Vintner's Harvest for Newbie

[crdman]

Hello all, I am completely new to the art of wine making. I received a kit for my birthday about a year ago and just recently got serious about making my first batch. I decided to go with the Vintner's Harvest Strawberry Fruit Base for the first batch and it is really hard to understand the directions on the back of the can. After doing some research, talking to different people, and trying to following the instructions, this is kinda what I came up with on my own. Can anyone comment and let me know if this the right path to take?

Day 1
1. Sanitize all equipment and utensils with a general purpose sanitizer

2. Add all ingredients as directed on can label. Add 1 crushed Campden tablet per gallon and stir well to make sure sugar is dissolved

3. Stir well, cover with lid and let sit over night (24 hours) to allow SO2 to be released

Day 2
4. Sprinkle yeast on top of “must” (unfinished wine). Temperature should be between 70 – 80° F

5. Next day, gently stir must. Repeat daily until specific gravity lowers to 1.040 (4 – 5 days)

Day 6 - 7
6. When gravity reads 1.040, transfer must to secondary vessel, leaving behind as much of the settled solids as possible and top up with water to minimize air space. Attach fermentation lock

Day 21 - 28
7. Rack wine again (3 – 4 weeks) when gravity reads 1.010 to 1.000. Add 1 crushed Campden tablet per gallon of must

Day 60 - 90
8. After wine is clear (2 – 3 months), stabilize with crushed Campden tablet per gallon to prevent renewed fermentation, sweeten to taste if too dry. Enhance flavor and aroma with natural fruit flavor at this time if desired. Strawberry is a mild flavor and Strawberry wines will almost always benefit from the addition of Natural Fruit Flavors. Bottle

9. Strawberry wine will benefit from the addition of an acid blend as well – particularly in sweeter examples. Add 1 tsp of “Acid Blend” for a 3 gallon batch and 2 tsp for a 5 gallon batch. This is a good starting point for a slight tartness to offset any residual sugar. Sweeter wines should use more

10. Wine can be consumed at this point but will benefit with aging of 6 months to one (1) year

 

[SBWs]

Day 1
1. Sanitize all equipment and utensils with a general purpose sanitizer

Sounds Okay

2. Add all ingredients as directed on can label. Add 1 crushed Campden tablet per gallon and stir well to make sure sugar is dissolved

Use Hydrometer to add sugar to around a starting Specific Gravity of 1.080

3. Stir well, cover with lid and let sit over night (24 hours) to allow SO2 to be released

Sounds Good

Day 2
4. Sprinkle yeast on top of “must” (unfinished wine). Temperature should be between 70 – 80° F

This should work

5. Next day, gently stir must. Repeat daily until specific gravity lowers to 1.040 (4 – 5 days)

I'd say keep stirring until SG is at least 1.020, however 1.040 is a good time to add a little more Yeast Nutrient.

Day 6 - 7
6. When gravity reads 1.040, transfer must to secondary vessel, leaving behind as much of the settled solids as possible and top up with water to minimize air space. Attach fermentation lock

Same as above wait until at least 1.020 to rack, however should transfer some solids at this racking as that is where most of the yeast are. If you don't you could slow down the ferment or even become stuck.

Day 21 - 28
7. Rack wine again (3 – 4 weeks) when gravity reads 1.010 to 1.000. Add 1 crushed Campden tablet per gallon of must

Never add Campden (K-Meta) until wine is dry unless you have a way to stop fermentation, such as cold crashing and sterile filtering. Dry being at or below 1.000 for 3 days in a row. You will stun the yeast and could get off flavors.

Day 60 - 90
8. After wine is clear (2 – 3 months), stabilize with crushed Campden tablet per gallon to prevent renewed fermentation, sweeten to taste if too dry. Enhance flavor and aroma with natural fruit flavor at this time if desired. Strawberry is a mild flavor and Strawberry wines will almost always benefit from the addition of Natural Fruit Flavors. Bottle

You also need to add Potassium Sorbate per directions (most time 1/2 tsp per gallon) This will stop any yeast present from reproducing.

I use Bacardi Mixers Strawberry Daiquiri Concentrate to sweeten strawberry and it seems to work well.

9. Strawberry wine will benefit from the addition of an acid blend as well – particularly in sweeter examples. Add 1 tsp of “Acid Blend” for a 3 gallon batch and 2 tsp for a 5 gallon batch. This is a good starting point for a slight tartness to offset any residual sugar. Sweeter wines should use more

As with sugar, it's better to test before adding acid, however some do add by taste, my taste buds are that good so I test.

10. Wine can be consumed at this point but will benefit with aging of 6 months to one (1) year

Seen nobody answered so figured I'd respond. On my BLOG I have steps for making wine with Steam Juice, they are about the same for what you are doing. You may want to check them out. Hope this helps and as always Happy Wine Making!

 

[crdman]

So, I guess I will see how the 1st batch turns out. I mixed all of the ingredients up tonight in my fermentation vessel except for my yeast. I will pitch the yeast tomorrow night and hopefully I will be on my way to making wine. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

[crdman]

Yeast has been pitched and a good reading of 75 degrees. Waiting game for the next few days to see if it takes off. How long should it take before I should start seeing some results?

 

[Arne]

Did you just sprinkle it on top or make a starter? If you just sprinkled, it mite be 3 or 4 days before you see good ferment. If a starter, mite be tomorrow. If you have the must itself at 75 degrees, bet it will take off pretty quick. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[crdman]

Sprinkled and stirred in. I have read that some sprinkle on top and some stir in. I just took a gamble by stirring it in.

 

[Arne]

No matter, it should take off just fine. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[crdman]

I woke up this morning to get ready for work and I guess I was a little kid on Christmas morning. The first thing I did, was to go and look at my fermenting vessel. As to my surprise, I found bubbles in my air lock (about 1 every 3 - 4 seconds). I was so happy to see this happening.

 

[crdman]

Ok, so I am on day number 5 since I added my yeast (day 6 since I mixed the batch) and I still have about 1 bubble every second coming through the air lock. I smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from the fermentor when I walk past. I sure hope that I didn't put too much sugar (12 pounds for 6 gallons) into the batch when I mixed it all up. I am going to take an S/G reading tomorrow night when I come home from work to see where I am and to also mess around with my new refractometer that I got in the mail today.