# Vinters Harvest Fruit Base Instructions



## JohnnyK68 (Apr 27, 2007)

Got a can of Plum, and Blackberry tonight. I was looking at the recipes. I am going to make them both to the 3 gal recipe. Step 3 calls to add the solution of sodium bisulfite. Is this in place of the campden tabs, or can I add campden tabs instead? I was thinking that k-meta and sodium bisulfite do the same thing, but wanted to make sure. If I use the campden tabs, do I use all 3 at once for a 3 gal batch?*Edited by: JohnnyK68 *


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## Wade E (Apr 27, 2007)

K-meta and N-meta are basically the same thing. Campden tabs are k-meta
with a binding material to hold them together. Yes you do add them all
at once tp kill any wild yeast and then wait at least 24 hours before
pithing yeast as to not kill the yeast.


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## JohnnyK68 (Apr 27, 2007)

Thanks Wade, can always count on you for a quick response. Now If I could only fix this friggin can opener I could get these mixed up tonight. *Edited by: JohnnyK68 *


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## bj4271 (May 9, 2007)

Do I remember previous posts about a problem with the VH instructions about the Kmeta solution the instrucitons call for? I just pitched yeast a couple of days ago on aBlackberry batch &amp; nothing yet.


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## bj4271 (May 9, 2007)

Going back over the instructions, I remember they called for 5 tsp of KMeta in a cup of water in lieu of CAmpden. Is that too much? If so, how can I fix it or is it a total loss?


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## Wade E (May 9, 2007)

Uh Oh, I hope you didnt do what I did a year ago when switching over
from campden to k-meta. After putting those 5 tsps. into water solution
you are only supposed to add a tiny bit of that solution to the must.
Please tell me you didnt add the entire mixture to it! If so I would
would stir the ever living snot out of it and stir it again and do a
yeast starter and try that. I dumped out 2 6 gallon batches because of
this BONME HEAD MISTAKE!


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## JohnnyK68 (May 9, 2007)

I also did that on an apple juice wine once.


On the directions of the Vinters it calls to rack once it hits 1.04. I am going to let it go to 1.01 just like a kit wine. Is there any reason I should not do this?


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## Wade E (May 9, 2007)

Is there any reason you should. Id follow the directions of each
manufacturer. There are alot more solids as this is fruit and may have
the possibility of spoiling easier but Im just trying to think of a
reason why they would want this racked this early.


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## JohnnyK68 (May 9, 2007)

wade said:


> Is there any reason you should. Id follow the directions of each manufacturer. There are alot more solids as this is fruit and may have the possibility of spoiling easier but Im just trying to think of a reason why they would want this racked this early.




Well, to be honest, no there isnt a good reason except that it fermentedfaster then I anticiapatedand is already at 1.020. By tomorrow when I am ready to rack it, it will probably be 1.010. I try to follow directions, but I got really busy this week and lost track on these 2 wines. (Plum and Blackberry)


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## Wade E (May 9, 2007)

Well that is a good reason. I thought that you were deliberatly defying the directions.


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## bj4271 (May 10, 2007)

wade said:


> Uh Oh, I hope you didnt do what I did a year ago when switching over from campden to k-meta. After putting those 5 tsps. into water solution you are only supposed to add a tiny bit of that solution to the must. Please tell me you didnt add the entire mixture to it! If so I would would stir the ever living snot out of it and stir it again and do a yeast starter and try that. I dumped out 2 6 gallon batches because of this BONME HEAD MISTAKE!




Wade, that's exactly what I did. After 2 days of no activity from the yeast I made a starter (1 cup warm water, 1 tsp yeast ener., 1/2 cup must &amp; more yeast) &amp; re-pitched with the starter(which was really foaming) - NOTHING!!!


Do you think stirring the snot out of it will drive off the extra K meta?


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## Wade E (May 10, 2007)

It will drive out some but not sure if enogh. I feel your pain as I
have been there. Do you see now where we went wrong in the
directions.



Good luck as I just dumped both of my batches.


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## JohnnyK68 (May 10, 2007)

I also had to dump my apple juice wine that I added to much K-meta to. I tried to stir it out, tried a yeast starter, and nothing worked.


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## bj4271 (May 15, 2007)

Well, it looks like a total loss. I've stirred the snot out of it, mad 3 starter solutions &amp; nothing. I guess tonight I'll have to dump it when I get home. If I rinse the fruit, I guess I can feed it to the chickens. Anybody see a problem with that?


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## Wade E (May 15, 2007)

I have no idea about the chickens but are saddened about the
batch as I lost 2 6 gallon batches to this exact problem and we are not
alone. We really need to read directions a little more thoroughly!



The wine flag is at 1/2 mast!


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## bj4271 (May 18, 2007)

This morning I smelled yeast!!! I put the cover on the primary &amp; it started percolating!!!!!!! I wonder how it will come out. Orig pkh of Premier Cuvee, another with a starter solutin; 2 Cotes des Balnc with starter solutins; a Montrachet with starter. Should be real interesting.



If I get a drinkable wine out of it, I'll bring it to Winestock.


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## Wade E (May 18, 2007)

Are the fruits still good?


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## bj4271 (May 21, 2007)

Wade,


I hope so, smells ok with a trace of K-meta(that I hope will disappear somewhere in the process).


This is a percolating fool. Bubbling like crazy still! You'd think it would have slowed down by now, but maybe 5 pkg of yeast are making up for lost time.


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## NorthernWinos (May 21, 2007)

I have only made 2 batches of wine from Vintners Harvest Fruit Bases, Black Currant and Blackberry...I found the instructions to be confusing....they said to add X amount of cans of water to make a 3 or 5 gallon batch...that would have been too much water...so I used the measurements on my primary. 


And their way of adding k-meta could confuse anyone...mixing up a batch and then using only a teaspoonful of solution is confusing.....Campden tablets is what I used...just ground them up the old fashioned way....then I knew what I was putting in there.....


Maybe someday they will change their instructions...but this way they sell more cans to replace the ones that get messed up.





*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## scotty (May 21, 2007)

Northern Winos said:


> I have only made 2 batches of wine from Vintners Harvest Fruit Bases, Black Currant and Blackberry...I found the instructions to be confusing....they said to add X amount of cans of water to make a 3 or 5 gallon batch...that would have been too much water...so I used the measurements on my primary.
> 
> 
> And their way of adding k-meta could confuse anyone...mixing up a batch and then using only a teaspoonful of solution is confusing.....Campden tablets is what I used...just ground them up the old fashioned way....then I knew what I was putting in there.....
> ...


Im not crazy about the brand either--i thiink that they also are inconsistant in the way they fill the cans with fruit ((% of fruit to syrup))*Edited by: scotty *


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## NorthernWinos (May 21, 2007)

I agree....the Black Currant was awesome...nice and thick and well worth the money...the wine was great....The Blackberry was short on fruit and heavy on water...was disappointed with that can when I opened it...wine was okay...I added to it to boost the body. 


Would do Black Currant again




*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## scotty (May 21, 2007)

Northern Winos said:


> I agree....the Black Currant was awesome...nice and thick and well worth the money...the wine was great....The Blackberry was short on fruit and heavy on water...was disappointed with that can when I opened it...wine was okay...I added to it to boost the body.
> 
> 
> Would do Black Currant again


Our raspberry was full to the top with fruit but the apricot was very lean.


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## Wade E (May 21, 2007)

Glad you liked it NW. This is the only 1 that I found worth mentioning to anyone but do want to try the Boysenberry.


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## Cracked Cork (May 22, 2007)

Wade, if you dump 10 times more K Meta into your must would you expect the fruit to go bad?  

I do like making a stock solution of KMeta in a brown screwcarp beer bottle. Its much easier to then measure out a teaspoon of solution to add to a gallon of must and not have to worry about crushing and dissolving camden tablets or weighing out the KMeta powder each time you need to sulfite your wines. Give it a try and get weined off of camden tablets, a pound of KMeta is much cheaper than a bunch of camdens tablets.

Crackedcork
*Edited by: Cracked Cork *


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## scotty (May 22, 2007)

Cracked Cork said:


> Wade, if you dump 10 times more K Meta into your must would you expect the fruit to go bad?
> 
> I do like making a stock solution of KMeta in a brown screwcarp beer bottle. Its much easier to then measure out a teaspoon of solution to add to a gallon of must and not have to worry about crushing and dissolving camden tablets or weighing out the KMeta powder each time you need to sulfite your wines. Give it a try and get weined off of camden tablets, a pound of KMeta is much cheaper than a bunch of camdens tablets.
> 
> Crackedcork




I do that with sodium metabisulfate crystals.
One teaspoon of a .1 solution Is equal to one campden tab if i figured correctly. I hope??


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## Wade E (May 22, 2007)

Cracked I do use K-meta now and I have a 1/4 tsp and 1/8 tsp spoon but
I still have some campden tablets left over so I still use them and
will not buy any more once Im done. As far as the fruit goes I do not
know and dont want to find out!


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## Cracked Cork (May 23, 2007)

Yeah Scotty, I figured it has a lot of pluses, you only have to breath the dust once for every time you mix up a solution of it instead of each time you try to measure out a quarter of a teaspoon plus its a lot more accurate measuring out a teaspoon of fluid than a quarter of a teaspoon of powder. Crackedcork


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## NorthernWinos (May 23, 2007)

Okay, okay...I running out of Campden Tablets....so please give me the recipe and instructions again....Thanks.


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## scotty (May 23, 2007)

The .1 solution is what is in the acid test kit. I think some use .2 which i believe is just twice the strength of .1(((i hope) 


Here is the formula I readthat uses sulfite crystals for making a .1 solution.


5 grams for 500 ml distilled water


I kept reducing the amount down to 1 gram for 100ml water(3.38 ounces)




another one i found somewhere
1/4 pound crystals into 16 ounces of hot water then top up to one quart with cool water.


i like a 4 ounce batch so i reduced the amounts to .5 ounce of crystals in 2 ounces of hot water then top up yo 4 ounces with cool water,




1 teaspoon of .1 so;ution is equal to 1 campden tablet.






*as always i am one who appreciates corrections of any type.






*


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## bj4271 (May 23, 2007)

Wade,


I'll let you all know about the fruit &amp; the wine, for that matter. It is still perking like an old fashioned coffee pot.


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## bj4271 (Jul 20, 2007)

This week I finished bottling (except for labels) the blackberry &amp; it tastes great!!!!


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## Wade E (Jul 20, 2007)

awesome Bruce, glad you like it!


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## bj4271 (Jul 21, 2007)

Wade,


That was the batch I put in about 10x too much Kmeta because I misread the VH instr.Following your instructions, I "beat the snot out of it." also used 5 or 6 pkg of various yeasts I had.


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## Wade E (Jul 21, 2007)

So Glad you were able to save it and then for it to come out great, thats just an added bonus!


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