Newbie with an ADDICTION!!!

[Samh200]

Well im kinda starting off a little simple right now... I have a 5 gallon of 100% welch grape juice and a 5 gallon of 100% welchs white grape & peach going... I orderd me 5, 1 gallon jugs an primarys to play with some diffrent things...I bought 6 pounds of strawberrys i think ima let them ripen a little more before messing with them...AND then I ran across the skittles recipe and went order me 2 more 5 gallon corboys!!!

 

[Julie]

LOL. Well Samh200, welcome to the world of winemaking, I do believe you now realize it will only get worst.

 

[hobbyiswine]

We seem to have the same problem! Good thing we have the support group here at WMT to help us talk throu our "issues"! I just purchased another 3G carboy yesterday. Now I have 3 of them and one 6 gallon for kit wines. I like the 3G size since it is just as easy to make 3, 6, or more gallons as it is to make 1 gallon. But they are a bit smaller and ure easier to move around.

 

[Samh200]

Yea... I been thinking about getting me about 4 3 gallon also...

 

[AlexPKeaton]

Welcome to the club - started our first kit in early January - bottled our first kit last weekend and now we have two carboys and a primary loaded up with wine.

 

[Wiz]

Wait till you discover it is just as easy to make 6 gallons always as it is 1 or 3 gallons.

 

[jswordy]

Welcome. Please don't expect your strawberries to ripen any more as you wait. They won't, once they are picked from the plant. Waiting will not result in any more sugar content or ripeness. What they actually do is begin to decay, which makes them appear riper but for winemaking nets no real benefits.

What you can do with them is freeze them solid and then get ready to thaw them and make your wine. Freezing will break down the cell walls and make the flavors extract better. That's true of all fruits.

If you have a strawberry grower nearby, now's the time to get their attention and tell them you want all their over-ripes and discards. These are the berries too ripe to be packed and transported for sale. Unless the grower has a flash freezer, they are typically discarded or sold to vintners. I have an order in for 100 pounds this summer. The later in the season you get your berries, the more sugar they will have in them. The berries actually get smaller but have higher sugar content as the season progresses.

Oh BTW, the flash freezer is why bagged frozen strawberries are better for wine than fresh store-bought. Same with blueberries. They are far riper when flash frozen by the producer than the "fresh" ones offered in the produce department that had to travel there.

Anyway, this is what I have learned from the growers here and some experience over time.

 

[Samh200]

Welcome. Please don't expect your strawberries to ripen any more as you wait. They won't, once they are picked from the plant. Waiting will not result in any more sugar content or ripeness. What they actually do is begin to decay, which makes them appear riper but for winemaking nets no real benefits.

What you can do with them is freeze them solid and then get ready to thaw them and make your wine. Freezing will break down the cell walls and make the flavors extract better. That's true of all fruits.

If you have a strawberry grower nearby, now's the time to get their attention and tell them you want all their over-ripes and discards. These are the berries too ripe to be packed and transported for sale. Unless the grower has a flash freezer, they are typically discarded or sold to vintners. I have an order in for 100 pounds this summer. The later in the season you get your berries, the more sugar they will have in them. The berries actually get smaller but have higher sugar content as the season progresses.

Oh BTW, the flash freezer is why bagged frozen strawberries are better for wine than fresh store-bought. Same with blueberries. They are far riper when flash frozen by the producer than the "fresh" ones offered in the produce department that had to travel there.

Anyway, this is what I have learned from the growers here and some experience over time.

Thanks Jswordy, for the heads up on this... because I let them set for a couple of days and BAM!!!full of mold saved maybe half

 

[Runningwolf]

Yea... I been thinking about getting me about 4 3 gallon also...

The family just keeps multiplying! Practicing the rhythm method only means having enough carboys ready for harvest season.
Harvest season; Chilean - April, California - August/September and local Sept thru Nov.

 

[hobbyiswine]

The family just keeps multiplying! Practicing the rhythm method only means having enough carboys ready for harvest season.
Harvest season; Chilean - April, California - August/September and local Sept thru Nov.

I would love to get some Chilean (or other southern hemisphere) grapes this spring. Any Suggestions for where to get them?

 

[Runningwolf]

Check with other winemakers in your area or where you buy supplies from. The place you buy your supplies is probably the best place to ask as they talk to the other wine makers. You should be able to pick up Chilean juices for about $50 fo a 6 gallon pail.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

You think you guys have the addiction bad? LOL. I went from 5's to more 5's and within 6 yrs to 100's, 200's and 300's!

 

[jswordy]

You think you guys have the addiction bad? LOL. I went from 5's to more 5's and within 6 yrs to 100's, 200's and 300's!

Hard to do that in Tennessee. It is actually easier under current state laws to start a (well, I see this word is not allowed but you use it to make whiskey)ery here than it is a winery. We have so-called "legal moonshine" (whiskey-making process)eries opening almost every week, while our wineries wither on the vine. Key issue is that you cannot sell your wine but 2 ways here: On your premises, or to a big liquor distributor. So, go small and hope people will come to your place to buy, or go really huge to supply minimum case lots to a distributor. It is illegal to mail wines in or out of state.

Major PITA.