think I may be lucky as all my equipment was brand new and hopefully fairly clean. I made up a small 10% batch and added 5ml to the DJ.

Fingers crossed.........

Sorry, it's been a sod of a Monday.

Jules.

[Wobblin]

Hi,

I've just taken an SG reading on my batch of wine number 1 and it's now at around 1.01, up from 0.993 I guess the grape juice that I used to top it up with has bumped up the sugar. I've tasted it and it tastes like a sweet rosé. Will I be stuck with this sweet wine or is there a chance it will ferment out a bit more?

Thanks guys. I'm loving the whole wine making thing, even if I'm a bit accident prone!

BTW, tried a bottle of the Wilko Chardonnay kit that I've recently bottled and it was lovely! I am inspired!

Jules x

[lockwood1956]

The sulphite you added will have slowed the yeasties down, but they should pick back up given time.

what yeast did you use?

[Wobblin]

Hi,

It was a Gervin universal wine yeast.

Jules.

[lockwood1956]

Then it will likely ferment out, give it a little time

regards
Bob

[Wobblin]

Thanks a lot Bob x

[Wobblin]

Hi guys,

My latest batch won't clear, the mixed juice I used was cloudy to begin with. Wilkos sell a pack of wine finings, an A and a B sachet but it says it is enough for 25 litres. Can I use it all in a 1 gallon DJ?

Thanks.

[oliver90owner]

A bit OTT, I would have thought. Use a fifth, even if you were to junk the rest (eventually)

Ritchies do a two part liquid system for about four and a half quid which is good for about a couple hundred litres or more.

[Wobblin]

How long does it keep?

[oliver90owner]

How long does it keep?

At least a couple years; probably a lot longer if stored under favourable conditions.

[fatbloke]

Hi guys,

My latest batch won't clear, the mixed juice I used was cloudy to begin with. Wilkos sell a pack of wine finings, an A and a B sachet but it says it is enough for 25 litres. Can I use it all in a 1 gallon DJ?

Thanks.

A bit OTT, I would have thought. Use a fifth, even if you were to junk the rest (eventually)

Ritchies do a two part liquid system for about four and a half quid which is good for about a couple hundred litres or more.

How long does it keep?

How long does it keep?

At least a couple years; probably a lot longer if stored under favourable conditions.

Ah, well YMMV, but so called "favourable conditions" usually allude to "in a sealed, packed state", more often than not, at temps of 1 to 4C i.e. normal refridgerated levels.

Wobblin should just use all the single use pack, as it's usually too much faffing about to split such a tiny amount of liquid, unless you have access to laboratory type measuring equipment. Besides, any excess in such a tiny amount should just drop out with any settled lees anyway. The same applies to yeasts i.e. Lalvin yeast packs (for home brewing) are usually 5 grammes and are good for up to 5 gallons (though whether they meant 5 US gallons or 5 Imp gallons is a bit of a ?, as Lallemand are Canada based, you'd have to presume 5US, but they seem to work fine for 5Imp too). Yet you could, theoretically, use a set of druggie scales to split it down to 1 gramme doses, but again, there's no real saving when you consider the relatively cheap price i.e. little point........ The only time it might be worth considering, would be if you obtained a hard to find yeast, then you could make a starter and retain some, as long as it's kept in sanitary conditions the theory is that you can keep it alive and working for a good while. I don't know if there'd be any issue with mutation over time or not. I don't bother kicking the backside out of it that badly.....

Now I don't know whether the Ritchies Kwik Clear carries an expiry date or not. I certainly don't recall any instruction to keep it in the fridge. Hell they may have different ingredients so that there's something that is a sort of preservative in the bottles.

It can be handy, if you have space, to get a cheap second hand fridge and just dump all the shelves and other fittings, so you have somewhere to "cold crash" finished wines, as that often works well to get the yeast and other particulate matter to drop out, plus with wines that might have a higher level of tartaric acid, you can get some of it to drop out as "wine diamonds", which are just removed by racking too.

It's a bit of a pain that it's hard to get Sparkolloid here. It's reputed to be good, yet gentle at fining. What's a bigger nuisance, is that all I can find about it is that it's "diatomateous earth", not whether that's just "fullers earth", bentonite or something different I don't know.........

[oliver90owner]

I don't really bother whether it might be Ritchies or any other supplier - that was simply an example.

I don't have any connection with them other than buying some of their products. Without any indication from the OP of what the locally available product cost, I simply indicated the price as a comparison for the benefit of the reader. I always look for value for money, not necessarily the apparent cheapest option in the short term. It does have a 'best before' date on the package and is clearly intended for use with smaller quantities of wine as they recommend the dosage for 4.5l, per eg. It also has no 'use by...once opened' instruction and gives a clear instruction to secure the cap firmly after use, indicating multiple use at later times. I would think the caps likely hold about two cm cubes and could be used as a dispensing aid (once roughly calibrated), so no 'faffing around' with laboratory equipment - the simple alternative is to use a small teaspoon for dispensing. It has a half-hour waiting time between additions of the separate components, which can be a benefit for those working late into the evening.

As for keeping it in the fridge, it does give tips and that most definitely precludes keeping it in most decent fridges (at the temperatures you quoted), unless one is set aside for use at a higher temperature than for perishable foodstuffs.

Lallemand are Canada based so will most certainly have metric weights and volumes, for usage recommendations, as used in the UK. Canada is metricated, after all. I certainly am (although I have used the different systems in operation in long-gone decades) and would recommend any new winemaker to persevere with metric units wherever/whenever possible.

Yes, mileages may vary, but it is good to be able to compare and also know there are other products on the market. This particular one is a Kieselsol and gelatin/citric acid/E202 preservative. I don't know whether it works better or less well than the item the poster had seen. I would prefer to allow clearing to take place more naturally for most of my wines, but I do follow the instructions for kits.

A s for 'Wobblin should just use all the single use pack, I would not be so prescriptive as that; she is likely able to make up her own mind as to what and how to use these different items and only needs a little guidance on what alternatives there might be out there in the market place.

RAB

[Wobblin]

Ahem....he is a she. Jules, short for Julie. If I bottle it cloudy, will it keep okay? I will stabilize it first. Just wondered if the particles that are making it cloudy are likely to 'go off'