A few beginner questions regarding kit instruction book

[unknowncheese]

Howdy,

Totally new to wine making. I picked up a box of equipment and a kit the other day and I'm hoping to start within the next few days, but I have a few questions about some of the stuff it tells you to do in the kit's instructions.

The kit I bought was Cru Orchard Breezin' Black Cherry.

First, I've been watching a few instructional videos on Youtube and they all seem to check the wine after 5-7 days, but the instructions don't have you do anything until about day 14. Is this normal in some kits?

Second, in the day 14 section, step 2 is "Siphon 2L of wine from the primary and reserve". Step 3 is "Continue siphoning remainder of wine into the sterilized primary bucket or 23L carboy". Step 9 says to "Top up with reserved wine to within two inches of the airlock". Does this mean to take two 2L and put it aside, siphon the remaining wine into the carboy and then put that 2L I had put aside into the carboy? If so, is there any particular reason for doing that?

Maybe silly questions, but I want to be absolutely sure about this before I get started. The last thing I want is a ruined batch of wine.

Thanks!

 

[Dale1978]

unknown - first do not be getting advise from you tube. Most of those videos are not good source of info. If you have a question, post it on here, there are a lot of willing people to help you out. I have made many of these kits and do not follow instructions to the letter, and I have always had success with them. I combine all ingredients per the instructions, after 24 hours, stir the must twice a day. Day 3 i start checking my SG, usually by day 5 sometimes day 4 SG is around 1.000. I then rack the entire 6 gallons into a carboy and install air lock. I then let it set until about day 14 or so and then rack again off the lees and add clearing agents, sorbate and sulfites. I then wait a few days or so then rack off lees again and add the F-Pak, the F-Pak usually tops the wine back to the proper level after racking off the lees. Like I said this is how I have learned to do it, with great success. Other people will have other ideas that work for them.

 

[heatherd]

For the first few kits I made, I followed the kit instructions to the letter. Do whatever they say b/c the instructions are tailored by the manufacturer for your kit.
Heather


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Makin

 

[Deezil]

Howdy,

Totally new to wine making. I picked up a box of equipment and a kit the other day and I'm hoping to start within the next few days, but I have a few questions about some of the stuff it tells you to do in the kit's instructions.

Welcome to WMT

Do you have a run-down of what came included with the equipment kit? They're notorious for adding pieces you dont really need, and not including some things that make life much easier; so I'm curious..

The kit I bought was Cru Orchard Breezin' Black Cherry.

First, I've been watching a few instructional videos on Youtube and they all seem to check the wine after 5-7 days, but the instructions don't have you do anything until about day 14. Is this normal in some kits?

This is a decent kit to start with; it's highly 'tweakable'. It's not much invested, will get you familiar with the equipment and the process, and can be relatively tasty when finished. Being of the Orchard Breezin' line, it should be a relatively fast drinker, and while that's usually not exactly a 'plus', it will help in this case as it will give you the opportunity to review not only the equipment and the process, but the final outcome as well (without waiting 18+ months for something to age to 'exceptional')

As mentioned, Youtube is kind of 'sketch' on it's accuracy.. There's some good ones on there, but they're definitely the minority.

I can almost promise you, that your curiosity will get the better of you on this first batch - you'll check it every chance you get. And it wont hurt it, for the first half of the fermentation; check it, stir it, taste it, smell it (pay attention to the changes; you might not like the tastes and smells the whole way, but its a learning process and your nose+tongue are your best tools)

Second, in the day 14 section, step 2 is "Siphon 2L of wine from the primary and reserve". Step 3 is "Continue siphoning remainder of wine into the sterilized primary bucket or 23L carboy". Step 9 says to "Top up with reserved wine to within two inches of the airlock". Does this mean to take two 2L and put it aside, siphon the remaining wine into the carboy and then put that 2L I had put aside into the carboy? If so, is there any particular reason for doing that?

Maybe silly questions, but I want to be absolutely sure about this before I get started. The last thing I want is a ruined batch of wine.

That's pretty much what they mean, yep.

They try to make these directions "idiot-proof"; the first 2L of wine you siphon, most probably, will be some of the cleanest wine in the carboy - especially if they're telling you that you need to set it aside, ahead of time; most people probably wont drop their racking cane down into the muck at the bottom of the bucket and siphon that to set aside. They're thinking ahead for you, because as time goes on and the wine is settling (post-fermentation), it will begin to drop sediments and you'll need to rack (siphon) the wine off the sediments, then top the carboy up with something... Like the set-aside leftovers/remainder.

Sometimes it will take most of the 2L right at the beginning, and you'll have to find something else to top up with - possibly cheap like-wine from the grocery store (just not water, never water).

There's also a variance in carboy sizes.. They'll say their 5 gallons or 6 gallons, but can actually be off by up-to almost a quarter of a gallon.. So that plays into the topping-up fiasco as well.

The last thing we want for you, is to have a ruined batch of wine, so please feel free to post any/all your questions

I'll also ask/warn you - Do you have a hydrometer? / These particular Orchard Breezin' (OB) kits usually come a little low in sugar and flavor, so you may want to consider picking up some cherries, blackberries, or something else that goes with that flavor profile, to add some more sugars and flavors to this kit.. If that's at all interesting, say so and what you're thinking and we can help you ballpark how much you might need to get the final product where you want it

Could also just use white sugar to bump the Specific Gravity; normally I'd suggest honey, but these OB kits aren't really worth that much investment ..

You'll probably want the SG somewhere around 1.080.. We can help you figure out how much sugar you'll need to get there, once you can crack it open and take a hydrometer reading..

Get ready for a new 'obsession'...

 

[unknowncheese]

Here is the label on the equipment box with the contents. Also bought a corker.

So while I have it in the plastic bucket during the first steps, it's fine to open it and taste/check it out?

As for adding fruit for flavour, since this is my first time I'll just try to keep it simple for now and see how I do.

And is it worth investing in an auto-siphon?

 

[Dugger]

Some kits, including many of the Spagnols kits like the Orchard Breezin you are making, use a 14 day ferment in the primary, so this is perfectly normal.
The reason for taking out 2 liters is to ensure that you have room for the addition of the f-pack; the reserved wine would then be added back in as needed to top up to the appropriate level.
It is absolutely ok to sample at this stage; I highly recommend you taste it, smell it, see what it looks like at all stages so that you will become familiar with your wine as it progresses. This will give you benchmarks and may alert you to any possible problems developing (rare in kits) in future.
An auto syphon is a good investment and is especially useful if your syphon is somehow interrupted and needs to be restarted.
Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of winemaking!

 

[SBWs]

Agree with Dugger, also at this time you are degassing, if you don't have a little room in the top of the carboy it will overflow when you start degassing.

 

[heatherd]

I have definitely found my auto siphon to be a good investment. I also bought a Ferrari auto filler, which works with your siphon at bottling time to make filling easier and more consistent.
Heather

 

[unknowncheese]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Feel more confident about starting this now. Now I just need to get my lazy *** to the store to pick up some good water.

 

[unknowncheese]

Alright, first step done. Did everything the book said and got a hydrometer reading of 1.060 (the book said 1.050 - 1.060), so I put the lid and lock on and the wait begins. The other thing I noticed in the book is that it doesn't tell you to take hydrometer readings anymore throughout the process. I figured I'd have to check again as the wine came along. Is there a certain number I should be looking for later?

 

[Dale1978]

I advise to take air lock off and loosen the lid. The must needs oxygen the first few days and I just lay my lid on loosely. After 24 hours give it a stir, I advise twice a day. About day 3 start check sg, you want to rack it about 1.010 or lower in to a carboy. A lot of people will suggest lid on tight and air lock on, so no o2 can effect your must. Fermentation needs 02 to have a healthy ferment, once the must is below 1.000 and no more c02 is being produced, this is the point you do not want 02 being introduce to the wine. Good luck and have fun.

 

[francois_du_nord]

Howdy UC!

I'm new too, and never have made the kit you've mentioned, but my directions for the couple of WineXpert kits I have made suggest that you move to 'secondary' (think carboy) at something less than 1.010) and then you should be finished fermenting around .99X.

I would believe that your kit would be similar in gravities. I'm just in the middle of both of mine, and with warm temps, I got to the low teens in 5 days with very active fermentation.

All y'all with more experience please correct or amplify where I may be off base.

Best, Fran

 

[unknowncheese]

One more question. I moved the wine into the carboy yesterday and this stuff started to show within a few hours. I did a little reading and saw that it's most likely just yeast? Any ideas? And is it fine to just leave it like that?

 

[DoctorCAD]

That don't look right!!!

 

[Elmer]

One more question. I moved the wine into the carboy yesterday and this stuff started to show within a few hours. I did a little reading and saw that it's most likely just yeast? Any ideas? And is it fine to just leave it like that?

that is normal ,If you have finished fermenting and stirred everything up and added the super kleer to clarify.

It will all settle in due time

 

[bkisel]

All the lower end RJS kits I've done have you go dry in the primary bucket. The instructions will tell you Day 14 (Approx.) and give a SG at which you should be or lower. I no longer airlock my RJS kits until about 1.020 - talking just lower end kits. My first 4-5 RJS VdV kits were airlocked from day one without any issues. Apparently there is enough O2 introduced into the must during concentration pouring and water pouring and bentonite mixing the those little bugs have no issues bringing the wine to dry under airlock from day one.

Now that I'm a kit wine making expert (heck, I've been on this site 13 months) I no longer follow precisely RJS kit instructions.