Common Winemaking Mistakes

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In this video, we will discuss come of the most common winemaking mistakes. These winemaking fails can really lead to a ruined batch of wine and are good to know about if you are thinking about making your own wine at home. The worst winemaking mistakes are sometimes easy to make. Don't let your wine go bad!

[@wryanddry2266]

0:55 Too many rackings. 3:15 Head space mismanagement. Too little during fermentation or too much during aging. 6:14 Too little oxygen during fermentation. Temperature. 8:00 Making wine that has too much alcohol. 8:55 Over-correcting acidity. 10:37 Way too little acidity, susceptible to spoilage. 13:06 In-bottle fermentation, popping corks. 15:05 Misdiagnosing problems, especially blaming uncleanliness. 17:43 Uncalled-for treatments and techniques, e.g. oak. 18:42 Using the wrong grapes for the intended wine.

[@yutehube4468]

This isn't just a winemaking video, this is a masterclass. 👍

[@redlawretsnif]

This channel is easily the best source of well informed wine making information I've come across. This years batch will be my first after discovering your webpage and youtube channel and I'm expecting leaps of improvement.

[@footnotedrummer]

I love your channel. You've been exceedingly helpful. We harvested Petite Pearl here in MI a couple of weeks ago, and the ph was @ 3.1 (which isn't entirely optimal). However... as you mention here... after primary fermentation... it climbed to 3.42 which is really great. I think people need to understand the impact on ph that fermentation has and adjust when you pick based on that. Too many people worry about getting the brix where they think they need to be. It has served us well to pick based on optimal ph (as long as you can there) and then add sugar to make up the shortcomings in your brix to insure that you have a wine that falls somewhere in the 12-15% range. I think you've mentioned this before, but a good rule of thumb is to pick an alcohol content that you want and calculate for the optimal brix for your sugar addition. Just calculate by 0.59. Meaning... 23 brix in a red wine will yield a wine with roughly (23X0.59)=~13.6% alcohol. So add sugar until you get to an optimal brix level. However... if your brix were at 15... I personally think that you're better have a lower alcohol wine, than having a wine with higher alcohol and very noticeable back sweetening. Adding enough sugar to raise a 15 to a 23 wouldn't be the greatest.

[@martybyl2426]

Thanks. A couple of great tips. I'll be saving this and running it again and again.

[@htcttu]

Thanks for the video. Ive been making wine for about 7 years and your videos consistently discuss the process in simple and clear terms that are easy to follow.

[@danieljohn1557]

How

[@finalbossediting]

Some of the best content out there! Thanks again.

[@timdwight7958]

Hi Rick! Great info on your channel. I’m new to wine making. I have regent grapes and decided to take the plunge this year and make wine. I ended up with about 45 lbs of grapes (still working on my netting technique). The brix stalled out at 17 so i destemmed and placed all liquid and grapes in a 6 gallon fermenter. The specific gravity at that time was 1.08 and looking at a table I added 27 oz of sugar for 3 gallons which I estimated should get my potential alcohol to about 14%. I pitched my yeast (Bourgogne RC212) and left in a room where the heat was about 78 degrees. I stirred the must 3x a day and it was bubbling quite vigorously. I also added bisodium bisulphite in solution 3tsp. 8 days later I’m ready to put it through my wine press, checked my gravity and it reads 1.0 ?? Anything I can at this stage in the game to fix? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[@bobupnkiss1614]

Thx for the time and energy it took to make this video

[@nesertema4583]

perfectly timed, thank you!

[@anthonyciriacofernandes3442]

Cheers, Thanks for the valuable information.

[@sabioarsenault5237]

Great tips, you are my reference for all home making wine tips and tricks. Made a few mistakes myself but only one that I was not able recover/salvage where I added way to much potassium Metabisulphite. I would like if you could make a video dedicated to "country wine". I do not have access to grapes, but I have access to heaps of fruits like black berries, pears, and plumbs that I frequently use for making my wines.

[@annathiika5755]

Man your videos are great, very informative and helpful! Thank you!

[@chadnoles5671]

Great video talked about headspace my general rule of thumb is fill to the taper and it depends on what you're fermenting in of course but so far this little rule hasn't let me down

[@tdeaf99]

Enjoyed video. Thank you

[@BenyaminMentchale]

Thanks, a very knowledgeable channel.

[@thomasrape4616]

I agree with unicomjennie , that's how I make my wine. I use wild mustang grapes sugar, and water from my well. That's it. People over complicate wine making. I mash up those grapes, stems, leaves, bugs and all and let them start fermenting after 2 weeks give or take a few days depending what the fermentation looks like. Then I strain off the juice and add the sugar and water in a 5 gal carboy. When the fermentation slows and it settles some I'll rack it. The next time I rack it'll be into bottles. Done! I've made grape, black berry, pear, plum, watermellon, and mead. Been doing this since 1985.

[@empressradiance4254]

Me too and I'm done

[@TheAdventureHeads]

Great tips. Love the bicycle chain rings on the back wall.........

[@blackcattrucking4907]

I haven't started yet but I've watched hours of video and planning a visit to my nearest wine making supplier soon. But I was wondering how "top off" a carboy later during fermentation so that the carboy goes from all that volume of space to an inch between the wine and the bung with airlock? Do you add distilled water, or are you adding more wine from another carboy? Thanks in advance and thank you for the great video. Very informative.

[@markparker4032]

Excellent information.

[@footnotedrummer]

On point #2... a demijohn works really well for this. Instead of the drastic decline in neck area of a carboy, the demijohn tapers much more gradually and I feel that it gives you a better chance at decreasing the surface area without having to get right up to the top.

[@brettgodown2120]

I like the idea, I use my 3 gallon for beer and it works great.

[@erikahainsworth9126]

Hi! Your videos are so helpful! I’m going to start my first red with home grown grapes I froze. Not sure what kind they are but the vine is really old and huge. Where do I purchase renaissance muse yeast? Sounds like the safest way to go for a first timer. TIA

[@SixStrings165]

Just bottled last years wine. Going to harvest this years in about two weeks. This year I’m going to bleed off a couple gallons or so of early juice to make a blush. I will allow the rest to stay on the skins longer than last year. Exciting stuff.

[@straaths]

The best video about wine making I have found. How can this be free on YT?

[@anneepp1897]

Really enjoy your videos. I have learned a lot. Need some help with this please : G'morning all. First time posting about my winemaking. (started making wine from kits less than a year ago) Started this Strawberry Zinfandel Jan 14 ( kept at 75 degrees with heating belt) ; racked Jan 27. De-gassed really well ; added all solutions as per instructions. It still has fair bit of bubbles / foam on top. Should I be concerned? Or just wait longer? ( starting sg: 1.066; at rack sg : 0.993) TIA

[@richca2004]

Thanks Rick...Crushed and destemmed on Friday and this video is very timely. Following your methods on 720 lbs. of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Lodi. The Ph is 3.53 and the BRIX is 26.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Very nice!

[@nottingham82]

Me too Rich! Crushed and destemmed my Cabernet from Carmel valley today! I'm at about 50 gallons of must but we didn't weigh it. My pH meter broke so I'm hoping the replacement gets here soon. I was way high on the sugar. Pushing 28 brix. Gonna try to finish tomorrow before it gets too hot. Good luck Rich!

[@richca2004]

I got 20 cases that are 36 lbs. each so it was easy to calculate the total.

[@nottingham82]

@@richca2004 haha yeah my grapes came in whatever buckets I could find to put them in and carry to the garage. After lugging them up the hill I was too tired to care what they weighed!

[@richca2004]

Rick...how many days can it take to ferment down to .0994 from 1.000

[@Vladiminator555]

I just started my first batch of wine from a kit. During the primary fermentation, the SG was supposed to fall to 1.095-1.080.Then after the second fermentation, it was supposed to end with 0.996-0.990 before clearing and filtering it. However, after the initial 10days, the SG already went down to 0.990, and when i open the cover, it was still actively bubbling to the point that we could hear it. As per the steps, on day 10, i moved it to a carboy, but what kind of adjustment do i need to do during the second fermentation to adjust the fact that it started at an SG so much lower than it was supposed to? Thank you for any input/advice! Also, thank you for the amazing videos!

[@rudymazar8666]

Love your chanel ! We are picking grapes this weekend in Queensland Australia.

[@daved2403]

Great video, as always! I've been using a venturi device to degass and also to try to manage larger carboy headspace, thinking that if I put the carboy under vacuum, I can afford to have more headspace after fermentation and avoid needing to always top up the carboy. Am I deluding myself here? I know it isn't a perfect vacuum, so there is still some air present, but was hoping that the level of oxygen in the air would be minimal. Maybe I need to consult a scientist to see how much oxygen remains given the level of vacuum (which I guess I can measure with a gauge)? Thanks!

[@andreaanderson2743]

Can you please tell me if you know of any hands on wine making workshop somewhere? I wish to attend one to see and learn in person. By any chance do you teach wine making? Your YT content is one of the best without a doubt😊

[@robbiboss8494]

Love your content!!🍷👍🏻

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Thank you!

[@comesahorseman]

Good discussion, thanks! Subbed. My early mistake, with Riesling from fresh fruit, was being stingy with sulfur addition because I thought it would dull the aroma & fruit flavor. Wrong, the new wine was just less stable. So, don't be afraid to use some Campden tabs! 😅

[@brettgodown2120]

Concord does really good with plum chips. If you want sweet and only have Concord you better be patient and use plum with a little oak.

[@Emadlbrahim]

Thank you for the great tips. Can I age the wine in a Glass carboy with a stainless spigot . I am afraid that stainless steel may react with the wine .

[@marciomaia4020]

Hay I love your videos I'm learning alot from you. Can you make a video on how to make a good apple wine please?

[@sowthenreap4015]

I'm in a process of aging my first wine. 25 litters total. Thanks for the Knowledge.

[@fledermausi2048]

Thank you

[@larryakre5942]

I find it interesting that when you discussed backsweetening with fermentable sugars, you mentioned a number of chemical additives to neutralize the yeast. What you failed to mention is *Pasteurization*. Why? Properly done, the wine can then be be backsweetened with pretty much anything without any fear of refermenting. As a benefit, more particulates drop out of suspension & the wine takes on a more 'aged' character.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Because we don't want to cook the wine. "Cooked" or maderized wine is considered a wine fault/flaw that most consumers and judges would pick out pretty easily. If you are making fruit wine (apples, strawberries, etc), then by all means you can pasteurize, since there really isn't a quality standard to chase. With premium grapes, you don't want the chemical changes that occur when heated. Kosher wine is heated, but that is the exception and... It's not really considered premium because of it.

[@backwoodssurvival9909]

Really good info. I’ve been making soom very good tasting strawberry wine without yeast and I am looking for more information on yeast free winemaking with other fruit if anyone has any tips.

[@biglowj]

I've tried making a wine w organic mango juice which had pulp. The pulp is not settling well. Do you think the yeast will still settle so I can remove it with racking?

[@thomasbrame9458]

I have a question for you. a couple of months ago i made a 10gal batch of watermelon wine and I didnt have a hydrometer i was going on a buddys advice when it was ready, i added my campden tabs and potassium sorbate and after all that I got a hydrometer and its still at a 1.035, whats the best way to start fermentation again?

[@lostpony4885]

My vines were maybe 2yo last year and some produced less or small but i had a stockpot of prepped grapes for making jam and i didnt get it processed in time so i left it in the pot with the loose pot lid sitting on it under the table in the summer patio temps and weeks later it smelled amazing like a winery and i tossed it in the compost cuz i didnt know how to move it forward but it probably could have been racked and aged and consumed i guess but this year i have several gallons of grapes ripening including chardonay, cabernet sauvngon, red suffolk and some fruits n seedless i will combine with some of the seeded grapes. I plan to add nothing but grapes and looks like i need get grapes going then add fruits in the blends and i will monitor stuff but mostly rely on the uncompromised natural bioculture thats coming in with the naturally grown grapes ......work just ahead i have 4 bubblers and 4 carboys and a few goodies that came with them, getting family to smile or spit next year awaits!

[@andrewmoxifloxacin3377]

Can you use other market ph buffers to calibrate vinmetrica? Saving time and perhaps some money too

[@loungegames3409]

Hi Rick Please help if possible!!! My white wine was ready to bottle yesterday and it was amazing green and clear. I then transferred the wine liquid from the carboy it was fermenting to another Carboy with the tap so I could bottle it today. It turned out the wire is now with dark colour close to pink😢. Is there anything I can do to save it please? Thanks

[@nigeldabandonh8487]

Hi, HWC. This is my first time of trying to make wine at home. Can you give me an insight in regards to adding wine yeast at a later of time. Which is, after the naturally yeast that has occurent from dried grapes (resin) that I starting with in the begining. What effects will it be, if I adding wine yeast in it at this stage? Thank you

[@OICUR12]

Ive had the issue of the wine turning into pure alcohol in a short period of time. Ive also switched to the twin bubble air lock. Not sure if thats the issue

[@weggy3]

whats your thoughts on corks should I cork or twist top I kinda want to cork but twist tops I heard are pretty good also

[@hippyhebrewhomestead8593]

Found the answer to my question here on the other video! You should start a pod cast!

[@markspc1]

When I made wine from grapes I made several rookie mistakes: I didn't control the temperature and most of the time it was at around 92 to 96 F. I fermented on the skins for too long and the wine got a mold smell. After fermentation I pressed the grapes too much and the wine tastes very bitter. I had to blend it with cheap tart wine to mask the bitterness. I have aged the wine for more than 4 years and it still does not taste good.

[@mechonicdapais5730]

Hi rick. I'm going to buy this vessel "Conical trunk for wine 60° 200 L with air floating lid" ,do you think is ok for taking off the lees from the bottom of the cone? Thank you in advance.

[@delven121]

Question on racking in general. Instead of using a syphoning from one bottle to another. Does using a spigot about 2 in from bottom of container not work as well too? Maybe put a small mesh screen in front of that spigot when moving to next container.

[@barkasz6066]

Yeah great tips. Oxygen and acid control are probably my main issues. Most of our wine end up tasting strongly alcoholic and acidy. Going by descriptions our red wine should be fairly close to the wines the ancient Romans and Greeks drank lol. Just add water and honey and voila.

[@shivanica]

Is it a must to keep the fermenting container in a pitch-dark place? If one tries to make a fruit wine, (say the total wine-making process takes 21 days), is it ok to remove the crushed fruits once the wine is fully made or should it be removed after the first few days in the primary fermentation?

[@jeffweezy2338]

i started with about 2.5 gallons of grape juice from concord grapes i juiced in a juicer, than added 2.5 gallons of welches 100 g juice, i added 10 lbs of sugar and some instant bread maker yeast tbsp about, its been fermenting since 9/22 ... i had it airlocked in a 6 liter bucket from a wine making kit just started stiring it once a day the last 3 days to give it some oxygen, what do i do next ? im thinking maybe a few more days fermenting then hydrometer reading of 1.0 then rack in into carbox ?

[@DaniMant]

Have you any experience with an ion exchanger in high pH high acid must?

[@sanahabib8874]

I have a question on how to make Amarone style wine. We have Barbera grapes that started to dry and turned into raisins. We started with brix of 36 and it seems it's stuck at 19. And recommendations?

[@suemccarthy8412]

Hi I've been brewing wine for twelve months,but I have made a mistake today when I was racking it off to the final barrel I disturb the sediment now it's all gone cloudy how can rectify my mistake. Thank you Mike

[@mattknezevich9952]

Thanks for the tips Rick. Newer to wine making so this was helpful. Also I have a blackberry I’ve intentionally left on the lees but needing to rack it soon. Happy wine making

[@piotrwojdelko1150]

very cold seson this year do you know how to reduce acids

[@mohammedabushoog4898]

I only use wine yeast. Which other substances can be use in making wine and what is the best way to remove all sediments in wine?

[@mahbubmahbub3884]

Please give me information from where i get big size glass bottle what I have seen in your video Thank you.

[@billhay379]

Great wine making channel. I have finished racking for the third time about two weeks ago and have my cab. merlot in two carboys with air locks. I didn't add any potassium metabisulfate or Camden tablets yet as I am not ready for bottling. Should I have added some sulphites after my third racking or can I wait for another month or two before bottling?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Hi Bill. Potassium metabisulfite is your main defense against oxidation which will happen whether the wine is in carboy or bottle if given enough time and a very small amount of oxygen. The only time you don't want to have the wine adequately sulfited is when an active fermentation is happening (yeast or MLF). At those times, the CO2 produced will provide some protection. Each time you rack and introduce oxygen, you usually lose about 10-15ppm free SO2, so you need to bump it back up a bit. A young wine will bind up about 30-40ppm of free SO2 in the first three or four months also, so you need to offset for that. A topped up carboy is critical and can allow you to run on the low side but it can't work miracles. I would definitely get some SO2 on it ASAP. Also, make sure you are minimizing the amount of racking you are doing. You only need to rack most wines two to three times, even if it were aged in carboy for a year or more. More racking means more oxygen which can slant the wine towards oxidized. If you are not racking off of the gross lees, it would slant the wine towards reduced which is just as bad, so it is important but more is not better.

[@gaspayanga5982]

Is adding vanilla extract or chocolate extract to your wine while in secondary fermentation harmful?

[@ClarkS963]

Just pitched the the yeast on my first wine from fresh grapes. Hoping you don't mention anything I might have messed up!! Lol

[@treich1234]

@8:12 Is there a yeast you would you recommend toward the best balance balance of alcohol and taste?

[@paulweaver6064]

Do you test for the ph value of your water first? And conductivity? DTS? I'm just starting out and I used a RO water that I boiled I should be OK But in the industry I worked in PH levels were very important

[@richardwolske2015]

When I bottled my grape plum 6 gallon carboy . I added some tannin , my mistake was I added it to a1/2 cup of the wine . Well I couldn’t see it didn’t dissolve and I now have a wonderfully cloudy red wine . Next time I’ll use warm sterile water blend and let it cool 😳 still taste great , I bulked aged for a year before bottling. Bummer! Advice always welcome. 🤔 thank you I always try to find your videos!

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Tannin normally won't stay in suspension in a dry wine. Does the plum wine have residual sugar? Even then it should fall out. If you were to dissolve in water I would expect the same outcome. How long has it been since you have added the tannin?

[@richardwolske2015]

The wine was clear before I added the tannin, i bottled it after I added the tannin , and the tannin settles quickly in the bottles I’m just disappointed, in the future I’ll add it up front before my first racking ?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

It should clear back up. You can expect it to temporarily cloud since you are adding a powdered product. If you did any mixing when adding the tannin, I would more blame the stirred up fine lees than the tannin for the haze. But that should also clear back up. Sometimes you may notice a haze in the summer when the wine warms up for the first time. This is not particularly common but is related to proteins in the wine becoming unstable at warmer temperatures. In that rare case, the solution would usually be to wait it out before bottling or fine with bentonite which has an opposite charge. I normally lean towards waiting things like that out rather than adding another treatment to the wine. I'm not sure what time scale you are on with your plum wine but 6 months would not be unusual for a wine like that to be reliably clear. Another haze consideration would be pectin if you are dealing with fresh fruit. You can diagnose a pectin haze by placing a few drops of isopropyl alcohol into a tsp or so of wine. If it gets stringy it is a pectin haze which can also be fined out but is best prevented with pectic enzyme prior to fermentation.

[@richardwolske2015]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel . Thank you for the break down, your help is priceless ! 👍🇺🇸

[@jaydundas3825]

Thank you so much for this channel. We have been growing and making wine from Frontenac white and purple grapes in Montana. This year has been very hot and long so the brix is 22-25. Can you give me an idea where the PH should be for Frontenac? I would like this batch to be as perfect as possible.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Thank you! Hybrid reds like frontenac usually have a lot of malic acid unless they are very very ripe. This can make the winemaking side a little tricky. If they are happily ripening, I'd let them go as long as reasonable possible. You will likely need to supplement with tartaric acid if you do let them hang but you will end up with a reasonable tartaric to malic ratio by doing so. If you don't have a good pH meter, definitely get one. Sometimes you can pick a hybrid at 3.2 and it can run up to 3.8 on you due to high potassium levels buffering the acids or malic acid being converted by the yeast or malolactic bacteria.

[@leaabichaker7514]

How many days may take for a wild fermentation to start as i have a batch of grape juice that is still haven’t fermeneted and it was pressed 30 days ago.

[@tatman5780]

I've got a mead that has a strong yeast smell. It's stabilized and I've racked 2 times. It's it toast or is it salvageable?

[@danieljohn1557]

Good evening sir my name Dan Obi 🇳🇬 made the mistake on the process producing my whisky the problem that I have right now it doesn't last longer I need to know what to use and preserve it so that it can leat longer

[@alexkitsen7825]

Thanks a lot you open my eyes on wine making .Just one question- can i mix red and white wine?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Thanks! Technically yes but I probably wouldn't. White wines intentionally have very low polyphenol and tannin content and reds generally very high. If you do want to experiment, you should do some small bench trials before commiting to the full batch.

[@felixdias4611]

At what SG the Red wine should be racked many says 1010 is it ok ?

[@sanjeevbhakay2180]

Is adding Marmite nutrient to the fermenting must after a couple of days of start of fermentation alright ?

[@priscillafernandes8580]

I hv a question I made black raisins n it aged fr a year now it is turn out be bitter n sour what shud I do to sweeten or to correct the wine

[@martinpetkovic5412]

Regarding No. 8, if you are using cultivated yeast, what about washing the grapes before crushing.

[@bradmcclure4945]

when using a conical bottom vessel for fermentation separating the leavings is significantly simplified also reduces the introduction of oxygen to the liquid filtering causes oxidation the use of the conical fermeter will make your life much more easy

[@bluesmanreturns]

Your awesome , hey question my wine grapes have have reach the brix level of 25 but my grapes but very small can i go another month to see them if they grow ? thanks Randy

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Thanks Randy. Small is ideal for wine grapes, particularly red wine grapes. The most premium grapes are about the size of blueberries. If the pH is within range (3.35-3.6), and the seeds are brown, I'd pick them now. The birds, or a change in the weather could very quickly ruin a good season.

[@tallcedars2310]

I rack a lot. The way to keep mold from forming is to airate(you are not going to oxidate wine ever) the wine so it releases enough gas to keep mold from growing. Mind you I make simple organic rhubarb wine using wild caught yeast,water and sugar. I like the look of racked wine and save the tailings into a jug in the fridge that I add a bit of sugar to after racking/shaking and cap it then back in the fridge it goes. Simple and no sterilization is necessary.

[@nottingham82]

I made my plum wine this year at 11abv. Then back sweetened it. So far it's a big hit. My peach wine was a little lower 10abv but I left it a little drier. Without a little sugar it didn't taste like peach though. Glad I didn't start wine making at 21!

[@sheilachainani8174]

Can i use champhor to clear home made wine.

[@WBuj-db2wx]

I just got a stainless fermenter. What do you use to clean it, wash and disinfect? I've h6that some chemicals that are common in cleaning glass containers, can't be used on stainless equipment. Can you clarify? Thanks so much for excellent videos you provide.

[@edwardgiugliano4925]

Look up Star San on the web. They sell it as a concentrate and one bottle is basically a lifetime supply. Home brewers and winemakers use it. It is an odorless and tasteless organic acid so it won't contribute any bad flavors to your wine. Safe for stainless and most surfaces. They say you don't even have to rinse it off but I do, since it tends to foam up a bit. Surfaces are sterile after a one minute soak. It decomposes into a sugar so it won't hurt anything even if you don't rinse thoroughly. Never had a problem using it. Good luck to you!

[@stansigstadable]

A couple sold me a complete winemaking kit for $16 but I tossed them a $20 and told them to keep the change. I've made beer, cider and mead but not wine

[@whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

A mistake I've made is buying 5 gallon casks that are charred. Apparently the market for aging cheap whiskey in casks is bigger than home winemakers aging in oak, thus most of the 5 gallon and smaller casks are charred. Typically you only want a toasted or no char at all for wines. When buying your casks, make sure to tell them to only toast the inside and if they can't do that then no char treatment at all.

[@phil538]

I got one! A mistake that is. And a most unexpected one. Buying equipment, specifically airlocks and bungs. I purchased some silicon airlock bungs and after a couple of months I realized the bungs were melting my plastic airlocks! Only rubber or cork from now on.

[@danielgodfrey4415]

2 That's why I went with 5 gallon buckets with a twist on lid. When I make my agave wine (for tequila) I have it ferment with the lid slightly open. Since I'm distilling it. No big deal. I am still big on sanitation.

[@cbradley4466]

I bought a house from a former wine maker. There are three large vines on the property. I've never been a wine guy but just started by first batch ever. I'm fairly sure it's going to be vinegar. Hopefully watching your videos will help.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

That's how it starts! In a few years you will be thinking about starting a small winery.

[@gabrielhuschenbeck5637]

if i was in the process of fermenting a medium-sweet fruit wine (plum) and for some reason the yeast turns out to have a higher alcohol-resistance than anticipated would it then be reasonable to let the wine ferment dry, let the yeast (which should become inactive because of the lack of sugar) settle, rack the clear fluid and then add sugar in order to turn the wine from dry to medium-sweet again?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Most wine yeasts will run the fermentation dry unless you intentionally stall them out by chilling very cold. Even the naturally present wild strains will usually take them dry. What you are talking about doing is back sweetening, which is very common. You not only need to get the wine off of the settled yeast but also need to prevent budding which is how yeast cells multiply. This is where potassium sorbate comes into play. After racking off the lees, and making sure the wine is crystal clear, you will add potassium sorbate to prevent re-fermentation. You also need to add potassium metabisulfite to prevent oxidation, microbial spoilage and malolactic fermentation. If malolactic bacteria consume the sorbic acid (potassium sorbate), they will create a geranium like oder which will ruin the wine. Note that the sulfite will not stick around if the wine is exposed to air whether it be too much headspace or a couple rackings.

[@Keith5274]

Hi Rick. I've got a question about wine kits. I have had many, many glasses of wine from folks who have made their own wine from wine kits. At least 90% of the time there is a bitter taste, common to every single one of them. I also drink a lot of commercially produced wine that never has this taste (red wines only). Based on your and other descriptions, it sounds like Malic acid. It is a sour apple kind of taste. It doesn't matter what brand, who made it, or even under different conditions. I recently tried my own wine kits and the first three turned out with that taste as well, despite many different variables. Is that just the nature of the beast with a kit wine? Is there anything I can do to round out the flavors? Each wine is different, with varying amounts of this flavor, but they all have it to varying degrees. Will Potassium Bicarbonate help if my Malic acid is too high, or will it just neutralize the Tartaric acid and make it worse? Also, if yo have any recommendations as to varying the winemaking process with a kit...I have several left to make sitting in the refrigerator. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Kits usually have a "kit taste" which is normally isoamyl-acetate which smells like banana runts or circus peanut candy. That is probably not what you are noticing though. It may be malic acid, since virtually all store bought red wines have gone through MLF. It may also be just a little more dissolved CO2 in the wine which can fight the acids a bit. Kits are usually bottled very young so they don't have time to really round out... But if you give them the time they need, they are thin. Even the highest quality red kits are pretty obvious to an experienced taster and it's not a great thing. I think a lot of home winemakers get into winemaking before really developing a palate for red wine so they may not notice or may prefer the lighter, low intensity of a kit wine and not really notice the off flavors. A big red, fermented on the skins will whack you in the face for the first six months and often takes about a year and a half to begin to get approachable. Some hobby level winemakers may not have the patience for a red wine to come around which may also drive some towards kits. My recommendation for you though is to forget the kits and make wine from good quality grapes and ferment on the skins. You can make an $80 caliber red wine at home from grapes, whereas the best you are going to get from a kit will be in the sub $10 caliber. To a lot of newer drinkers the cheap wine will be more approachable but once you develop a taste for better wines the two buck chuck will not cut it anymore.

[@habibamessaoudi8395]

How do you know the acidity of the grape

[@leghorn8748]

I would like ask a question .. I had 5gal ph6.45 after it fermentation it had a white film on it I added 4 camptem tables I it still good.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

6.45?!?! I would check your pH meter against some pH buffer to verify the reading is accurate. At 6.45 there is no amount of SO2 (Camden tabs) that can protect the wine. The range a wine should fall into is 3 orders of magnitude more acidic (pH 3.2-3.8). The pH scale is logarithmic so 5.45 is 10x more acidic than 6.45, and 3.45 is 1000x more acidic. 1000x meaning the strength of the acid. 6.45 is nearly neutral, where 3.45 (normal wine range) is very acidic and requires only a bit of SO2 to combat microbes. Your wine is probably not salvageable at this point or at least will not be able to be what we are used to calling wine. The film is probably safe, but at that pH, all bets are off.

[@foresttaniguchi3168]

What about an air pump during fermentation?

[@thomasjones3384]

When I rack I add a little CO2 on top of the wine being racked and in the carboy receiving the racked wine. This keeps the air from the wine.

[@jimdent351]

What do you like to have as a ph for a finished red wine? I've never checked before but I plan on making sure my ph is sufficient for the future.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I'm normally looking for 3.6-3.75.

[@thomasjones3384]

If you are talking about fermenting in a carboy, you should be fermenting in a fermenting bucket with a cloth covering to keep out flies, etc. (been making wine since 1972). .

[@SuperGokuSon]

You can manig you headspace by using Argon gass when racking and eliminate oxigen whial ageing .

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

That is true but argon will mix with air over time rather than form a true "blanket" so I will usually only use it for a month or less then get the wine topped up. Gasses expand and contact a lot more than liquids also which means you will be pumping air in and out of the airlock if there is any fluctuation in temperature.

[@michaeld2176]

Can you share a watermelon wine recipe ?

[@MrMiller81]

Thank you for the great tips cheers 🍷

[@ricks3184]

Is it possible to have too much oxygen during fermentation? Asking because I have oxygen and a diffusion stone that I use in home brewing. Just wondering if the wine could benefit from a few seconds of direct pure oxygen at the start.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Your diffusion stone can be helpful if you catch a whiff of hydrogen sulfide and want to treat the wine. That is actually a common winery technique. I would hesitate to use it before the fermentation was actively roaring along because you may excite some microbes that are not wine yeast. In red winemaking too much oxygen would be hard to do but with pure oxygen it might be a little too much. Yeast actually creates water and CO2 in the presence of air rather than alcohol and CO2. Even when you give it a good bit of air normally it will mostly remain anaerobic since it is producing so much CO2 to saturate the wine. White wine can brown in a heartbeat before fermentation kicks off. This is called hyper oxidation and is a technique that is sometimes used.

[@michellecelesteNW]

Is it alright to boil down my blackberries to blend with sugar and spices before the fermenting process? I thought it would be good to make it sterile but now I'm second guessing myself. Great info, thanks!

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Normally you wouldn't boil them but for an obscure wine like blackberry it isn't the worst thing. You would be cooking the berries which would create a cooked fruit flavor but most people associate "blackberry" taste with the cooked version anyways.

[@michellecelesteNW]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel That's a good point. I'm doing a side by side comparison to see the difference. I'll try to give an update when it's ready.