Old tried and true winemaking or the "NEW"

[brendathebrewer]

Hi all, I am a complete newbie at winemaking but shant take long as I have my dad here to teach me and he is a serious winemaker - meaning he makes a lot and has done so "au natural" for many years. Only thing is, I don't like his wine, its too strong, little bitter, really heavy......

I have my remaining pulp from chokecherry syrup and previously fresh frozen mashed saskatoons in the bucket ready to become must, haven't put sugar in yet. 3 gallons approx., almost no added water.

he says chokecherry with saskatoons should make a good wine.

My dad uses nothing but sugar, added water and his testers, not sure if he even uses yeast.

Am thinking to rush out to a wine store and pick up some things, have heard about Lalvin E-118, pectin enzyme and acid blend (want to keep it organic as possible)...

But, and I want REALLY GOOD WINE!!

will these things, or any other suggestions, make a finer wine? I picked and cleaned all those berries (my dad said to not bother fine cleaning them ). I do want my first batch to be great!!!

Thanks guys, this community seems awesome!!

Brenda

 

[jamesngalveston]

Brenda, i have made a lot of fruit wine, but not chokecherry are saskatoons/
If you want a good wine, then buy the following.

Hydrometer
Campden Tablets
Acid Blend
Pectic Enzyme
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast Engergizer
A good wine yeast I use red star brand, lots use lalvin
If you search the internet for wine strains, charts will tell you the best yeast for various fruit, temp ranges, alcohol tolerance, etc.
I choose the pasteur red because i like a high alcohol precentage and its heat tolerant for fermentation.
Potassium Sorbate is usually used to stabalize wine, but if your abv is above 12 percent, you really dont have to use it, and if your wine is degassed fully, it helps.
Tons of info here, so do not be afraid to ask anything, some one will have an answer for you.
Good Luck
Check this out, it is a fast drinking smooth wine....

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f68/dragon-blood-15-days-31996/

 

[jamesngalveston]

one other thing...its one thing to add chemicals like the above to wine, but you should look up each on the net, so you know what they do, why they do, and the benefits.
here is a good site to learn what is what.

http://www.wineryatversailles.com/home-winemakers/ohio-wine-making/chemicals-for-wine-making.html

 

[brendathebrewer]

James, Thanks.

I think at this point I do not want to use campden, but will look into this further

as per the:

Acid Blend
Pectic Enzyme
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast Engergizer

do these things really increase the quality of the wine or is it mainly to be sure it ferments faster and more guaranteed to ferment?

I keep reading about these additives but nowhere says why they are used (except to speed up fermentation).

if I am to buy some or all of these 4 items which ones should be top of the list as per increasing the quality of the wine?

sure appreciate your help, today we add sugar but a trip to town isn't out of the question.