Questions about homemade wine?
If you have a question – post it here and I will try and help.
Comments are always welcome.
23 Comments
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If you have a question – post it here and I will try and help.
Comments are always welcome.
I started 5 gallons of wine using 11 pounds of sugar. A friend told me I could add suger in the middle of the process to produce higher alchol level. Now, after sampling wine it is very very sweet. Can this be fixed?
Hi Brock,
If the must is still bubbling, the sweetness will reduce as the alcohol level rises.
You can leave the wine to continue to ferment OR, you could start a batch of the same recipe, reduce the sugar amount, and combine the two musts once the second batch has got settled.
I am making a couple different types of fruit wine- the old fashioned way- (the way my grandfather made wine)- and it says for when you are filling the wine- and are going to put the cork in you are to cork loosely- (by tying a string around the cork, and allowing for fermentation to continue until it is complete) —-does anyone know anyother way to cork loosely without using a string tied around the cork?
Instead of the string, use plastic wrap for a couple of days, then remove the wrapped cork, resoak the cork and insert fully. However, it is safer to wait until fermentation has stopped completely if you don’t want to risk corks exploding!
Hi,
I racked off 8 bottles of wine a couple of months ago, and left them in my wine rack.
Some sediment has settled in the bottles, so I decided to rack them off again.
When the bottles were refilled they seemed to have started working again.
How do I stop them from working?
Hi Stewart,
You can add a very small amount of crushed campden tablet, or you can return to a demijohn and leave the wine to finish before re-bottling.
Good luck with your wine.
I started a 5 gal bucket of apple wine a week ago. I cut 30 apples in 1/4s, added 5lbs of sugar, and 2 packs of bread yeast and topped it all off with 4 gallons of H2O. I then covered with a cloth. Im going to let it ferment for 3 weeks. Then strain and bottle. Does this sound right? This is my first try… Did i use the right Yeast? It is making the bubbling sound. Should i stir it? Thanks Pat
Hi Pat,
If the mix is bubbling, you are essentially making wine! Congratulations.
Apple wine usually ferments for about 6 months. It varies with the temperature, the yeast, and the amount of sugar in the apples. If you bottle it at 6 weeks it will most likely try to continue to ferment in the bottles.
As far as stirring it – I wouldn’t, unless the bubbling stops. In a container covered with a cloth, every time you lift the cloth, some contaminants will get in. I would recommend moving the mix to a closed container with an airlock, if you can.
I started 2 gallons of wine almost 5 weeks ago. One is blueberry/watermellon the other is apple. Both are from concentrate and both in one gallon milk jugs. I did not use the ballon technique I had read about, I opted instead to cut a hole in each of the caps just big enough to squeeze a plastic tube into. I then ran the plastic tubing into a jug of water. At 5 weeks I still have small bubbles rising though the liquid, but the bubbles that are coming out into the water are few and far between. I was hoping this wine would be ready for New Year’s Eve. When should I take the wine off of brew? The recipe I had said 4-6 weeks for the ballon to deflate. And it also said something about setting it in a near freezing place to kill the yeast. Should I take it off of brew now or wait another week? By the way, I’m DYING to taste the blueberry/watermellon, the mix tasted fantastic when I was preparing it. I should also point out that this is my first attempt at making my own wine. Hope to hear from you soon. Angela
Hello Angela,
I would recommend you taste them.
If it tastes like wine – chill it, then bottle it.
If it tastes a lot like yeast – give it a swirl around and let it ferment some more.
Good luck!
There arises a problem, I can’t taste the wine without letting air into it. I’ve had a hard time finding any real info on making wine in this fashion. All the sites I’ve looked at talk about doing it with different equipment (that would allow tasting). I plan to get better equipment in the future, but this was a spur of the moment decision to make the wine and I had to make due with what I had available. Is it ok to allow air into it to taste and still turn out a decent wine?
There is a risk of contamination but probably not a huge one, as long as you are quick.
Make sure you use clean sampling equipment (Not your finger!
).
I sampled just the blueberry/watermellon, the tiny taste I got did not convince me one way or the other….not sure but thought I got a hint of vinegar taste. I think I’ll go ahead and chill it, I’ll get a better taste of it after I strain it. I’m hoping that my taste was incorrect. I have been worried about that particular batch since early in the brew cycle, I believe I may have gotten air in it during the first week (had to move it to a different location due to my cats). Thank you for your assistance. I’ll let you know if it turned out ok or not.
Angela
I have finally finished straining both gallons of wine. Ends up the blueberry/watermellon is WONDERFUL tasting, it’s a bit sweet, but I prefer sweeter wines so it works for me. The apple on the other hand is so strong, i’m not sure it would qualify as a wine. They are both still relatively cloudy, not sure what I should do about that. Are there any “around the house” fixes for the cloudiness? If not I may have to deal with it. Once again, I would like to thank you for answering my questions, it is much appreciated.
Angela
Congrats Angela,
Really pleased for you that you are happy with your wines and I hope you will make many more.
The cloudiness may disappear once the wine has settled in its bottles. Household fixes take a while, and New Year’s Eve is fast approaching!
If the apple wine is too strong for your taste, try it mixed with a soda.
I made some wine from grape and apple juice in the middle of may and then stashed it in a closet until now, beginning of August. I noticed that some of the yeast I poured in stuck to the side of the bottle on the top where no liquid touched and it grew/multiplied in that spot a little bit. I just poured the wine into mason jars to store and I was wondering if that yeast on the side could be dangerous at all to the wine?
If the wine in the mason jars is clearing or is clear – you are probably OK. Congratulations
If you see strings in the wine, it is contaminated. Next time, give it a good swish round to mix the yeast in with the must before it starts fomenting – This will also wash any yeast from the glass above the wine.
I brew my homemade wine yesterday and i find the the wine is alittle to sweet with no alcohol taste and the next morning, i saw tiny bubbles moving around.Wondering if it going explode, is it spoil. Do i have to brew it again.
Hello Ning,
When you start wine brewing there is quite a bit of sugar there. As the yeast does it’s job, the sugar is turned to alcohol and the wine gets less sweet. The bubbles are the yeast working – It is all good
It won’t explode if your airlock is working.
i have started making homemade wine for the first time from a starter kit i put 800g of sugar in it and it has been fermenting for 3 days then i read the instructions again and noticed i was supposed to put 900g of sugar can i add the extra 100g of sugar now or not?
Hello Amy – At 3 days you should be fine adding a bit more sugar. I would make sure to give the must a good swirl to make sure it is evenly distributed for the yeast to work on.
Good luck with your wine!
Jackie
what temp. do you store wine in while it is still making?
Hello Deana,
Around 68° F should be a good temperature to keep your must bubbling nicely.
If it gets too much warmer, the fermentation will be fast but end quickly, and the results are not as good. Once you have the mixture producing bubbles gently, try to keep the temperature constant.
With this in mind, a spot well out of the way is best from the start. I use the top of the fridge. I can see what’s going on but I don’t worry about anyone disturbing it while it works.
Good luck!