Concords are ready. I’m not

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halfbaked

Junior
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Got the call grapes are ready. I was guessing it be 30 days from now. I’m not ready. I have carboys bungs starsan air locks and not much else. I need a list to order and try to get ready and recipe. 1st time in 25 years and no inter web then. Who gives best price?
Don’t fig I know anything please because pretty much I dont.

Camden tabs
d47 ? 1118? Etc yeast?????
sorbate
Wine conditioner (want a sweet wine)
Dextrose
 
I can fig juice by gallon or by lb. I have a machine that is used. To take seeds out of fruit called a VICTORIO VKP250
 
If your source is like my church friend, they could stay another 30 days! .,,,, a test! are the yellow jacket wasps deciding they are ripe? ,,, no? then wait. How will you juice? Mom had a pillow case on string hanging on kitchen cabinet

Starters: hydrometer and cylinder, pail or brute to ferment in, kitchen for mixing sugar, scoops, measure volume, and sugar, 1118 is good, a web calculator for sugar, pH is nice but not needed on first batch ( grape should taste overly sweet not acid since when sugar is fermented it will taste acid), campden tablets (potassium metabisulphite sanitizer)

Racking: the carboy, vinyl tube from the hardware store, the carboy and airlock (however I have seen beer just put a hose in a bucket of water) (or balloon 🎈)

Racking again, a slightly smaller carboy, ,,, then patience (months)

Bottle: kitchen stuff as measure cup, sugar, more campden, and finally sorbate

Good luck and welcome to WMT
 
I think it is pretty early for Concords, especially with such a late Spring and the wet weather we’re having in Virginia.
 
My juicing apparatus hopefully
 

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I have
hydrometer
Several 6.5 and 5 gal glass carboys
Big funnel
Reg Sugar
racking tubes
Air locks
Above pic is what I plan on seedind and skinning grapes with. ( work???? Hope so we see)


I know I need
potassium medisulphate or Camden tabs????
Yeast
Wine Conditioner

What else????
 
I know I need
potassium medisulphate or Camden tabs????
Yeast
Wine Conditioner

What else????

You mentioned Sorbate in your first post, is this really needed, when you are using potassium metabisulphate??

By Wine conditioner do you mean Yeast nutrient??.
 
Sorbate is used at the end to STOP your fermentation. Meta/Camden is used at the beginning to sanitize the initial 'must', and you need to wait a day for it to dissipate (with a towel covering your bucket), before you pitch your yeast.

Nutrient is 'yeast food', and you can add it with your yeast.

Wine conditioner is just adding Sorbate, then you can add a little sugar to taste, and it won't start fermenting again (back sweetening).
 
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Are you making a white or red wine? It may be ok for a white, but for a red wine, you don't want to use a juicer like the one shown, removing the skins will remove the color.
 
You mentioned Sorbate in your first post, is this really needed, when you are using potassium metabisulphate??

By Wine conditioner do you mean Yeast nutrient??.
Wine conditioner by that I mean a sweetner after the yeast has done their job

It has been many years since making wine and there was never anything other than. Yeast and sugar then. No internet then. Complete rookie here.
 
Sorbate is used at the end to STOP your fermentation. Meta/Camden is used at the beginning to sanitize the initial 'must', and you need to wait a day for it to dissipate (with a towel covering your bucket), before you pitch your yeast.

Nutrient is 'yeast food', and you can add it with your yeast.

Wine conditioner is just adding Sorbate, then you can add a little sugar to taste, and it won't start fermenting again (back sweetening).

I think we are on the same page sir. Thank you. Now tell me 1118, d47 or do u have a better idea
 
Sorbate is used at the end to STOP your fermentation. Meta/Camden is used at the beginning to sanitize the initial 'must', and you need to wait a day for it to dissipate (with a towel covering your bucket), before you pitch your yeast.

Nutrient is 'yeast food', and you can add it with your yeast.

Wine conditioner is just adding Sorbate, then you can add a little sugar to taste, and it won't start fermenting again (back sweetening).
I really do know nothing.

Do I also need to add meta/camden at the same time as the sorbate?

I was under the impression the initial dosing of the mash with Meta was to kill of the existing wild yeasts and bacteria, before adding good yeast and nutrients, is this wrong?
 
You could consider Red Star Pasteur Red yeast. Yes, your initial impression is correct, just make sure you let it sit for a day, with a towel over the bucket. The pot. meta. will dissipate, then you can add your yeast and nutrient. After the ferment is complete, and you rack into the carboy, you will be adding another dose, and every three months after that. It scavenges any oxygen that may be there.
 
Not very sweet not loaded with flavor and smaller.
 

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Does anyone have an opinion on making wine from Concord grapes? Would the result be a quality wine or would it make a wine similar to the old cheap wine we got sick on when we drank too much as kids in the 60’s?
 
Concord requires aging to let the foxy taste mellow. It takes oak well and can make a really nice port style. If you have Concord grapes, I suggest making a batch of wine and then make a second run and add a bottle of white grape juice or a can of concentrated juice. That makes a very nice table wine that is drinkable early.
 
I am not sure what foxy taste like. There’s a kid I used to make grape one that tasted like a wine called Duplin. It’s a sweet one but I always thought it was great
 
Ok I squeezed enough juice to get 1.5 gal of juice and threw in a couple of Camden tabs. Have not checked sugar. How much water should I add? I can fig the sugar at that point
 

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