First time making wine. Few Questions

[Julie]

If you use the Mason Jar Vacuum sealer attachment you do not have to heat anything! I wish people would reply after they research things. I understand that personal experience is essential so we can move forwardJinge Jango Djano from here. Corks provide minimal Oxygen exchange. Perhaps there needs to be more about all of this. I have Rhubarb wine coming off in a few months so I need to settle this issue myself.

Watch how you state things, rudeness will not keep you here.

 

[Scooter68]

The problem with mason jars is the potential of reaction between the lid metal and the alcohol and acidity of the wine.
As to cleaning - stick with the recommended sanitizing materials like K-meta, OneStep, StarSan - products made for use by beer and wine makers. Other products can leave behind residue that can ruin your wine or create off-flavors and smells. StarSan isn't going to affect your wine. It's made for use with food products and when mixed and used per instructions will not cause any problems.

You don't have to buy bottles - go to the local recycling center collect, clean and just use new corks.

You can only go just so far 'on the cheap' before you run the risk of wasting your time and fruit/grapes. You need to plan on a some level of investment and following some basic processes or you are liable to wind up with undrinkable 'wine' or bottle bombs that make a big mess for you as well as leave you with nothing to drink.

Before you jump right into your first batch you need to do some serious reading. Jack Keller has a number of short articles on wine making and there are a lot of threads on here that provide you guidance. Most of all you need to have patience - you cannot rush wine making or you will end up with something that makes 'Ripple' taste like champagne.

 

[wyogal]

Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer--I would not trust this for wine

If you use the Mason Jar Vacuum sealer attachment you do not have to heat anything! I wish people would reply after they research things.

I'm no expert winemaker, but I've been canning for over 40 years and I think this is questionable. The reason is that vacuum sealers also depend on the jars, lids, and contents being completely sterile at the beginning. Sterile, not just cleaned and sanitized. I honestly don't know how a home brewer/vintner could accomplish this without heating everything well beyond the point of damage to the wine.

Re the "prohibition style": You sound like a pretty creative guy to me--I would bet you could think up a label or bottle treatment that would give you that feeling, and it would be unique! Your very own.

 

[drainsurgeon]

Wow, a few surprises on this post.

First is to mookiex4. You make better wine with honey than with fruit flies. Attitude change my friend. I need to correct your 1 Campdon tablet per gallon statement. That is for preventing oxidation and bacterial growth. The correct dosage for "sanitizing" is 3-4 table spoons per gallon (my k-meta bag says 2oz/gallon). That would be about 48 Campdon tabs per gallon.

Second is that there has been no mention to the fact that if you are not going to back-sweeten your wine, you don't need any sorbate at all. None. Nada. Zilch.
Someone earlier in this thread mentioned adding sorbate "while bottling". Assuming that they are sweetening also, I think this is a dangerous practice. I always wait at least one week after stabilizing (k-meta and sorbate), back-sweeten, wait one more week (to make sure you've not started another ferment) and THEN bottle. These are MINIMUM times.

Third is a question about oxidation. JohnT made a statement about one gallon for long term storage, but once starting to consume, it should be transferred to 750ml bottles to prevent oxidation. The reason being that it would not be all consumed in one sitting. This makes me think that oxidation happens a lot sooner that I previously thought. I sometimes have a bottle of open wine sitting on the counter for a week or two as I regularly use it in cooking. I also sample while cooking (just to make sure it's not gone bad ) and have not noticed any ill effects from this practice. I've also not been overly concerned about a little access head space while brewing kits. The exposure time is usually 2-3 weeks and didn't think oxidation happened that fast. Please educate me on how fast it happens.