I am making wine from a kit. It is not my very first kit wine experience but it has been about 20 years since the last one. We made a lot of various wines when the kids were little and got quite good at it. Our wines equalled or surpassed those that were purchased. After years of drinking wines, we have decided that our very favouite are the still, white German wines from the Rhine valley, so that is the kit that I made. Its a Liebfraumilch variety. Gewurztraminer wines are equally as good.
We used to make a Liebfraumilch or Gewurztraminer kit and add a can of Welch's purple grape juice at the beginning. This made the most delicioius of all wines. I didn't do that this time. I figured since it had been 20 years and I had probably forgotten as much about it as I ever knew, I should probably stick to the kit and follow the directions exactly.
A wine kit comes with everything you need in the way of comsumables. You have to supply the equipment. My previous post about wine making covers the basics of winemaking and the equipment needed.
I have all the equipment, but no bottles yet. I will get those soon.
This is the primary fermentor. It is a big plastic bucket with a tight fitting lid and a hole in the lid for the air lock.
This is my helper. He watches over everything that goes on around here. He spent a lot of time standing up, peering into the bucket every time I put something into it but I couldn't get a picture of him doing that.
Metabisulphite powder comes in the kit. Mixed with water it is used as a rinse to sterilize everything and added to the finished wine as a preservative. I don't like the taste of sulphite in wine and it can give me a headache. Hubby is allergic to it and gets a rash from drinking wine with sulphite in it. I did add it to this wine, as per the instructions, but I think I am going to make organic, chemical free wine from now on.
My secondary fermenter is on the kitchen table. We don't actually eat there. (Does anyone?) This is what I did today. This as far as I've gotten to date. The air lock is bubbling away and it looks good! The kitchen smells very yeasty!
In about 10 days I will check the specific gravity with the hydrometer and possibly start clearing the wine and preparing to bottle it.
I'm making wine and I'm so pleased! I got a taste of it while racking (siphoning) from the primary into the secondary today. Its wine, a little sharp and green, but definately wine!
10 comments:
Interesting. Never tried to make it, but we really don't drink much wine anyway.
Sounds like fun. Our neighbor makes a lot of wine, and is constantly giving us bottles. His is very good, too. The last bottle was a strawberry wine. Just the thing for a cold, snowy, misterable February.
This has inspired me to order another beer kit! :)
We used to make beer too, but not in 20 years, same as the wine. Maybe I'll make one too.
I want to make strawberry wine this year, when they are ready. I am planning on making a lot of scratch wines from all kinds of things this year.
Good for you!!! Let us know how it turns out!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
hey there. i've never made wine, but my husband and i are avid Mead brewers (mead is alcohol made from honey, and can resemble wine or beer, depending on ingredients)
we use an auto-siphon when we're racking, b/c i'm worried about oral bacteria contaminating the brew... we still leave a little to taste, though!
hopefully your batch turns out beautifully!
You know, I didn't know there was such a thing! I will have to look into it. Thanks for the info!
Looking good Sheryl, I will be bottling today or tomorrow. We had a taste test yesterday and I think the Black Berry Merlot turned out terrific. I will be starting the Riesling and hopefully have it bottled before gardening season.
I hope it turns out well! I am scrounging bottle at the moment, looking forward to bottling too.
I hope it turns out well! I am scrounging bottle at the moment, looking forward to bottling too.
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