Now what do I do ?

[Rob59]

Wellll........I have very kindly been given 5 kilos of fresh white grapes from a friend's vine and I want to make wine ! What do I do next ? I am more used to making country wines, flower wines, etc so all assistance gratefully received !



Rob from England

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

What kind of grape is it?


Do you have any equipment?

Hydrometer
Acid Test Kit
Fermentation buckets
Carboys


Do you have any of the ingredients?

Yeast
Yeast Nutrient
Acid Blend (Take readings before adding - may not need it)
Sugar (Take readings before adding - may not need it)
Pectic
Potassium Metabisulfite (k-meta)

Here is a doc that i used for my chardonel - which is a white grape.

View attachment Chardonel Wine Recipe - 1 gallon.pdf

 

[Rob59]

Hello and many thanks for your speedy reply ! Yes, I have all the equipment I need, much of which came from my father who made wines for many years. many thanks for the link too - there seems to be many recipes for making flower and country wines on the internet but strangely enough, not many involving grapes. I am about to be given a 20 foot grapevine for our garden too, very soon so need to get familiar with some well-honed recipes ! Just one thing though - I have just weighed the grapes and they weigh about 8 lbs, so is it just a simple case of halving all measures in your recipe ?

Many thanks once again

Rob

 

[JohnT]

Here is the simplest approach that I can suggest. since you are only doing a small amount, I am keeping this a simple as possible.


1) You need...

K-meta
good quality wine yeast
Acid titration test kit
2 jugs, 1 stopper, and 1 fermentation trap.


All told, about $20 worth of supplies and equipment (not sure what this is in GBPs).

1) Crush the grapes I recomend that you use your (clean) feet.

2) Add about 1/8 teaspoon of the k-meta to the crushed grapes and mix well. This will sterilize the grapes.

3) Using a pasta strainer, strain the grapes into your jug. You could also use cheese cloth for this step. Push down on the skins to get as much juice as possible.

4) Check the acid level using the test kit. Most kits include simple to use instructions and the recomended level of acid (usually from .6 to .7 for white wines). Adjust the acid according to the instructions with either tartaric acid (to raise the acid level) or with bi-carbonate (to lower the acid level).

5) let the grapes sit for a number of hours (1/2 a day) and then add your yeast. Seal the jug with a stopper and fermentation trap. Mix some water with a little bit of the k-meta and fill the fermentation trap to the correct level.

6) let the wine ferment. After a couple of days, you should notice that gass is escaping from the fermentation trap (or a gurgling sound). After a couple of weeks, you should notice that the wine has cleared, and that there is a layer of sediment at the bottom.

7) decant the clear wine into another jug leaving behind the sediment. top off with a small amount of wine and reseal with the stopper and fermentation trap.

8) Sample it after several months. Find out if you can get more grapes next year!!!!

Note: This is the simplest approach that I can recommend. I do not suggest that this is the best approach. If you plan on doing more then, say a gallon, then I would recommend investing in better equipment and a "How to" book.