Wine Making...anyone?

I think I'd like to start making my own wine. I'd like to try to learn anyway.

I've made tons of beer in my life, and I actually got quite good at it after a while. I had a friend who was really into it. In the end though, I decided I actually liked making the beer more than I liked drinking all that beer. I wound up giving most of it away to friends and family (who willingly accepted). Consequently, I'd like to try my hand at wine making. I've read that making good wine can be quite challenging, and this was something I always enjoyed about making beer too, but I've read wine can be significantly more challenging in some respects. This bodes well, as I love challenges.

I probably have a good bit of the supplies already (carboys, mixing buckets, racking equipment, etc.). Based on a little research there's still a number of other things I'd need to get.

I think I'd probably just start off with some recipe kits which have most all the ingredients before moving up to the rolling up my pant legs and stomping the grapes part. Beginner/baby steps at first I guess. Probably start off in the 6 gallon batch (30 bottle) range. I have the absolutely perfect environment to ferment and age wine in, so I'm set there. In fact, it's this environment which makes me really want to go for it, else I could be missing out on for a lifetime.

Anybody else make their own wine?

Any tips you'd care to share?

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

first, dont do this though it is the best moaning ever. i love it



second, wine making sounds like fun. i dont drink at all but i think i would enjoy a hobby like this. dialing # in to get it just right.

do you know anything about it? i feel like this is one of those things that may be harder scaled down small like what you are talking about.

dont they say its all about the grapes?
you just gonna go to the local grocery store and buy a gang of grapes?

do you have an in on the good #?

im interested in how you make out

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Most important thing is your grape choice. I'd try Moscato.

a reply to: TinySickTears

You know I think thats one of the videos I first really remember from youtube when it started, like I can remember showing that to ppl.

You gotta see this lady try to cheat.

a reply to: TinySickTears

One of my favorite videos of all time!!! I've laughed at that for years!

Still cracks me up!!

As for supplies, I'm probably going to start with what they call 'ingredient kits' where you get the grapes already pre-mashed and concentrated. Mashing your own is a pretty involved process from what I see and takes some pretty big gear. I'm not ready to start there. Incidentally, the (funny) video is just one step in a number of steps, both before and after, to even get to where I'm thinking of starting. (think...vacuum extraction presses, etc.)

edit...just watching that classic video again...still can't get over how she sounds like an Elephant Seal humping a dock piling!! LOLOLOL!!!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

thats a good idea with the kit.
get your method up and ease your way into better grapes

and yeah this was one of the 1st fail type vids i remember watching back when ebaums and places like that were the spot

a reply to: TinySickTears

Sounds like an Elephant Seal humping a dock piling!

You'll find it rather easy. I know I did. It's not a hard a process as beer making. Remember, we got wine from naturally fermenting grapes on the vine, it's also where we get the yeast for wine making......that white powdery substance on grapes is none other than yeast....later in the grapes life of course. You can make wine from juice concentrate as long as it's 100% juice.

My favorite is BlackBerry.......22lbs Black Berries + sugar + yeast + patience = 17 to 23 750 ml bottles and 1 happy wife. Good luck in your venture, there's hundreds of youtube videos to help you out in the learning process. Again, good luck. You'll know when you get it right. someone will say "damn that's pretty tasty, with a nice kick to boot".......mine was about 17% alcohol. You can get that as to where you want it...all in the learning process. My best advice is everything has to be clean & sterile, stray yeast from the air or your hands can cause a batch to go rancid. When it happens, it's bad. Real bad. Make your own air locks, the store bought ones suck.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I know someone with a vineyard that makes wine. Great stuff.

You can make it at home and there's a bunch of decent videos on youtube that will show you how.

But be warned. You'll be waiting almost a year before you drink your first drink.

I have made loads of wine in my life. The fruits of the countryside like blackberries, damsons, dandelion, elderflower and all that. Unusual wines that I have made include birch sap and sycamore sap wines.

When I had bees I also used to make mead. Now, that's a drink to make.

I've made lots of honey mead.
Some of it pretty stout.
And tasty.
3 lbs of honey per gallon of water.
Grand Couvier yeast.
I'm getting around 13% (plus) alcohol.

a reply to: paraphi

How's about one of you two Mead Makers post me a recipe. I have wanted to try making mead for quite some time.

Mead is something I've thought about also, and we've got lots of bees around here so lots of honey.

I don't know anything really about mead, other than it's really old. I guess (from what little I know) it seems like mead would always be sweet, and I think I'd like a little more variety than that.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I've made wine on and off for about 10 years, I'd honestly say it is a lot easier than beer. Especially if you make your own mash.

I'm guessing since you've made beer before successfully then you'll now how to use a hydrometer properly. Sterilisation will always be the main key to brewing... As you probably know.

think I'd probably just start off with some recipe kits which have most all the ingredients 

It's been a while since I've brewed but as I remember most kits only require you to have water, depending on your taste it might be worth going for the higher quality kits or maybe get a cheap one and a good one? Personally I've always found kits to be lacking in tannins and/or flavour, so with a 6 gallon batch I'd brew it with about 1/10 - 1/15 less water then add flavourings after fermentation... This can work well with a secondary fermentation. I've experimented with double-dropping (like beer) and flavouring my wines quite a bit with varying success. It might be worth mentioning that wine kits usually expect you to "water down" your brew after fermentation to get the desired alcohol percentage... Instead of using water, just use juice.

I've got a note book with quite a few homemade recipes from scratch, from using fruits to using fruit juice that's store bought. I friggin live homemade strawberry wine and I've had some good success using pineapple or cranberry juice as the base fruit instead of grapes. It's surprising how cheap a good wine can be produced.

I was always an enthusiastic amatuer, but I probably have some wisdom to impart so if you've got questions fire away, most of all happy brewing

a reply to: paraphi

I've been wanting to make some birch sap wine for a long time, it's about the time to go collecting.

Any tips or recipes you might have?

originally posted by: openyourmind1262
How's about one of you two Mead Makers post me a recipe. I have wanted to try making mead for quite some time.

Well, there are a bunch of recipes for mead if you look. However, the basic recipe where the honey is important is pretty simple...

3-4 lb of natural local honey - not pasteurised and homogenised tat
1 gallon of water
Brewers yeast
Demijohn

The honey gives the taste.

a reply to: RAY1990

Wow, great info! Much appreciated!

I will definitely look into all of your points.

One question I have already is, are fruit wines generally all sweet wines?

Nothing against 'sweet', but sweet is something I can only take so much of. It's kind of weird, I have a very long sweet 'memory', meaning I seem to have a very long recall for sweet things so when I eat a certain kind of sweet I don't want it again for quite a while because I know exactly what it will taste like. I don't have this same 'memory' for grape based wines. I know this is a really bad example, but...for example, I can remember what Boones Farm wine tastes like and it's been probably 40 years since I last had any. And for some odd reason I have this same kind of memory for some German white wines. It's weird, I know.

a reply to: RAY1990

Birch sap wine - there are many recipes to go for, but the base is a gallon and a bit of birch sap and three pounds of sugar. The "bit" is to account for evaporation when boiling down. Taste will dictate whether the sap is bolstered with raisins, or e.g. orange juice otherwise the wine would be a bit tasteless. Personally, I used raisins.

The key with birch sap wine is tapping properly and not damaging the tree. The best time (possibly the only time) is to take the sap when the sap is rising i.e. in the Spring. I have read that a less damaging way to collect sap is to take it from branches, but you would have to look that up and have never tried it, but if it's less damaging to the tree then it's probably worth it.

A few years ago I used to make quite large batches, but at the time had access to a birch wood.

Also, birch sap on its own is actually a refreshing drink.

Take it from me FCD it's one of the easiest things to do. You don't need any fancy paraphernalia, just a boiling pot and a "brewing" pot. people have been making wine for centuries. Now think of the romans, when they made wine they didn't have any fancy gadgets. As long as all your equipments is sterilized before use it comes down to practice.
No need to go for any fancy kits either. I have brewed wine for over 40 years and my one rule "never pay for "ingredients" except sugar.
You can make wine with literally anything, you just have to try for the taste.
If you want a nice one to to have a go at, try orange wine. The best thing about that is the oranges HAVE to be mouldy, the greengrocer will give you them free.
The best for me is parsnip, grow your own. As an aside if you don't like the taste of your wine after you've made it, do not throw it away as it's full of alcohol which you can distil out and add you chosen flavour to that. Do not be put off with people telling you stilling if difficult, it' as easy as wine making, you just have to be a bit careful. But if you're slightly intelligent, it's a doddle.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
I guess (from what little I know) it seems like mead would always be sweet, and I think I'd like a little more variety than that.

The mead I make comes out pretty dry.
Not cloyingly sweet at all.
Slight tartness and a buttery aftertaste.
It's all in the yeast.
I use a champagne yeast with a high alcohol tolerance.
It consumes most of the sugars.