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Dirtydog420

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I am getting ready to make my first batch of wine ever. Going to make a strawberry wine using C.J.J. Berry's recipe from his book First Steps In Winemaking... I am very worried that I will miss something cause there are no step by step instructions and I can sometimes have a have time extracting the proper information from reading material...

So can anyone give me a rough step by step process and I can kinda fill in the blanks? Please add time frames too...

Plan to use fresh strawberries..

Thanks

Dirty Dog
 
I would almost suggest you start with a pre-made kit on your first time making wine. The kits have good instructions, time lines, and pre-measured ingredients. They are almost foolproof, and will give you a good idea of how all this stuff should work.

Not that its terribly complicated, but there are things you need to avoid, and some measurements that need to be made (like acidity, and determining how much sulfite needs to be used, and sorbate to stabilize at the end).

What blanks need to be filled in? Can you post the recipe and indicate what you'd like help with?
 
Welcome please check out our Recipies on the main page
6 Gallon Recipe
25 lbs – Fresh Strawberries diced up
12 lbs – Fresh Kiwis skinned and cored
1 – White Grape Concentrate
12 lbs - White Table Sugar
1 tsp – Ascorbic Acid
7 1/2 tsp – Acid Blend
6 tsp - Yeast Nutrient
3 tsp – Yeast Energizer
1 1/2 tsp – Tannin
1/4 tsp - Liquid Pectic Enzyme
1/4 tsp – K-meta
5 1/2 Gallons - Water
1 Sachet – Red Star Cotes Des Blanc Yeast

Pour 1 gallon of warm water in 7.9 gallon primary bucket or bigger.
Add K-meta, Tannin, Yeast Energizer, Yeast Nutrient, Grape Concentrate, and Ascorbic Acid and stir well. Put all fruit in fermenting bag and squeeze over primary to extract most of juices and then put bag in primary. Pour the 1 gallon of boiling water with all dissolved sugar over fruit. Fill the rest of the way with remainder of room temp water and check SG, it should have a SG of around 1.085 give or take a little, if more then add a little more water, if less then add a little more dissolved sugar in small amount of water as sugars from fruit can vary a little. Let sit for 12 hours with lid loose or with a cloth covering bucket with elastic band or string tied around so as that not to sag in must. After those 12 hours add your Pectic Enzyme and wait another 12 hours while also adjusting your must temp to around 75 degrees. After those twelve hours, pitch your yeast either by sprinkling yeast, dehydrating yeast per instructions on back of yeast Sachet, or by making a yeast starter a few hours prior to the 12 hour mark. At this point either leave primary lid off with the cloth again, place lid on loose or snap the lid shut with airlock. Punch down cap twice daily to get all fruit under the liquid level. When SG reaches 1.015, rack to 6 gallon carboy and let finish fermenting with bung and airlock attached. When wine is done fermenting, (check a few days in a row to make sure SG does not change and SG should be around .998 or less) you can stabilize by adding another ¼ tsp of k-meta and 3 tsps of Potassium Sorbate and degas your wine thoroughly. You can now sweeten your wine if you like by using simple syrup which consists of 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of boiling water or by using a juice or frozen concentrate. I typically take 2 quarts of an alike juice and simmer on stove at medium heat with lid off until its 1/3 its original size and let it cool to room temp and then add slowly to taste. Be careful not to over sweeten. At this point you can use a fining agent or let it clear naturally. Once clear, rack into clean vessel and bulk age more adding another ¼ tsp of k-meta at 3 month intervals or add ¼ tsp k-meta and bottle age for at least 3 months and enjoy. Longer aging will give you a better wine so save a few bottles till at least 1 year mark so you can truly see what this wine can aspire to.
 
Thanks for the help... And the there wasnt anything that satisfied what I wanted to know in the recipe section.. I only post when I cant find what I want..
 
What size batch you want to make and what equipment do you have? Do you have primary fermenter and a carboy? Do you have a hydrometer? Let us know and we will give you a rough step by step based around your batch size and available equipment.
 
I have the True Brew Gold Kit: 6 gal carboy, fer/bottling bucket, hydrometer, and bunch of other stuff. Have many of the additives and chems needed to make the wine I want...

I do agree with you Malkore. Think im gonna buy a kit to start with and learn.. Might have to get another carboy cause the whole reason I started was because we have a pear tree and wanted to do something with them once ripe and I am afraid of over lap and the fruit will go bad...

I will put up the recipe that I have typed up once I can get it into a version that I can use on my computer. Typed it at GF's house, and her computer much newer than mine...

Hope all makes since. I have been drinking, imagine that.. I will try to get on with recipe at least by tuesday day.. Cheers
 
Here's the recipe:

Strawberries 18lbs
Sugar 13.5 lbs
Citric acid 6 teaspoons
Tannin 3 teaspoons
Water 6 gallons
Yeast and yeast nutrient

Campden Tablets: 1 with must, 1 with second rack, 2-3 per gallon for bottling

remove stems, wash fruit

mash berries well, mix sugar and 1/2 water (3 gallons); let sit for 24-26 hrs

strain liquor into fermentation bucket; add 1.5 more gallons to pulp, mix well, strain again..

add acid, tannin, yeast, nutrients and rest of water

stir thoroughly, cover with cloth for 10 day, stir twice daily... once fermentation slows, rack into carboy...

This is what I got so far...

When do I measure SG level?

Whats next and how long to rack?

Rack how many times?

I would like anyone who answer to please be detailed.. Literally spell it out for me.. Otherwise wont help...

Thanks to all...
 
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