The Scott Laboratories 2009 Fermentation guide. (http://www.scottlab.com/products/fermentation/documents/FermentationGuide_nopriceform_000.pdf)
I know this is a cheese forum. But it is wine season. I found this today and going through it. Its really nice.
Thnaks Wayne I have been threatening to try making wine for awhile now. Maybe this is the year.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me.
also. http://winepress.us (http://winepress.us)
We tried making wine several years ago and were REALLY bad at it. At the time the online resources didn't exist. Would love to try again, but don't know where to start.
I did the same Sailor. Decided that I wanted to make some Mead for our 25th wedding anniversary. Found some recipes, gave it a go, and what a mess.
Finally found a great online forum, discovered what my mistakes were, bought a couple of recommended books, and well the rest is history. It really is not very hard, once you know the tricks to the trade. Like most things I guess.
Give it another go.
Well, Wine is one of those things that happens, like it or not. In many cases one really cannot do much to prevent it. In one sense, "wine happens"
Why? most fruits have both sugar, and wild yeasts, and sometimes wine will actually be made inside the berries of some fruit bearing trees. I've seen drunk birds personally and there are youtube vids of drunk elephants.
But wine is a temporary stop on the way to vinegar town.
All we can hope to do as wine makers is coax along what would happen normally into something that tastes nice, and will last in that wine phase for a long time.
I am not an expert, but I sure do enjoy making wine.
Cheese is my mistress, but wine is my wife.
Probably not the best place to start or maybe it is (from a kit) but I had this very tasty peach wine at the local Brew Supply Shop - Peach Mist or something. It was a boxed kit. I forget who made it but it was very good (to me).
Quote from: Wayne Harris on September 26, 2009, 08:59:02 PM
But wine is a temporary stop on the way to vinegar town.
I know that! I started making wine 2 years ago.
Quote from: DeejayDebi on September 26, 2009, 10:59:02 PM
Probably not the best place to start or maybe it is (from a kit)
There is nothing at all wrong with getting started with a "kit". As a matter of fact, I would encourage it. But you know me, I'm all about jumping in with both feet.
I think its better to try it with a kit and decide that its not for you, than to invest in the gear needed for fresh grapes and then make that decision.
And besides, wine from juice or concentrates can be done at any time, not just the fall.
Just, keep your expectations in check. Its wine from juice.
It is what it is.
Well the biggest reason I thought I'd try a kit is I liked the taste of the one they let me try and I don't normally like wine much.
What I find interesting is that wine can be made from most anything.
(not saying its good wine, but its wine.)
Non-grape wine is referred to as "country wine" by some.
You can find wine recipes for most berries, fruits, vegetables, seeds, weeds, stems and flowers.
I would encourage you (DeejayDebi) especially since you seem to make everything.... to look at Jack Kellers (http://winemaking.jackkeller.net) wine making page. He as a section there on the basics, advanced, and includes wine recipes for almost everything that does not crawl around.
On your recommendation my dear I will do just that - but you have to fix the link it doesn't work. I will try a search.
I justed started jalapeno pepper wine yesterday and no I'm not drinking it I will be giving it to so friends ;D.
link is fixed, but here it is again.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net (http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/)
I just copied almost every word. Maybe I'll read it all when I get Wisconsin in about a week.
Quote from: whichwhey? on October 01, 2009, 12:07:41 AM
I justed started jalapeno pepper wine yesterday and no I'm not drinking it I will be giving it to so friends ;D.
wow, that sounds very spicey.
If you never tried blueberry wine, you must make some. It is so good, so good. It seems I can't keep it around long enough to age any. I just started so mead yesterday and it smells good. And can't wait to make more blueberry ;D.
Sounds good. I will have to try this sometime.
Wayne,
The winepress.us site you posted is actually based only about an hour and a half away from my home. I'm also a member there and have been threatening to pay them a visit for the past several years.
As for using either fresh grapes or a kit, I will say that a nice wine can be made from even an inexpensive kit.
In the past I've used both the Wine Expert Vinter's Reserve kits (which are in the $70.00 range), as well as California Connisseur kits that are only marginally more expensive.
I've also used some of the canned juice concentrates like Alexanders which are about $20.00 per can.
In each case I turned out a nice daily drinking wine but for some reason only after a LONG aging period. Most others find their kit wines to be good at 6 months to a year but I felt they were undrinkable until at least two years had passed and in one case, three.
Now concerning juice wines and kits, as Wayne said, they will only have the potential to be so good.....
The reason for that, (in my opinion) is because you are re-hydrating the juice with water. Most kits have around 2 - 3 gallons of juice and they are made to a 6 gallon batch. Considering that this is the case it's even more impressive that you can turn out a pretty nice end product.
Another option that is available, (although MUCH more expensive), is pure juice kits.
These contain 6 gallons of pure juice and range in price from $150.00 - $250.00, depending upon the quality of the grapes the juice was made from.
This would, by far, be the best way to go but again the quality comes at a higher initial cost. If I'm thinking correctly, this type of kit should produce something very close to a wine that was made from fresh grapes.
Even though the pure juice kits are high, relatively speaking they really aren't that bad.
Considering that you will get about 30 - 750 ml bottles from one of these kits, the price per bottle, (even on the most expensive), comes in at around $8.00 per bottle.
A few weeks ago my cousin and I drank a Pinot Noir that he had purchased. It was a $75.00 bottle of wine that should have been wonderful. Unfortunately neither of us were that fond of the wine, even after letting it breathe for over 2 hours.
I would much rather spend $250.00 on a good kit and end up with 30 bottles of a wine that is sure to be very drinkable than spend even $75.00 on a bottle that I did not like at all.
I've just gotten back into wine making in the past few weeks and have been doing a lot of reading. I don't really see myself ever going the fresh grape route, simply because I don't have the room for the required equipment, or the funds with which to purchase the equipment or grapes.
I do, however, see myself moving up to the all juice kits after I get a few less expensive kits under my belt.
Right now I'm just sort of brushing up on the things I learned a few years back and trying a few tweaks to the kits, to make them more to my liking (acid/tannin additions and adding chopped raisins for extra body).
All in all I'm having a blast with it, but before I begin an all juice kit I have a standing date to call Wayne and pick his brain.
What's amazing to me, is that making certain varietals of wine, is even possible in the home setting.
I mean here in Illinois, (say 20 years ago), you basically had one choice when it came to a grape wine.....Concord.
Now, thanks to the internet, I can make an authentic Burgundy region Pinot Noir or one from the Sonoma valley if that is more to my liking.
Honestly, that just blows me away.
Dave
Quote from: Likesspace on January 09, 2010, 10:23:55 PM
All in all I'm having a blast with it.
And that's all that matters.
Good for you.
;D
Wayne...
Could I get your opinion on all juice wine kits?
Do you believe that they can produce a wine that is comparable to fresh grapes?
I know you've been doing this for quite a while so I would really like to hear your opinion on this.
As I said, I can't afford to go the fresh grape route so I'm looking for the next best thing.
Thanks in advance.
Dave
Well, I think you can get a good wine from kits, and bad wine from grapes.
Hell, you can get drinkable wine from really bad kits, and one can absolutely ruin a wine from really good grapes. There are a zillion variables, almost all of which i have managed to, or will manage to screw up at some point.
Fresh grapes will cost you about 1.00USD/lb. It takes about about 15lbs of fresh grapes to a gallon of juice. So, 90 bucks and you have a batch of 6gallons of fresh wine.
You should really find a grape pimp near you, you might need to go to STL or Chicago, but its only once/twice a year.
They will probably also crush the grapes for you, and you can use your cheese smarts to build a homemade press.
For me, i will make grape wine once a year anymore from fresh grapes. I might make some fruit wine, (or mead thanks to Tea and Carter) but outside of that, but no more kits for me.
Geesh, Wayne.... I had no idea fresh grapes could be bought for so little.
We have tons of wineries around us so I guess I'll check with them before next season to see what I can find. Maybe they will have some leftover from what they purchase that they would be willing to sell.
Not only did I NOT know that grapes are so cheap I also did not know that it took so little to make a gallon of juice. That certainly makes the grapes a better bargain.
I appreciate the information you've given. Of course now I'll have to re-think everything that I know about wine making (only kits) so that should be fun. :-)
Thanks again, Wayne.
I do appreciate it.
Dave