Newbie making strawberry wine

[Lordniteshadow]

Hello im a first time wine maker i got this kit https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Oh...30RICU4/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B0130RICU4&psc=1 and im making strawberry wine starting gravity 1.070 its bubbling away in primary fermentation i started it last night im to understand that i need to stir once a day for 7-10 days then rack in to my carboy any advice or help full tips would be appreciated thank you will post pics later

 

[Rice_Guy]

It is useful to stir at least once a day. This will 1) prevent the surface from drying and mold growing on the dry fruit 2) help extract fruit flavors out of the strawberry.
For me, when the gravity is at/ near 1.020 (and it is still actively gassing) the fruit is filtered off and it is put under air lock with the first metabisulphite addition. I ignore a seven to ten day direction and make the filter decision based on gravity. Fermenting time is controlled by temperature.

Welcome to Wine Making Talk!

 

[Lordniteshadow]

Thank you for your help should i take gravity readings every day or should i just do it when i think its done?

 

[Lordniteshadow]

here is a pic

 

[Rice_Guy]

Wine is forgiving. ,,,, I wind up doing what is convenient and taste, smell and look. As an old fart I have enough hydrometers that I can just float one in a pail for a week while the yeast work. Practically speaking when the bubble rate slows down you can start checking. At room temp say five days and at a 17C basement seven days.

Thank you for your help should i take gravity readings every day or should i just do it when i think its done?

 

[Lordniteshadow]

Wine is forgiving. ,,,, I wind up doing what is convenient and taste, smell and look. As an old fart I have enough hydrometers that I can just float one in a pail for a week while the yeast work. Practically speaking when the bubble rate slows down you can start checking. At room temp say five days and at a 17C basement seven days.

Thank you for your time and exp i will continue to post as things progress

 

[Lordniteshadow]

its stoped bubbling after two daysi think ill give it three more days to be sure its done

 

[Rice_Guy]

I like to put fruit wines under air lock when they are actively gassing. say 1.020 or 1.010. Oxygen is bad for maintaining fruity flavors and fresh tasting alcohol. Some commercial wineries would also drop it to 50F.

its stoped bubbling after two daysi think ill give it three more days to be sure its done

 

[Lordniteshadow]

ok so i did a grav reading its .990 im going to rack to carboy today

 

[Lordniteshadow]

its tasty so far abv is 10.50

 

[Lordniteshadow]

when do i degas?

 

[winemaker81]

when do i degas?

Degassing is done after fermentation is complete. Typically when the SG is between 0.990 and 0.998 and doesn't change for 3 days. Degassing during fermentation doesn't work, as the yeast continues to produce CO2.

Note that degassing is optional, as with enough time the wine will degas naturally. However, I degas since with the CO2 reduced, the wine clears faster. CO2 will hold sediment in suspension.

I don't bother taking an SG reading until at least day 3 or 4 after fermentation starts. After that I may check SG daily if the fermentation is proceeding quickly, or a may skip a day in between if it appears the fermentation is a bit slower.

As an example, if the OG is 1.090 and after 4 days the SG is 1.050, I probably won't check until day 6. This is a judgment call and it's ok to check the SG daily.

 

[Lordniteshadow]

thank you all for your help

 

[Scooter68]

Winemaker 81 has it spot on. De-gassing can be done naturally over time or helped along with mechanical intervention as he suggests. With a strawberry wine I might consider speeding it up as strawberry wine normally ages quicker than many others and tends toward a shorter shelf life,. (Assuming you don't drink it all quickly- HAH !)

As to SG readings I take them as often as I check on the wine but for me the best signs of a good ferment are very very clear. When you walk into the room where you have that wine ferment - you will smell it very clearly. Since I ferment in an un-occupied home the moment I walk in that door, I smell the yeasty ferment and I know all is well. Most times that happens within 36 hours especially this time of year with temps up.

 

[Lordniteshadow]

i forgot to get wine bottles and corks this paycheck is there any other bottles i can use?

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have only bought cases of used bottles which needed to have labels removed and new 375 for specialty wines. Used bottles have been easy to find at the corner tavern, on Craig’s list, from friends, , etc

i forgot to get wine bottles and corks this paycheck is there any other bottles i can use?

One message is wine teaches patience, ie a year in a carboy or barrel then bottle. You should be able to keep it under air lock a few months.
* any clean glass with a tight metal lid could be used. A good container has minimal head space (ullage) therefore wide mouth are bad. 500 ml PET liquor are good and grosch beer (fairly new rubber ring) are good
* You should not use poly/ HDPE as milk jugs or vinegar, (will develop a sherry flavor). PET is a good barrier as in salad dressing but the wine will probably pick up flavor from the salad dressing. metalized pouches as coffee bag in box work well again check flavor from what was in before, many plastic caps have high oxygen transmission/metal with a Saran liner is better, steel (magnetic) lids will rust so should not be used if you want over two years storage.

 

[Lordniteshadow]

I have only bought cases of used bottles which needed to have labels removed and new 375 for specialty wines. Used bottles have been easy to find at the corner tavern, on Craig’s list, from friends, , etc

One message is wine teaches patience, ie a year in a carboy or barrel then bottle. You should be able to keep it under air lock a few months.
* any clean glass with a tight metal lid could be used. A good container has minimal head space (ullage) therefore wide mouth are bad. 500 ml PET liquor are good and grosch beer (fairly new rubber ring) are good
* You should not use poly/ HDPE as milk jugs or vinegar, (will develop a sherry flavor). PET is a good barrier as in salad dressing but the wine will probably pick up flavor from the salad dressing. metalized pouches as coffee bag in box work well again check flavor from what was in before, many plastic caps have high oxygen transmission/metal with a Saran liner is better, steel (magnetic) lids will rust so should not be used if you want over two years storage.

thank you so much for your help

 

[winemaker81]

Instead of finding make-do containers, unless there is an emergency that requires bottling now, wait until you have wine bottles.

My first wines were bottled in used whiskey bottles with screwcaps. They work, but re-used screwcaps are not a guaranteed seal. If you do this, turn each bottle upside down to check for leaks after bottling.

One of the guys that taught me bottled in gallon jugs. When he needed wine, he opened a jug and decanted into five 750 ml bottles or four quart bottles. This worked fine for him, although he would drink anything he made and threw nothing out. His wife, OTOH, was a bit more fastidious and at times required he open a different jug for her. I never had anything that wasn't good, but apparently some jugs didn't fare as well as others.

 

[Lordniteshadow]

I bottled last night sorry no pics and everything was ok I didn't make vinegar and it tasted awesome thank you for all the help but I have a question my fermentation bucket still smells like the wine and I was told not to use soap on it so I used sanitizer it still smells how do i fix this its a 2 gal plastic one

 

[Rice_Guy]

* you can use soap, just not one with a perfume, example straight A or B-brite
* if the bucket is clean enough to not carry an infection to the next batch it is clean enough (I use tap water/ run straight A through tubing that I can’t actually scrub). The dilution factor is enough on your fermentation bucket the flavor would not be noticed
* remember the good old days where that piece of equipment was a porous wooden vat or concrete tank and cleaning didn’t really work

my fermentation bucket still smells like the wine and I was told not to use soap on it so I used sanitizer it still smells how do i fix this its a 2 gal plastic one