If you look on Lucs blog youll see a decent design for a 2 bucket grape press. It is a pretty good way to go ith small batches of fruit wines and stuff like this and easy and cheap to do. The only easy way to get a good reading witha wine like this is to get a wine thief and extract some wine and let your hydrometer float in there for the reading. Are you going to do MLF on this?
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Yes, I will be doing MLF, it came with a Lalvin Bacchus packet, and the instructions say to rack again 3 days from now and then add the MLF packet.
I used my wine thief that you can put the hydrometer in, but I think that is a bad idea, it never gets full enough due to the particles clogging it. I finally used a test jar and got a decent reading. It was actually completely done when I racked it.
Is it easier to rack when you have the cap floating above? I ended up mixing it up testing the SG.
I'll look up luc's blog, maybe I can get a couple of cheap buckets from the donut store to make it.
@rock A collander probably would have helped quite a bit I did not think of it. I'll remember that in the future if I can't build Luc's bucket press. I also did not think of rubber gloves, now my fingers are stained purple.
I used my wine thief that you can put the hydrometer in, but I think that is a bad idea, it never gets full enough due to the particles clogging it. I finally used a test jar and got a decent reading. It was actually completely done when I racked it.
Is it easier to rack when you have the cap floating above? I ended up mixing it up testing the SG.
I'll look up luc's blog, maybe I can get a couple of cheap buckets from the donut store to make it.
@rock A collander probably would have helped quite a bit I did not think of it. I'll remember that in the future if I can't build Luc's bucket press. I also did not think of rubber gloves, now my fingers are stained purple.
Do you know that you can use the thief and dunk it up and down fast to fill it up instead of just putting it under the juice and letting it fill up that way? The quicking bobbing up and down method usually works well and shakes off what starts to get clogged at the tip of it.
Pressed skins
Next time you do a frozen bucket, save the pressings and freeze them. You can use them to give a bit more structure and depth to cheap wine kits. Granted a lot of good stuff is gone after pressing, but there is still some there. Avoid the seeds if you can.
Next time you do a frozen bucket, save the pressings and freeze them. You can use them to give a bit more structure and depth to cheap wine kits. Granted a lot of good stuff is gone after pressing, but there is still some there. Avoid the seeds if you can.
Thanks Wineau, I did not think of that either.
I found another casualty of this racking, my autosiphon is broken now. There is a small plastic part just inside the bottom opening that something pushed loose. Since it's inside I just couldn't get it back where it needs to be. I used tweezers first, then tried using a siphon hose to line it up and push it back in place. Finally ended up breaking one of the little plastic arms on it, so it's done. It's one of those things that I have that I don't know how I managed before I had it! Oh well, I can go back to the old fashioned method until I can get another one.
I found another casualty of this racking, my autosiphon is broken now. There is a small plastic part just inside the bottom opening that something pushed loose. Since it's inside I just couldn't get it back where it needs to be. I used tweezers first, then tried using a siphon hose to line it up and push it back in place. Finally ended up breaking one of the little plastic arms on it, so it's done. It's one of those things that I have that I don't know how I managed before I had it! Oh well, I can go back to the old fashioned method until I can get another one.
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homer
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Damn, I never thought about getting two buckets, that would make the 6 gal carboy work out, I bought one Charles Smith Cab maybe I should call Monday and have them ship two????? Saving all this money making my own wine is almost breaking me. bk
countrygirl
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at first i thought i read
"strained my gout"
sorry...
i was also wondering, what is the beginning specific gravity for grapes.
1.080 like fruits?
Oh lord, not my gout! Although staining the grout in the laundry room might make me end up in pain!
I think with my syrah the SG was right at 1.092 or so. Around 23 brix. I think this will vary from grape to grape though and also with how ripe they are. I didn't mess with my grape bucket's SG, it seemed right to me for a syrah, so I went with it.
Most Syrah's I buy are 13-14%, and 1.092 should be at the low end of that range at 13.18% alcohol. But a grape like a Pinot Noir is usually less, closer to 12% or so from what I have seen. Some of this depends on the winemaker of course, but I don't believe a lot of sugar is added to wine made from grapes. That's actually illegal in some parts!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaptalization
Then you get into the late harvest wines where they let them stay on the vine and ripen even more to get the sugar up. Those guys can end up in the 15% range.
I think with my syrah the SG was right at 1.092 or so. Around 23 brix. I think this will vary from grape to grape though and also with how ripe they are. I didn't mess with my grape bucket's SG, it seemed right to me for a syrah, so I went with it.
Most Syrah's I buy are 13-14%, and 1.092 should be at the low end of that range at 13.18% alcohol. But a grape like a Pinot Noir is usually less, closer to 12% or so from what I have seen. Some of this depends on the winemaker of course, but I don't believe a lot of sugar is added to wine made from grapes. That's actually illegal in some parts!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaptalization
Then you get into the late harvest wines where they let them stay on the vine and ripen even more to get the sugar up. Those guys can end up in the 15% range.
countrygirl
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so just slightly higher than the fruit's 1.080...but usually all on it's own!?
this is like a whole new chapter to me...
Racer
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That and if harvested at the right time little to no adjustments on the acidity are needed either for grapes.
4 month update:
Just racked this one and plan on lettlng it bulk age for a couple months now. Had a glass or so left over and I am drinking it now. Definitely a candidate for some long term aging. Tastes pretty good, but you get the distinct feeling that everything will smooth out dramatically in a year or so. Right now I have 2 1 gallon carboys full + a wine bottle, I figure a couple more rackings before bottling. It's already pretty clear though, at least for a shiraz!
I have to say that it was tough getting it out of the primary, but after that it's been great.
Just racked this one and plan on lettlng it bulk age for a couple months now. Had a glass or so left over and I am drinking it now. Definitely a candidate for some long term aging. Tastes pretty good, but you get the distinct feeling that everything will smooth out dramatically in a year or so. Right now I have 2 1 gallon carboys full + a wine bottle, I figure a couple more rackings before bottling. It's already pretty clear though, at least for a shiraz!
I have to say that it was tough getting it out of the primary, but after that it's been great.
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