New guy from Michigan

[Duster]

Here is a link to how to read a Hydrometer
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10346

You can find this and several other good teaching tools on the how to section of this forum.

I Know I have seen it on here before but I am unable to locate it this morning so I just attached an in depth instructions on how to make wine.
Also take anything Julie tells you take it to hart. She is like a fruit wine Queen, a lot of articles will tell you to use a starting sg of around 1.100 but in fact with my fruit wines 0.800 to 0.850 come out with a much better flavor.

Oh and By the way, Welcome aboard.

View attachment WINE MAKING.pdf

 

[Jeremy012]

Ok here is an update..

I received the hydrometer yesterday, took a reading and it was .998.
I took one more today and it was still at .998.

So does this mean I can now add my Sodium Benzoate to stabilize the wine before I bottle it?

Thanks
Jeremy

 

[djrockinsteve]

Yea you gat a hydrometer. Treasure it as they can break easily. Ask others on here.

Yes if your wine is no longer dropping it's gravity you may proceed with transferring it off of the gross lees and clear and stabilize.

I presume this is a kit since you are using s. benzoate?

 

[Jeremy012]

Yea the hydrometer is great.. definitely fragile.
Actually it's not a kit, this is my first try at making wine so I used the simple welch's grape juice method. I enjoy it very much and I am going to look at some kits to for my next batch.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Take a bigger step and make wine from scratch persay.

 

[joea132]

Welcome to the forum! As a newcomer I suggest getting a beer kit or wine kit. It will give you the fundamentals. Beer takes considerably less time and (I think) it's much easier.

While you patiently wait for whichever kit you choose to come to fruition, read a winemaking book. The best one I found is called "The Way to Make Wine" by Sherridan Warrick. I'm also 24, I completely understand having no patience especially with the instant gratification of the internet era but I've found a certain satisfaction when you plan something out properly, wait patiently, and it turns out really good.

These people are excellent resources as you have seen. Do yourself a favor and lose the crappy Welch's mentality. My father always told me, "If you're gonna do something, do it right the first time." You'll be hooked in no time!!!

 

[Jeremy012]

Welcome to the forum! As a newcomer I suggest getting a beer kit or wine kit. It will give you the fundamentals. Beer takes considerably less time and (I think) it's much easier.

While you patiently wait for whichever kit you choose to come to fruition, read a winemaking book. The best one I found is called "The Way to Make Wine" by Sherridan Warrick. I'm also 24, I completely understand having no patience especially with the instant gratification of the internet era but I've found a certain satisfaction when you plan something out properly, wait patiently, and it turns out really good.

These people are excellent resources as you have seen. Do yourself a favor and lose the crappy Welch's mentality. My father always told me, "If you're gonna do something, do it right the first time." You'll be hooked in no time!!!

Thanks for the suggestion! The patience side of brewing is quite difficult to get used to. Lately I have been considering looking into a beer kit, but I am not sure due to the lack of space I have. I am currently in college living in an apartment. Being 24 it is hard to find people my age that enjoy beer and wine for the quality rather than its affects.

 

[joea132]

Being 24 it is hard to find people my age that enjoy beer and wine for the quality rather than its affects.

I had my training in college with Fraternity 101. One of our mottos was "time's never wasted when you're wasted all the time!" haha

 

[danc]

Thanks for the suggestion! The patience side of brewing is quite difficult to get used to. Lately I have been considering looking into a beer kit, but I am not sure due to the lack of space I have. I am currently in college living in an apartment. Being 24 it is hard to find people my age that enjoy beer and wine for the quality rather than its affects.

Jeremy, i know exactly what you mean, i'm also 24 and offered a bottle to my buddy and he said something about drinking it straight from the bottle. If you are looking for kits, there is home brew store in waterford called hopmans that carries most of the winexpert kits. Or if you are looking to try wine from grapes there is a guy over in macomb who get grapes and juices twice a year. private message me if you want more info about these two places.

and welcome to home wine making

 

[Rootedmotion]

I talk with a lot of my friends about stuff i am doing at work and they never understand... they just think its drink as fast as you can lol. we have a brewery here on site as well and my dad buys kegs from us. My buddy comes over and is always, dont you have something like bud light..
Im only 23 and I go to a lot of wine tastings around the area that arnt really open to the public. I am easily the youngest one there everytime.

 

[Jeremy012]

Wow thanks for the information guys, I'll have to go check the shop out, I went to a brew shop in Taylor where I purchased most of the basic equipment to get me started.

At the moment I just started a cider thats fermenting away, but I would like to begin a strawberry wine in the next couple weeks.

Thanks again for the support and welcomes.. its nice to meet people in MI that share the same interests.

 

[bailey427]

There is also a place in Livonia that sells beer and wine equipment/kits. It's a lot closer to us than Mt. Clemons and Taylor and the prices are comparable to those shops. I've have also gone to stores in Detroit and Dundee; both are a bit of a hike but their prices are worth it if you need to stock up on things. PM me if you want info on any of them.

Mike