Question:
We have made approx 20 brews of wine from kits. I was labeling our current batch which is an Australian Chardonnay kit from Coastal Reserve and noticed there is some crud floating in it. (Approx 7 days from bottling). As we are very cautious with the sanitation and concurrently produced a batch of Zinfandel Blush which appears Aok!, we are at a loss as to what has gone wrong. We suspect bacteria growth, but I will listen to any theories. Thanks. —
Response:
there is some crud floating in it. (Approx 7 days from bottling). A
How does it taste ? That’s most important. Crud can be filtered out. Have you added SO2 in form of potassium meta bisulfite at each racking ? Need to give details of winemaking in order for "help" to be forthcoming . Rett
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Practically all red grapes have colorless juice. The red pigment is in the grape skins. Red wine is made by fermenting the juice, pulp, and skins together, and the red color is extracted from the skins during fermentation. Red pigment can also be extracted from the skins by heating crushed to 150 degrees F or so, and most red grape juice is made by heating Concord grapes. However, wines produced from heated grapes often have a "prune" or cooked fruit flavors. A few special grape varieties like Alicante Bouschet, Rubired, Royalty, etc. have dark red juice, and wine made from these varieties are often blended into wines deficient in color. Unfortunately, all of the grape varieties with red juice make poor quality wines. What do people mean when they use the term "red juice" on this NG? lum http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/
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Lum: In the home winemaking vernacular "Red Juice" refers to a juice (or concentrate) made for home winemakers from a traditional red wine variety of grape (Cab, Merlot, Syrah, etc). Since red pigment extraction via fermentation is clearly not possible with these juices (as they are rarely shipped with solids), the color must be added. Pigment is introduced to the juice through a combination of very light heat pressing (designed to be delicate enough to avoid the prunish taste you mentioned) and, most importantly, the addition of a commercial red wine coloring agent, such as "Exberry" & "X-Press". Typical addition concentrations for these coloring agents are 1% (say a "Gamay style" wine) to 4% (for a "Barolo style"). Hope this Helps; -Ed — "Wine is sunlight, held together by water…" -Louis Pasteur Practically all red grapes have colorless juice. The red pigment is in the grape skins. Red wine is made by fermenting the juice, pulp, and skins together, and the red color is extracted from the skins during fermentation. Red pigment can also be extracted from the skins by heating crushed to 150 degrees F or so, and most red grape juice is made by heating Concord grapes. However, wines produced from heated grapes often have a "prune" or cooked fruit flavors. A few special grape varieties like Alicante Bouschet, Rubired, Royalty, etc. have dark red juice, and wine made from these varieties are often blended into wines deficient in color. Unfortunately, all of the grape varieties with red juice make poor quality wines. What do people mean when they use the term "red juice" on this NG? lum http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/
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I need help on how to determine the sweetness of wines. Everytime I ask someone at the resteraunt or wine shop they either pick a dry wine when I wanted a sweet wine or sweet when I wanted a dry. What wines are what? Someonr told me the more alchol the sweeter, Is this true?
Depends on the context in which they told you that. Generally, higher alcohol wines tend to be sweeter for, in my opinion, two reasons: A) Usually the must was high in sugar to begin with, and by the time things got to where they ended up, the yeast couln’t ferment the remaining sugar anymore because the alcohol level was too high. B) It’s added or intentionally left as per A) due to things like the tastes of high-alcohol wine drinkers as well as to perhaps even things out. On the other hand, apparent sweetness — ie your perception of how sweet the wine is — goes down when the alcohol level goes up. Therefore in a 10% wine a teaspoon of sugar per bottle may be noticeably sweet, but at 17% or more it may seem less so. Don Winemaking linx & FTP, rec.crafts.winemaking FAQ, Missing Link Rovers (Mtl Que Can), firstarter FAQ, Scouting FTP & Super Scout(er), Star Trek linx & FTP, Help Stop Spam, Zee Svedish Cheff, Summer Camp selection
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I need help on how to determine the sweetness of wines. Everytime I ask someone at the resteraunt or wine shop they either pick a dry wine when I wanted a sweet wine or sweet when I wanted a dry. What wines are what? Someonr told me the more alchol the sweeter, Is this true? — Mike Clarke (Remove the * from the reply to E-mail)
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ok, I want to start making wine, however I have absoloutely no idea where to start, any comments will be appreciated. Thanks Steve
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http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/contents.html Dewey
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – ok, I want to start making wine, however I have absoloutely no idea where to start, any comments will be appreciated. Thanks Steve
Response:
After a hiatus of more than 20 years, I started making wine again. I also recommend the two sources listed in the previous response to your question. Both were very helpful to me. I also recommend that you consider a wine making kit or two from one of the larger suppliers. If you have winemaking store near you, get it there and establish a relationship with the owner or sales staff. If you don’t, order of the internet from a source near you (shipping costs can be substantial). My first kit was a Piesporter and it produced exactly what I wanted… a quick success to convince my wife I wasn’t insane. After that I made a Montepulciano, a Harbour Mist (White Zinfandel with Exotic Fruits), and a Pinot Noir from kits. I’ve also made a dry white from frozen grape juice concentrate (Jack Keller’s recipe) and an elederberry from dried elderberries (also Jack Keller’s recipe). I’m currently working on a dry mead, another Piesporter and a Malbec Shiraz. It’s great fun and the wine disappears almost faster than I can make it. One interesting use my son came up with for my wine was personalized college graduation presents for some of his friends who graduated this year. He made some interesting labels and I lost a half dozen or so bottles of wine… but the recipients were very appreciative… not of my skill as a winemaker but his personal messsages on the labels (thanks to PrintShop). Good Luck! Gerald Nicholls
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – ok, I want to start making wine, however I have absoloutely no idea where to start, any comments will be appreciated. Thanks Steve
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One interesting use my son came up with for my wine was personalized college graduation presents for some of his friends who graduated this year. He made some interesting labels and I lost a half dozen or so bottles of wine… but the recipients were very appreciative…
LOL! That’s one of the best reasons to make your own wines. It’s almost as good to give it away as it is to drink it! :^D Tom S
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and it makes for a super cheap gift!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – One interesting use my son came up with for my wine was personalized college graduation presents for some of his friends who graduated this year. He made some interesting labels and I lost a half dozen or so bottles of wine… but the recipients were very appreciative… LOL! That’s one of the best reasons to make your own wines. It’s almost as good to give it away as it is to drink it! :^D Tom S
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First time wine maker is asking for advice. I purchased a wine kit,and followed all steps as per manual (comes with the kit).After 28 days the result is a total disaster. My "wine" smells yeast and is as clear as a very,very dirty water.It is also sweet and tastes awful.I took a small sample and tried to filter it (coffee filter). The "wine" looks a bit better,but is still "dirty",and the awful taste, 
((((((((((. Is there any chance to save my batch? Is there any hope for me to be a wine maker? Thanks, —
oh dear.. seams it hasnt finished fermenting, only cure is to leave it:) you should attempt to taste it until it has cleared, and even then you should still leave it for about 6 months. Leave it for another few months, you cant make wine as quickly as you have been lead to believe, the most important ingredient is time. As for the tasting, im surprised you didnt get yourself a very bad stomach ache, as it would have continued to ferment in your stomach and you’d blow up like a balloon:) —
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First time wine maker is asking for advice. I purchased a wine kit,and followed all steps as per manual (comes with the kit).After 28 days the result is a total disaster. My "wine" smells yeast and is as clear as a very,very dirty water.It is also sweet and tastes awful.I took a small sample and tried to filter it (coffee filter). The "wine" looks a bit better,but is still "dirty",and the awful taste, ((((((((((. Is there any chance to save my batch? Is there any hope for me to be a wine maker? Thanks,
Sure there’s hope. You don’t mention the specific gravity, but if it tastes sweet and it’s no longer bubbling, chances are that the fermentation is stuck. I believe that this problem is discussed in the FAQ, which you should read. (It would be a good idea to get a beginner’s book on winemaking as well.) Basically, to restart a stuck fermentation, take a small amount of the wine, say a quart, add a new shot of yeast, one like champagne or Premier Cuvee that is alcohol tolerant, and wait for it to begin fermenting. Then add another quart of the stuck wine to the newly fermenting batch and wait till it all starts bubbling. Then add two quarts of the stuck wine to the fermenting batch, wait, etc. That is, keep doubling the volume of the fermenting must till it’s all going again. I wouldn’t worry about the clarity at this point, you can take care of that later, by fining the wine when it’s finished fermenting. _Don’t_ filter it with a coffee filter. Fine it. The place that sold you the kit should be able to help. Good luck, Emil Department of Education Phone: (607) 255-2267 419 Kennedy Hall Fax: (607) 255-7905 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853
Response:
First time wine maker is asking for advice. I purchased a wine kit,and followed all steps as per manual (comes with the kit).After 28 days the result is a total disaster. My "wine" smells yeast and is as clear as a very,very dirty water.It is also sweet and tastes awful.I took a small sample and tried to filter it (coffee filter). The "wine" looks a bit better,but is still "dirty",and the awful taste, ((((((((((. Is there any chance to save my batch? Is there any hope for me to be a wine maker? Thanks, —
Response:
Hi I am making my very first batch of wine from a Vintner’s wine kit (Petit D’or). I read the FAQ of this list and all of the directions. This is my problem: It is 36 hours since I began the process, I no longer have foam on top of my wine. At first the primary container was covered with a yeast foam similar to what it develops in a bowl when making bread. Now that has disappeared and it looks like golden ginger ale that is just poured. It is bubbling and smells like yeast but I expected the foam to stay on top longer. Am I still OK or did I "peek" in the container too often and kill the yeast? The SG hasn’t changed and the temp is still 22 deg C.
Have you been stirring up the must? Try stirring your must about 3 to 5 times a day, for about a week then put it into your secondary fermenter. =Bruce http:/www.vom.com/~fireman/home.htm
Response:
Hi I am making my very first batch of wine from a Vintner’s wine kit (Petit D’or). I read the FAQ of this list and all of the directions. This is my problem: It is 36 hours since I began the process, I no longer have foam on top of my wine. At first the primary container was covered with a yeast foam similar to what it develops in a bowl when making bread. Now that has disappeared and it looks like golden ginger ale that is just poured. It is bubbling and smells like yeast but I expected the foam to stay on top longer. Am I still OK or did I "peek" in the container too often and kill the yeast? The SG hasn’t changed and the temp is still 22 deg C.
Hi No problem. Since this is your first kit wine , don’t panic. Kit wines will take a couple of days to really get going. The key is to keeping things clean, and once the yeast gets going keep the air out as much as possible. Colours will vary throughout the entire process. If it is making bubbles, it is turning sugar to alcohol (wine) and the process is going fine. Wait at least 12 days and then start measuring with your hydrometer. Your instructions will tell you what reading to wait for before you to rack (syphon off) the wine into the secondary. Sometimes a kit will get "stuck" and not proceed. Sometimes caused by too cold conditions. Your 22 degrees C is good. You will know a wine is stuck because the SG will not change over several weeks. Again if your seeing bubbles, the SG is changing and everything is OK.. I usually find the SG will drop aprox. .010 every 2 days or so during the second week. Another quick point, don’t get too upset about how the wine looks during the early stages. Give it lots of time and most wines will clear eventually. There are several good books that describe what to do when things go wrong. One of the better books I have read is called "You made this?" Good luck. Larry Graham :)
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writes: I am making my very first batch of wine from a Vintner’s wine kit (Petit D’or). I read the FAQ of this list and all of the directions. This is my problem: It is 36 hours since I began the process, I no longer have foam on top of my wine. At first the primary container was covered with a yeast foam similar to what it develops in a bowl when making bread. Now that has disappeared and it looks like golden ginger ale that is just poured. It is bubbling and smells like yeast but I expected the foam to stay on top longer. Am I still OK or did I "peek" in the container too often and kill the yeast? The SG hasn’t changed and the temp is still 22 deg C.
I don’t think that you can use "foam" as a measure of progress in the fermentation process. As long as it is still "bubbling" and you see some drop in the SG within 24 – 36 hours I would say things are still progressingl. If the SG stays the same you are probably experiencing a "stuck" fermentation an may want to try the following: 1) Make sure the must is 75 deg F (23 deg C) or slightly higher 2) Stir vigorously If fermentation still does not start within 24 hours: 3) Remove 1 cup of must and mix with 1 cup of warm water and one packet (5 g) of wine yeast and let stand for 1 hour in a warm place (you may also want to add some yeast nutrient). Then stir the mixture into the primary fermentor and leave in a warm place. This always works for me.
Response:
Hi I am making my very first batch of wine from a Vintner’s wine kit (Petit D’or). I read the FAQ of this list and all of the directions. This is my problem: It is 36 hours since I began the process, I no longer have foam on top of my wine. At first the primary container was covered with a yeast foam similar to what it develops in a bowl when making bread. Now that has disappeared and it looks like golden ginger ale that is just poured. It is bubbling and smells like yeast but I expected the foam to stay on top longer. Am I still OK or did I "peek" in the container too often and kill the yeast? The SG hasn’t changed and the temp is still 22 deg C.
Response:
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See rec.crafts.brewing Homebrewing beer has been legal in the United States since around 1980, thanks to Pres. Jimmy Carter and Sen. Alan Cranston. On of the last bills Jimmy signed into law before leaving office … that and the bill that made a whole bunch of new National Parks in Alaska. In most of the States in the US, single homebrewers are allowed to make 100 gallons of beer, and homebrewers that are the heads of a household is allowed to make 200. However, as far as anyone knows, no one (in the US) has ever gone to jail for making over their limit. The ATF have bigger fish to fry. Maybe for selling it tho … that would get their attention really fast. In certain religious countries you could loose your head (literally) for doing it. John Watson NASA Ames Research Center http://george.arc.nasa.gov/~watson HOMEBREW NAKED! 