Tips for very small batch of wine

[tbayav8er]

Hi Everyone,

I've been making wine from kits now for about 6 years. I planted a Marquette grape vine (just one) about 4 years ago, and it is now producing grapes. I will probably only have enough grapes for maybe 2 bottles of wine, if I'm lucky. I've never made wine from grapes, so I'm not totally sure how much juice to expect from one grape vine, but I imagine it's not more than one or two bottles.

I also don't have a grape press or anything like that, so any tips on crushing the grapes etc. would be appreciated.

Any tips on what to use for a container for primary/secondary fermentation, etc?

Thanks!

 

[salcoco]

first fermentor get a 5 gallon bucket. to crush grapes just use your hands or if possible a 2x4 piece of lumber, even a wood spoon would work. you only need to crack the skins. remove all of the stems. once fermentation complete get a bucket and a colander. scope grapes into colander juice will flow press remainder by hand continue until all are done. place wine in a gallon container with airlock to clear and age.

 

[Scooter68]

I bought a commercial kitchen sized potato masher that works pretty well. If I was going to do alot of small berries or grapes I would slightly modify it to give it a finer mesh on the end but it works well. Obvliously for a small batch you could find a smaller version with a finer wire grid.

New Star Foodservice 37647 Commercial Grade Potato Masher, 24-Inch, Round

 

[tbayav8er]

Thanks for the tips! So do I remove the grapes from the stems before crushing? Or do I crush everything all together, and then remove the stems? Also, what about the seeds? Just leave the seeds in the juice during fermentation, and then strain them out during racking?

 

[sour_grapes]

I have not had to do it, but the milk crate shown here would be my preferred approach to your problem:

 

[salcoco]

as far as removing stems can be done before or after crushing. seeds and skin remain as they are a source of tannin.

 

[Rice_Guy]

* My local wine toy store sells nylon bags. If I was mom I would have the fruit in the bag hanging from the knob of a kitchen cabinet, and twist the bag to squeeze juice out. I press with a reverse acting bar clamp.
* A gallon (3.79) makes 4 plus bottles. It is worth while to watch for a 3 liter and a 4 liter.
* consider what can de used to top off the fermentor. Someone in the club suggested zucchini juice (a should bottle and take to the club meeting) Lots of folks use white grape juice, , , or pear, , or banana water , , ie any bland liquid.
Good luck

 

[DCTWinemaker]

I have not had to do it, but the milk crate shown here would be my preferred approach to your problem:

Rick has some great videoed and this was the first one I watched. Learned a lot from him.

 

[tbayav8er]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! My grapes are not exactly huge, so I'm a little concerned about how much juice I will actually get. This is also my first time growing grapes, so I'm not sure how big they are supposed to get in the first place. We will see, I guess. Do the grapes continue to grow in size during the Veraison period?

 

[DCTWinemaker]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! My grapes are not exactly huge, so I'm a little concerned about how much juice I will actually get. This is also my first time growing grapes, so I'm not sure how big they are supposed to get in the first place. We will see, I guess. Do the grapes continue to grow in size during the Veraison period?

As grapes ripen they expand in size. Typically grape vines are pruned during the growing season, reducing the canopy and removing less than desirable clusters. This allows the vine to put all it's nutrients and energy into the remaining grape clusters, not the foliage, resulting in plump, juicy grapes. At least this is my take away after watching many hours of videos and documentaries about viticulture.