General Country Wine Recipe... mistake?

[RonInHollywood]

I like these simple directions for a country wine but I think there is a mistake concerning the campden tablet... there is no 'wait 24 hours before adding yeast'. Is that a mistake?

Pour the hot sugar water over your fruit/herbs/dried herbs. Let everything cool. Once it’s cool enough to touch, add the crushed campden tablet, the acid blend, the yeast nutrient, and the pectic enzyme. Do not add the yeast at this time. Stir the contents in the pail thoroughly and let the must cool to room temperature.

When the wine is room temperature, this is when you should take a hydrometer reading. Remember, optimally, it should be around 1.085- 1.090. If it’s okay, sprinkle the yeast on top of your must. If it's too low, add some sugar. If it's too high, add some water.

http://www.finevinewines.com/How-to-Make-a-Simple-Country-Wine.htm

 

[DoctorCAD]

Campden (in moderation) does not affect wine yeast, thats why we use it.

 

[BernardSmith]

But I think Ron is right. I think that this is an error. If you are going to add Campden tabs to kill bacteria and wild yeasts you should wait until the SO2 has dissipated. Not certain if that really requires 24 hours but there is enough redundancy in that time period to be pretty confident that any yeast you pitch is not going to be struck with an environment that is actively hostile to its existence. I think that this is simply a recipe that neither the authors or the host sufficiently proof read and checked to make sure that it was accurate. Moreover, I think you also need to wait about 12 hours between adding any pectic enzyme and pitching the yeast. I guess that is why I am always skeptical about the value of recipes as literal sets of instructions as opposed to their value as instruments that excite imaginations (Cool ! I never thought of fermenting X. Lovely idea. Perhaps I can use my juicer to juice Y. Of course! Using a lager yeast rather than a wine yeast will ..)...

 

[beano]

See this, it may be helpful for fruit wines. It works for me with variations depending on what fruits I'm using. I've made great wines using this recipe.

Joe


http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f2/dangerdaves-dragon-blood-wine-41825/

 

[RonInHollywood]

See this, it may be helpful for fruit wines. It works for me with variations depending on what fruits I'm using. I've made great wines using this recipe.

Joe


http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f2/dangerdaves-dragon-blood-wine-41825/

This post is about SIMPLE recipes! I'm going wild wine... rustic wine... way in the cave wine... Noah right off the boat wine...

Thanks for posts. I'll add the 24 hours in there.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Wine yeasts are selected to be tolerant of sulfites as are most pectinases. Most amatuers follow the add everything except the yeast, including the sulfites at once at the start and come back in like 12 hours to add their yeast just to make sure things are optimal for the yeast. What kind of wines are you making. You can just mush a bunch of fruit in a jut and let it ferment on wild yeasts without any interference from you, but drink it fast before the acetic acid bacteria have their way. Not sure what you mean by wild wines or rustic wines?? WVMJ

 

[Turock]

To add campden, yeast, nutrient, and pectic enzyme all together is bad practice. First off, the meta (campden) has no chance to get biological control over the fruit. If you add nutrient before your culture has had a chance to establish itself in the must, then you're giving nutrient to the wild flora and IT may become dominate. Also, adding pectic enzyme and meta together is wrong. The meta will inactivate the enzyme. This is why you always use timing between the 2 additions. And some cultures may have a hard time taking hold before the meta has had a chance to dissipate some.

So the best practice is to get the meta on the must. Then 12 hrs later, add the pectic enzyme and allow it to work--it's good to allow the enzyme to work on the fruit for about 24 hrs. Then set your brix, take PH readings and adjust the PH if you need to, THEN pitch the culture. Divide your total nutrient dose in half and pitch the first half when the yeast becomes active and the second half at 50% sugar reduction. This is the proper way to set up a ferment.