killing wine yeast and fliptop glass bottles...

[jamesngalveston]

it would help you a lot if you followed some recipes. you may get the hang of it.

 

[Stressbaby]

Wineguy,

I disagree that a recipe will help you that much. Recipes tend to tell you what goes in the primary and how to treat the fruit but they don't tend to help much with "finishing order" if you will.

Sorbate will keep the yeast from multiplying as you probably know. You should use it if you intend to backsweeten. I imagine mango would need to be backsweetened. But the wine should be clear before adding sorbate. Working backwards, degassing helps with clearing. There are multiple methods of degassing, you can read about thme here. Also, there is a time component to the clearing.

So others with more experience might correct me, but the general finishing order once fermentation is done is time/degas (to aid with clearing), then once clear stabilize, backsweeten, optionally filter, then bottle.

 

[Julie]

I agree with you, Stressbaby, you gave some good advice. If I haven't said this once I said it a thousand times, a recipe is only a guidance, not a road map to strictly follow.

 

[TheWineGuy]

ok great i wasn't very sure about the importance of degassing Ive seen drills with modified plastic coat hangers on them to use to degas (save some money) but how do i know when degassing is done? should there be no more foam because ive seen some you tube videos but everyone on there seems like their are lost or act like they always know what their talking about.



update* ok i just read an article http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/2038/how-can-i-tell-when-wine-has-finished-degassing

it seems straight forward until their are no more bubbles racing to the top and it looks like its going to take a series of days around a week degassing 6 times a day fine with me OK but what about if I'm only making a gallon at a time don't want to sound crazy but SAME THING?

 

[jamesngalveston]

forgive me julie, but he started off, by stating he did not know his starting sg..which is usually in instructions for a recipe.
then he asked when to add, pectin,nutrient yeast, etc...which is also usually in a recipe.
then he asked when is it time to rack, which is also usually in a recipe of sorts.
i just thought a recipe may be a guide for him to follow...

 

[Stressbaby]

ok great i wasn't very sure about the importance of degassing Ive seen drills with modified plastic coat hangers on them to use to degas (save some money) but how do i know when degassing is done? should there be no more foam because ive seen some you tube videos but everyone on there seems like their are lost or act like they always know what their talking about.

update* ok i just read an article http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/2038/how-can-i-tell-when-wine-has-finished-degassing

it seems straight forward until their are no more bubbles racing to the top and it looks like its going to take a series of days around a week degassing 6 times a day fine with me OK but what about if I'm only making a gallon at a time don't want to sound crazy but SAME THING?

Lol. I make lots of 1 gallon batches too! That is why I vacuum degas with the AllInOne wine pump.

 

[TheWineGuy]

yeah i am only making in gallon batches start small. also ive only been doing concentrates with 100 percent juice and no preservatives ect. I'm a little nervous to do 5 gallon batches ad like to master small batches and move on up...the forum that i was provided a few posts ago with the beginers 5 gallon recipe look very interesting and i am thinking about trying it but i really don't want to get discouraged i don't mind haze in my wine for now but eventually when i progress i would like to have that Chrystal clear wine like you guys have (show it off to everyone) my realistic goal is by next year 2014 have wine that i can actually give to family and friends also i want to do the wine in beer bottle style pop and drink something a little different . so if you guys see me all over these forums please excuse me as i just want to learn .

 

[Stressbaby]

See above, we cross posted.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

 

[vernsgal]

so if you guys see me all over these forums please excuse me as i just want to learn .

and that is exactly what this forum is for. Never be afraid to ask, it's the best way to learn

 

[Abrnth3]

Wineguy,

You may search this forum for recipes, equipment and special instructions. Read and search, it will help answer a lot of your questions. Gallon batches are a lot less cost when beginning and soon enough you will be doing 5 gallon batches or several different 1gallon batches just to experiement a little. Good luck and God bless.

 

[TheWineGuy]

yes thank you guys so much Ive ventured throughout th website quite a bit and am learning a lot also Ive found that Carlos rosse bottles and apple juice bottles work great for 1 gallon batches .

 

[BernardSmith]

Wineguy, I would be concerned that there may be enough carbon dioxide in those Grolsch-type bottles to explode those bottles. The design of those caps would prevent them from being expelled as the gas builds up and the glass may not be strong enough to prevent the bottles from bursting. If I were you I would try to store the wine you have in a gallon carboy with a bung and airlock.

I apologize but I don't recall if you said that you had added pectic enzyme to the juice before you pitched (added) the yeast. If you did the wine will likely clear without too much trouble. You may want to consider making up a solution of Bentonite. This a fining clay that helps the fruit particles drop out of suspension.

If you have the patience, wine will degas by itself, especially if you rack your wine into a clean carboy every two or three months. I have no tools to measure what is called "free SO2" (sulfur dioxide). SO2 acts as a preservative to help prevent the wine from oxidizing. What I do is each time I rack the wine I add enough Potassium meta-Bisulfite (K-Meta) to the empty carboy and then rack the wine onto the K-meta (1 crushed Campden tablet or 1 tablespoon of of the solution for every gallon of wine ).

If you intend to drink the wine in the photo within the next week or two I would not be overly concerned about "bottle bombs" but your wine will have a lot of solids in it. Wine making takes time. There is no question about that. The more patience you have the better your wine will be. You are working with a living process and so you want to develop a good understanding of the process. You may want to look for some basic books on wine making. I would recommend an older book (a classic?) written by C.J.J Berry, called First Steps in Winemaking. This is an inexpensive book and it contains lots of recipes, but at least as important as the recipes are the understandings that Berry provides that undergird his recipes. Recipes provide clear instructions but an understanding of those instructions will enable you to make good choices about whether to follow, ignore or substitute those instructions

 

[TheWineGuy]

So for 1 gallon batches just the preferd amount prior to adding yeast ex sugar , nutrient , wait 12 hrs then add pectin enzime then wait 12 hrs then add yeast then let sit for 10 days ect..

 

[saramc]

So for 1 gallon batches just the preferd amount prior to adding yeast ex sugar , nutrient , wait 12 hrs then add pectin enzime then wait 12 hrs then add yeast then let sit for 10 days ect..

Yes, essentially---- the basics would be pectic enzyme, k-meta, yeast nutrient & you may see that some choose to add yeast energizer, tannin and acid, and then a bentonite slurry can be added on Day 3 so not to stunt the yeast. BUT you want to do to make the yeast happy is to also ferment aerobically (open bucket, no bung in jugs just yet--cover with breathable cloth to keep debris and fruit flies out, coffee filter perfect for glass jugs) for the initial phase, say until your OG drops by 2/3, then transfer from bucket and apply airlock, or just attach bung/airlock if in jug--to complete fermentation anaerobically. Note, if SG has not dropped by 2/3 within 10 days go ahead & proceed with transfer and airlock at that time, a safe method. The CO2 produced during ferment hovers above the liquid providing some protection against oxygen exposure, but as SG approaches its natural end the CO2 protection can diminish.
Definitely invest in a hydrometer if you do not own one so you can calculate your potential ACV + monitor for fermentation. Do not get suckered in by watching bubbles in the airlock as you will come across a batch that is a silent fermenter--no bubbles in airlock, may not bubble/foam in fermenter. Beware.

I would recommend you spend time reading thru the info graciously provided by Jack Keller. His site www.winemaking.jackkeller.net provides a plethora of beginner basics, terms and recipes. He even has a blog. I would bet just about every member of this forum has read his stuff at one time or another. Once you understand the basics you will be so much more prepared. But let me stress that patience is key. The majority of us probably bulk age our precious liquids for a year before bottling, though given time to experiment and dabbling in other recipes we recommend you may find some that are ready sooner, and are quite good.

 

[TheWineGuy]

Any good sorces on reading hydromaters I have one but don't know how to read it I understand before and after and even after switching fermenters but I do not understand it I seriously an a dumb A&& when it comes to these things .

 

[pjd]

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/hydrom.asp

 

[jamesngalveston]

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/how-use-hydrometer-newbies-16574/