Well I’m about to make my first attempt at it.
I’ve a used Home Winemaking Kit (ebay) and a 5 gallon bucket of concord grapes.
The winemaking kit contains a gallon barrel,fermentation lock,a funnel,some old campden tablets and some old winemaking yeast and instructions on making wine from the dried grapes that originally came with the kit.
I’ve added a paperback by C J J Berry entitled "First steps in winemaking."and “Winemakers recipe handbook” by Raymond Massaccesi.
So now what?
I assume I should wash the grapes off first. Do I just use plain cold running water?
Do I sort them ? If so what criteria? Color? Should I worry about bad spots? How important is the perfect grape?
So help me out here guys.
I’m totally envious and will keep an eye on this thread for tips.
I want to make a batch of wine from fresh grapes. There are several growers selling grapes on craigslist around here right now and I am considering purchasing some and just giving it a go. My father makes his own wine, as does my mother’s boyfriend. And they’ve made some tasty creations.
We were at the brew/wine supply shop yesterday (we brewed a Sierra Nevada clone yesterday) and I nearly bought a couple of books and the equipment to get started, but decided against it. So far I’ve just stuck to reading various articles online.
You should wash the fruit, cold running water seems fine, I wouldn’t soak them (and I think any water left on the grapes will most likely dilute your wine a bit), and remove any that appear to be rotting. The fruit should be ripe (the higher the brix, the higher the alcohol) and you should remove all the stems before you begin crushing. The quality of the grapes is important, it will determine the quality of your wine. I don’t see any reason for you to sort them by color.
Report your progress! This is exciting. Maybe I will go buy that stuff after all.
You are probably going to have to augment the sugar in your wine, because Concord grapes usually don’t have much. Dump the Campden tablets, there are much better products out there now. Dump the yeast as well and get fresh product from a mail-order wine/brew shop. You have to have a starting gravity of at least 1.095 to get the necessary alcohol content to preserve the wine. That means you need a hydrometer. 5 gallons of grapes isn’t going to yield all that much must, you know. I’d be prepared to add water and sugar to fill the barrel. Your finished wine will age fast, so don’t plan on stashing any for a long period. While you are out shopping for the above equipment, see what the shop has in the way of concentrates. That way you aren’t limited to local product.
I don’t have my books with me now but will tomorrow. I don’t know if that’s too late. I make wine, but not from grapes, from apples or other fruit. In fact, my boss and I made a batch that’s now in it’s first fermentation stage.
One thing,** please check the expiration date on the yeast. ** It doesn’t exactly go bad, but it does lose it’s effectiveness after a while. You may have to purchase new yeast. I’m a baker IRL and I have to keep an eye on stuff like that. Yeast especially formulated for wine is best, but yeast in those little packs from the store can be used in a pinch. But try for wine yeast.
We have a good one stop shop here in Topeka called Ale-n-Vino, that has absolutely everything you need. If you can wait, and can’t find wine yeast, send me an email and I can get some to you fast. Here is their website:
