I just got a winemaking kit from the local homebrew store and am holding off on starting on it until I do some more research. I just wanted to see if anyone here has experience with using these wine kits at home and if so what you recommend doing outside of the normal instructions.

So far I'm looking for a different yeast strain than the one that came with the kit (EC-1118) since I'm aware that one won't really add any character to the wine.

For reference, it is a Gewurztraminer kit. I minored in Enology but it's been 4 or so years since I graduated and I don't have all of the fancy equipment that we had in the HORT lab on campus. I'm planning on making this batch in a 6G carboy but if it goes well will probably purchase an 8G stainless steel fermenter.

Thanks in advance!

I'm probably going to make a batch with some peaches from mom's garden this year.

Biggest thing is keeping everything sterile. You can lose a batch pretty easily if you don't pay attention. Sterlize everythign with the cambden tablets.

Also, depending on what you make, skin of different fruits can have significant effects on the flavor - example is peaches. Too much skin and it can add a bitter taste. So do some research into what fruit you are using and how to best prepare it (crush, juice, etc.) before jumping in.

Other than that it seems like patience is the biggest key. It will need to age for 6 months after you first rack it, longer if possible. Make sure you have a good area set aside that is preferably not in direct sunlight and maintains a relatively stable temp (cool is better).

have you made fruit wine before?

bularry said:

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have you made fruit wine before?

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Not by myself. Figure it will be an interesting little project to mess around with.

Where are you located? I have a bunch of winemaking supplies collecting dust in my attic including an enolmatic wine bottle filler and a floor corker. I'd make you a great deal on it. I'm in New Braunfels

The kits I have used provided clear and comprehensive instructions. I don't recommend deviating from them. The Texas summer isn't the ideal time to be making white wine. I believe the warmer fermentation temperature will affect the character of the wine more than the yeast strain.

I'm in DFW but will actually be driving through NB to SA this weekend! I'd be interested to see how much you want for all of it. If you'd like, email me at username at gmail! Thanks!

schmellba99 said:

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bularry said:

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have you made fruit wine before?

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Not by myself. Figure it will be an interesting little project to mess around with.

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yeah, sounds pretty cool. I definitely lack the patience and attention to detail to do it.

Wine is much more forgiving than beer.

That said, jeep it cool, read the instructions on best fermentation Temps for the yeast, no direct sun light. If you have to keep it cooler place it in a tub that's 5" wider all around than the carboy, fill it with water until it's a few inches below the fill line of the carboy. Then you can use 4 water bottles that are frozen. 2 in the tub and 3 in the freezer, swap them every 12hrs.

Most importantly, keep the airlock full of water or vodka. Since it needs to rest for months you need to make a habit of checking it every 3 to 4 days.

A second carboy that's as close to volume size of your product for a 2nd rest stage that keeps as much air out as possible. Or CO2 purge it before transferring.

A winemaker once told me that winemaking is 90% cleaning and sanitizing, and 10% actually making wine. So make sure you clean and sanitize everything throughout the process.

I've seen my mom and dad mash up mustang grapes and throw the whole concoction in an old 5 gallon crock with some sugar and a towel over it for a few weeks. I've also seen him put the strained/sweetened juice into a clean Clorox jug with a sealed (in the lid) plastic tube running from the cap to a glass of water. When the water stops bubbling, you're done. No yeast was ever used. No gold medals were ever won, but it would f you up.

I'm sure it was done pretty simply for eons.