Newbie Question about winekits

[srkaeppler]

Hey All-

I am new to the forums! I actually have been collaborating with wayneb while he is working on a project. I just started brewing beer over the summer and have really been enjoying the experience. I am thinking about moving into winemaking as well.

I posed this question to Wayne and got his answer, but I am curious to hear more opinions about it. I would like to start with a wine kit, probably one of the Winexpert kits. My main goal for doing a kit is to learn the procedure first and then move onward and upward from there(similar to what I did for the first beer I brewed). After watching a few online videos, it seems like everyone degases the wine in order for it to be done more quickly. I also understand you can either degas, bulk age or vacuum out the co2 in your wine. It seems like most wines you usually do not try to degas like from a kit, so for the sake of practice, it seems to me like I would rather bulk age it and use that as the method to rid the wine of co2. Also I am not 'in a hurry' to get the wine done. I'd rather wait and have quality(not to say I wouldn't love to have quality in a shorter period of time).

So that leads to the question: what is the general consensus on degasing wine kit wine? Is it a good idea? Do I gain anything by doing it? Do I lose anything by doing it? If I did do it, how long would I need to keep it in the aging carboy(roughly)? How can I tell it is done(I asked Wayne about this and got some good answers)? Are there any good online resources that expand on this topic?

Last but not least, I am also looking for good winemaking resources, either online or in a book. For example, I have Papazian's beer book along with John Palmers book on beer. I like Palmer's book a bit better. I haven't found any books similar to Palmer's for winemaking, so just wondering if someone could point me in the correct direction.

Last but not least, thank Wayne for this, but he may have created a monster. So I may do some mead sometime, but probably not for a while.

Thanks all!

 

[wayneb]

That's OK, Steve. I think we'll get you around to mead sooner than you expect!

 

[Chevette Girl]

I started the same way, use a kit to get used to the procedures then graduate on to the fun stuff... because really, wine kits are pretty idiot-proof.

You're right on the money: The reason you want to degas a wine kit is so that the clarifier they give you will work because you're on a 28-day schedule for your wine kit.

That said, I have done most wine kits without the clarifier and many without even the potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate to stablilize. It's fermented out all the way (just like it's designed to) so there's no threat of bottle bombs, and usually the kit wines get dunk quickly around here anyway.

The point at which I deviate from the wine kit's instructions is usually after racking it to the carboy, I don't touch it for a month or two, then I rack it, and don't touch it for another month or two.

The CO2 is going to come out at some point and better now than in your glass because it's frightening to find bubbles in your still wine and may make you suspect a bottle bomb...

A touchy-feely rather than scientific source of information that's also a humourous read is Terry Garey's "Joy of Home Winemaking", it's a really good guide to how much of what kind of fruit you might want to use for wines, but the folks 'round here have decided that adding acid blend or lemon juice at the beginning of a ferment may be detrimental. Hasn't given me problems that I'm aware of.

And when I started fermenting fruit, a lot of it was so much work to prepare that I found the obvious next stage was to take the bag of fruit that I'd fermented once already, and pour some honey and water over it and see how it would taste with honey... yay, second runs!

Then I started messing with wine kits, but we can have that discussion on another thread...

Welcome aboard!

 

[mmclean]

Steve...

Come over to the dark side...

Brew mead... ;D

 

[Tannin Boy]

Srkaeppler,

Here is a great resource for you wine and beer supplies,

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/winemaking-ingredients.html

TB

 

[Medsen Fey]

Welcome to GotMead srkaeppler!


Wine kits make good wine, and are designed so that folks with limited experience can still have it turn out well. WinExpert makes some great kits - if you are planning on a red wine, Valpolicella Classico di Veneto is excellent. The one thing that is important to remember is that it won't taste like a really good wine until it has been aged for 18-24 months. That holds true for most of the reds (from any manufacturer). You can drink them sooner, and they may taste good (but often not so good during the first 12 month), but they really need that extra time in reach their peak.

Recognizing that it is a long-haul project, I never rush to de-gas. I let them sit and bulk age (sometimes with extra oak) under airlock. Sitting for a couple of months at room temp means the CO2 is all gone, just like leaving an open bottle of soda pop sitting on the counter will be entirely flat in a few days. During that aging period, the red wines fall clear without the fining agents, and fermentation is certainly done, so I find I don't need to add the sorbate either. I do use the sulfite, as that is important for long aging. So after bulk aging for anywhere between 6 months and a year, I add a little extra sulfite and I bottle it up and let it finish aging in the bottle.

Now that's how I've accustomed myself to doing them, but that isn't following the directions exactly. The directions are designed so you can get the kit finished, degassed, fined and cleared, then bottled in 4-6 weeks. This obviously frees up your fermenter so you can (you guessed it) start another kit. If you follow the directions of the kit, you won't go wrong and you will end up with good wine.

As a company, WinExpert has exemplary customer service. If you follow the directions and something goes wrong, they will immediately replace the kit. If you enter your wine in a competition and win a medal, they'll give you a free kit - you can't beat that deal!

For some quick reading Tim Vandergrift (WinExpert's Guru) wrote some tips for making wine kits their best for people with a bit of experience.
Making Your Kit Shine (from 2001)
Making Your Kit Shine, Redeaux (from 2009).

For more reading, Daniel Pambianchi's book "Techniques in Home Winemaking" is pretty good. "The Home Winemakers Manual" by Lum Eisenman is also good (and free for downloading ).

For your first kit, I'd suggest following the directions exactly. Once you get the hang of it, you can try tweaking it as much as you like. Don't worry! When you're though playing with your grapes, you'll be ready for the beverage of Gods and heroes!

Medsen

 

[srkaeppler]

Hey All-

Thank you all for the fantastic information! I really appreciate it! I will definitely be posting on here more often.

Thanks again all!

Steve