Made with fresh orchard cherries, 6 months old. The fusel taste is gone and it finished dry. More on the tart instead of sweet side, tastes like the way a fresh cherry pie smells, but with about maybe a quarter of the sweetness. I like this the more I drink it. 9% ABV

After some false starts and some confusion, I believe I’m on the path to making wine.

I’ve never done this before, so I’m following the instructions on my kit.

I’m at secondary containment now, but I am a bit concerned: the smell off gassing is a mixture of sweet and sulfurous, like H2S.

Does that mean I screwed up and it’s goin got be unsafe to drink?

i made homemade wine using store bought 100% grape juice, instant yeast and sugar. But i accidentally used too much yeast and sugar and the alcohol content got too high, to the point that it burns and it's hot on my chest. What should i do

I've always removed the pulp bag after 5 to 7 days per recipes and instructions I followed in the past. But this is my first time actually checking specific gravity as I go. It's been 7 days and the SG is at 1.05 (started at 1.103). Should I remove it? Also concerned about the chunky floaties

What's all this chunkiness floating on my must? I don't recall seeing this on previous batches. It's been fermenting for about 7 days now after stalling for 3-4 days and repitching yeast. Originally used 71B but after it stalled I used the "tougher" EC-1118

I’ve heard a lot recently about native/wild ferments and the various ways winemakers go about them. I’ve also heard of and had some really phenomenal wines where the wine maker lets their juice completely oxidize before starting their fermentation for reasons of everything from being able to drop all of the PPO out of the juice before you even turn it into wine or just to avoid adding SO2 to have a cleaner native ferment. Does anyone have any thoughts, opinions, articles they would be willing to share about this? I’m really interested in trying a native/wild ferment.

Wine-Making:

Equipment list: 2 gallon bucket/(primary ferment) 1 gallon carboy (glass/plastic) (2nd ferment) Air lock (prevent O2)

Carboy brush (sanitizing) Star san(sanitizing) 1 gallon distilled water (sanitizing) Spray bottle (sanitizing)

Graduated cylinder (measuring) Hydrometer (measuring)

Racking cane (transfer) Siphon (transfer) Racking bottles/corks (storing) Corker(storing)

Ingredients: 1 packet EC-1118 (yeast 5oz) 1 gallon Grape juice White granulated Sugar Yeast nutrient (EC-1118) Campden tablet

Step 1: Sanitize

• Mix 6ml star San with 1 gallon distilled water. Mix well.
• Fill spray bottle
• Use spray bottle and brush to thoroughly clean primary fermentation bucket, hydrometer, cylinder, mixing spoon, and cheese cloth
• Empty and shake out any excess liquid

Step 2: Measure

• Pour grape juice into graduated cylinder
• Pour remaining grape juice into primary bucket
• Input hydrometer into cylinder and give a light spin to center it and remove bubbles from sticking to it
• Note the starting measurement
• If starting SG is below 1.09 follow these steps:
  • Math (1.09 SG - starting SG) = X
  • 4 oz sugar and 1/2 cup water per needed .01 SH
  • add sugar to ~1/2 cup 100 degree distilled water
  • Mix till fully dissolved
  • Add small amounts of water if sugar does not fully dissolve
  • Mix sugar water into juice

Step 2: Primary Fermentation

• Crush and add 1 campden tablet to grab juice
• Stir thoroughly for 1-2 minutes
• Cover primary with cheese cloth securely
• Wait 12-24 hours
• Add 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme to grape juice (in bucket)
• Stir well
• Cover primary with cheese cloth securely
• Wait 12-24 hours
• Heat 1/4 cup water to 95 degrees
• Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon to water
• Let sit still for 10-15 minutes
• Stir gently
• Add yeast water to juice in primary
• Stir gently to spread yeast
• Place bucket on elevated surface so carboy can fit easily below
• Stir gently once daily
  • Expect foaming and bubbling within 24 hours
• Wait 7 days, measure SG with hydrometer
  • Stop stirring daily
  • If SG ≤ 1.000, recheck in 24 hours
    • Recheck SG until 2 days of consistent readings
  • If SG > 1.000, wait

Step 3: Sanitize

• Use spray bottle and brush to thoroughly clean secondary carboy, siphon tubing, carboy cap, airlock, and racking cane
• Empty and shake out any excess liquid

Step 4: Secondary fermentation

• Use siphon tube, place end in racking cane.
• Place racking cane just above bottom layer of sediment that has collected.
  • Attempt to not disturb this layer
• Place opposite end in carboy
• Siphon over the wine leaving 2-3 inches of headspace in carboy
• Siphon small amount of wine into third container
• Remove siphon
• Crush and mix 1 campden tablet into third small container
• Pour sulfite mix into carboy
• Place carboy cap on carboy
• Fill airlock with distilled water to the fill line
• Place airlock in carboy cap
• Place carboy on elevated space
• Forget about wine for 6 months

Edit: Step 5: Aging

• Wait 3-4 weeks
• Use wine thief to extract a sample above sediment layer
• Taste to ensure there is no spoilage or vinegar
• Crush 0.5 Campden tablet in small amount of wine (25ppm)
• Stir
• Add campden mix to carboy
• Repeat every 6-8 weeks until Steps 6/7

(There is no specific timeframe for this step, if aging longer than 9 months, repeat only every 12 weeks after initial 9 months)

Step 6: Sanitize

• Use spray bottle and brush to thoroughly sanitize siphon, racking cane, bottles, corks
• Empty and shake off excess liquid

Step 7: Bottling

• Repeat step 5 24 hours before bottling (final sulfites)
• Place 6 bottles under carboy
• Place racking cane in carboy, above sediment layer at bottom, through top replacing airlock
• Attach siphon end to cane
• Place opposite end in first bottle
• Blow into second opening in carboy cap
• Pinch siphon when first bottle fills
• Place siphon end in second bottle
• Unpinch siphon
• Repeat until carboy is empty
• Cork bottles
• Age and enjoy!

Hi,

I am using Jack Keller's banana wine recipe. Tempratures where I ferment routinely go above 28 degree centigrade and sometimes reach 32 degrees Celsius and above in summer. In the early stages of fermentation I used a swamp cooler but now I am ageing the wine. I am worried that they ll produce fusel alcohol as they sit covered with a cloth to prevent light. I don t have a basement or a dedicated fridge for wine making. Any advice would be appreciated.

... from home-making wine or prison juice, using the juice-sugar-baker's yeast method?

In particular, is it possible to create the dreaded methanol just by fermentation?

Or isn't that merely a risk of destillation aka moonshine? Thank you.

I started my first ever wine batch using Jack Keller's rasberry wine recipe.The fermentation ended quicker than I expected it to but I didn't think much of it. It's currently in a secondary carboy. However, I reread the recipe tonight and found that I misread the recipe and added about half the sugar I needed when starting. Would it be OK for me to add that missing sugar back? Or should I just deal with a much weaker wine?

Seeing a lot of conflicting thoughts on the web-I’m about to start a Sauvignon Blanc kit.

Our tap water here tastes fine. Ok to use for the kit? I’ve read distilled could lead to a stalled ferment, but also read you should distilled

I run a mocktail bar, where we make 100% all natural syrups. One of our most challenging syrups to make though is blueberry due to it having so much pectin. I've been steered to shop for clarifying enzymes in the winemaking market which led me to this sub. Just from a bit of research, I've found products offered by Northern Brewer and LD Carlson but from what I've seen contain refined ingredients. Is there such a thing as an all-natural pectic enzyme and if not, what would be the closest thing?

I run a mocktail bar, where we make 100% all natural syrups. One of our most challenging syrups to make though is blueberry due to it having so much pectin. I've been steered to shop for clarifying enzymes in the winemaking market which led me to this sub. Just from a bit of research, I've found products offered by Northern Brewer and LD Carlson but from what I've seen contain refined ingredients. Is there such a thing as an all-natural pectic enzyme and if not, what would be the closest thing?

This is my first time making a 6 gallon batch. Is this too much head space in a 6 gallon carboy of skewter pee

getting back into making wine after a rough year. so far i’ve got a fresh batch of strawberry and blueberry going . any tips or advice is appreciated!

Hi everybody, I’m new to this sub and have been making wine commercially for a few years now in Sonoma County. I’m looking to lay the ground work of creating my own brand (eventually). I’m wondering if anyone here has had any success or know where I should start.

Hey all, I was at Unified symposium in Sacremento yesterday and attended the Non/Low Alcohol wine making session. It was actually a non-alcoholic beer and low-alcohol vodka seltzer session because no one has figured how to replicate those products with wine. Has anyone here tried to make Non/Low Alcohol wines? If so, can you share your experience? Thanks

What is this white stuff. It was all completely at the top until I moved the container to get a better picture. Can wine get Kahm yeast? It looks like that to me maybe?

I'm 22 and just finished my bachelor's in Business Management. This year, I'm planning to complete WSET Level 3 because I'm super eager to learn everything about wine—from tasting to account management, sales, and working with great wines.

I’d love to get into the industry but I’m not sure where to start. I’d be open to working in sales, account management, or anything that helps me develop my tasting skills and knowledge. I’d even be willing to intern or work at a wine house to get hands-on experience.

Does anyone have advice on how to break into the industry? Are there any specific entry-level jobs, internships, or places I should look into? Would love to hear from those who have made the jump or work in the industry! I am based in the Netherlands, so preferably in europe.

Thanks in advance! 🍷

Hey team, I’m definitely new to wine making but loving it so far!!

I have a question about backsweetening. I have a 5litre batch of strawberry wine that is nice and clear, ready to bottle I think.

I want to make it sparkling (I have proper sparkling wine bottles etc) but I want it to be semi-sweet.

How do I do this? I know I can add pot. sorbate- but that will mean I can’t make it sparkle. How can I get a semi sweet sparkling wine?

Thanks in advance.

Hi r/winemaking!

I have a batch of cranberry wine that I started almost a month ago that is stalled at 1.030 SG and won't move. I'm definitely an amateur (done a mead, a few cider kits, a couple dandelion wines) and haven't had a batch stuck this bad yet, and I can't seem to unstick it.

Recipe:

• ~13 lbs fresh cranberries, boiled to extract juice, solids discarded
• 10.5 lbs sugar
• 1 tsp pectic enzyme
• 1 pre-packaged additive package (acid blend, nutrient, tannin) from my local wine supply store
• Water to top up to ~5.5gal
• EC-1118

My OG was around 1.113. Temperature has been relatively constant at 21-22C (which I know is a bit higher than preferred, but it has worked for me with other brews) as measured directly in the must (tracking temp + SG with a Rapt Pill).

When I first pitched, it fired up great -- started getting airlock activity relatively quickly and the Pill was showing SG decreasing as expected on a nice curve. However, once it hit 1.030 or so, it just... stalled. I'm getting a very tiny bit of airlock activity sometimes but I'm pretty sure it's just degassing as I'm not seeing changes to SG.

I've tried:

• Adding a bit more yeast nutrient (about 2 1/2 tsp total) and stirring to get the yeast back into suspension
• Racking off old yeast (read: dumping the collection ball out since it's a conical fermenter) and re-pitching new yeast (this was a few days after the previous attempt)
• Drew a sample and tested with a floating-glass hydrometer to confirm that it wasn't just a bad reading from the Pill -- reading matched exactly
• Inspired by this recent thread I purchased a quality pH meter and discovered that my pH was VERY low (2.66); I corrected with potassium bicarbonate to 3.41 and re-pitched new yeast

ALL yeast pitches were done with rehydration/proofing in ~95F water/sugar/nutrient mix with an amelioration to must temperature in steps of no more than 10F.

The alcohol potential should be well below the tolerance of EC-1118, but my only remaining idea is to add a bunch of water to bring the alcohol concentration down a couple points. Hoping to avoid that, hence why I'm here!

Really appreciate any help you guys can offer!

We all know very well that cider should be fermented at a low temperature and as slowly as possible to preserve all its aromatic properties. However, I have a question: if a specialized yeast is used and fermentation takes place at the lower end of the temperature range specified for this yeast, could this low temperature prevent the yeast from expressing its best aromatic characteristics, which might develop more fully at a slightly warmer temperature?

I want to ask whether fermentation at too low a temperature could prevent the yeast from expressing its aromatic and flavor characteristics. For example as far as I know, kveik yeast actually prefer higher temperatures to produce esters like orange or banana notes.

I would like to balance both aspects and get the best of both—the characteristics from the apple blend and the qualities imparted by the yeast.

At this moment Im runing one apple variety since 2.November with TF-6 and AC-4 at around 11 degree C . The TF6 is not aromatic at all (as stated in Safcider page). AC-4 is more acidic, aromatic and maybe crisp as stated on Saf page.

Im also runing Pomona,So4 and AS-2 at 14-18C. In the begining of fermentation Pomona was tropical but after 4 months now all this aroma has subsided. AS-2 from green apple has turned to apple sauce just like stated on Saf page. So4 on the other hand...looks like a damn winner, sharp fresh apple notes, I just love it.

Four months have passed—could these aromas develop further and become more pronounced in the next few months?