Yo from Jersey!

[Av8oRMike]

Hi everyone, I signed up today and just thought I'd introduce myself. I just racked my first batch to the secondary, a birthday present from the SO, what hopefully will be a nice Australian Shiraz. I should also mention that I've been brewing beer for almost 4 years. While both involve similar equipment (oops, honey I need a corker) and the conversion of sugars to alcohol, they are quite different....No boiling water! What no air lock in the primary? It's only been 10 days and I'm still learning, which is why I decided to join this forum.
Cheers

 

[TheTooth]

Welcome aboard! I've also been brewing beer for 4 or 5 years before I started making wine (about 6 months ago). I was amazed at how different and how much easier the initial prep in winemaking was. (No mash temp? No milling? No boiling? Is this going to work? LOL)

The hardest thing for me is letting the wine age before consuming it. I'm used to being able to drink most beers within weeks of primary fermentation completing, and if I make a big barley wine I can make something else to enjoy while it ages. With wine, I have to wait for it to age before I can really enjoy it. I'm sure that will subside as I get more batches made and aged.

 

[Wade E]

Yep, beer is a lot of work up front and ready to drink very soon while wine is very easy but have to wait quite awhile, typically 6-8 months min on a red and whites are a few months sooner but all will tatse much better given lots more time.

 

[arcticsid]

I really think if your gonna make wine, get several batches going at the same time. I'm pretty sure noone in this forum can say they haven't "drank their wine, before it's time". If you have enough going you might(don't admit it) steal a bit. But I have said over and over, PATIENCE is the most important ingredient, and you can't buy it, at least thats what I have been taught by al of you in here. Someone in here said IF/When you get to bottling, stash a couple in the closet and forget about it, try it in a year.

 

[WhineMaker]

Welcome to the obsession! As a fellow newbie and beer brewer, I have had to learn a whole new strategy!! In your post you mentioned you did not have to use an airlock on your primary?? I guess it most depend on the kit then because I am using one on my primary... Maybe I just misunderstood your post.. I couldn't imagine not having an airlock on my primary.. When I got home today the must was actually at 70 degrees, 3 degrees warmer than the house temp, and it is extremely active.. The first thing I noticed when I opened the front door was the smell! Good luck on your first batch!!

 

[cpfan]

The "air-lock on the primary" thing is one of many things with wine making that is "personal choice". My primaries do not have a hole in the lid, and are quite large (46 litres). I do not use an air-lock.

Others have smaller primaries with holes in the lid. Some use an air lock, some just cover the hole.

BTW, I strongly recommend a larger primary. Why? Before pitching the yeast, the must should be stirred vigorously to ensure that everything is mixed well and to "absorb" some oxygen for the yeast. How do you do that in a "full" primary? Once the fermentation begings, the head space will fill with CO2 anyway.

Steve

 

[Av8oRMike]

Thanks guys, and yeah I've learned the art of patience (married with children).
I went the no air lock route after reading several article where they advised against the use of an air-lock in the primary. EC Krause has an article on their site called Top 10 reasons for fermentation failures and reason #5 is "Using An Air-Lock At The Beginning Of Fermentation" so...
Hey any thoughts about blasting the must with burst of pure oxygen? I do that for most of my brews and it promotes very active and healthy yeast activity....same thing for wine?
Anyway my first batch is now 4 days into the secondary and I've ordered the next kit

 

[WhineMaker]

The "air-lock on the primary" thing is one of many things with wine making that is "personal choice". My primaries do not have a hole in the lid, and are quite large (46 litres). I do not use an air-lock.

Others have smaller primaries with holes in the lid. Some use an air lock, some just cover the hole.

BTW, I strongly recommend a larger primary. Why? Before pitching the yeast, the must should be stirred vigorously to ensure that everything is mixed well and to "absorb" some oxygen for the yeast. How do you do that in a "full" primary? Once the fermentation begings, the head space will fill with CO2 anyway.

Steve

So on the primary you just leave your lid loose?? I did for the first 36 hours, then stirred and snapped lid down per instructions.. SG down to 1.065, so I should be ready to move to the carboy by sunday..

 

[Tom]

Av8..
I'm in NJ. What part you from?