Werzels wow questions

[jamesjr]

Ok so I'm working on my 2nd batch ever. And I was thinking of werzels orange wine. One of the simpler ones I could find. Just a few quistions. First ill tell u wat I have. 1 jug of 100 percent orange juice amd one jug of 100 percent white grape. I have the red packs of montrachet for yeast. Fermaid k for nutrient . I have campden gelatin. Bentonite. Hydrometer. a couple 1 gallon carboys and I can get black tea for tannin.
I kno I dont have pectin enzyme. Any alternatives?
So my questions are what should I get my first sg up to I want I wine that will be safe yet not to strong?
Can I make a good wow with what I have?
I hear about glycerin a lot and is it that helpfull what kind of taste does it add? and can I find it any stores other than brew stores?
Any other simple 1 gal batches I can make. I keep it small till I get what I like I'm a week into wine making and my girlfriend is already mad at the money I spent so that's gonna be all the supplys I can order for a while lol unless I can pick it up at the local walmart..... she likes that place to Damon much! Any way I love this new hobby of mine and I kno I probably dont have all the essentials y'all have but funds are limited.

 

[Arne]

Well, next time you go to walmart, try asking at their bakery if they have a bucket the iceing comes in. They will probably give it to you or sell it pretty cheap. It if food grand and you can use it for a primary. Figure out how to use the hydrometer. There are a few tutorials on here that will tell you how.
Now clean and sanatize the bucket. Dump the juices in. Mix them up and take a specific gravity (s.g.) reading. Using inverted sugar, 2 parts sugar to 1 part water heated up on the stove til it dissolves. Add a little lemon juice to it for acid. Now bring the juices up to a s.g. of 1.080 or so with the sugar water. Add half the amount of fermaid k the container says to use. Maybe some of the tea if you have it. Make a yeast starter, mix the yeast with a cup of warm water,100 degrees or so not much higher, some of your juice and let it sit for a bit. When it starts fermenting, add some more juice. When it gets rolling again, add it to the juice. Put a lid with a towel over it on top of the bucket. When it gets to fermenting, stir it at least once a day. Check the s.g. after a couple of days. When it gets down to 1.060 or so add the rest of the nutrient. Ferment it down to 1.000 or so and rack it to your carboys. Put airlocks on them. Put any extra in an old, clean, sanaitzed wine bottle or two ans stick it in the reefer. You can use the extra to top off later. Now when they settle out and clear some you can rack them again and add your campden gel; I am not familiar with campden gel. but suppose it works the same as the tabs. After it clears and you rack it, you can top off with the stuff out of the refrigerator. That wine mite keep fermenting a bit so now you wait again. When it is clear, time to do a bit of tasting. It will probablyhave a yeasty taste and should be dry. Probably have to sweeten it some to bring the fruit taste back out. You will have to stabilize the batch before you sweeten it, otherwise it will probably referment. You can do your adding to a glass without stabilizing as you won't give it long enough to referment before drinking it. Give it a try, see how it goes and any problems give us a holler. This will make you a wine, probably won't be great, but mite be pretty good. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[jamesjr]

Ok thanks arne I notice I'm not to far off of the original recipe but a lot call for glycerin. Would the bakery maybe have that? And what helps with the yeast taste if its present? And I dont put an airlock on right after I pitch the yeast? Makes me nervous I hate vinegar lol and also I was looking into skeeter pee but almost all the lemon juice I can find has preservatives in it what to do about that. And seeing the list of what I have what do u think I should get when I get a chance to order again?

Thanks for everything

 

[sour_grapes]

OI notice I'm not to far off of the original recipe but a lot call for glycerin. Would the bakery maybe have that? And I dont put an airlock on right after I pitch the yeast?

You can get glycerin at most pharmacies. (It is used to make your mouth feel better if you have certain conditions.)

You can put the airlock on if you want. Most of us have found no difference with or without. Some report sluggish fermentations with an airlock.

 

[jamesjr]

Darn I just left cvs lol thanks for the help

 

[Arne]

I have not used glycerin. Not saying I won't just havn't used it. Most good winemaking stores have it in stock also. If you are going to sweeten it after ferment, you need potassium sorbate and k-meta in some form (powdered, campden tabs, or maybe your gel.) The yeast taste should go away with time in the carboy. For your skeeter pee, just use real lemon in the bottles. Go to skeeterpee.com for the original recipe. The lees they call for are the gunk leftover from a ferment. You can get by with a new pkg. of yeast instead. You won't have any problem fermenting in an open bucket, just rack it to a carboy at s.g. 1.010 or so. There is enough co2 being produced to protect it til it gets close to done fermenting. Arne.

 

[jamesjr]

Ok kool and darn auto correct I meant campden tabs. Well arne I just finishing putting together my first "wow" this is wat I did I hydrated my bentonite and yeast starter, my yeast starter was yeast and go fermentation protect. Once it foamed up good I added some juice. Loaded it into my carboy then got the sg up to about 1.082 and wow within 20 minutes there's a whole lot going on in there. Now do I let it sit or stir a couple times a day ive heard both and o ya I'm going to add yeast nutrient at 1 third sugar consumption. I'm stoked closest thing to real wine ive made yet I just finished a red grape wine with bread yeast and wow taste like garbage but its a sense of pride I made it. I cleared that one with egg whites and it kinda worked

 

[Arne]

Keep us informed what is happening with it and how it comes out. Arne.

 

[wineforfun]

Yes, stir it twice daily if possible. I always stir mine morning and at night.

 

[jamesjr]

Will do thanks for all the help

 

[cintipam]

jamesjr, to stir or not in the beginning is based totally on how active your yeast is early on. Sometimes, esp with a starter, it just jumps to life and foams away. Other times the yeast just lies there and nothing seems to go on at all. Sluggish yeast need a warm peaceful environment to slowly get used to the must and start growing colonies. Staying near the surface helps with oxygen supply. So if no reaction let it sit and grow slowly. But if it foams and fizzes, stir away twice a day minimum.

Pam in cinti

 

[jamesjr]

I'm glad u told me that I would of done just the opposite

 

[jamesjr]

Well just took the sg and its already down to 1.000 I forgot to add the ferm k but I went ahead and racked it into a clean carboy. Lil taste and its not much flavor whats so ever I starter with an og of 1.083. How can I get more fruity flavor? Also I'm saving the yeast slurry for a skeeter pee I'm just keeping it in thw fridge for a couple days

 

[jamesjr]

Just checked sg again and its .992 now it has not much flavor and almost a sulferie smell I keep shaking to degas and I added bentonite to clear. Am I safe to add sugar with such a low sg reading? I dont have any metabisulfite or anything to slow yeast down. But I'd like some suggestion on how to make this "wow" make me say "wow". The og was 1.084

 

[sour_grapes]

Sorry, I am a bit unfamiliar with WOW. But let me ask: Why do you want to add sugar? Is it to make it sweet or to make it more alcoholic?

 

[jamesjr]

Definitely not more alcohol but to maybe bring some flavor out and or backsweeten

 

[Arne]

You can add a bit of sugar to your tasting glass. Don't add to the batch or it will referment unless you stabilize it. Stabilizing is adding k-meta(campden) and potassium sorbate. I recommend waiting until the wine is clear before stabilizing. Arne.

 

[jamesjr]

Ok kool thanks arne

 

[wineforfun]

Agree with Arne, do it in a glass first. I would definitely say you need sugar to get some flavor out of it. The orange juice wine I made tasted terrible dry. With sugar to bring it up to 1.008 and letting it sit on some dark chocolate for awhile, it is something I would make again.

 

[jamesjr]

If I back sweeten with an orange frozen concentrate how much should I use? For one gallon.and also when I backsweeten and put it in the fridge will it referment?