newbie winemaker looking for advice

Hey guys. I'm looking to get a start in homebrewing and need some advice. I'm not really looking to experiment, just get a nice basic wine until I get a few batches under my belt. I've already asked DGreene a couple of questions and he said you guys could really help.

I know there is nothing simple about a wine recipe, but I hope you guys can put me on the right track. I know there are all kinds of things you can add before, during, and after fermentation...but what would you guys advise on getting an using for a beginner.

As far as type of wine...for some reason I had white wine in my head, but I'll let you guys guide my decisions on this part since I don't know much anyway. I would like it to be a basic grape wine with a fruit added tho...maybe blueberry or something.

One thing that you experienced guys will probably tell me is to use fresh fruit, but if I can get away with a juice or concentrate from the store for the first couple of batches I think that will probably make it a little easier.

Thanks for any help and advice. Lee.

DGreene is probably the best guy to ask about this. Do you have a home brewing shop near you? They will have all the essentials like fermenters, hoses, ingredients, etc. I hear they are making some pretty good kits in the U.S. now so you could start on one of those... or if you are feeling a little adventurous you could get some plain white grape juice concentrate and add some of your own little twists using whatever fruits/juices you can get your hands on.
It might be beneficial for you to buy a book on home winemaking that has simple recipes with easy to follow instructions. Again, your home brew shop should have some books on the topic.

probably your best bet would be to contact George at www.finevinewines.com. He is the president of the Wine Makers Toy Store in Dallas, Tx. He likes for you to call with your questions so he can help you with the correct answers. There also is a winemakers forum with great people all over the country that are happy to help you.

Check them out - you won't be disappointed.

Tell them that Rick (rrawhide) from California said to call.

Good luck on your new hobby or shall I say 'obsession'.

I have been making wine from grapes for many years but still learn something new every day. Now, at age 65, I am planting about 150 vines (merlot, syrah, cab) and am on a completely new learning curve.

Also, I have delved into some fruit wines which I have never done before. Friend gave us 38# of ripe peaches SO, got one going!!!

any way - have fun! This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thanks guys...I don't know of any homebrewing shops around the area so I'll improvise. I have a hydrometer and was planning on going to Walmart and getting one of those 3 gallon lemonade/tea kegs that are tapped at the bottom with a spout. just a plastic version like you take to a picnic or family get-together.

Like I said earlier I think I'll start with a grape juice(maybe white grape) and add another fruit juice like blueberry or palmegranate. I was given a lesson on what makes and white wine and red wine...I didn't realize it was just the skins being left. The main reason I want to use white grape juice is for some reason I feel it will take the other fruit juice I use better...that may be totally off and the red may take it better. For some reason I just had that in my head. Thanks again.

One thing I haven't asked is, does anyone know of a good book on homebrewing wine? Like I said earlier, I know there isn't anything simple about the process, but maybe a good book with guidelines on temperature, yeast, nutrients, etc. Anything and everything one should think about. When I read some of the older post I see all kinds of post about adding this and adding that...for a beginner thats alot to understand. Thanks again guys.

I havn't had much luck with the welch's red but have combined the white with fruit and had decent luck. You will need to change the spicket on the jug you are talking about it will leak. Been there done that.

Thumper where are you located?

Finevinewines is a good place also have had good luck with eckraus.com

Why don't you start with a wine kit. You will get a kit containing concentrated grape juice, all of the ingredients you need, and instructions. For a book for a novice winemaker I suggest the winemakers answer book which was written by one of the editors of winemaker magazine and 101 wine kit tips. Both are available cheap at amazon.com
I do not know what equipment you have, most homebrew shops even online ones will offer a starter kit will equipment etc. Eckraus has a kit for wine which comes with a concentrated juice and fermeneter etc all included, also they have a fruit wine kit with the same thing and a beer kit. All come with ingredients to make a batch. My only real advice should you go for a kit wine is to be very very patient with it. Don't rush to bottle it, most kits tell you when the SG (hydrometer reading) reaches .997 to add stabilizers etc and bottle in 3 weeks. My advice is to let the wine sit under the airlock (when you start you will know what that is) for at least a month after it reaches .997, this is because it will ferment out even farther if you leave it alone sometimes down to .990 then do the stir thing with the additives and stir it maybe twice a day for a couple of days to get the CO2 out of it, then again let it sit under the airlock for like a month. Rack into a clean container and bottle. Kits are an easy way to start.

Thanks guys, I'm in south GA by the way...I can throw a rock into Fl if the wind is behind me. I'll probably get that book first. My mom was actually going to pick me up a ferminter from N GA last time she came down, but they where closed. She said its a 5gal bucket that they tap. I think she said it was around $25. I would really like to go to a store and pick the stuff out, but if I can't get a batch going right then I'll order a kit.

I have 2 one gallon bottles with red welch grape wine in them now. I got a recipe for ballon wine online which said add 2lb sugar. It quit ferminting 3day shy of 3 wks and was very sweet so I halved it into two bottles and added another gallon of red grape juice to it with no sugar and added yeast and it started again. This time it worked for over 3 wks and just stopped a couple of days ago. I added some syrup I make from blueberry juice and sugar to it to help sweeten it back up, but not very much. I added the glycerine and the stuff to make it stop working. I forgot to check with the hydrometer, but I put them back into one gallon bottles and decided to put them back up for a month or so to taste again...maybe it won't be as sour as it is now.

I just checked those two bottles to see what you guys think...one read about 6% and the other 3.5%...should they work again or will it just make the sour taste worse?

Hey man used to be a navy man in st marys that red welchs will just get bitter if you want to make a cheap one make the white and feed it a little sugar but it will only get you drunk.

i figured that might be the case...that was just dipping my toes in the water before I got any help. Thanks.

Sorry new to this forum, so hope this works.... I've also just made my first batch of grape wine this weekend and it seems to be bubbling through the airlock so fingers crossed so far. I'm interested in your comment about CO2 and leaving the wine once it reaches 997 in the carboy... Do you mean that you add the stabilizer to stop any further fermentation, but then leave it so that the rest of the CO2 has time to dissipate? Thanks!

CO2 does not leave the wine at .997 in fact at .997 it may not even be done fermenting yet. I am unsure who's comment you are referring to about adding stabilizer and CO2 etc but there are two schools of thought on this. Some people who do small batch wines IE 5 or 6 gallons at a time like to use a racking cane or special stirring tool to spin the wine up and drive off the CO2, others just let it naturally dissipate by letting it age for a month or more at a time in carboys racking every couple of months, bottling after 8 months or more. I usually do it that way because wine aged in bulk is better than just aged in a bottle, it's kinder to the wine. Either way will work, but you do not bottle just when the wine reaches .997 although some kit wines say you should do just that. Don't, you will be pleased with the result if you do nothing for a month after the wine is in the secondary, let it slowly ferment out and then add whatever you will. SO2 is probably the only addition you really NEED to add if you want the wine to last.

Thank you so much for this - I'll take your advice and leave it for a few months for the CO2 to leave... I assume I leave an airlock on though. And if so do you use just water at this point, or add some campden tablet (I think I read that when fermenting is over that it is then susceptible to bacteria). Really thanks again for this help!

Hi again! I've realised that after only 8 days the fermentation looks like it has stopped - there is no air coming through the airlock. This seems very quick from what I've read. Should I leave it for a few days... or should I take a reading (I have a hydrometer) and see where it is at? Thanks again!

You can take an SG reading but really it is probably going so slow that you can't see it. As long as you have it in a carboy allready just leave it alone for a month, then rack it and leave it alone for a couple more.