Behind the scenes

joeswine · Jan 28, 2015

Zesting in the beggining

adding zest is fun and easy...follow the flow ask questions it's fun and inte

Making Extracts
All recipes are measured out with one quart Ball Jar.

Citrus Extract: Consists of The zest of 2 limes, the zest of 2 lemons, and the zest of 2 grapefruits, and the remainder is ever Kleer.
Coffee Extract: fill Ball jar up with roasted coffee beans (your choice), fill the balance of the Ball jar with Ever Kleer.
Cinnemon Extract- ~approx. 12 sticks per Ball jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Lemon extract- The Zest of 12 lemons per jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Orange extract: The zest of approx.. 8 oranges per jar. Valenzia oranges work best but any type will do.
Key Lime Extract: 1 bag of key limes with the limes cut in half.
Vanilla Extract: 6 Madagascar Vanilla Beans, sliced length wise. Put all 6 in a ball jar and top off with Ever Kleer.
At the end of one full year its best to pour the extract through some sort of filter (I strain mine through a coffee filter) and add some additional zest of the same type back to it and top it off with Ever Kleer.

Making Simple Syrup
Basic mix consists of : 2 qt. ball jars of cane sugar to 1 qt. ball jar of water.
Process:
Place measured out sugar into a metal pot. Add the water to the mix (It’s a 2 to 1 ratio-mix). Bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring from the beginning of the process to the end until the liquid is clear. Have the ball jars already sanitized and ready for filling. Bring the simple syrup TO the jar and and funnel it into them (make sure your funnel is clean, too!) to fill them up. It will be hot so be very careful. Place the lids and metal rings onto the jars to seal them.
Note: we put the very hot liquid into the jars while it is hot so as it cools it creates a vacuum seal to keep the mixture good. Done this way, your simple syrup will have a very long shelf life.

Zesting Made Simple

Zesting is the process of the removal of the color of most citrus fruits and other entities that are oil extracted (for their essence). We use a micro plane zester to accomplish our end. See pictures. (If you do not have a micro plane zester you can use a fine cheese grater (Your goal is to get the color off the fruit, not the pitch, which is the "white stuff" underneath the very top layer of the fruit.)
resting. :hug

joeswine · Feb 8, 2015

Basic wine chemistry

Basic Wine Chemistry

Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal, for whom it was named. Contrary to popular belief, this process does not make the wine sweeter but only artificially inflates the alcohol content. Additionally, the sugar in chaptalized wine cannot be tasted.
Potassium Metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, where it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and it acts as potent antioxidant, protecting both the color, and delicate flavors of wine.
Typical dosage is ¼ tsp potassium metabisulfite, per 6 gallon bucket of must (yielding roughly 75ppm of SO2) prior to fermentation, and ½ tsp per 6 gallon bucket (150 ppm of SO2) at bottling.
Winemaking equipment is sanitized by spraying with a 1% SO2 (2 tsp potassium metabisulfite per L) solution.
Potassium Sorbate is used to inhibit molds, and yeasts in wine. Also known affectionately as "wine stabilizer", potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing, potassium sorbate will continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines and some hard cider but may be added to table wines which exhibits difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.

joeswine · Feb 25, 2015

Chemistry basics

GO BACK AND REVIEW THE CHEMISTRY BASICS A BLEND OF NATURE AND SCIENCE,COPY IT PIN IT POST IT WHERE EVER YOU DO YOUR WINE MAKING FOR QUICK REFERENCE.

joeswine · Feb 28, 2015

Extracts for flavor

EXTRACTS FOR :mny

FLAVOR AND FUN...

Making Extracts
All recipes are measured out with one quart Ball Jar.

Citrus Extract: Consists of The zest of 2 limes, the zest of 2 lemons, and the zest of 2 grapefruits, and the remainder is ever Kleer.
Coffee Extract: fill Ball jar up with roasted coffee beans (your choice), fill the balance of the Ball jar with Ever Kleer.
Cinnemon Extract- ~approx. 12 sticks per Ball jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Lemon extract- The Zest of 12 lemons per jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Orange extract: The zest of approx.. 8 oranges per jar. Valenzia oranges work best but any type will do.
Key Lime Extract: 1 bag of key limes with the limes cut in half.
Vanilla Extract: 6 Madagascar Vanilla Beans, sliced length wise. Put all 6 in a ball jar and top off with Ever Kleer.
At the end of one full year its best to pour the extract through some sort of filter (I strain mine through a coffee filter) and add some additional zest of the same type back to it and top it off with Ever Kleer.

Making Simple Syrup
Basic mix consists of : 2 qt. ball jars of cane sugar to 1 qt. ball jar of water.
Process:
Place measured out sugar into a metal pot. Add the water to the mix (It’s a 2 to 1 ratio-mix). Bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring from the beginning of the process to the end until the liquid is clear. Have the ball jars already sanitized and ready for filling. Bring the simple syrup TO the jar and and funnel it into them (make sure your funnel is clean, too!) to fill them up. It will be hot so be very careful. Place the lids and metal rings onto the jars to seal them.
Note: we put the very hot liquid into the jars while it is hot so as it cools it creates a vacuum seal to keep the mixture good. Done this way, your simple syrup will have a very long shelf life.

Zesting Made Simple

Zesting is the process of the removal of the color of most citrus fruits and other entities that are oil extracted (for their essence). We use a micro plane zester to accomplish our end. See pictures. (If you do not have a micro plane zester you can use a fine cheese grater (Your goal is to get the color off the fruit, not the pitch, which is the "white stuff" underneath the very top layer of the fruit.)

joeswine · Mar 11, 2015

Whats in your tool box

the main wine season is upon us have you taken a look at your tool box and asked your self "am i ready"?

joeswine · Mar 20, 2015

Tools in the tool box

TOOLS IN THE TOOL BOX WINE MAKING SEASON IS AROUND THE CORNER FOR THE FRESH JUICE PEOPLE ALONG WITH KITS FOR THE SPRING ARE YOU READY??? :db

joeswine · Mar 20, 2015

Tool box continued

TOOL BOX AT THE READY???????????? :db

joeswine · Mar 23, 2015

Tools in the tool box

ARE YOU READY FOR THE SEASON AHEAD???CHECK OUT YOUR TOOL BOX.......................... :wy

JUST A FEW OF THE ITEMS YOU'LL NEED............ :ib

joeswine · Mar 30, 2015

taking a brake

taking a break will restart up on APRIL 20th

joeswine · Apr 25, 2015

My work area

this is were i work and play....

joeswine · Apr 28, 2015

Tools in the tool box

well I just came across a tool that is easy, simple and inexpensive to have in your toolbox.
with all the talk about head space and what should I do or add or not do? ,the head space eliminator does just that it eliminates the need to dilute your wine add something really not required and could change the outcome.i tried it and it works,not expensive to have and i will purchase at least 4 more that's how sure i'm that it's worth the cost......try it ....the wine you save can will be your own................... :mny

joeswine · May 2, 2015

Extracts for flavor and fun

Making Extracts

All recipes are measured out with one quart Ball Jar.

Citrus Extract: Consists of The zest of 2 limes, the zest of 2 lemons, and the zest of 2 grapefruits, and the remainder is ever Kleer.
Coffee Extract: fill Ball jar up with roasted coffee beans (your choice), fill the balance of the Ball jar with Ever Kleer.
Cinnamon Extract- ~approx. 12 sticks per Ball jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Lemon extract-The Zest of 12 lemons per jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Orange extract: The zest of approx.. 8 oranges per jar. Valencia oranges work best but any type will do.
Key Lime Extract: 1 bag of key limes with the limes cut in half.
Vanilla Extract: 6 Madagascar Vanilla Beans, sliced length wise. Put all 6 in a ball jar and top off with Ever Kleer.
At the end of one full year its best to pour the extract through some sort of filter (I strain mine through a coffee filter) and add some additional zest of the same type back to it and top it off with Ever Kleer.

Making Simple Syrup

Basic mix consists of : 2 qt. ball jars of cane sugar to 1 qt. ball jar of water.
Process:
Place measured out sugar into a metal pot. Add the water to the mix (It’s a 2 to 1 ratio-mix). Bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring from the beginning of the process to the end until the liquid is clear. Have the ball jars already sanitized and ready for filling. Bring the simple syrup TO the jar and and funnel it into them (make sure your funnel is clean, too!) to fill them up. It will be hot so be very careful. Place the lids and metal rings onto the jars to seal them.
Note: we put the very hot liquid into the jars while it is hot so as it cools it creates a vacuum seal to keep the mixture good. Done this way, your simple syrup will have a very long shelf life.

Zesting Made Simple

Zesting is the process of the removal of the color of most citrus fruits and other entities that are oil extracted (for their essence). We use a micro plane zester to accomplish our end.See pictures. (If you do not have a micro plane zester you can use a fine cheese grater (Your goal is to get the color off the fruit, not the pitch, which is the “white stuff” underneath the very top layer of the fruit.)

joeswine · May 5, 2015

Revisit zesting and extracts

EXTRACTS AND ADDING ZEST CAN BE VERY REWARDING,HAVE YOU TRIED ONE??? :pic

..GO BACK AND REVIEW...............

joeswine · May 15, 2015

Party wine kits

SUMMERS COMING AND SUMMER WINES ARE THE ITEM TO HAVE ON THE PATIO,,,,,,,, :wy

joeswine · May 27, 2015

The bind that ties

wine making can be a very rewarding hobby ,the people you meet and come in contact with and the cause and effect you have on each other can be joyful,thank you corinth for your kind gesture and always ,think outside the box..

joeswine · May 30, 2015

Finished product

it's nice to finish a product that in some small way you added your own touch to it,here's two i just completed.

joeswine · Jun 1, 2015

Coffee port

THIS IS THE PRE-ORDER SEASON FOR SOME OF THE BEST PORT KITS AVAILABLE..LETS TAKE A LOOK AT MY TESTED AND TRUE WINNER OF A COFFEE-PORT ...BY THE WAY THE INSTANT COFFEE GOES DIRECTLY INTO THE SECONDARY,THIS THEN ADDS THE BOOST OF DEPTH AND COFFEE THAT IS REQUIRED TO BALANCE OUT THIS PORTS SWEET FPAC,REMEMBER TO BRING THE ABV. UP. FOR THE ADVENTUROUS TYPES ADD 3 WHOLE COFFEE BEANS TO EACH BOTTLE THEN SEAL.

Cru Coffee Port Kit

The box includes the following:
·Large bag of juice
·2 packs of Lavin EC-1118
·1 Coffee Port F-Pack
·Package of bentonite
·Package of Metabisulphite
·Package of Potassium Sorbate
·Package of each Chitosan-D2 and kiesesol-D1(Fining Agents)

Our additions:
·Oak Tannin (Tannic Acid)
·Instant Coffee
·Spring Water

Tools you will need:
·Primary Fermenter (minimum 30 Litres/7.9 US gallons capacity)
·Long stirring spoon (Plastic or stainless steel)
·Measuring cup
·Hydrometer and test jar
·Thermometer
·Wine thief
·Siphon rod and hose
·Carboy (3 US gallon capacity)
·Bung and Air lock
·Solid Bung (if you are bulk aging)
·Unscented winemaking detergent for cleaning (we recommend One-step or any other oxygenating cleaner, including Kmet....JUST NOT BLEACH!)
·Metabisulphite Powder for sanitizing
·15 wine bottles, 15 corks , 15 seals
·Corking machine (there are various types, we use an Italian floor corker.)

The Process:
·As always, sanitize anything that comes in contact with the wine. Including yourself.
·Add the large juice package. (Be careful, it’s heavy!) Rinse this out with a little bit of spring water to make sure you get it all.
·We have our bucket measured to 3 gallons. The kit didn’t quite come to 3 gallons so we topped up until we reach 3 gallons.
·Add the bentonite and give it a good stir.
·Then add the oak tannin, stir, and then take your SG reading. It should read 1.10.
·We then took a PH test and it read 4.0. Typically, it should be around 3.5.
·Finally, we pitched the yeast, made up a tag, and covered it up to rest.

After it ferments dry: (Approx. 2 weeks)

After it fermented dry (SG: 0.98) we racked it into our secondary, 3 gallon fermentation carboy.
We had to take out approx. 1.5 wine bottles of wine out of the carboy so that we will have room for the coffee F-pack.We set that aside with an air-lock. If when we rack the wine again and we come up short and have extra air-space, we will add it.
We checked the ph of the wine and it is at 3.5 which is perfect for this type of port.
We added the sorbate, K-met packet, and gave it a good stir.
Next, we added packet #1 (of the 2 packet combination) of Kiesesol and set our time for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, we add packet #2 of Kiesesol and stirred again. (Learning tip: The reason for the 5 minute wait time is you are waiting for the molecules from packet #1 to bind to certain molecules in the wine. The second packet will bind to the molecules in the first packet and then the clearing process starts. (Positive and negative particles will attract, become heavy, and fall to the bottom of the carboy, taking the sediment with it.)
Next, we added the Coffee F-Park. Note: Not all of the F pack fit into my 3-gallon carboy. I should have taken out possibly 2 bottles of extra wine instead of 1.5. I put the extra F-Park in the refrigerator. When I rack this again to a final mixing bucket I will add everything to the bucket and give it a good stir.