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USER1987

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Hello there,

i have a question about wine making. i want to start it, but i need to know when i put the yeast and the sugar. at any step i can do that.
 
Welcome to the forum!

Can depend on whether you're doing a kit or country wine or juice or grapes. I recommend you use kit instructions or a recipe to guide you through your first few batches of wine.

Here is a basic recipe - first post... http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41825&highlight=danger+dave

thank for welcoming me

I am making red dry wine from grapes. so what better using sugar or honey. also is it necessary to add water with it or i can do it without water.
 
here is about the briefest outline for making wine with grapes copied from WineMaker Magazine. Hope it helps.
18 lbs. ripe red grapes
1 campden tablet (or 0.33g of potassium metabisulfite powder)
Tartaric acid, if necessary
Table sugar, if necessary
1 packet wine yeast (like Prise de Mousse or Montrachet)
Harvest grapes once they have reached 22 to 24 percent sugar (22° to 24° Brix).
Sanitize all equipment. Place the grape clusters into the nylon straining bag and deposit the bag into the bottom of the food-grade pail. Using very clean hands or a sanitized tool like a potato masher, firmly crush the grapes inside the bag. Crush the campden tablet (or measure out 1 teaspoon of sulfite crystals) and sprinkle over the must in the nylon bag. Cover pail with cheesecloth and let sit for one hour.
Measure the temperature of the must. It should be between 70° and 75° F. Take a sample of the juice in the pail and measure the acid with your titration kit. If it's not between 6 to 7 grams per liter then adjust with tartaric acid.
Check the degrees Brix or specific gravity of the must. If it isn't around 22° Brix (1.0982 SG), add a little bit of sugar dissolved in water.
Dissolve the yeast in 1 pint warm (80° to 90° F) water and let stand until bubbly (it should take no more than 10 minutes). When it's bubbling, pour yeast solution directly on must inside the nylon bag. Agitate bag up and down a few times to mix yeast. Cover pail with cheesecloth, set in a warm (65° to 75° F) area and check that fermentation has begun in at least 24 hours. Monitor fermentation progression and temperature regularly. Keep the skins under the juice at all times and mix twice daily.
Once the must has reached "dryness" (at least 0.5° Brix or 0.998 SG), lift the nylon straining bag out of the pail and squeeze any remaining liquid into the pail.
Cover the pail loosely and let the wine settle for 24 hours. Rack off the sediment into a sanitized one-gallon jug, topping up with a little boiled, cooled water to entirely fill the container. Fit with a sanitized bung and fermentation lock. Keep the container topped with grape juice or any dry red wine of a similar style. After 10 days, rack the wine into another sanitized one-gallon jug. Top up with dry red wine of a similar style.
grapesmashAfter six months, siphon the clarified, settled wine off the sediment and into clean, sanitized bottles. Cork with the hand-corker.
Store bottles in cool, dark place and wait at least six months before drinking.
 
thank for welcoming me

I am making red dry wine from grapes. so what better using sugar or honey. also is it necessary to add water with it or i can do it without water.

Hi User1987 - and welcome. You say you want to add sugar. Are these then table grapes and not wine grapes? There ought to be enough sugar in wine grapes to produce a wine with a reasonable amount of alcohol without any need to add sugar.
 
I've not used a Kit but it sounds like a kit might be the best way to jump in. Some claim to produce a good wine in as little as 3-4 weeks but in reality you should age any wine a lot longer. None-the-less the better kits are suppose to come with everything balanced and pretty much ready to go. You just need a bit of equipment and the ability to read and follow instructions.

Oh and a place to room temp place (60-70 degrees) store the wine while it ferments and ages.

Oh and patience, lots of patience. (Starting to sound like Colombo here.)

WELCOME ! Join the fun.
 
Google and read through the Skeeter Pee recipe on this site. I highly suggest you start there and not only learn what to do, but why you are doing it. A little study before embarking will reduce the learning curve substantially.
 

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