Hi guys, Newbie here looking for advice

[wine please]

Hey guys, Ive just ordered a 1 gallon jug and some other kit online. I want to harvest some local wild grapes around my neighbourhood and try to make a small batch. Can someone lay out the necessary steps I should take so I dont miss anything?
Thanks a million!
Cheers!

 

[crushday]

@wine please - Welcome to WMT - I would recommend checking out ALL the resources on this page: MoreManuals! Winemaking Guides | MoreWine

And, asking for clarity as some of the language isn’t going to be intuitive to you yet.

 

[Chuck E]

You're going to need 10-15 lbs. of grapes for your gallon.

 

[Vinobeau]

IMO, 10 pounds of wild grapes per gallon is too much, at least for the wild grapes that grow here! I use about 2 - 2 1/2 pounds per gallon.
Order another gallon jug and make the kit and a gallon of wild grape wine. After a year taste them and then blend to your taste.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi wine please and welcome.
This thread is really interesting to me. I have just come across a few wild grape vines and am planning to make a very small batch: so good to know that 2.5 lbs may be all I need to make a gallon, But that said, wine please needs to be absolutely sure that what they think is wild grape is not moonseed. Moonseed looks like wild grapes but this fruit has (I believe) a single seed and that seed is shaped like a crescent moon. Wild grapes have multiple seeds (two at least) and they are more globular. Moonseed is toxic.

 

[wine please]

You're going to need 10-15 lbs. of grapes for your gallon.

What?? I read elsewhere that you need about 5lbs per gallon.. so do I buy some concentrate if I cant pick enough? Thnx!

 

[JustJoe]

I have been making wine from wild grapes for several years now. I started with a recipe that said I should have 4-5 pounds per gallon. Each year I upped that amount until now I am pretty happy with it at about 7 pounds per gallon.
You can certainly make wine with as little as 2 or 3 pounds per gallon but it is much too thin and watery for my taste. You can also make it with 10 - 12 pounds per gallon but wild grapes are not as juicy as domestic wine grapes with 12 pounds per gallon I think it would be thick.