New wine maker from TN

[bigredwine1]

Hello everyone, been reading post and have some good info. Im wanting to make an apple wine this and move into grape wine next year. I have been reading a book about not allowing any oxygen at all in any of the fermentations. Any thought?

 

[dralarms]

Welcome. What part of Tennessee

 

[Johny99]

Welcome. Be paranoid about air in white and rose. For red it is way more complicated and worth pages of discussion.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[meadmaker1]

Welcome
. My thoughts are that most folks join after they discover they can use help.
Go to a whole foods place and buy a gallon of apple juice in a glass jug (aka your first car boy) then go to a fermenter store buy an air lock and an appropriate yeast, nutrients and campden tablets.
Find a recipe, and get started.
You will want to shake the #$/&* out of it to get oxygen into the must initially, then beware of introdicing air. After the bubbling stops is when oxegen can get you.
If you mess up oh well, Your out 10 bucks you can call tuition.
You are more likly to have a problem with sanitation than oxygen.
Your first gallon probably won't last long enough to have an oxogen problem.
Be patient.
Enjoy.
Learn as you go.
Ask lots more questions, the harder answers will come from folks way better and more experienced than me.

 

[bigredwine1]

I live in Eastern TN on the Emory River next to the Cumberland Plateau.

 

[bigredwine1]

Has anyone read the book: Tennessee Wines, New York Politics? It is the true story about a man that made wine with no oxygen and no sulphur at Cornell University. He made the wild yeast go dormant with a cold bath.

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

Had the pleasure and honor of serving as a US Marine @ NAS Memphis, TN for about a year - circa 1963. My guess though is that SW TN might be a whole lot different than eastern TN.

I've now got 18 gallons of apple wine under my belt all having been made using raw fresh pressed apple cider.

 

[bigredwine1]

Hello Ralph. I got a method in my head. Anybody, tell me if you think it will work. Pick, kill down wild yeast with very cold water bath and crush apples or other fruit. Place fruit slush in mesh bag and into juice along with yeast mixed with warm water and pectin and acid blend. Seal up primary ferment with a two hole cap. One hole gets a airlock and the other a siphon leading to a spout at the bottom of the container. Once a day I will open the spout to splash down the must on top. When primary is complete I siphon to airlocked secondary. Will this work?

 

[Julie]

Hi bigredwine1, take your apples and freeze them, you will be able to extract more juice this way. Do not add water, apples have a mild flavor and water will watered it down too much. Crush your apples, add k-meta to kill wild yeast. Cold water will not kill wild yeast. Add enough sugar to bring your juice up to 1.080 and do not seal the fermenter, fermenting juice needs oxygen, I would let it ferment down to 1.010 or a little lower and then snap the lid down until fermented dry, them rack to carboy. Also, Apple wine really doesn't come into its own until at least a year.

 

[bkisel]

FYI... My Apple wine was back sweetened with brown sugar, honey and 2 cans of frozen apple juice concentrate. Also, cinnamon stick was dropped into carboy during bulk aging.