Hello, this is my 1st. time making wine ever and so far me and wife are lovin it. We bought a kit made by Winexpert and I'm almost ready to rack into the 2ndary carboy.. I figure at the and of its cycle before I rack into bottles, I'm going to rack it back into the (sanitised) glass primary carboy so I can be sure to have a clean 1st. time bottling experence. I'm a 100% Newbe hands on but I do have about 50 hrs. of research.. Any other tips or trick you may know would be great..

Tags: splash rack beer

First, welcome to the forum.

Normally with a kit following the directions very closely will get you the best results. They put those kits together so people can get into wine making very easy.

Some very basics on wine making: I would buy a hydrometer for future use and also for this kit so you can see what is going on. I normally start my wine out in a large trash can type container which is food grade. Nine or 10 gallon works great for making 5 gallons of wine. I start it out by making sure my container and all tools are sterilized. I use one step but that is a matter of choice. I then pour in the juice and add sugar to bring the SG up to approx. 1.090 then add some pectic enzyme to help break down the juice, campden, 1 crushed tablet per gallon, and then let the must sit for 24 to 30 hours. I just put a towel over the top of the container and a shock cord around it to hold it in place. All of that said, some people put airlocks on their primaries. That is OK. That is some of the newer methods of wine making. You will have good wine either way. I like the open primary so I can watch what is going on closer. For your kit stick with the directions.

After 24 to 30 hours I add my yeast and watch the SG. After 4 to 7 days the SG will drop to 1.020 or lower. At that time I rack to the secondary. If you rack too soon you will overflow the airlock, too late and you could have spoiled wine. The SG of 1.020 is not set in concrete. You can rack anywhere between 1.030 and 1.010 SG. Some of the old timers rack at 1.030 and some of the newer methods are to wait for a lower SG. It isn't really rocket science.

After the wine has been racked into the secondary I install an airlock and rack again at about 3 weeks. If you wait longer you can start to get a rotten egg odor. Not a big thing, but I try to rack before that happens. We can do things to make it go away. After that I rack about every two months. When you are racking you will lose volumn. You need to keep the carboy filled. You can top off with juice, water etc., keeping in mind the results each will have on your wine.

Once I am out of the primary and into the secondary and the SG has dropped below 1.000 I add campden. You can add 1 crushed campden tablet per gallon. After that I either add campden at that rate every other racking or half that dose every racking.

If you decide to back sweeten your wine at the end of the process you can do that by adding 1 crushed campden per gallon and 1/2 teaspoon of potassium sorbate per gallon. That will prevent any further fermentation.

I prefer to use potassium metabisulphate for campden not the sodium metabisulphate. In fact for all the chemicals I prefer the potassium type.

Good luck on your first wine. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Just remember no quesion is too dumb to ask. We all had to start with our first wine and we all just gain experience as we brew.

WoW.. Thx.. Wyo Wino.. I've picked up all the Equitment needed for kit wines and Extra's like a drill mixxer, extra hydrometer, floor corker, quality corks, mt bottles, seals, float/stick temps., glass carboy's, bubbler's, wine thief, auto siphon, and 1 gal. carboy for topping off if needed, and some bottle/carboy brushes.. I think that's everything.. I'm not going to use lables till I start wine from scratch.. I just want to learn how to appreciate this hobby a little more before I start from scratch.. So far so good.. Thx for ur info.

good luck with your first wine, Xdriver, looks like you got it down pat. them kits are the way to get started, and can turn out some very good wine. after a couple of batches you will know what to expect then you can start experimenting. just don't get too complicated, it's not rocket science, just let mother nature do her work and you enjoy the results.
gary

shineman wrote:good luck with your first wine, Xdriver, looks like you got it down pat. them kits are the way to get started, and can turn out some very good wine. after a couple of batches you will know what to expect then you can start experimenting. just don't get too complicated, it's not rocket science, just let mother nature do her work and you enjoy the results.
gary

Thank you Shineman.. Nicely put..

The direction say in 5-7 days to check sg level and if it falls at 1.010 or less then rack it into the 2ndary.. My temps are at 72 f. Well on the 3 1/2 day my sg was at 1.005..!! I was thinking I better rack it now.!! Before I racked it, the airlock was bubbling every 2 seconds.. Should I lower my temp to 65 f.?? Or keep it at room temp next time..? After I racked, it seemed like every 1 second or less it was bubblin, but I assume that's cause of it being disturbed.. About 8 hrs later it was back to bubblin every 2 seconds.. Well from here, directions say I have to wait 10 days.. Also today I'm going to pick up a white wine kit so I can have a red and a white wines ready for Thanksgiving.. I hope these kit work well..

the times listed in the directions for your kit are just approximate, something to go by, but all the factors involved will decide how fast your wine will work. i wouldn't disturb the process by taking too many gravity readings at first, too much chance for contamination, but after the secondary has slowed down and there are few tiny bubbles around the neck of your carboy, then the alcohol level should be high enough to check it. i don't bottle mine until there is no sign of any action in the carboy and then i usually give it another week. it should be good for the holidays but please stash a couple of bottles away somewhere, to try in a year or so, then you can see how much your wine will improve with age.
gary

I kind of stick with about 70 degrees fermentation for wine. If you do check SG make sure you sterilize the hydrometer each time in something like one step. Some people use metabisulphate (campden) to sterilize their equipment. I don't recommend that unless all fermentation has stopped. The reason fermentation speeds up right after racking is more oxygen gets to the yeast. When you rack you might consider allowing the wine to run down the inside of the carboy to eliminate the splashing as much as possible.

Once all of the fermentation has stopped I sometimes allow my room temp to drop to 65, easier in the winter, and the wine tends to clear faster.

One other thing you might consider is the storage of your chemicals. Especially campden. Campden can outgas and lose its strength rapidly if left in the open in a plastic bag etc. I store all of my chemicals in 1 pint canning jars. Or 1/2 pint canning jars if you are buying in small quanities. The other thing is when you buy a wine kit and don't plan on fermenting right away remove the yeast packet and store the yeast in the fridge.

After a couple of kits you will be an expert.

Thanks for all your advise you guys.. Sterile is my middle name lol.. Before I pull me equitment out the box, We sweep/mopp floors, I wipe the counters, spray Lysol w/ airborn killer, mix are sanitary sulution in warm water and clean away.. Before anything hits that wine it'll be sterile inside and out.. I have an awesome upgraded auto siphon hose that allows for no splashing during racking.. One of the attachments for bottling has a one way check valve built in so drop it into the bottom and when ur done, just pick up on the glass tube and move on.. I've hered of putting yeast in the fridge but for how long before I start and why..? Also I will store at least 5 bottle to try on 6 month mark and probly 5 bottles on the 1 year mark to try.. I plan on continuing making kits when my primary tanks are mt.. After dealing with about 6-12 wine kits we may want try it from scratch.. Thx Again..

!!Help Plz!! I racked into my 2ndary 2 nights ago and it bubbled like every 2 secs (cause of oxygen thx Wyo) and now its only bubblin every 9 seconds.. Is that ok..? The direction say wait 10 day before I add the other packs in.. Will it be ok if it stops bubblin before the time is up..? Should I take a sg sample or what..? Member temps before I racked from primary was 72-75F. then 3 1/2 days I racked into 2ndary new temps are at 65-67F. And now 2 nights later my bubblin slow down to 9 secs..

Your wine has probably close to finishing it's fermentation. Since you were at a room temp of 72-75F it fermented out a little faster. Since your temp is now down to 65 to 67 it has slowed down. That's OK. You'll be OK now to wait for the 10 days since you are under an air lock. Pretty much stick with those direction. I am fortunate to have a small room in my shop that is air conditioned in the summer and electric heated in the winter and I can monitor my temps very close and it stays very stable.

If you were making wine from a juice or concentrate you would be pretty much waiting for up to 3 weeks before you racked again. Wine making is hurry up and wait. LOL.

Sounds like you guys went all out when you started the hobby with lots of equipment.

Yeast: I just like to keep my yeast cool while it is being stored. It doesn't have to be stored in the fridge first. I get a lot of my supplies FEDX and I buy several items at a time. When I buy several packets of yeast it may not get used for a couple of months. I just don't want to store the yeast at room temps for long periods. That brings up another good point. It is a good idea to have an extra packet of yeast on hand unless you live next door to a wine supply store.

Thx.. I have a room that has a electric heater that has a built in thermostat and those sticky temp gauges on all 3 of my carboys.. I could be wrong but its seems like during fermenting of first stage it seems to gain 1 extra degree hotter.. Also lastnight I started a (kit) Peach Chardonnay.. I just starded and it so addictive LoL..

So it won't hert my wine while in the 2ndary carboy with an airlocker with no (activities) action or bubblin in airlocker or in carboy..? Right..??

What I'm saying is if the fermenting stops in my 2ndary, say for 5 days that will be fine..?

The temp of the fermenting liquid can be 5 to 7 degrees above the room temp. I just have a thermometer in the room. The higher temp of the fermentating is not critical as long as we are aware that it occurs.

Like I mentioned before with kits it is a good idea to stick with the directions. You could leave it under the airlock for up to 3 weeks. After about 3 weeks on the gross lees the wine will start taking on an odor of SO2 (rotten eggs). This usually becomes the real panic time for new wine makers. If and when that occurs you just do what they call a splash rack into the next carboy. Allowing the wine to splash into the next carboy allows more oxygen to enter the wine and within a couple of weeks that odor will disappear. As you notice with your kit they limit that to 10 days. The kit manufacturers don't want you even close to that 3 week time area. After the wine is off of the gross lees you can go up to 2 months between rackings. The same thing can ocurr with the fine lees if left over 2 months. Commercial wineries have a process that they call Sur-lie where they gently stir the fine lees every couple of weeks, called batonnage, and measure the SO2 and they can leave it on the fine lees longer than 2 months. They leave it on the fine lees for up to 6 months, Brings out more flavor in the wine. As an amateur never try this. That is why I always recommend no more than 3 weeks on gross lees and no more than 2 months on fine lees. Other than that under an airlock is pretty safe. Of course keep your carboys topped off and for long aging in carboys you must periodically add campden. I age my wine in the carboy for about 8 months before I bottle. Your kit uses clearing chemicals to make the wine quick. I use pectic enzyme and/or bentonite so it clears more slowly.

If the wine is left on the SO2 for too long a period it can spoil. I forgot about one of my wines a few years ago and left it on the gross lees for almost 6 weeks. Splash racking corrected the problem. I wasn't sure it could be saved. I had to splash rack twice a couple of weeks apart.

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