Hello from Indiana

[TABITHARL]

Hello all. My name is Tabitha. My boyfriend Ryan got me a wine making kit for my birthday (which is end of November). We are both really excited to try the wine making thing. Our first batch is going to be OB Blackberry Merlot. We have read the directions and watched George's videos and seems to be a fairly simple process. We do have a couple of questions though.
1. I have yet to turn the heat on in my home and so it is very cool in here. Any suggestions for keeping the must warm enough, other than turning the heat on?
2. While we are talking about temperature, how often do you check temp anyway? I read that we can check specific gravity daily, so I am assuming it isn't going to hurt to peek at it every day?
3. Another thing, when the primary reaches the correct specific gravity, how much time is there to rack it? I'm hoping I can wait until Ryan can come over and help me.
4. Last question, is it really okay to top of the carboy with water? How much of a difference does it make really?
Anyway, we are hoping to get it started very soon. I have enjoyed reading threads on this forum. Thanks for your help!

 

[djrockinsteve]

Welcome Tabitha and Ryan to WMT. I think you are going to enjoy your new hobby.

I like to ferment my juices around 65 degrees if I can. Average I guess is there thru 75 degrees. You can get it off of the floor and pace it on a piece of wood such as plywood or even a couple pieces of 2x4's. If you can put it on a counter (sturdy) that would be even better. Additionally you can wrap a blanket around it as yeast will generate some heat on their own.

I don't check temperature unless it is very cold or hot.

Once your must reaches a fully dry state usuallu .990 you should rack it soon. Once mine reach 1.000 I stir it well to release CO2 and I snap on a lid with an airlock attached. This way the CO2 will help tp protect the wine while it finishes over 2-3 days. A 3/8'ths hole in a lid will hold a #2 bung very well. Once wine is thru fermenting oxygen will begin to oxidize it hence forth racking it asap into a carboy.

Yiu can top off with water but you will be thinning and watering down your wine. Better to start with enough to give you 5 plus gallons, enough to fill a 5 carboy and a magnum of 750ml bottle. Extra to top off later. You can also top off with a similar wine that you can get at the liquor store. Doesn't need to be expensive.

Again great having you two here.

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome to Winemaking Talk!

Quick answers are:

1) Get a "brew belt" to heat up the primary to 70-74 degrees. If you plan on making any kits in the Winter you will need it for sure. Once the fermentation gets going strong you will be able to unplug it for a few days until its almost done but then you will more than likely need to plug it back in to keep the must at 70-74 degrees until it is all the way through secondary fermentation.

2) You need to get one of the temp strips that you peel off the backing and stick it to the side of the Primary. You will need to glance at it more often than the SG.

3) It will not hurt the wine to ferment to 1.000 in the Primary as long as the lid is snapped and an airlock is inserted. If it ferments out a little quicker than you had planned, your safe as long as the Primary is sealed with the airlock. Try not to let it go any longer than absolutely necessary though.

4) Never top off with water. It will just thin it out way to much. Always use an inexpensive like wine.

 

[robie]

Welcome, Tabitha! One day, when you are up to about 10 carboys, a vacuum pump, and a Vadai barrel, you will think back to this day and blame your boyfriend for starting all this.

Nah, just kidding; you will have lots of fun I'm sure. I make two different OB kits each Spring. I made that exact same kit. It has been really popular at parties. As a matter of fact, I forgot to bring my it to a party last Saturday night; I got scolded.

That wine will be ready to drink a month after it clears. It is a very thin wine and is not intended to stand up to a rich varietal, so think of it as a glorified wine cooler, made from wine rather than beer. Always pour it over a full glass of ice. It will be very nice for your first time wine making experience.

Top off with a Merlot or most any other red wine, not water.

Have fun!

 

[sevenal]

Welcome

Hoosier!
Getting ready to start paying those serious heating bills there.
Don't blame you for not turning on the heat untill you have to.
Usually just after Oct. is gone it gets nippy there in the wee hours.
Anyway the belt mentioned would be good to keep your Primary warm.
I have had some feedback that a electric blanket can work as well if like many there in Ft Wayne, you happen to have a single bed variety.
I sure others can chime in about the blanket thing.
Have fun!

 

[PCharles]

Wecome

Hi Tabitha,

It looks as if you've gotten some good advise here. I've tasted the OB Blackberry Merlot. It's a real easy drinking wine.

Here are a few suggestions related to beginning wine making.

Get the sanitation thing down. Most use K-Meta for cleaning. That's a good area to spend some time investigation. You'll be surprised how much water you'll use keeping things clean.

Speaking of water, avoid chlorinated water. I use Premo water, and often keep the containers (one 3 gallon and 2 5 gallon) for temporary carboys. You can buy bungs that will fit them. That will give you a handy source of clean water.

Make sure you keep your carboy on a very sturdy table. We've heard, and experienced breakage due to inadequate tables. I also encourage you to not keep your carboys on the ground. Put it on something secure like two cinder blocks. Keeping them 6 inches or more off the ground make picking up of a full carboy much easier. Also, dry your hands and the bottom of the carboy when moving it. The glass can be a bit like a greased pig.

It's ok to float your hydrometer in your fermenter during initial fermentation. This way you can easily keep track of your SG/Brix without having to transfer wine to a cylinder. You also don't have to clean it each time.

I hope you don't mind these few additional comments.

We love to see photos. Let us know if you need any assistance posting them.

Best of luck,

Paul

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!!

 

[Julie]

Hi,

Welcome to winemakingtalk

 

[TABITHARL]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I can see how this might get a little addicting, as I am reading recipes and starting to plan on what I want to make on upcoming batches! And yes, we will post pics as soon as it gets going! Looking forward to it!

 

[Redtrk]

Welcome Tabitha! I was just through Fort Wayne yesterday on my way back from Elkhart, In.

 

[TABITHARL]

Well, we have the wine started!!!! Let me just say I tasted what was left at the bottom of the glass and it tasted like onion/garlic/awful. I am assuming that was potassium metabisulfate, it is so awful! Starting SG is 1.060 @ 78 degrees. Ryan says I am overthinking this, but I am a nurse so sterile means sterile and I don't remember anything about specific gravity! Anyway, will post again when it starts fermentation. Pretty excited here! Pics to come!

 

[Rocky]

Tabitha, I don't know how you feel about the alcohol content of your wine, but that is relatively low starting SG. It indicates an ABV of around 8% when finished. If you would like it a little higher, you would need to add sugar to the wine (in the form of simple syrup) now.

 

[TABITHARL]

Than you for feedback. While I would prefer a higher ABV we decided to just follow the directions this time. We had seen someone suggested making a simple syrup and adding it, but just didn't want to screw up the very first batch!!! (-:

 

[Rocky]

If you are to be successful in this hobby, you have to stop being so rational!

 

[TABITHARL]

I can't help it!!!

 

[robie]

I can't help it!!!

Yep, go by the instructions the first time or three. Once you have a feel for it, you can do minor tweaks, we can help you there.

Just be mindful that if you don't go by the instructions, the warranty on the kit is void.

 

[Brian]

Hello and welcome to the forum.. Have fun!

 

[TABITHARL]

Hi again everyone. Everything is going really well with our first batch of wine, almost too well. The directions for the kit said that we would reach SG .998 within 2 weeks. Well, I'm pretty sure we will reach it late tomorrow, day 6. It is 1.004 today, temp 68-70. It is dropping .010 per day roughly and the directions say to rack it when it is (.998 or lower). If I am busy tomorrow evening, can we rack it tuesday evening? I'm sorry I am so super "rational" as Rocky would say (-: but I just want to get it right! I am assuming that when your wine reaches SG, you don't call off work or cancel plans to rack your wine? Can it wait another day? Hope I'm not driving you crazy! And FYI I am reading a book on how this all really works so that I can understand the details! Thanks again for your help!

 

[Brian]

Not to worry it will wait for you. The times they give you in the kits are general. I leave it in the primary until it is done fermenting before I rack it to the secondary. If you generally follow the instructions you really can't go wrong with these kits. realax and have fun!

 

[TABITHARL]

Hi again all. Wanted to check in on my first batch of wine (OB Blackberry Merlot). We racked it to carboy a week ago and instructions say it should wait two more weeks to clear. It looks good. Lots of light purple sediment on the bottom of the carboy. However, the wine itself is not clear. Thats ok, right? Just had to ask. Thank you!