Top Ten Wine Making Lists

[AlFulchino]

I want your thoughts for items that should be on the list(s) Maybe we canmake life a bit easier for anyone starting out...or maybe just prompt new comers to see an issue they will want to investigate for themselves...

then later maybe take this to a poll .... the must do's and must don'ts probably will overlap...we will see how it develops..start out your answer with a "MISTAKE'' or "Must Do" feel free to correct my approach or suggest a better way of doing this

What do you consider are the Top Ten Mistakes made by wine makers when:
</font>
a) making wine w kits
b)making wine from grapes
c)making wines from juice
d) making wines from fruits

What do you consider are the Top Ten *Must Do's* made by wine makers when:</font>

a) making wine w kits

b)making wine from grapes

c)making wines from juice

d) making wines from fruits

 

[pelican]

For all categories, I would say

Mistake= Failure to use Hydrometer at beginning, middle, and end of a batch

Must Do = Use Hydrometer, beginning, middle and end of batch

 

[Tom]

I would think NO PATIENCE and trying to rush to bottle

 

[Goodfella]

I agree with both above statements....


I would say a common mistake is FOLLOWING RECIPES. Instead of adding ingredients as needed for THAT specific wine.


With kits.... FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS on what day to rack, ect. ect. As stated earlier, a hydrometer should tell you when.


Alot of the stuck fermentations I have heard about have been a result of IMPROPER TEMPERATURES.


Most wines that will not clear have not been PROPERLY DEGASSED.


NOT KEEPING GOOD RECORDS may also be on the list somewhere.








Good thread AL!!!

 

[Scott]

Agree with all of the above posts.
Might add, Check with this forum and/or contact George and....... have fun

 

[cbw]

Mistakes and must-do's : Clean then reclean then sanitize

 

[vcasey]

Not using enough fruit in fruit wines
Not stirring the must enough
Rushing the wine
Lack of patience

 

[Dean]

What do you consider are the Top Ten Mistakes made by wine makers when:</font>
a) making wine w kits
b)making wine from grapes
c)making wines from juice
d) making wines from fruits
What do you consider are the Top Ten *Must Do's* made by wine makers when:</font>
a) making wine w kits
b)making wine from grapes
c)making wines from juice
d) making wines from fruits

Mistakes:
a) Fermenting at too low a temperature (Thinking low and slow will help)
b) acid additions! Go over your addition calculations twice and make sure.
c) Thinking that pure juice is just like a kit! You need to measure and adjust PH, Titratable Acids (TA), and Free SO2. This is the next step from kits to grapes. At least you don't need to punch down, crush, destemm, and press.
d) Adding either too much or too little fruit. Too much results in a wine that will take years to mature, and too little results in a wine that tastes very thin.

Must Do:
a) Keep your temperature up for fermentation AND degassing! 74 to 75F is ideal! Any lower and you won't degass easily. Even 2 degrees will make a difference.
b) keep good records of everything done! Grapes are far more intense than kits with lots of steps along the way.
c) start to get familiar with good lab practices because you have to learn to do a lot of different measuring.
d) freeze the fruit first for a few days and then make wine from it. You will get a much higher juice extraction due to the ice crystals effect on the cell walls of the fruit. Also learn your enzymes and what will work best. Just just add "Pectic Enzyme" because a recipe calls for it. Ask WHY ingredients are needed before using them.

 

[Brewgrrrl]

I totally agree with everything said thus far.


My other must do's would be reading a lot about wine and asking for advice from multiple sources. Some things about wine-making are fairly standard and others are often debated or vary depending on the wine or the person making it (i.e. what yeast to use, whether to filter, etc.). Another "must-do" would be paying attention to what works or doesn't work for you and your particular set-up and making adjustments when it makes sense to you. For instance, for years I bottled beer and winein my kitchen using a bottling bucket (after hauling the whole, filled carboy upstairs) and I had the bottles soaking in an idophor solution throughout the process (per some advice I'd gotten early on). A batch would typically take more than an hour. Then I changed to using a sulfiter/bottling tree for the bottles (no more gallons of idophor solution andwet kitchen floor) and I recently upgraded to a buon vino bottlerand an aspirator - wow! What a difference in ease and time (15 minutes!), and I'm so glad I was open to always learning more...

 

[AlFulchino]

thus far, in no particular order

Mistakes</font>
1- Failure to use Hydrometer at beginning, middle, and end of a batch
2- Having NO PATIENCE and trying to rush to bottle
3-</font> A common mistake is FOLLOWING RECIPES. Instead of adding ingredients as needed for THAT specific wine.as with kits.... FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS on what day to rack, ect. ect. As stated earlier, a hydrometer should tell you when.
4- A lot of the stuck fermentations I have heard about have been a result of IMPROPER TEMPERATURES.
5- Most wines that will not clear have not been PROPERLY DEGASSED.
6- NOT KEEPING GOOD RECORDS .
7 - Not enough attention to sanitation...Clean then reclean then sanitize

 

[AlFulchino]

Mistakes</font> cont'd
8-Not using enough fruit in fruit wines
9-Not stirring the must enough
10- PH, TA adjustments, SO2 management, Acid additions! Go over your addition calculations twice and make sure.

11- Thinking that pure juice is just like a kit! You need to measure
and adjust PH, Titratable Acids (TA), and Free SO2. This is the next
step from kits to grapes. At least you don't need to punch down, crush,
destemm, and press.

12- Adding either too much or too little fruit. Too much results in
a wine that will take years to mature, and too little results in a wine
that tastes very thin.

 

[AlFulchino]

Current summation of






Wine Making Do's



1 Remember that this is for fun and enjoyment as much as anything

2- Read as much as you can on the subject, wine making is only part
technical, the rest is stylistic (artistic) and meant for YOUR
enjoyment...it is not meant to be a NEW job.

3- Visit this forum and ask questions. Questions do not cost any money...failing that....call George!

4 - Use a Hydrometer THROUGHOUT the life of the process from must to bottling.

5- Perform tests for things like PH, TA and SO2 as you become
comfortable with minemaking. Information places a quantifiable number
on what you are sensing with your palate and therefore becomes a
repeatable experience, or at the very least an adjustable one.

6- Clean, Clean and Re-clean.

7- </font></font>Keep your temperature up for fermentation AND degassing! 74 to
75F is ideal! Any lower and you won't degass easily. Even 2 degrees
will make a difference.

8- keep good records of everything done! Grapes are far more intense than kits with lots of steps along the way.

9- start to get familiar with good lab practices because you have to learn to do a lot of different measuring.

10- freeze the fruit first for a few days and then make wine from
it. You will get a much higher juice extraction due to the ice crystals
effect on the cell walls of the fruit.
11- Also learn your enzymes and what
will work best. Don't just add "Pectic Enzyme" because a recipe calls
for it. Ask WHY ingredients are needed before using them.

12- SEEK MULTIPLE SOURCES ...Read a lot about wine and asking for advice from
multiple sources. Some things about wine-making are fairly standard
and others are often debated or vary depending on the wine or the
person making it (i.e. what yeast to use, whether to filter, etc.).

 

[AlFulchino]

adding to the...Wine Making Mistake

choosing filtering and clearing agents when simple aging will do

i agree that filtering has its place....but i fear it doesnt let a wine become a good wine...its like asking a four year old to hit a 100 mph pitch...he might actually place a bat on the ball,..but its not going anywhere

additionally filtering can be overly stringent....may as well add some 100 proof to colored water and grape juice

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Oh Al! I just recently started filtering with a gravity filter and the plumcot wine turned out beautifully that way!
I agree about patience (3P's!) and proper aging and I also think that a little *judicious* filtering for fruit wines and white wines helps them really sparkle - and also minimizes the chance of any sediment on the bottle.

 

[vcasey]

Thought of another - Racking to many times
VC

 

[AlFulchino]

VCasey...explain the problem w too many rackings

Ellen..i think you mailed it on the filtering...it must be judicious

 

[vcasey]

I think there is a fear that letting the wine sit on the fine lees for any amount of time will cause off flavors. Every couple of months until its clear I understand, but more then that and you end up leaving wine behind. Also once it's clear and no longer dropping sediment do you really need to continue to rack the wine? I have read where it seems folks are racking what seems to me excessive amounts of times and all I think is that at one point there is too much topping up when you can just let it sit and let the magic happen.
VC

 

[AlFulchino]

"Also once it's clear and no longer dropping sediment do you really need
to continue to rack the wine? I have read where it seems folks are
racking what seems to me excessive amounts of times and all I think is
that at one point there is too much topping up when you can just let it
sit and let the magic happen."

i agree.....i never grasped why people even rack 4 times...and the topping off would be a continual issue if the wine was not the very same wine that was aging...each time you top you change the percentage of what is what

 

[vcasey]

Boy am I glad you understood what I was trying to say my brain is fried tonight!
VC

 

[Dean]

Wow, most of my wines sit on fine lees for 1 year or more. Never any problems at all.