# Thoughts



## Dend78 (Aug 1, 2012)

First off I will say hello! I just stumbled into the idea of making wine and thought I would give it a shot. This is my first time trying something like this so I chose to go the super cheap method. Currently I have two batches going, small batches 1/2 gallon, one is blueberry the other is peach.

first the peach

1 can peach slices in heavy syrup
roughly 1.5lbs sugar (may be a lil heavy here)
Bakers yeast

My initial plans were to let this ferment for roughly 7-10 days strain and drink, but I think after more research I am looking at something along the lines of letting it run out until fermentation is complete the transferring to a carboy for a secondary for about a week. From there I was thinking of back sweetening with juice after adding some sorbate and a pinch of metabisulfite. Im not worried about color and clarity right now I am going for a fair A% and with a sweet flavor.


second Blueberry

fresh blueberries roughly 1lb (lightly blended)
roughly 1lb of sugar
bakers yeast

I am thinking along the same lines with this as I am with the peach. 

As for numbers I have none to give you because i started this all without a hydrometer for lack of a better term Im redneckin my first two batches. Any thoughts, ideas, criticism or anything? 

Also one question does the fruit ever sink back to the bottom?


Dend78


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## SpoiledRotten (Aug 1, 2012)

First of all, I'm not a seasoned winemaker but you aren't going to have much of a fruity taste with the little bit of fruit you are working with. The norm is about 6# per gallon for fruit wine. It will be a good experiment for you, but to be honest, I found a "really simple" recipe for beginner wine is not always the best. I thought that simple recipe I started with was so simple that I may as well make 35 gallons to start off with. I ended up pouring 35 gallons of vinegar down the drain! 

Good luck with it. There's a great group of people with many years of experience. There's not a question you ask that several here won't be able to give you a perfect answer to. Ask away!

Oh, and welcome to the board!


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## Dend78 (Aug 1, 2012)

thanks! 

the lack of taste was the reason I thought about back sweetening with some Jumex peach nectar for the peach and some store bought blueberry juice (ocean spray or whatever) for the blueberry so I can regain the fruit flavor and the sweet all at the same time. all i know is the first 2 batches make me nervous, the color on the peach wine is terrible, it looks like sugar water, the blueberry though looks awesome


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## juventude (Aug 1, 2012)

You will end up with some thing, nothing near to wine, ... Why you dont try a cheap kit to begin with... Personally i never done one and still learning from my mistakes... But you know if you dont have a clue better to invest in something that at the end you can even try to enjoy..

At least not on the chips as a condiment


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## olusteebus (Aug 1, 2012)

If that does not work out for you, look into making a gallon of Blackberry Jam wine. You will find the recipe here someplace. Do you have equipment.


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## Dend78 (Aug 1, 2012)

HAHA, yeah i wasnt shooting for something worth mass producing on my first try, hence the reason i only made 1/2 gallons instead of loading up a couple of 6 gallon carboys, like i said i kinda just fell into the idea, coulda been when i was under the influence of another alcoholic beverage  i dont remember.


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## Dend78 (Aug 1, 2012)

olusteebus said:


> If that does not work out for you, look into making a gallon of Blackberry Jam wine. You will find the recipe here someplace. Do you have equipment.



none yet, i did go pick up a hydrometer and test tube, gonna grab a small carboy probably a 3 gallon, and a good bucket and raise hell from there. i already told my wife i am thinking of taking up a small portion of a closet that just catches shoes and stuff down stairs, she seemed thrilled 

blackberry was actually one of the next ones i was gonna try, depending on how the monsters i have going now turn out.


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## Duster (Aug 1, 2012)

Welcome, Sounds like your on your way. 
do not let the flavor and color of your Peach and blueberry discourage you. A kit would be strongly recommended for a beginner however I learned (and still learning) the same way you are. 
Kinda sounds like your making prison hooch instead of wine, but hey if you don't live and learn you will always ask yourself "what if".
I would invest in a small equipment kit to get you started like this one http://www.midwestsupplies.com/1-gallon-wine-from-fruit-kit.html This will get you the basics, and you can grow from there.
Good luck and as stated before, search this form or ask a question, you can find the answer to just about anything related to wine making.
P.S. your gonna need a bigger closet


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## cpfan (Aug 1, 2012)

There are a lot of one gallon recipes available (books, internet, etc). These recipes require certain wine making additives (eg wine yeast, yeast nutrient) that will help you to make a decent wine on your early attempts. While just using bakers yeast and a fruit source may seem cheap, it also may produce a result that is not very good, thus discouraging the beginning wine maker.

I strongly recommend finding a 1 gallon recipe that uses fruits or juices that are available to you. This should deliver a pleasnat experience, and encourage you to continue. One source of recipes is the recipes section of this forum.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f2/

Steve


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## Dend78 (Aug 1, 2012)

Duster said:


> Welcome, Sounds like your on your way.
> do not let the flavor and color of your Peach and blueberry discourage you. A kit would be strongly recommended for a beginner however I learned (and still learning) the same way you are.
> Kinda sounds like your making prison hooch instead of wine, but hey if you don't live and learn you will always ask yourself "what if".
> I would invest in a small equipment kit to get you started like this one http://www.midwestsupplies.com/1-gallon-wine-from-fruit-kit.html This will get you the basics, and you can grow from there.
> ...




Prison Hooch is pretty well what it is, simple to start with may not be the best ever but its a start, i was thinking of a kit but i hate starting out the easy way, seem to miss some of the  moments. definately got the bug though, already planning my next trip to the fermentation store down the street. 




cpfan said:


> There are a lot of one gallon recipes available (books, internet, etc). These recipes require certain wine making additives (eg wine yeast, yeast nutrient) that will help you to make a decent wine on your early attempts. While just using bakers yeast and a fruit source may seem cheap, it also may produce a result that is not very good, thus discouraging the beginning wine maker.
> 
> I strongly recommend finding a 1 gallon recipe that uses fruits or juices that are available to you. This should deliver a pleasnat experience, and encourage you to continue. One source of recipes is the recipes section of this forum.
> http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f2/
> ...



Thanks for the addvice guys already been tooling around looking at different things around here and ive already learned a ton. 


On a side note i opened up my jugs this evening and stirred them up pushing the fruit down, good news it smells like wine  although the blueberry still has great color they both smell better than some cheap wines (aka ) ive drank in the past.


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## bg7mm (Aug 2, 2012)

do like i did, go big go big man, buy about 2,000.00 of equipment, buy a bunch of wine kits, stop at every fruit stand you can find, go to the grocery store and empty the freezer section of frozen fruit, put a mad scientist attitude in you and get to brewing. what works you save in a log book, what don't work you dump in the wifes hedges. wroks great as a week killer too in my opinion, on a plus, you'll have all kinds of critters walking around in your yard at night searching for the source of the smell. are you an animal lover? 

besides, what your gonna do with a half gallon of wine? buy yourself a 500 gallon tank, add 3000 pounds of fruit, 12 pounds of yeast and stand back, once it's all done then you can have a party

just kidding, get yourself a wine kit, as simple as it is it teaches you the basics of wine making, spend alot of time on this forum and pay attention to the knowledge you gain here, follow what others tell you or what you read and you'll be fine. it's an addicting hobby, i'm on my second bottle of blackberry/blueberry while watching the olympics. after that second bottle i think i can beat micheal phealps in the 200 meter freestyle or that may just be the wine talking


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## keena (Aug 2, 2012)

Wine kit would probly be your best bet, they always have turned out for me. Otherwise I would say do frozen welches concentrate


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 2, 2012)

I say kit too. I'm a mere 7 batches into this hobby - 5 have been kits. One was triple berry skeeter pee from a recipe, and the last was peach made from fresh fruit with a recipe i came up with (along with some help from some members here). It's addicting, but starting with a kit will teach you the basics and give you an idea of what to expect during the process. And your odds of success are pretty high.


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## Dend78 (Aug 2, 2012)

looks like a kit is where i need to look next i guess 

thanks for the advice guys



bg7mm said:


> do like i did, go big go big man, buy about 2,000.00 of equipment, buy a bunch of wine kits, stop at every fruit stand you can find, go to the grocery store and empty the freezer section of frozen fruit, put a mad scientist attitude in you and get to brewing......



thats what i want to do but the warden seems to think otherwise 



bg7mm said:


> are you an animal lover?



yes they are delicious! 



*here is a question for you all i haven't searched this yet but has anyone used Monin syrup's? just saw it and thought hey what better way to back sweeten than with peach and blueberry flavored syrup's rather than the crap juices.*


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## keena (Aug 2, 2012)

I know alot of chocolate wines use the chocolate monnin syrup in the recipe so I was actually gunna try a few other flavors myself


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## SpoiledRotten (Aug 3, 2012)

Good luck, again! It's fun and tossing a little wine isn't so bad at first. The wife and I absolutely love my wine now. We haven't bought a bottle in about a year now. I make it just to suite our taste. You can't get that from a wine store!


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## Dend78 (Aug 6, 2012)

thats what I am going for with this, i stopped by ther fermintation store and loaded up on stuff, so now im really invested in this here and I havent even tried the other stuff I got going.

acutally speaking of the stuff i have going im shocked its still going as well as it is, im using bakers yeast and im on day 8 for the peach and its still going at a bubble every 1 - 1.5 seconds, i figured by now it would be done but i guess not.


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## Dend78 (Aug 8, 2012)

well just an update here,

Peach wine (AKA sugar water with peaches floating at the top)
after 8 days i put this in a secondary, and no further fermentation, went ahead and added some sorbate, and started back sweeting with Juice, 24oz added and wow what a great batch of unflavored wine. you get the initial wine taste and thats it, so 12oz of clover honey and some warm water to thin out the honey and bam we got something worth drinking now. first bit right after adding the honey was sweeter but still not my favorite, I let it sit for about 2 or 3 hours and tried it again and wow, its actually tasting good at least to me. especially since i was expecting something terrible, im going to let it sit in the gallon jug for a while then bottle.

Blueberry wine
after 7 days this was ready to be moved (or i was ready to move it...whatever lol) color looks great smell is very good. i plan to taste first then backsweeten this once im sure its done. didnt even try this with the above mixture something about drinking snow white liquid just didnt sit right with me.


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## southlake333 (Aug 9, 2012)

bg7mm said:


> do like i did, go big go big man, buy about 2,000.00 of equipment, buy a bunch of wine kits, stop at every fruit stand you can find, go to the grocery store and empty the freezer section of frozen fruit, put a mad scientist attitude in you and get to brewing. what works you save in a log book, what don't work you dump in the wifes hedges. wroks great as a week killer too in my opinion, on a plus, you'll have all kinds of critters walking around in your yard at night searching for the source of the smell. are you an animal lover?
> 
> besides, what your gonna do with a half gallon of wine? buy yourself a 500 gallon tank, add 3000 pounds of fruit, 12 pounds of yeast and stand back, once it's all done then you can have a party



OMG...best advice ever!


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## southlake333 (Aug 9, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> looks like a kit is where i need to look next i guess



Yeah, if you're just starting out and really want to learn the process, a kit will be your best bet. All the ingredients are provided and the steps are all laid out for you. Once you have a kit under your belt, everything you read on here will make a bit more sense. Then its time to tap into that inner mad scientist!


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## Dend78 (Aug 13, 2012)

well guys i took all of your advice and......peed all over...hahah sorry guys after doing some reading skeeter pee/dragons blood seemed like what i was looking for in life.

so i have 3 gallons going right now

updates on the hooch i had going

Peach - drank about 20oz of it yesterday, i dont think its every going to clear, taste isnt to bad (not real good either) but ive paid for and uncorked much worse

Blueberry - still letting this clear, not totally sure it ever will either its super dark, im about ready to rerack in a clean carboy again to see it it helps any.

Dragons blood - Followed Dave's methods here

SG with everything in it minus yeast was 1.085ish or 20% ABV
Yeast was added on 8/11/12
opened it up today SG was 1.080 and it sounded like a fresh can of soda with all of the fizzing going on, strong fermentation is underway


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## DirtyDawg10 (Aug 13, 2012)

You might want to recheck your math. I started my pee at 1.085sg and it ended at .996sg which gave me approximately a 12% ABV.


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## Dend78 (Aug 13, 2012)

see thats what i was thinking but when it was sitting in there it was riding about right on 20% which i thought was pretty high for 1.085ish, but this is my first go around with my hydrometer so could just be the rookie in me pushing through. either way 12 or 20 ima drink it


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## Bartman (Aug 13, 2012)

Duster said:


> W
> Kinda sounds like your making prison hooch instead of wine, but hey if you don't live and learn you will always ask yourself "what if".



That was in an actual movie from 2006: "Let's Go to Prison" 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454987/quotes:

*Barry*: Would you like some Merlot? I make it in the toilet! 
[_Nelson shaking with fear_]


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## Dend78 (Aug 14, 2012)

updates

Transfered Blueberry to a clean carboy, i think its safe to say its never going to clear, during transfer large particals can be seen in the hose, and well its still way to sweet but im gonna drink it anyway 

Peach is actually chillin in the fridge, gonna let it age a bit to see what comes of it, after a few days the taste has changed quite a bit so i will age/chill it for a while.

dragons blood variation major jump today yesterday was sitting around 1.080 today 1.050, im gonna run this down past 1.000 a little cause well the 21yr old inside me says i should


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## southlake333 (Aug 14, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> updates
> 
> Transfered Blueberry to a clean carboy, i think its safe to say its never going to clear, during transfer large particals can be seen in the hose, and well its still way to sweet but im gonna drink it anyway
> 
> ...



Dragon's blood ferments fast. You will typically need to rack to a secondary in 4 days or so. But yeah, I let it go totally dry (around .995) before stabilizing and backsweetening.


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## Dend78 (Aug 14, 2012)

yeah thats what i was thinking, what kind of ill effects do you get if you let it go to finish?

im guessing flavor loss but what else happens?


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## southlake333 (Aug 15, 2012)

Ill effects from fermenting dry? None. That's really how you should do it. Once it is dry, stabilize and backsweeten to taste.


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## Dend78 (Aug 16, 2012)

thats what I thought but wasnt 100% sure on that

UPDATES:

Dragons Blood variation - still going like crazy, didint get to check it at 24 hours but checked it around 33-34 hours and im a 1.000 on the button, im guessing tonight at the rate its going im going to be nearly .98 or lower im rellly gonna hate to stop it if it doesnt stop on its own its fermenting like a champ. one issue could just be me and what i was expecting, but i gave it a taste test last night and wow i only taste lemon, i used 45oz for a 3gal batch....my issue should the super bitter lemon flavor jump out and grab you? or could it be the addition of watermelon to my fruit bag thats causing it to be more bitter? its strange because i really expected more fruit flavor but i dunno.

Peach stuff - well im down to about 15oz from my 1/2 gal batch, had a friend give it a try and this is what he had to say, hes like i get the wine taste but then i get a touch of lightly flavored water taste afterwards that clears the wine taste, its really strange, but drinkable. (that means its a win, if its drinkable its a win  )

Blueberry same friend tried the blueberry, hes like aside from the sweetness that slaps you instantly, its good, you definately get the wine taste but then the super sweetness hits you, again drinkable. so last night i added more water to what i had left, a few hours later i tasted it and boom that fixed the overpowering sweetness, and you still get the wine taste.


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## southlake333 (Aug 16, 2012)

If you used the full amount of lemon, there will be a lemon bite in the beginning, followed by a smooth berry finish. But, what you're probably tasting now is the young wine flavor. You'll find that all wines you make have that same weird taste right when they finish fermentation. That fades within a week or two. At a month, the berry flavor will really pop out. Because of this, I suggest letting it sit after clearing for 2 weeks before you backsweeten. Its much easier to properly sweeten when you're not competing with the young wine taste.

If the result after a month is still too lemony for you, make your next batch with less lemon.


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## Dend78 (Aug 16, 2012)

a month?!?!? hey hey hey i have a habbit to feed here 

yeah, my plan is to rack it tonight, im putting it all in 1gal car boys, each of the 3 will get different BS'ers. Im thinking one will be plain ol sugar, another I think possible welches grape (not sure which one yet) and the 3rd will recieve Ole Orchard blueberry pomegranate juice, then see which goes down the best. plus another thing with the smaller batches im my mind i see it as eaiser to degas and clear smaller amounts of wine rather than the large amount all in one (i could be wrong here but thats the way it seems it should work in my backwoods Indiana way of thinking).


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## Dend78 (Aug 17, 2012)

WOOT WOOT!!! Racked it last night at about 8ish SG was 0.990, added kmeta, sorbate and spakeloid, came down this morning i am already able to see through it up at the top. this stuff is gonna be ready quick, im gonna be back sweetening really soon. im stoked, another taste last night proved its still super bitter lemon, but its smoother than the night before.

side note:

im thinkin my hydrometer is messed up, it went from standing perfectly in the test tube, and now it clings to a side every time, already time for a new hydrometer?


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## Boatboy24 (Aug 17, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> side note:
> 
> im thinkin my hydrometer is messed up, it went from standing perfectly in the test tube, and now it clings to a side every time, already time for a new hydrometer?



I have two different hydrometers and they both do that. It's maddening trying to get a reading in the wine thief. 

You'll be surprised how that pee changes in 4-6 weeks.


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## southlake333 (Aug 17, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> a month?!?!? hey hey hey i have a habbit to feed here



This is why we make 6 gallon batches.  You can have some now and some later to see the difference a month makes. Once you taste it at a month, you'll never want it straight out of the carboy again. That's when you go buy 100 carboys and constantly cycle your batches so you have 1000+ bottles of aged wine around at all times...you know...just in case...


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## southlake333 (Aug 17, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> im thinkin my hydrometer is messed up, it went from standing perfectly in the test tube, and now it clings to a side every time, already time for a new hydrometer?



This is why you spin it. Also, make sure you're testing on a completely level surface.


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## Dend78 (Aug 17, 2012)

Boatboy24 said:


> I have two different hydrometers and they both do that. It's maddening trying to get a reading in the wine thief.
> 
> You'll be surprised how that pee changes in 4-6 weeks.



yeah that sucks about the hydrometers, it was doing pefect at first now the side of the tube is like a magnet 



southlake333 said:


> This is why we make 6 gallon batches.  You can have some now and some later to see the difference a month makes. Once you taste it at a month, you'll never want it straight out of the carboy again. That's when you go buy 100 carboys and constantly cycle your batches so you have 1000+ bottles of aged wine around at all times...you know...just in case...




hmmm gonna have to look into this 100 carboy's thing, i think the warden may  me if i try to get anything else aside from bottles in the near future.



southlake333 said:


> This is why you spin it. Also, make sure you're testing on a completely level surface.



I do spin it then click it hits the side, it just started doing it, i even tried it in water just to see if maybe my SP may be causeing it but same thing. oh well its 7 bucks if i have to get another one so be it.


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## Dend78 (Aug 19, 2012)

well SP is coming along quite nicely its clearing up really really well, still tastes super bitter though, like past the lemon bitter, im seriously thinking the addition of water melon may be my problem here but i could be wrong, its bitter and has an off flavor. nothing a ton-o back sweetening wont cure.


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## Dend78 (Aug 20, 2012)

rechecked my SG still 0.990 no change since moving from primary to secondary on 8/17/2012
did another taste still slap you in the face bitter, i do feel better after reading through Dave's notes about there being more bitterness when using bentonite in the primary, this could be the bitter off flavor i get with a hint of lemon (its sad when the lemon flavor helps tone down the bitterness...hahaha).


on a good note

Blueberry wine/hooch got the go ahead from my uncle and my father, my uncle doesnt do wine he doesnt care for the taste, my dad who is basically the same way both tried it and liked it. needless to say my dad looked at what was left of my 1/2 gallon batch and said "ummm yeah you didnt make near enough of this how quick can you come up with some more?" hahaha again this was after the addition of some extra water to tame down my over sweetening


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## southlake333 (Aug 20, 2012)

Congrats on the blueberry success.

About your super bitter taste...I just racked my tinkleberry and tinkleberry tropical batches yesterday at an SG of .989 and they too had the nasty slap you in the face bitter taste. Trust me when I say this is just because it is young and unsweetened. Once you add sparkolloid (which should be soon), wait a full 2 weeks before racking and backsweetening. It will be clear before then, but the extra time is needed to allow that bite to tone down. Once toned down, it will be much easier to properly backsweeten. Imagine trying to sweeten now. You'd have to add a ton of sugar to offset that nasty taste. But then a few weeks from now when that taste is gone, the wine would be ridiculously sweet.

So after all this waiting, it'll still be 2 weeks after you bottle it before the fruit flavor really comes out. Still this is a great learning experience as you are going to see in a very short time how age changes the flavor.


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## Dend78 (Aug 20, 2012)

southlake333 said:


> So after all this waiting, it'll still be 2 weeks after you bottle it before the fruit flavor really comes out. Still this is a great learning experience as you are going to see in a very short time how age changes the flavor.



I hope so im so freakin ready to get this stuff to a drinkable state, ive got my bottles, bottle filler, and auto siphon and tubing all ready to go, and im way past ready. on sweetening i was thinking about that there is no way you could do it now especially if the flavors and sugars will change that much from now.

I will keep this updated on the progress, and ima post some pics soon i got some already just gotta transfer.


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## southlake333 (Aug 20, 2012)

The first big batch is always the hardest. Once you create a wine stockpile it becomes much easier to wait for new batches to properly mature.


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## Dend78 (Aug 21, 2012)

okay daily update here, shelves have been placed in the closet and now my wine is clearing in a low light, temperature controlled environment. something new to note, 1 of the 3 1gal carboys is actually lighter and clearer than the other two. dont know why this is, same amount of everything was added to the carboys as they came out of the bucket. no taste testing occured just moved from kitchen counter to closet. now out of sight out of mind so it can age.


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## Dend78 (Aug 22, 2012)

UPDATE

took it out today to take a look pics below













Pics from 8/17/12











sorry pics are so big, i took a little taste as well, its still bitter


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## JoshDivino (Aug 22, 2012)

Woop Woop for us closet winemakers. Awesome news on the Dragons Blood, can't wait to get mine started so we can compare notes, where are you from?


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## Dend78 (Aug 22, 2012)

JoshDivino said:


> Woop Woop for us closet winemakers. Awesome news on the Dragons Blood, can't wait to get mine started so we can compare notes, where are you from?



indiana, north of Indy

in case you missed the study i say skip the bentonite


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## DirtyDawg10 (Aug 22, 2012)

looking good!


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## Dend78 (Aug 22, 2012)

DirtyDawg10 said:


> looking good!



thank you sir! im hoping for something like yours, your deep red color is awesome!!


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## southlake333 (Aug 22, 2012)

Give it a week, then try it. You won't notice a huge taste difference in a day. But you will if you wait a week.


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## DirtyDawg10 (Aug 22, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> thank you sir! im hoping for something like yours, your deep red color is awesome!!


Well thanks! I'm enjoying it tonight and I have to say it is getting better every day.


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## Dend78 (Aug 22, 2012)

southlake333 said:


> Give it a week, then try it. You won't notice a huge taste difference in a day. But you will if you wait a week.



 i know i know 

its nice now that i have it in its hiding spot and another batch going i have something else to keep me occupied but im gonna need more gallon jugs soon


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## southlake333 (Aug 23, 2012)

Didn't you pull it out of the hiding spot after only a day in hiding? I think you need a better hiding spot...


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## JoshDivino (Aug 23, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> indiana, north of Indy
> 
> in case you missed the study i say skip the bentonite


Wait what study thats skipping bentonite? Also I saw a winery ad today that was like "Come try our new merlot with aromas of blah blah blah, and the strong taste of clay" 
^^^ why would you want the taste of clay?


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## Dend78 (Aug 24, 2012)

southlake333 said:


> Didn't you pull it out of the hiding spot after only a day in hiding? I think you need a better hiding spot...



hey hey hey that was a full 22 hours that i had it hiding in there it was for a clarity check which was a ton better, now its gonna sit there for 3 or 4 days just to show you i have will power....or maybe its cause im going out of town, im sticking with will power 




JoshDivino said:


> Wait what study thats skipping bentonite? Also I saw a winery ad today that was like "Come try our new merlot with aromas of blah blah blah, and the strong taste of clay"
> ^^^ why would you want the taste of clay?



it brings back childhood memories, next it will be tastes of crayon and elmers glue 

this study:

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/bentonite-sparkolloid-comparative-study-31849/


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## Dend78 (Aug 27, 2012)

well, will power didnt really work i got back home last night and pulled it for clarity check again, and its clearing up nicely.

my thoughts with this batch are once it hits a nice clear spot im gonna move it to clean carboys and let it age for a while there, once it gets to a point im gonna back sweeten it, but im gonna wait till its not so bitter. the one i plan to use just sugar i may do it and see where it ends up, but the ones i plan to use juice in im going to wait for sure.

thoughts?


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## Dend78 (Aug 28, 2012)

reracked it all last night, pulled it all for another clarity check the kids are like dad i can see you through it so i guess that means its clear hahah

everything is in a clean carboy now i added sugar to 1gal and called it SUGAR
added the Berry Blend juice concentrate F-Pak to another 1gal called it T-Berry
added the Blueberry Pomegranate Juice concentrate F-Pak to the last 1gal called it BB Pom

all of these are topped up nicely found out that my 1/2 auto siphon works great but it doesnt fit in every one of my carboys necks  its about 50/50 on fitting. everything is looking good just gonna let them sit in the jugs now and add sugar to the ones with the F-Paks' later on.


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## southlake333 (Aug 28, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> well, will power didnt really work i got back home last night and pulled it for clarity check again, and its clearing up nicely.
> 
> my thoughts with this batch are once it hits a nice clear spot im gonna move it to clean carboys and let it age for a while there, once it gets to a point im gonna back sweeten it, but im gonna wait till its not so bitter. the one i plan to use just sugar i may do it and see where it ends up, but the ones i plan to use juice in im going to wait for sure.
> 
> thoughts?



2 weeks after adding sparkolloid, the bitter/young wine flavor will have dissipated enough to properly sweeten. Since you obviously have no will power, I say plan to sweeten and drink soon. 

I would also suggest bottling at least 1 bottle dry, 1 off dry (just a little sweetness) and the rest at full sweetness. Save the dryer ones and try them in 3 months. That way you will be able to judge which level of sweetness is best over time. Personally I think 1.006-1.007 is just right. But in my newest batches I'm going to do the dry test as well cause I'm curious.


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## southlake333 (Aug 28, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> reracked it all last night, pulled it all for another clarity check the kids are like dad i can see you through it so i guess that means its clear hahah
> 
> everything is in a clean carboy now i added sugar to 1gal and called it SUGAR
> added the Berry Blend juice concentrate F-Pak to another 1gal called it T-Berry
> ...



Ah, made my previous post before reading this one. Well congrats! How did they taste?


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## Dend78 (Aug 28, 2012)

still bitter, but i believe after a couple of days they should smooth out, the flavor has changed for sure im getting more of a wine flavor now than i was. Now im gonna let them clear again couple of them got a little cloudy during transfer/sweetening. once the dust settles again im going to taste again and most likely bottle so i cant just pull a bung and taste and well i need more carboy space got stuff i gotta make.

so far im super impressed with the apple wine it has tasted great since day one its super gassy though almost like a soda right now.


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## southlake333 (Aug 28, 2012)

Yeah, I love my apple cider and apple pie cider. But I bet both will be even better over the holiday season (when it cools off out). I'm tempted to heat some up to see how it tastes warm.


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## Dend78 (Aug 28, 2012)

okay stop it, you know how my will power is here i dont wanna stop my apple batch early


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## southlake333 (Aug 28, 2012)

hehe...all the more reason to get another batch going asap!

You just never know how much will be lost to "evaporation"...


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## Dend78 (Aug 28, 2012)

southlake333 said:


> hehe...all the more reason to get another batch going asap!
> 
> You just never know how much will be lost to "evaporation"...




yeah i think *"EVAPORATION"* may play hell with this batch, you know since the %ABV is so high  bahahaha

plain and simple im gonna need more carboys


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## Dend78 (Aug 29, 2012)

well i pulled the batches out to look last night, the blueberry pom is doing really well, very dark but doing very well, its almost cleared again, Berry Blend and the Sugar ones are back to cloudy. 

I may end up using my screw top bottles to hold my BB Pom so I have enough carboy space for my apple pie wine. I figure these will work well for some short term storage


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## southlake333 (Aug 29, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> well i pulled the batches out to look last night...



No willpower....


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## Dend78 (Aug 29, 2012)

southlake333 said:


> No willpower....



getting nervous, running out of carboy space and i dont want the wife to cut me for buying more 

but i didnt taste them just brought them into the light so A) i could see the clarity and B) the wife could actually see what i do when shes not around


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## Dend78 (Sep 3, 2012)

well its all in a bottle now  the sugar version needed to clear a bit more but i was in the zone

also the terrible bitter flavor went away in all but the sugar


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## Dend78 (Sep 6, 2012)

update looked at my sugar variation it has cleared out and lost the flavor. 

Note to the entire batch less lemon for sure i could have cut the total in half and it would be great. so next batch less lemon no bentonite and i better make a 6gal batch cause this wont last long


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## southlake333 (Sep 6, 2012)

Yeah, I thought the same which is why I have a batch using 30% less lemon going right now. However, I also have it on my "to do" list to test the acid levels in my original batch so I can really see where it is. It could very well be that the lemon is fine but (for flavor) but the acid level needs to be brought down.


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## Dend78 (Sep 6, 2012)

yeah i know thats the case with mine, its super acidic. i need to get some more test equipment 

or maybe i should just start  more until the acidic burn goes away


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## southlake333 (Sep 6, 2012)

Dend78 said:


> or maybe i should just start  more until the acidic burn goes away



+1 to that!


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