O m'gosh! I just finished squishing all my grapes...whew! It didn't help that about 5 minutes into it, my fruit press (Granny's from like 1842) went nips up, so I did the next best thing I could think of and broke out my 1/2 hp commercial grinder with a xlarge hole plate. Now I know what your thinking, but it didnt mangle them badly..still some nice chunks of fruit and whole seeds came through. I poured it all into the straining bag and ended up with some beautiful juice! Now, I followed the instructions that came with my kit, and added the ingredients....pectic enzyme, nutrient, camden tabs and sugar. But, after placing the straining bag into the bucket, I only had room to add about 1/3 of the water required. Thejuice & baglevel in the bucket is about 3'" from the very top, and this seems like a bit much to me. According to my book, the "must" will grow after adding the yeast tomorrow...how much room do I need in the top of that bucket (there's no line), and do I need to drain off some of the juice and add more water? Ugh! Theres just so much to learn about this "wine making thing"...I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. 911!
I hope somebody reads this!
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I see a couple small problems you could run into. First, by running it through the grinder, I am assuming you ground up quite a few seeds. This releases tannins and may result in a harsh tannic wine. That's why you don't run them through a food processor. Hopefully it didn't grind too many seeds. Secondly, a lot of recipes assume that you press the grapes or have a large primary fermenter. You might have about enough in that bucket without adding water. You could either split it up into two buckets or settle with a bit smaller batch. It will get a lot smaller when you squeeze out the grapes after it has fermented a while. You could add water at that time if needed, but that would cut the sugars and eventual ABV. It will definitely foam up when fermentation begins. Here's wishing you good luck and hope it turns out well for you.
I hear what your saying, but the grinder, with such a large plate, was actually spitting out whole seeds. Sure, it may have gotten some, but most flew out across the countertop! Secondly, about how far EXACTLY in inches, shoud the fill level be from the top?...Just trting to avoid a mess and waste of wine.
BZ, it all depends on what kind of fermentation you will have as some really foam up (typically reds) and some dont foam up much at all (typically whites) but there are always exceptions with both of these. Temps can also play a big role on how much foam you get during fermentation. I dont recall ever having a problem with 6" of headspace but 3" could be a mess.
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This is why I said to keep your questions about a particular wine together. That way folks can read back to get a feel for what you have used and what wine you have a question about. Wade this wine is the concord wine run through a course meat grinder and put in a mesh bag. With a red wine with skins it will get a lot of head and Dean's suggestion of up to 9 inches headspace is right on. If it was not ground it would take even more.
Split it up between two batches if possible or like I say, make a bit smaller amount with the one fermenter with 4-6 inches headspace minimum for the bag to rise.
Split it up between two batches if possible or like I say, make a bit smaller amount with the one fermenter with 4-6 inches headspace minimum for the bag to rise.
Ok, I will keep my questions here from now on. Because I ground the grapes, should I just remove the bag? I dont want to ruin my wine by making it too tannic. I could still make the wine out of just the juice, cant I? Plus, if I remove the bag, it will leave me enough headspace (7 or 8 inches) and I wont have to throw out the extra juice....that would be a bummer! I dont have another primary container, so Im at a real loss here, I think. Should I throw it out & start over?
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Don't throw it out. If the juice is well colored and SG high enough, you could just take the bag out. If you leave it in it will give the wine more body, but could give you a lot of tannins if the seeds got chewed up at all. Taking it out and using all the juice you can might be the better option in this case.
PeterZ
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Do you have a big stock pot? You could move some of the juice there and dilute both containers to 1.085 sg. As high as your sg is now you could get a stuck fermentation.
Alternatively, you can remove some juice to a sealable container (jug, tupperware, etc.) and put it in the fridge. Dilute the must down to 1.085 sg and ferment. When the grapes come out you can add the juice back and continue to ferment.
Alternatively, you can remove some juice to a sealable container (jug, tupperware, etc.) and put it in the fridge. Dilute the must down to 1.085 sg and ferment. When the grapes come out you can add the juice back and continue to ferment.
I think you may be right Peter. I added the yeast last night as per the instructions that came with my kit (it made no mention of the SG needing to be at a certain point before adding the yeast, it just said wait 24 hours then add the yeast.) Frustrating! I see no bubbles at all.
The 2 booklets that came with my kit arent really helping me...one is too vague and the other is too complicated, it seems. Can my wine be saved?
It could take up to 3 days to start and you might not see bubbles as that doesnt happen every time. The only true way to check to see is by using your hydrometer. Almost always though you can stick your ear in the container and hear what sounds like a can of soda with the sizzling.
