Novice wine makers' knowledge - folk knowledge

[BernardSmith]

The other day Tom, (Pumpkinman) posted a really useful set of questions that novice wine makers might address when they post questions to this forum and this prompted some members of the forum to express concern about the complete lack of knowledge that undergirds some questions. In defense of these newbies let me offer this:

I don't make beer. I think I have made a few gallons perhaps twice in my life but the other day I was reading a classic book on beer making - The Home Brewers Companion (1994)- by a classic beer maker - Charlie Papazian. Here's what he has written on page 187
"Easily observable in glass fermenters, an apparent cessation of bubbles are accurate indications that your beer is ready to bottle....Hydrometer readings should be taken and recorded during the bottling process, but visual observation can serve well to indicate when the brew is ready to bottle."...
Papazian is basically saying that eyeballing the beer provides all the information that a good beer maker needs. He ends this paragraph by advising beer makers to use a hydrometer "until" they are "confident in making these judgments". So, the use of color and cessation of activity is what seasoned /expert beer makers are expected use to know when their brew is ready.

But we wouldn't begin to talk about our wines without reference to an hydrometer, and we would dismiss the idea that a lack of visible activity in an airlock has any significance. In other words, there appears to be quite different "ways of knowing" that beer makers use and wine makers use. And there may be other very different ways of knowing that folk who come to this forum for the first time use and their questions come from those other ways of knowing. We need to be sensitive to what I would call "folk" methods and folk ways of knowing even if our methods and our ways of knowing are quite different.

 

[cpfan]

Bernard:

Folks should feel free to make wine (or beer) without the use of a hydrometer. But they also should expect to get the "hydrometer routine" if they have to ask any questions, especially questions related to alcohol content, stuck fermentations, and when should I rack.

To some degree, it's one thing to look at the wine with your own eyes (not that I always believe mine), and another to ask questions on a forum. If your wine is in front of me, presumably I can also taste it, and use that to help understand the situation.

Steve

 

[Turock]

And in a wine forum, most of us feel bound to preach "best practices." But then--I understand freedom to do what you want and and certain success due to your own experience.

There are some people on here who only make wine on ocassion and don't pursue it as a hobby to be mastered, as other's of us do. Some people don't like all the studying required to master the hobby. I get it. There's plenty enough room for EVERYONE here.

 

[salcoco]

I believe measurements are required when a fermentation is being prepared. this is true in both wine and beermaking. Until experience is your companion then measurements along with observations are necessary. to solve problems at long distance measurements are necessary to level the playing field so to speak. My observations and your observations will differ. the measurement is the common ground.

 

[pjd]

Ok, here goes... I haven't used my hydrometer for ages. Ever since I quit doing wine kits and have been doing only juice buckets. The buckets are generally started by the time I get them so there is no use measuring. I also allow enough time to go dry and I taste them frequently. I do use my hydrometer when I am brewing a beer to check starting gravity.

 

[BernardSmith]

And in a wine forum, most of us feel bound to preach "best practices." But then--I understand freedom to do what you want and and certain success due to your own experience.

There are some people on here who only make wine on ocassion and don't pursue it as a hobby to be mastered, as other's of us do. Some people don't like all the studying required to master the hobby. I get it. There's plenty enough room for EVERYONE here.

Totally, agree. Some people have been making their wine their way and have come up against a problem whose solution defies them. They do an internet search and come across this forum and they view it as an opportunity to ask a question. We might view their presence and their question as an opportunity to offer our ideas and thoughts about good or best wine making practices but they are not necessarily receptive to such ideas or are even able to make sense of such thoughts.
As a teacher my philosophy is to try to start where the student is and not where I think they should be. In that light I simply want to suggest that starting with where such posts are (and so treating seriously and respectfully) their ideas and practices even if we think that they result in unquestionably poor alcohol allows everyone "safe space" to share ideas...

 

[Turock]

Yeah Bernard, I agree. And if you're patient enough, with a new person who is doing things their own way, they often discover that they would be better off by using known cultures, learning nutrient management, the science behind the chemical additions, etc. It's just that they never had a mentor before to help them and we open their eyes to better methods.

I try to be patient with new people, however I'm sure I've had a bad day where I offended someone. I really DO like to teach.

We should all try to be kind to one another---something we all need to be reminded of.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Beer is SUPPOSED to continue fermenting in the bottle.

Wine is not.

Do not rely on your eyes with wine.