First attemp at making wine and need some advice please

[Ste]

I was given a kit for making 4.5 litres along with all the equipment, the problem i'm having is the instructions are a bit vague and gives no indication on what you should expect. I'm using black grapes and done tge 1st fermentation stage in the loosely covered bucket. After 3 days I've now transferred the liquid into a 5 litre bottle with stopper and airlock and its all bubbling away.

My questions are
1 - there is Scum forming at the top of the bottle, above the foamy bubbles, is this normal? (See Pic)

2 - The instructions suggest adding Acidity to the wine but doesnt say when or how much.

Thanks in advance,
Ste

 

[sour_grapes]

You said it was a kit: What was in it? Was it just the jug, airlock, etc., or did the kit include grape products? What do you mean when you say you are "using black grapes"? Where are they from?

I am not worried about the scum. Whether or not you need to add any acid really depends on the characteristics of what you are fermenting.

 

[Ste]

Hi, thanks the quick response, really appreciate any help

The kit didnt include any fruit or juice, I had to buy the grapes and sugar seperately. The kit came with Yeast, sterilising powder, Wine Finings, Wine Stabiliser, Citric Acid and basic instructions.
Thanks
Ste

 

[salcoco]

did the instructions state to add the citric acid? Normally measurements for acid content of grape along with ph are made to determine if acid additions are required. buy a hydrometer. measure the wine fermentation until complete hydrometer will read 1.000 or less. wait until wine is clear and age about one month. do a taste test. if wine is flat add some acid then taste again repeat until happy with wine. in the mean time do some research on making wine and measurements https://morewinemaking.com/content/winemanuals here are some good references.

 

[Ste]

Thanks for the replys. As a complete novice, it really does help getting some tips on what to do by the experts. Good to know that the scum is nothing to worry about.

The instructions just state that I should add the citric acid a bit at a time until you reach the desired sharpness.

I have a hydrometre, that came with the kit. I dont know how to use it yet but understand I need to use it later on in the process, it was my next thing to research.

Thanks
Ste

 

[cmason1957]

Thanks for the replys. As a complete novice, it really does help getting some tips on what to do by the experts. Good to know that the scum is nothing to worry about.

The instructions just state that I should add the citric acid a bit at a time until you reach the desired sharpness.

I have a hydrometre, that came with the kit. I dont know how to use it yet but understand I need to use it later on in the process, it was my next thing to research.

Thanks
Ste

Learning to read a hydrometer and understand what it is telling you is one of the most important things in winemaking. It's how you know how much alcohol you might be capable of making. That you didn't add to much sugar at the beginning and start with stressed yeast right off the get go. It's how you know your fermentation is done, you can't trust bubbles in your airlock. When you do that, you are assuming that is the only place for CO2 to escape your system and it seldom is.

This thread probably gives you a full tutorial in reading a hydrometer:
https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/how-to-use-a-hydrometer-for-newbies.16574/

Note Well, you may read somewhere about getting a refractometer, They are a great instrument to use PRIOR to alcohol being in the mix. Since they depend on the optics that a mixture of sugar and water provides, once you introduce alcohol into the mix, they cannot read correctly. There are charts available to help with that issue, but a hydrometer works quite fine. Once fermentation starts, I don't care about the absolute number, just that it keeps going down.

 

[gsf77]

Ste - Welcome! I to am a beginner. If I were looking at that image and it was mine - I'd be concerned with something getting into the air lock and stopping it up.

 

[Ste]

Thanks for that tip, and for the welcome . The scum or whatever it is, is just around the sides of the bottle (i think) but i'll defo keep an eye on it.