30 day wine

[Singlepole]

I have been making my own wine for about 3 years now. We have tons of grape vines growing on our house and around as well our now favourite rhubarb, we kinda got sick of jam and juice so decided to try wine making.
We started off with a couple of wine kits to learn how and researched lots on the net. Then we made wine out of everything we had growing here, grapes cherries, apples, dandelions, etc.
Ok so my question is when we use the kits they are 30 days to bottle, but our homemade type following instructions takes at least 3 months. Is it possible to speed up this process by following the 30 kit instructions and adding the chemicals that are used? Or do they use something in the juice that makes it roll along faster? I would like to try it out, just for fun, but I dont wanna buy all that stuff unless it is possible since the nearest wine store to me is 3 hours away.

 

[Julie]

Hi Singlepole,

Welcome to winemakingtalk. Can you list the "all that stuff" you are talking about. I don't do kits so I have no idea what comes with a kit.

 

[Charlesthewino]

Hi Singlepole. I can relate. This is exactly how I got started making wine. I have apples, pears, grapes, plums and cherries. The family was sick of pear butter, pie, cobbler, etc. My cousin suggested I start making wine. I didn't have the first clue about winemaking. My first batch took about 2 months. Of course, I didn't have a hydrometer so I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't measure SG before, during or after. I didn't understand proper yeast or nutrients. Prior, my wines took weeks to ferment. Now I'd say my average batch fully ferments in one week! For the most part the kits are no different than fresh fruit. It's all about the right prep, correct yeast, correct nutrients and correct timing in which to add them all. That's my 2 cents.

 

[Singlepole]

Damn I wrote this all out once but this site logged me out and I lost the whole thing when I tried to post it...
Thanks for your pennies Chuck greatly appreciated.
Julie here is the condensed version of a 30 day wine kit instructions

Add juice to primary and take SG which should be 1.055
Then add Bentonite
then add the yeast
leave for about 7 days
When SG is 1.010 rack into secondary and leave for another 8 to 10 days
When SG is 1.000 rack again
Add potassium metabisulphite and mix gently
Add kieselsol and stir or shake
Stir or shake several times over two days
Add potassium sorbate and mix well
Add chitosan and mix well
Leave for another 10 days until SG is 1.010
Bottle at about 28 days after starting

 

[Julie]

You can probably get away from using the Bentonite, kieselsol and chitosan. You have to keep the potassium metabisulphite (k-meta) adn the sorbate (that is if you are going to back sweeten. To be honest, if you use the bentonite the wine will clear quickly.

With that said, there are benefits to aging your wine. I think you will notice that the wine at 3 months is better than the 30 day and 6 months is way better than 3 months. You should keep one bottle back and open at different intervals to see for yourself if it gets better with age.

 

[NorCal]

Make enough so that you can drink what you want in 30 days, but as others have said, wine really does improve with time.

 

[Singlepole]

I rarely lasts very long in this house, but I keep some for longer times.

 

[cpfan]

Singlepole:

Some wine kits are designed to be bottled in 30 days (although I personally don't advise it). Heck in the UK there are 7 day kits. I'm not sure what all the reasons are but here's some guesses.

1) juice is processed. this removes the fruit and pulp.
2) enough yeast energizer and nutrient to have a quick fermentation
3) clearing agents - bentonite also helps with a quick fermentation
4) higher recommended temperatures than some fruit wine makers use leads to quicker ferment and degassing

Hmmm thought I had another one, but distracted by football and curling and seem to have forgotten.

Steve

 

[Gr8p]

I almost go real fruit exclusive when making wine. I started the same way, had a Concord grape plant that just kept giving more and more fruit and family didn't want anymore juice or jam so 2 yrs ago I went w/ wine. I'D say it's been tough to clear a natural fruit wine quickly( I've done pear, apple, grape, pineapple, and rhubarb) and I've stuck w the recipes that came w my starter kit when I bought it and it seldom clears in under 6 mths. I haven't used a clearing agent in my wines since I'm in no hurry but I would say as the folks on this site have taught me, "time and patience is key."

Welcome to the site

 

[sour_grapes]

Even though the kits say that you can bottle in 30 days, most here strongly recommend waiting much, much longer, even for kits. So I would not recommend changing your protocol!

 

[grapeman]

The directions you give says SG of 1.055. That is for a light Mist Style wine kit (low alcohol). Because it is low alcohol it doesn't take as long to make and is usually sweet. If you are making your own shoot for 1.090 (you will need a hydrometer). You can try for 30 days, but what is the rush. Make twice as much as you drink for a while and let it build up. Drink some young for a while and soon you will have well aged wine and you can see why we say to let it age some.