New to forum

[Bineandvine]

Hi guys, I'm new to wine making, I was really into beer(I work for a beer company and am well versed in sanitation, yeast etc) but wine sounds a lot funnier to make! I dove right in and I'm three weeks into my first batch, strawberry apricot. I used about 5 lbs of strawberries, two pounds of apricots and about 9 lbs of sugar. I pitched with champagne yeast. Two weeks ago I racked it off the lees into a clean carboy and fitted with an airlock. It's still going pretty strong about 1 bubble every 10-15 seconds. Now today it seemed as if it was speeding up, there was a lot more bubbles and activity in the carboy. Big question, has anyone used champagne yeast and is 3-4 weeks of fermentation normal or am I dealing with an infection? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[heatherd]

Welcome to the hobby and the forum!

Do you have a hydrometer? That is the only way to know if it is still fermenting. If done, your hydrometer should read 0.990 or similar.

There's no infection.

Most likely the bubbles are gas, which you can remove by stirring or by letting the wine sit for several months.

 

[grapeman]

Welcome to the forum. You don't mention what size batch you are making. Going by the fruit, I would guess a gallon or two, but the sugar says maybe 5 or 6. The point of the hydrometer is spot on. Without it you have no idea of the beginning specific gravity or where you are at for sure. Can you make wine without one? Yes. Can you make good wine more reliably with one? Yes.

If you are making a 5/6 gallon batch consider bumping up the amount of fruit next time.

 

[Bineandvine]

Thanks for the reply guys, I'm making 5 gallons but a little tight on funds so I had to use strawberries, apricots and a five pound bag of oranges I had lying around. I would say that total fruit wise would be about 8 or 9 lbs. I checked it yesterday with my hydrometer and it is reading 1.00. OG was 1.1 and I used champagne yeast so I'm going to give it another few days as there is still some activity in the airlock. I'll let you guys know how it turns out!

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

Here is the recipe for a wine that you'll find inexpensive to make. It's one the favorites found here on WMT.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41825&highlight=Danger+Dave

 

[Julie]

Hi Bineandvine welcome to winemakingtalk

 

[Jericurl]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

You will find a lot of information and helpful people around here.

As far as your first batch of wine, way to go!
I still haven't made any beer. I'd been making wine a couple of years and ordered my first beer kit. It had two pages of instructions. Ain't nobody got time for that! It's still sitting around here somewhere.
I think you will find winemaking much simpler.

You are off to a good start, but I think you will find you want a lot more fruit in your future wines. If you only have a few pounds, it's better to make a much smaller batch. Or, if you want to make a 5 or 6 gallon batch with only 9 lbs of fruit, a better option would be to either make Dragon's Blood or exchange the sugar for honey and make mead.

 

[Mismost]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

You will find a lot of information and helpful people around here.

As far as your first batch of wine, way to go!
I still haven't made any beer. I'd been making wine a couple of years and ordered my first beer kit. It had two pages of instructions. Ain't nobody got time for that! It's still sitting around here somewhere.
I think you will find winemaking much simpler.

Jericurl...don't wimp out on beer! You can read two pages! You don't do it all at once, just follow the steps and give it some time. Beer is more work in the beginning, but it goes into the bottle faster....wine is easier up front, but takes a lot more time to get in the bottle and then a lot more time again.

I started with beer and then wine....same gear...it just seemed natural. You need to do beers so you can drink one as you watch your wine age...someone here once said "it takes a lot of beer to make good wine"!

Besides your Manthing and non-wine drinking friends will enjoy one of your brews...and it's fun. Just ease it into gear and slide the clutch out...one step at a time...you'll get there!

 

[NorCal]

When I have made wine where the fruit is low in volume compared to the amount of sugar that I added, it resulted in something that tasted like a cheap mixed drink. I've also found that the yeast needed some added nutrient to get it to finish fermentation. That said, you have a much better understanding of winemaking than I did when I made my first wine and it is a lot of fun, welcome.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT, B&V.

 

[Bineandvine]

Jericurl- that's what I thought to, I have a six month old son and just figured wine would be a lot more hands off since I don't get a lot of time to myself these days.