Zintrigue
Senior Member
Hello everyone. I just posted in the introduction thread, so here I am asking for advice from the pros on my first winemaking adventure. Six weeks is a long time to wait for an experiment and I want success.
I didn't want to go all out and spend loads of money on equipment if this interest doesn't fit into my life. So I found this recipe here and will be making my first wine mostly like this.
Except I want to use table grapes. I'll be here when you're done laughing.
I have a 4 Liter demijohn and some balloons to poke holes in. I'm really excited! I guess I just wanted to check that I'm going about this correctly for my first time.
I've cleaned the jar with hot water and one campden tablet. I plan to mash the stemless grapes up really well (maybe a full bunch of them? Two pounds?) and add them to the jar, along with five cups of sugar, a packet of yeast, and enough water to stop just below the neck. I'll tie it off with the holey balloon (praise be unto it) and let the "wine" sit for about six weeks in my dark pantry. After that I have some cheesecloth that I'll strain the mixture through, then add it to cleaned wine bottles.
I realize this is extremely simple. I'm a tentative hobbyist, I buy the minimal amount first and get a feel for something before I take it on fully. I have a few questions about my process.
The neck of the demijohn is decidedly small. Would it affect the finished product in any way if I put the grapes in a food processor for easy transfer? Should I add more sugar at any point in the 6 week period? Are you still laughing? And do any of you have any wisdom to impart upon me in this quest?
If this is a successful adventure, then I will probably end up investing in all of the proper tools to do this and begin trying new recipes. Perhaps finding somewhere to order real wine grapes until I can plant my own.
Thank you for any advice offered. Being a long time wine lover, this is one hobby that just makes sense, and I can't wait to try it!
Cheers!
-Zin
I didn't want to go all out and spend loads of money on equipment if this interest doesn't fit into my life. So I found this recipe here and will be making my first wine mostly like this.
Except I want to use table grapes. I'll be here when you're done laughing.
I have a 4 Liter demijohn and some balloons to poke holes in. I'm really excited! I guess I just wanted to check that I'm going about this correctly for my first time.
I've cleaned the jar with hot water and one campden tablet. I plan to mash the stemless grapes up really well (maybe a full bunch of them? Two pounds?) and add them to the jar, along with five cups of sugar, a packet of yeast, and enough water to stop just below the neck. I'll tie it off with the holey balloon (praise be unto it) and let the "wine" sit for about six weeks in my dark pantry. After that I have some cheesecloth that I'll strain the mixture through, then add it to cleaned wine bottles.
I realize this is extremely simple. I'm a tentative hobbyist, I buy the minimal amount first and get a feel for something before I take it on fully. I have a few questions about my process.
The neck of the demijohn is decidedly small. Would it affect the finished product in any way if I put the grapes in a food processor for easy transfer? Should I add more sugar at any point in the 6 week period? Are you still laughing? And do any of you have any wisdom to impart upon me in this quest?
If this is a successful adventure, then I will probably end up investing in all of the proper tools to do this and begin trying new recipes. Perhaps finding somewhere to order real wine grapes until I can plant my own.
Thank you for any advice offered. Being a long time wine lover, this is one hobby that just makes sense, and I can't wait to try it!
Cheers!
-Zin