winemaking virgins

[luckylady]

ok, here goes...I have "inherited" a vine that my father planted 20 years ago, and I have no idea what to do with the yearly harvest (about two 5 gallon buckets worth) of puple grapes which range from sweet to tart tasting. Last year I tried to make jelly, but it takes too much sugar and is toooooo messy using a blender and strainer. So I tried bagging and freezing them, but they are mushy when thawed. So this year I picked them, gave away the usual 5 quarts to the surrounding neighbors and have the rest in a dark garbage bag awaiting something...then I thought, how about wine? that can't be too hard....and I like wine, right? So someone pipe in here and tell me that I'm not crazy and this isn't gonna cost me an arm and a leg to venture into...

 

[masta]

Welcome lucklady,


Any idea what type of grapes these are that you have? Pictures of the vines and or grapes and your location will help identify the grapes if you don't know.

 

[luckylady]

I live in Oneida County, Upstate NY...sorry but I'm computer illiterate, I could take the photo but it would take 2 hours to figure out how to transfer it to this forum

 

[masta]

Until we can some of the experts involved here to help you I would suggest to bag and freeze the grapes to help preserve them if you are serious about making some wine.

 

[grapeman]

Chances are pretty good the grapes you have are Concord- the predominant grape in your area. The are bluish purple and tend to ripen somewhat unevenly. When fully ripe they are sweet-tart and if unripe, downright tart. They make a pretty good wine. If they are too tart, the juice can be diluted. It takes about 6-12 pounds of grapes per gallon. I agree with Masta, freeze the grapes- it actually makes them juicier and easier to process in small quantities. I'll monitor this post and if nobody gives you a recipe, I'll grab one out of the book or my wine index file.


Good luck and welcome.

 

[luckylady]

excuse my ignorance, but I want to make sure that by freezing, you mean as I did previously, in a ziploc freezer bag, no special processing involved? I am serious about attempting this, and when I read the other posts about the types of wine you guys are producing, I feel it's something well within my grasp. I also have apples available in my yard as well as black raspberries, rhubarb and flowers like daylilies, chrysanthemums, lilacs,orange blossoms and roses.....any suggestions?

 

[Waldo]

Based on the information you have provided and the diversity of fruits/plants avaliable to you My advice luckylady would be to order you up about 3-4 primary fermenters, 5 carboys and an assortment of yeasts, nutrient, sanitizers, etc. bottles, corker, a couple of good books on making wine and get ready to have the time of your life.

Edited by: Waldo

 

[masta]

No special processing involved just de-stem the grapes, rinse with water, bag then freeze. The freezing will help preserve the gapes until you are ready and also help them juice out easier.
Don't worry we have some real experts here to help you along. I would agree with Waldo and get yourself a good wine making book and learn the basic process as the first step.


Here is a link to a great book which will explain the winemaking process and also how to maximize the yield you are getting from your vines.
http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=7358

 

[PolishWineP]

Lucky Lady,
You are indeed a very Lucky Lady! As you seem to already know, you can make wine from just about anything! Like Masta said, go ahead and clean and freeze your grapes. You do want them mushy. So much easier to work with them. This will give you time to get a book, decide if you want to do this, get all needed equipment, prep and start. There will be folks here with you throughout the entire process. We're always excited to see a new wine maker and glad to help you (get addicted to making wine!)

By the time you get through this first batch you'll be making plans for what you're going to next make. Welcome! Glad to see you here!

 

[luckylady]

Thank you all for your enthusiastic and helpful replies...I look forward to this new adventure and am glad there are plenty of others out there along for the ride....stay tuned for updates and LOTS of further questions!

 

[Wade E]

We'll be waiting with bells on.

 

[paubin]

Welcome lucky...that is a very appropiate name with all the goodies growing around you. I agree with everyone else. This is an extremely fun hobby and very addictive. Not expensive to get started at all. I suggest Terry Garey's book, "The joy of winemaking" as an excellent place to start. As well as the great tutorials in this forum! You can get the equipment needed from George here. He is a great help also if you have questions. Good luck and welcome!


Pete

 

[jsmahoney]

Welcom Lucky Lady-You couldn't have entered a better place to learn about wine making. I am new to this hobby too; I visit this forum continuously, read and learn from everyone's experience's. Any questions you may have, there are plenty of helping friends here. ENJOY!

Edited by: jsmahoney

 

[jobe05]

Welcome LuckLady....... Although if you live in Onieda, why is that luck? I was born in Onieda, back when the hospital was downtown in a3 or 4 story building. Still have lots of family around there, Canastota (another yuk) and Syracuse area. Although the area would be good for some good grape growing. I wish you could post a picture. One of these years, I'm going to time one of my trips up there when the wild rapes are ripe. There are plenty along the trails of the erie canal, I wish I had a mess of those.Edited by: jobe05

 

[Gelu Liber]

Welcome Lucky!


I am new to wine making myself. I just started this past July. I have one primary and 2 carboys and have made wine from the kits and I am working on one apple wine from my orchard right now. This is a fantastic hobby that you can share with others. I thiink there is a variety of wine to suit just about anyone.


I wish I had more primaries and carboys but I have to build slowly.


Much like you I have a plethora of fruits on my 25 acresto make great wine from. (Red raspberries, black raspeberries, strawberries, several varieties of apples & pears, Concord and wild grapes, cherries, mulberries, and gooseberries, just to name a few.)


Next year is going to be GREAT!

 

[Wade E]

Boy you sure are lucky to have all that fruit at your disposal. I would
go to the transfer station (dump) and go into the recyclables and get
all the gallon wine jug containers I could find and experiment with 1
gallon batches of everthing you have and then start mixing them to. You
would not believe how many 1 gal. wine jugs I have found here and the 3
litre jugs are good for after racking a gallon due to losing some from
the lees.In 1 month I went from 2 gallon containers to 18.

 

[MedPretzel]

Okay, sorry for chiming in so late. I've been "out of commision" lately.


As I gathered, you have roughly 5 gallons of grapes, correct?


As others have said, freeze them in ziplock bags or something that is food-grade. Garbage bags, I have read, are not food-grade, but if the grapes weren't in there for a week, they should be okay.


So, what you do: Have the grapes in the freezer for at least a week. That is enough time to get your supplies to make some awesome wine.


The key will be once they've defrosted to know how much juice you have. I'll assume 3 or so, but I'm not sure.


Now, others might disagree, and I encourage people to let me know if they do. This is what I would do:


1. Freeze the grapes.
2. Get a food-grade, 5-gallon container - try at your supermarket bakery for one.
3. Get3 frozen White grape concentrate from your freezer section. (I will explain why later)
4. Get either3 1-gallon jugs (like the kind you get when you buy wine in a gallon) or 1 3-gallon jug (called a carboy. Costs about 20 bucks).
5. Get3 (or 1) air-locks. These allow CO2 out of your wine while it ferments.
6. You need only a few other supplies at the beginning: sulfite/campden tablets, nutrient, sugar, hydrometer and yeast. Just guestimating the expense of these: 20 dollars. The most important supplies are campden tablets, hydrometer and yeast. (WINE yeast, that is)
7. You will need a racking tube later, but in the first week that the grapes are freezing, you can get all the supplies you will need.
8. A warm place to keep your wine. Ideal temps are about 73ish. They ideally shouldn't fluctuate, but yeast can work from about 68-80 degrees. The higher the temp, the faster the fermentation. Not always a good thing, but I think it's not a problem for your first batch. The best bet is to keep your wine in the kitchen or even the bathroom.


Now for the nitty-gritty:
A lot of you might say "why grape concentrate", but I have made concord wine (which your grapes are presumably) out of JUST concord grapes. Very good, but it's lacked in complexity. If you add some niagara grapes, you might have a better wine. 1 can of concentrate per gallon is optimal.


The supplies I listed are the minimal ones you need to get. I'll write more later. I've been having some problems with the computer as of late. Hope I'm not too late in responding.Edited by: MedPretzel

 

[MedPretzel]

So, let me do this in steps.


Once your grapes have been in the freezer for 1 week, and you have all your supplies, you can take your grapes out of the freezer.


Measure out 3 gallons in your pail and mark it on the outside with a sharpie. YOu will need this to see how much juice you actually have.


Make sure you crush 5 campden tablets to a fine powder (pill crushers work fantastic here), add them to about a cup of lukewarm water. Swish it around really good, andpour the whole thing into theplasticpail (now known as a primary). This process sanitizes everything.Put your hydrometer in there too, but be careful, because some people have been know to break it.


Take a paper towel and put it in the primary too. Using the paper towel, wipe down all surfaces of the primary generously . Wring out the paper towel and place your hydrometer on it for later use.


Dump the rest of the sanitizing solution down the drain.


Now put all the frozen grapes in the primary and let it thaw completely in there. Probably overnight is going to do it.


If it reaches the marked line you made with your sharpie, you're doing great. If you're over, don't worry. Just make sure you have an extra wine bottle or 2 handy just in case. If you're under, not to worry either. That's why you have the grape concentrate as well.


Put in the grape concentrate (3 cans for 3 gallons) and use your hydrometer to see what it reads. I hope it will read 1.080 or 1.090.... If it is lower, add a cup of sugar and see how it changes. Don't forget to stir once you've added the sugar. Keep doing this until you get up to 1.080.


If you are too high, add a cup of water, stir and take a reading.

 

[PolishWineP]

I must agree with Paubin about Terry Garey's book. If I could have only 1 wine book, that would be the book. She speaks to you as if you are in intelligent person who is new to the hobby.

 

[kutya]

Welcome Lucky... You are in good hands here...