New guy from Michigan

[Jeremy012]

Hey guys,

I am 24 years old from Northville Michigan. I've been interested in brewing homemade wine for awhile now and I just started my first batch two weeks ago. I just did the simple welch's grape juice method to get the hang of it. Today I just put the batch in the fridge to kill off the rest of the yeast before I bottle it.

Well I am certain I will have plenty of questions along the way..

 

[Tom]

WHAT !!!
No way is it ready

 

[Tom]

explain what you did from the start in detail

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

I agree with Tom - I find it hard to believe that it is ready at this point in time.

Post your recipe and steps taken along with an TA and/or SG readings that you have.

 

[JordanPond]

Jeremy,

Welcome to wine making.

 

[Wade E]

You also can not simply kill yeast by frging or freezing it, it will simply come back to life afterwards an start fermenting again if it wasnt done. If it was done fridging it will do nothing except drop out excess tartaric acid.

 

[Julie]

Hi Jeremy012

Welcome to winemakingtalk. You need to do some reading on the forum. Look for Tom's famous saying. "Patience, Patience, Patience."

When you make wine the first thing you need to do is take a reading so you know where you are starting at , now keep track of it to know when fermentation is done. You really need to let fermentation take it's own course.

 

[Jeremy012]

This was my first time making a batch, so I used a simple process I saw on youtube on a guys channel called craigtube. The process starts by buying one gallon of any 100% juice, you add your sugar, yeast, and nutrient to the juice. Then it ferments for two weeks before you choose to drink it, or rack and then bottle it.

This is just a test run really... I joined this forum in order to learn the true process for making wine.

Thanks for the help

 

[Julie]

This was my first time making a batch, so I used a simple process I saw on youtube on a guys channel called craigtube. The process starts by buying one gallon of any 100% juice, you add your sugar, yeast, and nutrient to the juice. Then it ferments for two weeks before you choose to drink it, or rack and then bottle it.

This is just a test run really... I joined this forum in order to learn the true process for making wine.

Thanks for the help

My first wine, I called it wine shine, it was terrible. High alcohol and very little flavor. Anyway, everyone's first batch is a testing ground.

The best advice I can give you and it is the best advice that was given to me is THERE IS NO TIME FRAME WHEN MAKING WINE.

In other words, wine will complete each stage at it's own pace. I have had wines that have completed fermentation in two weeks and some that have taken over two months to finish.

When following a recipe, always understand that it is just a guide not a rule. Always take a hydrometer reading instead of just adding the amount of sugar that the recipe calls for. Fruit wines you should shoot for 1.080 or close to that. Always take a hydrometer reading to know when fermentation is competed. And always check your acid before adding acid blend.

Start with these rules and you will be on the fast lane to making some great wine.

 

[JasonH]

Hello and welcome. Good advice given above.

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Jeremy012]

Thank you for the welcomes and help!
Would you recommend I remove the batch from the fridge to continue fermentation? Also if I did, is it ok to continue to let it ferment even though I siphoned it into a new container?

 

[Julie]

Thank you for the welcomes and help!
Would you recommend I remove the batch from the fridge to continue fermentation? Also if I did, is it ok to continue to let it ferment even though I siphoned it into a new container?

Yes, let it warm up and see where it goes. Have you taken any readings at all?

 

[winemaker_3352]

I agree with Julie - take it out of the fridge and let it go. Try to ferment this to dry.

You can stabilize and back sweeten you wine to your desire after that.

 

[Jeremy012]

Ok, I will warm it up and let it continue. I have not taken any readings yet because I do not own a hydrometer. However, I have one on order, so I will have to learn how to use it and take some readings.

 

[Wade E]

Yes, let it finish and then add sulfite and sorbate once its done as that will prevent it from re-fermentation. Once that is done you can sweeten it if you ant by what ever means you like but a simple syrup is the typical way and that is a mixture of 2 cups of sugar dissolved into 1 cup of boiling water and then cooled and added until desired sweetness is reached. Its hard to know where this will finish since you dont know what sg it started at. What yeast did you use as each wine yeast as its own abv tolerance. Try to get the up o around 75 as thats the best temp to do most things with wine.

 

[Julie]

Ok, I will warm it up and let it continue. I have not taken any readings yet because I do not own a hydrometer. However, I have one on order, so I will have to learn how to use it and take some readings.

Leave it warm up and let it alone. Your hydrometer should come within the next couple of days. Take a reading when it comes and understand, you will probably have at least a little trouble reading your hydrometer. We all had to get use to understanding how to read the hydrometer. Let your wine go until it is at least .996, it may go lower but once it is at least there and take a reading two more times and on two different days to make sure it is not going anywhere. Once it stays you know fermentation has been completed. You can then stabilize your wine.

Good Luck and stick around and let us know how it comes our and what else you are thinking of making.

 

[Jeremy012]

Thank you for the quick responses and advice! I will let you know what the readings are once I receive the hydrometer.

 

[Flem]

Hi Jeremy! Welcome to the forum. Just look at what you've learned in just
2 1/2 hours on the forum. Pay attention to what these guys and gals tell you. Every one of them has a wealth of knowledge and experience. And they're all willing to help. I'v only been doing this for about a month and they've taught me a lot. In the entire spectrum of things---I don't know squat. But, I'm eager to learn. If you are, then they're ready to teach.
Good luck and get that hydrometer. It's your best friend. Good Luck.

 

[Julie]

Please do and another thing you can do is backsweeten with another can of welch's if you are looking to sweeten this wine