How to Make Perfect Wine - Wine Needs Oxygen - Wine, Light and Oxygen

[@HowToDoneRight]

We now have a store for everything you see in our videos for supplies. www.amazon.com/shop/howtodoneright

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Our methods differ a little bit although they’re very similar. Here’s a little insight in mine (nothing wrong with yours, just slightly different). You’ll see it’s very much what you do. Over the 30-something years I’ve been home brewing I’ve never had my wines, ciders and meads turn to vinegar (knock on wood) and I think it’s because I stick to a few steps I believe to be very important and that work for me: 1. Sanitise - make sure to give acetobacter as hard a time as possible by using a sanitiser to kill as many bacteria (and moulds) as much as possible. No need to panic, overthink, and go crazy but sanitise. Use fresh sanitiser every time you set out to play around with your brews. If you want to be frugal, make a smaller batch of sanitiser. There’s a reason why manufacturers of sanitisers advise a ‘use by’ window. Some of my batches of sanitiser are as small as 1 litre (around 4 cups) and if you have some left but that window hasn’t expired, use it to sanitise other things in your kitchen. 2. Introduce as much oxygen as possible before pitching my yeast, then use an airlock to keep the fruit flies etc well away from my must. Shake the crap out of your must, use a whisk, or whatever floats your boat and works for you. 3. Pitch enough yeast and stay away from wild fermentation to ensure the yeast I want in there can out-compete other organisms from thriving. Other home brewers like wild fermentation. I don’t. To each their own. I like to stack the odds in my favour. 4. Sanitise equipment each and every time that primary fermentation vessel gets opened to break the fruit cap to avoid introducing acetobacter while the alcohol level in the must still is very low. I can’t repeat enough how important it is to use clean and sanitised equipment. 5. Give the fermentation vessel a little swirl/shake once it’s re-sealed after breaking the fruit cap to chase out any surface oxygen and create a carbon dioxide ‘blanket’ on top of the must, again to create an environment that’s inhospitable to acetobacter. If I want an oxidised flavour to my finished product I can always do that later. 4. Remove fruit earlier rather than later. For really soft fruit like strawberries I remove the fruit after 3-5 days. For harder fruit after 7 days. ‘Remove fruit’ can either be just removing the fruit bag, or it can be racking after stirring to take as much of the established yeast colony along to the secondary fermentation vessel. Seal under airlock again and keep it sealed until racking. Usually for me that means until fermentation has stopped and/or the fermenter’s contents begins to clear. 5. Make sure the initial gravity reading has an alcohol potential of 10-12% or more (acetobacter doesn’t like that). 6. Avoid pouring unless it’s from bottle to glass. As for oxidised wine/mead/cider that hasn’t turned to vinegar: to me it leaves what I’d call a ‘sherry-like’ flavour. Not necessarily a bad thing although I try to avoid it. A good indicator can also be if your ferment has a reddish/pink tinge originally and it turns brownish but no other ingredients were added to account for this. A strawberry wine (to me) is more pink than anything else (think rosé wine). A strawberry mead wan have a more orange/brownish tinge. Drinking stage: I never use a device to aerate my wines, ciders or meads. I might decant into a pretty wine pitcher if I know the entire bottle is going to be finished and I want to be fancy. Or I swirl the wine in my glass. And/or I open the bottle and let it ‘breathe’ for a few minutes before pouring. Pretty old school, but it works if I want the effect. Above all, my take on the entire set of questions is: relax and don’t overthink it. I think you’ll agree. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had beginner home brewers on the cusp of throwing out a brew because they thought it was ruined. If it smells like wine but tastes sour, check if it couldn’t be that all the sugars have fermented out because more often than not, that’s what’s going on. And trust your seal. If it was OK before and you’ve sealed it, it’s probably fine when you open it.

[@HowToDoneRight]

I could not have said it better myself. Most of these steps is exactly as I do. The only difference I see was removing your fruit after 3 to 5 days. But great advice and thanks so much for your great information and techniques. 👍👍😁😁🍷🍷

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@HowToDoneRight - Thanks! I don’t always throw fruit out after 3-5 days. Soft fruit definitely, as it tends to disintegrate so much it’ll go through the mesh bag (still have nightmares about one particular strawberry brew using frozen strawberries). Cherries can easily stay in until a brew is fermented out of you’re not using pectic enzyme, the skins’ll keep them quite intact. Same with apple, pear, or raisins for example. I tend to leave those in for at least a week and if life gets in the way I might leave them in there for up to 2 weeks. On average though I’d rather remove them sooner. Some times a brew will ferment out really fast. In that case, in order to take advantage of the carbon dioxide in suspension I’ll choose to remove the fruit as soon as fermentation is done. This reduces the risk of oxidising a brew. I guess a more accurate statement would be that I keep a sharp eye on the condition and integrity of the fruit. That.s also the reason why I like to have a 2-step approach: more often than not, half the fruit goes in in primary, half the fruit goes in in secondary. Or 2/3rds in primary and the remaining 1/3rd in secondary. But that might be a little too technical for beginning brewers. To add to the madness, I’ve just gotten my hands on a dehydrator. I’m going to experiment with dried fruit soon. It’ll be exciting to see what effect dried fruit have. Like a cherry wine with tart cherries in primary and dried tart cherries in secondary. Can’t wait. 😊

[@HowToDoneRight]

Definitely keep me posted in all your ventures. You have some great ideas and may use some of them.. lol👍👍

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@HowToDoneRight - I will and you’re welcome to them. 😊

[@rlcwallpapers]

Thanks so much I will take notes for my next brew, so far I have made blackberry and plum wines both turned out ok, more like dessert wines, I am making a blackberry small batch right now and it looks promissing, I did not use any sanitizing for that batch. I just bought some powder to sanitize, I was told I can use it dry the bottles and fill with the wine right after no need to rinse bottles, last time I made it I boiled the bottles in a big pot for a few minutes, then dried/cool them and filled them, I am learning and thanks for help like yours maybe I will make better wine.

[@stedebonnet1340]

Hah ! Pretty sure you guys had a buzz by the end of this one :) Cant wait to try our first 2 batches. We used wild lingonberries and blueberries we picked last summer. The yeast didnt like the acidity of those berries so I had to buffer the PH to get it perking.

[@HowToDoneRight]

Lol. Yeah i got to do a video on acidity but usually never an issue for me so thanks for the idea. You will never buy wine again it will be amazing. 👍👍

[@Black06ification]

Cheers🎉 love the video! Send me a bottle of that beautiful strawberry wine 😊

[@HowToDoneRight]

Thanks and wish I could. 👍

[@GinaSlater-ey8nz]

Great vid

[@dank6905]

I've had one of those airiators for a long time,mine is different,you have to pour wine thru it,I used it on some wine I didn't care for,it helped alot

[@HowToDoneRight]

Yeah it does change the flavor and I enjoyed it. Mainly for dark red wines you will see the difference. 👍👍😁😁🍷🍷

[@rhythmnblairs]

Hi, I've just done a kit wine, racked off into a 23 litre carboy and air locked it so happy to leave that alone for a few months before bottling. I'm kind of new to doing my own wine, have previously made cider 5 years ago so understand a fair amount about stuff. There is so much conflicting advice out there though! So, after watching your 1st of 4 videos on how to make wine from fruit that inspired me to do the same. I've mostly stuck to your instructions apart from not adding acid blend but used lemon juice in its place, the tannin I used strong tea, used pectolase 1 tsp per gallon. Have put in 5 crushed campden tablets as the bucket is only a 5 gallon one. I first let the frozen fruit sit in the bucket overnight in the muslin bag and squished it next day adding the sugar solution. Had kept the lid and airlock on just as a precaution. So according to some websites the bucket needs to allow the gas from the campden tablets to dissipate for atleast 24 hours. You closed your bucket off and just had your air lock in place for it to dissipate. I've decided to just put a muslin cloth over the bucket but sealed temporarily by masking tape! Was wondering if it would be best to leave the lid and bubbler off when I add the yeast and just keep the muslin cloth over it? Enjoyed your videos, thanks for the inspiration!

[@HowToDoneRight]

Welcome to our channel. Yes the cloth over your bucket is just fine for 3 to 5 days. Oxygen is needed in first few days so yeast can bloom. Then you want to put lid on so doesn't turn to vinegar. Great question.

[@rhythmnblairs]

@@HowToDoneRight thanks for getting back to me, I've just pitched the yeast, took a reading and re-covered the cloth and will probably leave for 2 days then put the lid on. Oh and I've put a heating band around the bucket as I did for the kit wine, we need them here in the UK even in the Spring! Well worth doing to keep the temperature stable. Thanks for all your good advice and for inspiring me to make my own wine instead of a kit. 👍

[@HowToDoneRight]

Sure thing. Keep me posted for it turns out. You will love it.

[@jooiprn]

Ohh its lovely

[@kevineallen4887]

Hey I have used your recipe and video to make three five gallon batches. Two grape wines are in the second racking. They are not bubbling. Are they ok? When should I rack again? Your videos are great.

[@HowToDoneRight]

Thanks Kevin.. you should not see any bubbling after primary fermentation so that is good.. all bubbling is done in primary where fruit was. That should stop 7 to 14 days. You rack 30 to 45 days apart.. be sure to watch videos of racking and filtering using bentonite. Don't over rack wine should only need to do 2 or 3 times depends on fruit. 👍👍

[@felixdias4611]

So whats the alcohol tolerance for red star premier classique and can i hut the original gravity to 1.095(specific gravity)?

[@HowToDoneRight]

Oh yeah will go much higher than that. That's about 12.4 abv I've gotten wine over 15 with red star before.

[@felixdias4611]

@@HowToDoneRight thanks 👍

[@felixdias4611]

@@HowToDoneRight so another thing I jus wanna ask you about northern mountain potassium sorbate.nothin is mentioned about its expiry date?

[@DansBuddhaBodega]

It says 15%, but I've never been able to hit over 12%-13%. I almost always use premier blanc, because i usually work with apples, pear, mandarins, or just plain sugar (kilju). Premier can tolerate musts, and mashes with higher acidity and lower temperatures.

[@tandoru1392]

What’s your thoughts on using dry ice to build up carbon dioxide when you have too much headspace?

[@HowToDoneRight]

It will just escape in your airlock... can't really seal it incase wine still ferments.. if you try it let me know. Id like to see it work just cant see how. Lol😁😁👍👍

[@Feather09]

OH NO... So I started my buckets for fermentation. ONLY to realize I have the Wrong Hydrometer -- after researching - I have the one that measures the amount of alcohol in a spirit, and I need the one that has reading to measure sugar content -- (It's Ordered and will be here tomorrow) - according to steps, I need to add my yeast (24 hrs later) which would be 6 pm today, Yet I don't know what my measurement... Should I wait another day until I can get a reading (the hydrometer I have is floating so high at this point - I have no reading)

[@HowToDoneRight]

Yes you can wait a day no problem. Or even a couple of days. Just stir to keep fruit moist.

[@Feather09]

Do you keep a spray bottle of the Star San on hand to clean paddle for daily stirs? Does it last the 8-12 days - whatever is needed for fermentation?@@HowToDoneRight

[@HowToDoneRight]

Yes I do. Will keep 2 to 3 weeks

[@rlcwallpapers]

I just tasted my grape wine and it tastes like vinegar, I used 16 lbs of grape, 4 litrs of water and 2 lbs of sugar, that was put in a bucket 10 days ago, I have been moving the bucker to mix the stuff every day, but today I wanted to remove the pulp and put it in a secondary fermentation carboy and when I tasted it, tastes like vinegar, is there anything I can do to save it and make it drinkable? Cheers

[@HowToDoneRight]

I can tell you your sugar is way light.. did you add yeast or using the wild yeast. That could be the problem... was the bucket covered.. never had that problem using my recipe... unfortunately can't fix it. You can use it as a marinade...

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

Did the contents of the bucket smell like vinegar as well? In that case, it’s turned to vinegar and you’ve got the makings of marinade. If it doesn’t and it just tastes very sour, all the sugars might have fermented out. As HowDoneRight pointed out, a lot of elements are missing to be able to truly help. Did you take a hydrometer reading when you started out? How did the must smell? Did you use yeast or did you use wild fermentation? Did you cover the bucket or did you seal the bucket using an airlock? Did you sanitise? How? Etc.

[@rlcwallpapers]

@@eddavanleemputten9232 It smells like wine but taste like vinegar, when I started the fermenting the hydrometer said 11% alcohol, and it smelled really nice like wine, I used wine yeast, the fermenting bucket has a sealed cover and I put an airlock which was very active for the first few days then it slowed down, I have made wine 2 times before and I didn't use a sanitaizer just cleaned everything with soap and rinsed it. Thanks for your help,

[@rlcwallpapers]

@@HowToDoneRight Thanks I guess I have some vinegar to use for other things.

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@rlcwallpapers - I’m a little confused. Your hydrometer said 11% alcohol… do you mean alcohol potential? A starting gravity, after all, cannot give an alcohol percentage as there is no alcohol yet. It can, based on the sugar content and therefore the density of the liquid, give you an estimate of how much alcohol a brew might contain if it ferments out completely. It is advisable not to use the potential alcohol reading, and this for several reasons: 1. Your brew might not ferment out completely 2. Your brew might contain unfermentable sugars 3. Your brew might contain other things besides sugars and unfermentable sugars that affect its density. Your hydrometer has other scales on it. I’d highly advise you to use the specific gravity scale for all your measurements and then to either use a brewing calculator or to calculate the alcohol content yourself in order to figure out how many of the sugar was converted to alcohol. It’s a very reliable method. How much was/is your final gravity? 1.000? Above? Below? If it’’s around 1.000 or below, all your sugars have fermented out and the only thing left to taste are the acids and the fruit flavours. This can taste vinegary to you because the acids (sour) aren’t masked by the sugars anymore. Not all sour/ttart flavours are vinegar. The alcohol might still be very ‘hot’ which can alwo aid in masking flavours. My advice is to take a final gravity reading and to check what specific gravity is on your hydrometer next to the potential alcohol scale. I’m not familiar with Brix, so please check you’ve got the correct scale. Also: put a sample of the wine in a glass. Stir in a bit of sugar. Does it taste fruity? Or fruitier? Is the vinegary taste lessened/gone? Swirl the glass, smell it with one nostril, then another. What do you detect? Just alcohol? Alcohol and fruit? Just fruit? Something else? Last but not least: you say wine yeast. Which wine yeast? What alcohol tolerance does the yeast you use have according to its manufacturer? Lalvin’s 71b for example is supposed to have a tolerance of 14-15% but I’ve had it go to 18-19% multiple times. So did Mangrove Jack’s cider yeast. If it can reassure you: generally if a brew doesn’t smell like vinegar, it’s not vinegar and it hasn’t turned. Gravity readings help a lot in telling you what’s going on. But please let go of the potential alcohol readings. It’s akin to expecting all kids with an IQ of a certain magnitude to get a college degree and pursue postgraduate studies. Not everyone with an IQ of 130++ will go to college, let alone go on to study even more. Can you give me a final gravity reading, or did you throw out your brew? I’d like to (try to) help.

[@zaya3731]

WHAT TYPES OF BENTONITE WE CAN USE THERE IS MORE IN SITE .... CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN OTHER THAN LD CARLSON BENTONITE WE WATCHING ALL YOUR VIDEOS ITS BETTER AND ALSO I TRIED GRAPE ITS COMES GOOD BUT ITS NOT CLEARED THAT'S I NEED BENTONITE ... BUT WHEN I SEARCHING TIME LOTS OF THERE FACE MASK BENTONITE AND NORMAL ALL IS THAT WE CAN USE BENTONITE CAN USE FOR WINE CLEARING .... fACE MASK BENTONITE IS CAN WE USE IT FOR CLEARING

[@HowToDoneRight]

You want to look for 100 percent bentonite no additives food grade quality. If you see its food grade can use for wine. 👍👍