Wine from Just plain grapes?

[mennyg19]

NO!!!!!! Way too much! A little over 1/8 tsp for your entire 15 liter batch!!!

Good thing I didnt add it yet. So 1/8 for my 15L batch, and Im not adding to my natural batch...

 

[Johnd]

Good thing I didnt add it yet. So 1/8 for my 15L batch, and Im not adding to my natural batch...

Menny, take a few minutes and read this article, it includes a chart indicating dosage for a range of pH values.

http://winemakersacademy.com/potassium-metabisulfite-additions/

 

[mennyg19]

So a little update:
My two petit syrahs (one all-natural and one with additives) are aging in demijohns right now. I plan on bottling in the coming months and then bottle-age.
Interestingly, the demijohn with the additives seems to have settled nicely. Not entirely, but theres a nice think layer of sediment on the bottom. Additive-free demi, is not settled anywhere near that. It starts getting cloudy from halfway down the demi... Any ideas to help it along? No additives...

 

[ceeaton]

So a little update:
My two petit syrahs (one all-natural and one with additives) are aging in demijohns right now. I plan on bottling in the coming months and then bottle-age.
Interestingly, the demijohn with the additives seems to have settled nicely. Not entirely, but theres a nice think layer of sediment on the bottom. Additive-free demi, is not settled anywhere near that. It starts getting cloudy from halfway down the demi... Any ideas to help it along? No additives...

Can you put the demijohn in a colder/cooler spot? Don't know what your ambient outdoor temperatures are this time of year, but if it is somewhat degassed, I've noticed my wines settle quicker in my basement (which is 59*F (15*C)) than in my kitchen which averages 66-68*F. I can also put it out in my garage which is anywhere from 40*F to 25*F (4.5*C to -4*C), and if tartaric acid crystals are going to form, it happens rather quickly.

 

[Johnd]

Interestingly, the demijohn with the additives seems to have settled nicely. Not entirely, but theres a nice think layer of sediment on the bottom. Additive-free demi, is not settled anywhere near that. It starts getting cloudy from halfway down the demi... Any ideas to help it along? No additives...

Less than 4 months ago, your wine was grapes. Time and patience are my prescription......

 

[JohnT]

Depending on how thick that layer is, I would consider racking it.

Other than that, just give it time, your patience will be rewarded!

 

[mennyg19]

Thanks guys. As there are no added sulfites in the wine, I was hoping to bottle it sooner than later to keep away from the risk of it going bad. That's basically why I'm asking. So I want to bottle in about 3-4 months for the passover holiday.
Ill try a cold crash, and then rack and we'll see what happens...

 

[NorCal]

If it hasn't cleared, expect sediment in the bottle. Not the end of the world, but can make for surprises in the wineglass. Do you have access to a home water filter? I buy 1 and .5 micron filters, which also do a good job of taking particulates out.

 

[mennyg19]

So I racked my 2 wines today (one with additives, one without). The one with additives racked beautifully and I left about an inch of sediment out. Pretty good racking for a newbie like me, but I lost about a half cup of wine, I didn't want to get too close to the sediment.
The one without additives was interesting. I shined a light through it and saw a layer on the bottom of sediment. However, when I racked, I realized there was no compacted sediment on the bottom, just like a crust along the bottom of the demijohn. This one is taking a while to settle...

 

[NorCal]

Thanks for the update. How are they smelling/tasting?

 

[mennyg19]

Thanks for the update. How are they smelling/tasting?

I didn't have any topping off wine, so I didn't taste it
Smell is delicious though. No off smells from the additive free wine...

 

[drainsurgeon]

5 months and you did not taste it?? This guy has discipline! (or he's a beer drinker)

 

[mennyg19]

5 months and you did not taste it?? This guy has discipline! (or he's a beer drinker)

I tasted at the last racking, I had an extra bottle. This time there was too much wine to drop down to a smaller size demijohn and too little to taste.. notes are here: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=621665
About the beer: I don't drink beer unless it's free.

 

[mennyg19]

So I bottled 5 liters!!!
Was totally amazing, VERY fruity, and it gets better with every minute in the glass. Here's a pic of my bottles

When it got straight, I knew I had enough to drink.

 

[NorCal]

Congrats and thanks for sharing along the way.

 

[JohnT]

Why the crazy shaped bottle? They do not look like they would easily sit in a rack or be stacked...

 

[mennyg19]

Why the crazy shaped bottle? They do not look like they would easily sit in a rack or be stacked...

They actually stack pretty well believe it or not. Either way, they're mostly gone. All the crazy shaped bottles were given away. They're a great conversation piece. "Were you drunk when you made this bottle?"
I have mostly regular shaped bottles: 375ml, 500ml and 750ml

 

[Zigfish]

question about sulfates. Making a batch of blueberry - my third batch of wine. this is only one gallon, used frozen berries boiled sugar water and dumped over frozen berries in the primary fermentor. thought the hot water would kill any yeast - maybe not. Would most people making wine put in sulfates before fermenting, in this case and in general?

if it ferments out ok and i add sulfates before bottling will this take care of concerns?

 

[pip]

I always use sulfate at the start for my fruit wine. I'd be very tempted to get some sulfate into your blueberry after its finished fermenting, just to be on the safe side.