Hello Everyone,
I'm new to this forum and to wine making, but just wanting to track my first attempt and ask a few questions as they come up.
My first wine will be a blueberry wine. Keeping it very simple and following a recipe I found online. I live in AK and I had a backyard full of blueberries so I decided to take the plunge.
So far this is what I have:
15 lbs blueberries
2 lbs raisins
9 lbs sugar in about 2 gallons of water
Topped off with more water to equal 5 gallons
I let that mixture sit at 72°F for about 48 hrs. Then I added the following:
1 tsp tannin
3 tsp yeast nutrient
2.5 tsp acid blend
2.5 tsp pectic enzyme
The SG at this point was 1.100 (slightly higher than expected, but I'm ok with that, higher ABV right?)
Temp fell a little low at this point so I put it in a hot water bath for a few minutes to get the temp. above 72°F. Then added my yeast - Lalvin EC1118. I did not make a slurry and did not stir it into the must (which is now called wine?)
Let the yeast sit on top and start doing its magic for about 18 hrs before stirring it in.
Currently on day two of primary fermentation and everything looks like it is supposed to. Floating cap that seems to form minutes after stirring, nice deep purple color, and a lot of fizz developing on the surface.
Now a couple of questions:
1) The smells coming off of the wine at this point are very strong. A good direct whiff burns quite a bit. I would assume this is due to the large amount of CO2 that is being emitted by the yeast? Does that sound right?
2) I took an SG reading last night after 24 hours in primary ferm. and it still remained at 1.100. Is that typical?
3) I was planning on ordering some stuff in bulk on Amazon (K-Meta, Cleaner... any other common items) Should I worry about quality between different manufacturers?
Thanks in advance and I will keep updating this as I make progress. My next wine might be some type of rhubarb (have a lot of that available as well) if anyone has any recipes or ideas I would appreciate it.
I'm new to this forum and to wine making, but just wanting to track my first attempt and ask a few questions as they come up.
My first wine will be a blueberry wine. Keeping it very simple and following a recipe I found online. I live in AK and I had a backyard full of blueberries so I decided to take the plunge.
So far this is what I have:
15 lbs blueberries
2 lbs raisins
9 lbs sugar in about 2 gallons of water
Topped off with more water to equal 5 gallons
I let that mixture sit at 72°F for about 48 hrs. Then I added the following:
1 tsp tannin
3 tsp yeast nutrient
2.5 tsp acid blend
2.5 tsp pectic enzyme
The SG at this point was 1.100 (slightly higher than expected, but I'm ok with that, higher ABV right?)
Temp fell a little low at this point so I put it in a hot water bath for a few minutes to get the temp. above 72°F. Then added my yeast - Lalvin EC1118. I did not make a slurry and did not stir it into the must (which is now called wine?)
Let the yeast sit on top and start doing its magic for about 18 hrs before stirring it in.
Currently on day two of primary fermentation and everything looks like it is supposed to. Floating cap that seems to form minutes after stirring, nice deep purple color, and a lot of fizz developing on the surface.
Now a couple of questions:
1) The smells coming off of the wine at this point are very strong. A good direct whiff burns quite a bit. I would assume this is due to the large amount of CO2 that is being emitted by the yeast? Does that sound right?
2) I took an SG reading last night after 24 hours in primary ferm. and it still remained at 1.100. Is that typical?
3) I was planning on ordering some stuff in bulk on Amazon (K-Meta, Cleaner... any other common items) Should I worry about quality between different manufacturers?
Thanks in advance and I will keep updating this as I make progress. My next wine might be some type of rhubarb (have a lot of that available as well) if anyone has any recipes or ideas I would appreciate it.
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