Wife says no way I'll ever make drinkable wine

[Tom]

OK i'm confused..
You started @ 1.085 and added yeast @ 1.005?
Added a pint of water now @ 1.096?
Did you add sugar? why the funny readings?
With the temp changes the airlock may do funny things in the begining.

 

[grapeman]

If the second reading was 1.105, it all makes sense Tom. After the sugars he put in it dissoved, it came upt to the 1.105. He added the pint of water diluting it and it came down to 1.096 - not bad. I say it will be fine for the first wine- especially if it is blueberry. The flavors will convince the wife it is good enough to drink!


Good luck Scott.

 

[SBWs]

No, I mixed all the ingredients last night and checked the SG it was 1.085 tonight when I went to add the yeast I checked the SG again and it had gone up to 1.105 so I mixed in a pint of water to get the SG down to 1.096 before I added the yeast. Next time should I keep the SG a little on the low side, does it always increase after sitting over night?

 

[Tom]

No, I mixed all the ingredients last night and checked the SG it was 1.085 tonight when I went to add the yeast I checked the SG again and it had gone up to 1.105 so I mixed in a pint of water to get the SG down to 1.095 before I added the yeast.

I thought it had to be a typo. Its important to give as much info as possible for us to help. It had to be the undissolved sugars that bumped up the sg.

 

[Wade E]

Thats a decent sg for Blueberry! A little high for something like Strawberry or Kiwi but Blueberry and usually the darker berries can hide a higher abv better.

 

[SBWs]

Update on my Blueberry. Racked it tonight at S. G. 0.996. It has a kick to it, I got a couple of mouths full when racking. Was it ever dry! Added Campden tablet and Sorbate and then did some sweetening with blueberry juice and sugar. Had a few problems with that, cooked the juice and sugar down to far and when it cooled it got real thick and didn't want to dissolve in the wine. I do have a question, I had extra wine so I put it in a wine bottle to use for topping off, do I need to add anything to it or will it be okay as long as it is left dry?

 

[Wade E]

You should add sulfite to that if you havent.

 

[SBWs]

What I can't figure out is how much, I was thinking maybe half a tablet, will that be to much?

 

[Wade E]

1/3rd of a tablet would be about right.

 

[Brent2489]

Sorry to start in late!! My wife could not believe that for a $300 investment and $80-150 per batch that I could make anything but swill. She now really likes the 2 Pinot Grigio's I have made and the Reds are getting better, as long as we don't drink them!

Sent from the train in Sweden where I am currently STUCK until at least Wednesday!!!

 

[grapeman]

Isn't that terrible, you are stuck in Europe- Sweden no less...... I feel sorry for you having to put up with all those pretty blondes!

 

[Wade E]

Hey, maybe you can trace my family tree while you are over there, last name Evans!

 

[uavwmn]

Poor baby....stuck in Sweden.

 

[AlFulchino]

Rich, today they are all covered in ash...cant tell a Betty from a Bjorn

 

[hayfire]

Good luck on getting home from Sweden. Air traffic doesn't seem to be likely for a while.

 

[SBWs]

hayfire hope you've made it home by now. Blueberry wine looking good. I have a question about lees on bottom. There is about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of lees on the bottom. I added the k-meta, sorbate, f-pac and sweetened a little over a week ago. I read some place that if you don't stir every week the lees will turn bad (rotten egg smell). Also it said the lees adds to the flavor of the wine so it doesn't hurt to have them in there. How true is this? Should I rack again to get rid of the lees or stir lees up every week, or just leave it alone to clear and age?

 

[Wade E]

If they are lees from primary fermentation then get rid of them as it is a lot of solids that can go bad, If they are from secondary fermentation then they can sit awhile and they will compress down making them easier to get your wine off them without disturbing them as easy so youll get more wine from it and less lees transfer.

 

[SBWs]

Well it's been a year and my first wine came out okay, 2 bottles left and one of those goes tomorrow. I've started a blog http://shellybellywines.wordpress.com/ to post what I've been doing this past year and hopefully down the road. By the way, I have made a drinkable wine, but then again I've made some that are back in the corner just seeing if they ever get any better

. I've learned a lot this past year for all of you, Thanks for all the help!

 

[Tom]

Welcome, glad to have you onboard. What is your first one going to be?

BY BY !!

Dan he's yours

 

[Runningwolf]

Welcome, glad to have you onboard. What is your first one going to be?

BY BY !!

Dan he's yours

Way to go Tom, I see he's already been shipped off the island.