Honestly I'm not sure, I'm relatively new to even drinking wine so I don't have a strong preference. I have good friend who owns an apple orchard so I think that's the direction I'm going next. I've had someone homemade pear wine that was fantastic.
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Scooter68
Fruit "Wine" Maker
Apple is a good wine and you can make it dry or sweet. The only issue with it is that you need to up your pectic enzyme amount to at least double the normal dosage. With a little searching you should be able to find some good apple juice from this seasons crops. If you can get it without any preservative that would be best but many folks have no problem with those. With apple wine the best wines come from a mix of about 60% tart and 40% sweet apples.
franc1969
Senior Member
My berry wine looked like a smoothie- it will be fine. It's the yeast churning around and this will fall out when fermentation is done.
Did yours clear up to the point of looking like normal wine or will it always be hazy?
franc1969
Senior Member
Crystal clear. I am a lazy winemaker, the blueberry was started last week of January, blackberry-raspberry the following week or so? Both to be bottled yesterday, but I have a cold or flu. So not happening. I should have bottled before, but I got sidetracked. Neither needed any clarification beyond time and inattention. My cranberry-raspberry-blackberry-lemon-apple freezer clear-out wine from February was bottled sometime in September, it also did not need a clarifier to be clear, until I added apple concentrate to sweeten.
The blueberry was the worst of the lot, looked ridiculous when fermentation ended. After two weeks in the carboy below 1.00, I racked to another and got 4+ gallons out of 6. It was very clear by summer.
The blueberry was the worst of the lot, looked ridiculous when fermentation ended. After two weeks in the carboy below 1.00, I racked to another and got 4+ gallons out of 6. It was very clear by summer.
Sunshine Wine
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Hello! I am using a dark muscadine juice and it has a lot of pulp. Do i need to strain it off or leave it for now? Today is day 4 and i have stirred it once a day so far. The pulp is rising to the top so I am not sure if I need to remove it. Also, my hydrometer touches the bottom of my bucket, so I don't know the accurate measurement. I have a 5 gallon bucket but only about 3 gallons of juice. Wanted to start small since this is my very first try...Lol. Help!
Yes, it's normal.
Leave the pulp in until you transfer from the bucket to a glass carboy. A lot of good flavor comes from the pulp.
I use a tall glass graduated cylinder, which I clean and sanitize for the measurement. If you don't have that you can use a tall glass vase. Just be sure to clean well and sanitize.
One thing I didn’t see posted is that you can slow the ferment by cooling it, putting it near the window or in the garage.
If you had berry pulp time lets you get a cleaner separation of wine and solid gunk.
Scooter68
Fruit "Wine" Maker
MBurly31
That looks good. I also see a bit of foam at the top and that indicates that either your fermentation isn't quite done OR you have a huge amount off gassing going on. Normally you won't see that much foam from off gassing so I'm guessing it's still fermenting.
1) Latest SG Reading??
The extent of the sediment and the foaming suggest that perhaps you could have left it in the primary container a bit longer. That would help things settle better and compact a little before racking to the carboy.
2) Did you have any additional wine left after the racking, kept in another container?
Once the fermentation has completed sediment will settle out faster as the fermentation gases diminish and there is less turbulence in the container. You can expect to see sediment for at least the two rackings and then all that should remain will be fine sediment that you won't see until you've racked down to the very bottom.
Remember you will need to rack again once you confirm fermentation is completed and at that time add a dose of k-meta (or Crush one Campden tablet dissolve and add to a clean carboy before you rack your wine into it.
That looks good. I also see a bit of foam at the top and that indicates that either your fermentation isn't quite done OR you have a huge amount off gassing going on. Normally you won't see that much foam from off gassing so I'm guessing it's still fermenting.
1) Latest SG Reading??
The extent of the sediment and the foaming suggest that perhaps you could have left it in the primary container a bit longer. That would help things settle better and compact a little before racking to the carboy.
2) Did you have any additional wine left after the racking, kept in another container?
Once the fermentation has completed sediment will settle out faster as the fermentation gases diminish and there is less turbulence in the container. You can expect to see sediment for at least the two rackings and then all that should remain will be fine sediment that you won't see until you've racked down to the very bottom.
Remember you will need to rack again once you confirm fermentation is completed and at that time add a dose of k-meta (or Crush one Campden tablet dissolve and add to a clean carboy before you rack your wine into it.
I think you should leave it alone for 3 days, then rack into a clean/sanitized carboy for 3 weeks.
Scooter68
Fruit "Wine" Maker
Best way to make sure is to take an SG reading wait 3 days and see if it changes. When it DOESN'T change in 3 days and it's down there like it is now at .995 - call it finished. Once in a while a ferment may slow down at the end but unless that reading is dropping... call it done with no change in 3 days.
With a 1 gallon batch (That's what you have correct?) I normally crush 1 Campden tablet drop that in the carboy, add 2-3 oz warm water and swirl it dissolve the tablet - THEN rack the wine into the carboy on top of that - the swirling of the racking should stir it in enough but you can fill it about 1/3 and swirl the carboy if you want. I just figure the k-meta will self mix in a new wine that hasn't been full degassed. (as with so many processes in wine making everyone has their own routine that they trust - that's my routine.)
The 3 day rule of thumb for SG readings is pretty standard.
Once you've racked it into a new carboy just keep an eye on it. If there is still a lot of sediment give it time - 2 to 4 weeks and then rack again. When you do that - no need to add any more k-meta. K-meta doses in a finished wine should last 3 months which is how often I rack once a wine is finished and there isn't a lot of sediment dropping out. Remember each racking does expose your wine to oxygen and that's not desirable but as long as you aren't racking it every two to three weeks it should be fine.
With a 1 gallon batch (That's what you have correct?) I normally crush 1 Campden tablet drop that in the carboy, add 2-3 oz warm water and swirl it dissolve the tablet - THEN rack the wine into the carboy on top of that - the swirling of the racking should stir it in enough but you can fill it about 1/3 and swirl the carboy if you want. I just figure the k-meta will self mix in a new wine that hasn't been full degassed. (as with so many processes in wine making everyone has their own routine that they trust - that's my routine.)
The 3 day rule of thumb for SG readings is pretty standard.
Once you've racked it into a new carboy just keep an eye on it. If there is still a lot of sediment give it time - 2 to 4 weeks and then rack again. When you do that - no need to add any more k-meta. K-meta doses in a finished wine should last 3 months which is how often I rack once a wine is finished and there isn't a lot of sediment dropping out. Remember each racking does expose your wine to oxygen and that's not desirable but as long as you aren't racking it every two to three weeks it should be fine.
Sunshine Wine
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Awesome! Thanks! Ok, so now, the bubbling has slowed way down, but not stopped totally. I would like a sweeter wine and know at what pointI should stop it, but what if it has gone past that point already? Also, once I transfer it to the carboy, do I need to add some of the chemicals that I have been reading about? And do I need to do the mixing to get the fizzy out if it is any? I only have about 3 gallons of wine, for the first time around, in case it did not turn out....lol. I am really hoping this works!
As a beginning home winemaker, you do not really have a way to stop the fermentation. Just let it complete and wait for a while, then rack it, treat it with potassium sorbate (to inhibit future yeast growth), and backsweeten it to taste.
You will find it is extremely hard for a home wine maker to stop a fermentation.
Most/ (all)of us get sweeter wine by adding sugar after it is done fermenting and then treat the wine with metabisulphite Sorbate can prevent reproduction but will not keep yeast in the system from metabolising.
I will age 9 plus months to let the solids settle naturally and also starve the yeast out thereby minimize chemical treatments, but sometimes it fails, should probably wait a year always
The fizzy will be gone in a year. We hear the word ‘patience ‘ in this forum. All of us have gone through the learning curve
Most/ (all)of us get sweeter wine by adding sugar after it is done fermenting and then treat the wine with metabisulphite Sorbate can prevent reproduction but will not keep yeast in the system from metabolising.
I will age 9 plus months to let the solids settle naturally and also starve the yeast out thereby minimize chemical treatments, but sometimes it fails, should probably wait a year always
The fizzy will be gone in a year. We hear the word ‘patience ‘ in this forum. All of us have gone through the learning curve
For your earlier note about taking a gravity reading in a partial bucket, if I am lazy I tilt the pail to the point where a hygrometer floats. The normal is measure in a cylinder.
Sunshine Wine
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Cool! Is there anything else I need to put in it besides potassium debate? How much for 3 gallons? And I was reading above threads and some say to back sweeten just before bottling... I am assuming I need to rack(which, if I understand right, is transferring from the original bucket to the carboy and letting it sit for quite some time). My carboy is a 6 gallon, so it is actually too big for my 3 gallons of wine...anything I can do the remedy that? Thanks for the help!
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