Anybody makin' their own homemade wine? :D

[Neb]

@Neb, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell us what kind of yeast you're using, OG, FG, nutrient - what kind, how much (if any)? I keep a workbook of what I did and how I did it so that if anything comes out particularly amazing, I have a shot at recreating it.

We scaled up this process to make the elderberry wine.




This is the yeast we used.

Initially I thought I screwed something up because I never sae any bubbling. We let it sit for a few months. When I opened it up it smelled like wine! We both tasted it and agreed it was wine. It was a nice dry wine.

Aside from scaling it up for 4 gallons of wine, we will repeat the process but will move the fermentation bucket to a warmer location.

Ben

 

[Frodo]

When I was making wine I learned 2 important things
1). After fermintation
Siphonthe liquid off , (Do Not Pour ) of the yeast poop
Let the wine settle for a WEEK, siphon this process is called. Racking
Do it again
Now---pour the wine through a cheese cloth filter
This step is critical for a tasty drop
Yeast poop gives your wine a bitter taste and is also the reason for a hang over
The 2nd thing
If you are using fresh fruit and a store bought yeast I use champagne yeast
You have to kill the natural yeast of the fresh fruit, if not. The 2 different yeast will go to war for dominance in the ferment tank and spoil the batch
Freeze the fresh fruit, then freeze a second time, this will kill the natural yeast
3rd. And this was found out by accident
After your product is finished. Remove the lid or cap from your bottle and let it sit for 24 hours and breath. Place your cheese cloth over it.
4th
What you make today is not ready to drink till next year, Yes it CAN be consumed, but for a TASTY drop it HAS to age. AND lay your bottles on their sides and turn them a 1/4 turn every week to keep them from turning into vinegar

 

[bkt]

Acetobacters are bacteria found in just about everything to do with fermentation. If there is oxygen in the brew and if the ABV is below 10%, it will eventually turn to vinegar. If you want to rotate the bottle a quarter turn, that's fine. It won't prevent or cause anything to happen with regard to turning to vinegar.

You DO want oxygen in your must at the beginning of the process because the yeast need it. When racking, always use a siphon and try not to splash your brew because that will introduce oxygen. When degassing, I suggest using a wand made for it. It will get the carbon dioxide out without mixing oxygen in. Also, when racking, make sure the head space - the area between the surface of your brew and the airlock in the carboy - is not very big. The bigger the head space, the more oxygen can interact with your brew.

 

[randyt]

I think the real question is who drinks their homemade wine? Lol

All funning aside I set up a place for my brewing been using a lot of flip top bottles

 

[viking]

We have about six 5 gallon glass Carboys, the big bottles spring water used to be sold in, those bottles are now made out of a safe to use plastic, the best yeast for good flavored wine was champagne yeast.