Wine Fermentation the Right Way. Tricks to Make Your Wine Better

[@jkeezy93]

Since I was 15 and my parents grounded me for drinking with my friends. I found out a $3 pouch of bread yeast at the store plus a $3 bottle of orange juice after a week or so would get a friend and I drunk. From there, my parents went on to find 15 gallons. Individual gallons. In my closet. They called it a brewery. I called it a hobby. I got kicked out, but at the same time, a scientist was made. Later on I made a still out of a lobster pot, some copper tubing and an electric skillet with temperature controls. I got drunk off of the fumes, so in retrospect of my distillation experiments a few years later I could have blown myself up, but I also loved and respected making my own alcohol. Never made beer yet. Just found your channel today. No idea why after 5 months I'm the only comment on THIS comment, but its the truth.

[@punkrockwino164]

You sir, are a Rockstar!

[@SirGolfalot-]

I think this overview information will guide new enthusiasts to the wine making hobby. Good information to think about and research to gain a better understanding of the fermentation processes.

[@montereymamacita]

Taking an enology course through the local JC this semester - learning all about this! Add Fermaid K after the lag phase - about 2-3 days into fermentation when it starts to kick off, so that the little yeasties learn to reproduce in less-than-optimal conditions at the outset and there's less likelihood of a stuck fermentation as alcohol levels rise later on. I did my first white wine (Chardonnay) exactly as you describe - big rubbermaid containers, with the carboy inside. Filled it with water and 2L frozen water jugs. The temperature stickers were at 57F throughout the entire fermentation. The ONLY lesson learned was that when I went to rack at a certain point in racking off the wine, the carboy began to float in the water and messed up my lees... grr... Keep up the good video content! Thanks!

[@jgar538]

Yes, I agree, leave out the Fermaid K at first. I recently learned that DAP can stun re-assimilating dry yeast and Fermaid K has a little DAP in it. Rehydrating dry yeast with Go-Ferm gives a nice amount of organic nutrient to get things going at the start. Cheerz.

[@kb2vca]

This was really very clear and useful - laying out the key factors that influence speed of fermentation from most important to less important. Thank you.

[@richardwolske2015]

Thank you for the wonderful breakdown. I’ve learned my first lesson when making my Rhubarb strawberry wine it stopped fermentation and was a little sweet . The berries where real ripe and I knew the specific gravity was high. I got that figured out now . I really enjoy making wine for my friends ,everyone’s tastes are different. Your information is priceless. I’ve not seen had any wine that hasn’t been pretty good. But my plumb blueberry 80/20 so far was incredible, All from scratch Thanks !

[@michaelbereny6783]

Love your videos. They are very informative and help me create wines that I like. Thank you

[@punkrockwino164]

Great video! One of the most informative I've ever gotten from KZbin on wine!

[@phaylon]

Yep. My ferment this year finished waaaay fast! Like 8 days. Yikes. Didn't expect that with RC212. Kept the must in the low 70s with ice jugs but man it took off. I hope I got enough extraction without hitting the 80s.

[@afalette]

Great video. I used ec1118 on my merlot then used syrah on my mourvedre. They took about the same amount of time. But temps were different when fermenting. I also cold soaked the mourvedre.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Cool, yep, temperature outweighs strain by a long shot in terms of fermentation time. The nitrogen content and sugar can make a pretty big difference also. You almost have to split a batch and ferment side by side to isolate the speed differences of the yeast strains but it can easily be a couple days on a 10 or 14 day fermentation.

[@kevinmckay9348]

Excellent video ,much appreciated 👍🏻

[@Siwashable]

what about juices? same rules apply?

[@dashyndars9308]

so, how many days I have to keep a must with the skin. Some says 4 days, but others says more then 10 days depends on sugar level.

[@fikrinajibideris9049]

Thanks for the talk..a lot of useful information !

[@cddennison]

Will you post your favorite yeast strains for red and white? I only have used EC1118 and it seems to be so fast. Worked to slow down my red this year with ice bombs. Went may to quick with my first white and not cool enough.

[@donaldatkinson7937]

I live in a cabin with no air conditioning in SC, made some muscadine wine couple years ago, used a yeast with a potential of mabe 17 percent, got over 90 degrees couldn't cool it down, it went crazy lol,racked it several times, don't know what I'm doing, tasted ok but high alchohol and think it made too much fusil alcohol, gave everyone bad headaches.

[@thelostminer2141]

How can I tell if my white wine has turned to vinegar? I don't feel it fermented very long. I did find I had too much air space in my container. It smells like alcohol but I am still not sure. Help. I started the process on 08/19. I used our grapes and only added 4 oz simple sugar to @ 12 qt "white wine"

[@asimplelifeinthephilippine1465]

Rick, I want to make mango wine. I found mango juice at the store. Ingredients: filtered water, Mango puree, Apple juice concentrate, Natural flavor, Ascorbic acid ( vitamin c) Beta carotene ( color ) I think the beta is just for color. What do you think, will it make a good wine, with the beta carotene color

[@carolynchurchill2010]

I am making a gallon of white wine but only have a 2 gallon plastic fermenter or 2 one gallon glass carboys. Which should I use for the first fermentation.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I'd probably use the 2 gallon plastic fermented. Unless you are using a fancy yeast that won't produce hydrogen sulfide (allegro, fresco, sensy, etc), you will want the larger top to give the wine a little air once in a while until fermentation is complete. You can then rack to the glass jugs and put screw caps on once complete. Just burp the screw caps about once a day until you are sure it is done making CO2. I don't like aging with airlocks on 1 gallons. The plastic seems to be too air permeable for that small of volume

[@beestig4067]

in order to stretch fermentation, why not add sugar during fermentation to get the desired result instead of adding it all at once in the beginning of the proces?

[@estebancorral5151]

My understanding from you is that as the yeast is growing, it will use up much nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Would ferrous sulphate be a beneficial compound for growing yeast? It is not for wine but for healthy yeast.

[@scottttym]

Word on adding yeast nutrients to a stalled primary ferment?

[@schnjt678]

Can you recommend the proper yeast to purchase for Catawba grapes? And do I ferment using red wine process or white wine process?

[@jimdent351]

Can frozen bottles be put directly inside fermentation containers, or will it harm the yeast.

[@lorijewels9391]

Great video.. I didnt catch if u said what ideal time is for primary fermentations? 4d is too fast ok what is too slow or what us average time? Thanks!!

[@rayrous8229]

You certainly have some good information to learn about. I can learn a lot from you. But the camera angle changes every 5 or 6 seconds. That's annoying.

[@markspc1]

Great tips, thank you.

[@johanovish29039]

Pretty good explanation!!

[@jgar538]

Hi Rick, great video as always. I've been trying to get a feel for wine yeast differences. Not allot I can draw from in my beer making years. I found a Lallemand Yeast Quick Reference chart and a Fermenters Handbook from their parent Scottlabs. It appears the Lalvin D-21 yeast also fits the bill, at least numerically, for what you're looking for in a red wine yeast - 4 out of 4 for red wine, low SO2 production, low H2S potential and moderate vigor. Not sure if these are downsides, but it does have a narrower desired fermentation range and is a Kill Factor-Active yeast as opposed to BDX. This leads up to my question, can you help me understand Kill Factor (active, neutral, sensitive)? Cheerz.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Thanks! Yes, D21 was previously my favorite Lallemand strain until I found BDX. I think it is a little lower of a glycerol producer as compared to BDX if I remember right, which can give a dry red a little more bite and a little less mouth feel which sometimes can be helpful. They are both great yeast strains and I could talk myself into either depending on the wine.

[@moh335]

Very informative ... thank you so much , i just racked a 5 G red wine after 5 days ! My og was : 1.100 finished at 0.990 , using D47 I am afraid that i didnt gave a time for skin contact ! Should i add tannin ?

[@joesallustio5748]

Taste it.

[@northeastwildernesswalker]

Questions - How long have you been making wine? And do you have your own winery or is it just for personal use?

[@jkeezy93]

Since I was 15 and my parents grounded me for drinking with my friends. I found out a $3 pouch of bread yeast at the store plus a $3 bottle of orange juice after a week or so would get a friend and I drunk. From there, my parents went on to find 15 gallons. Individual gallons. In my closet. They called it a brewery. I called it a hobby. I got kicked out, but at the same time, a scientist was made. Later on I made a still out of a lobster pot, some copper tubing and an electric skillet with temperature controls. I got drunk off of the fumes, so in retrospect of my distillation experiments a few years later I could have blown myself up, but I also loved and respected making my own alcohol. Never made beer yet. Just found your channel today. No idea why after 5 months I'm the only comment on THIS comment, but its the truth.

[@jeweltesla1723]

The must turned brown on the second day of fermentation-does it mean it has gone bad?

[@edwardblacklock2446]

The must turning brown is generally sign of oxidation in the juice. This can be a problem but it might also settle out depending on a whole range of factors. How did it look once it had settled all the particles out? The best thing to do to see if it is spoiled is just taste it, if it tastes kind of like sherry its gone bad but if you still have fruit flavours it will probably be ok.

[@elvisabreu1429]

Great video!!!!

[@amosaiccosmos6302]

Thx 4 insight.

[@stevenk6775]

the gravity of my wine is increasing as it is fermenting. Any thoughts on why this is happening? or advice to reverse this?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Are you reading it with a hydrometer or a refractometer? A refractometer is only accurate I'd the juice had no alcohol. Otherwise it needs a conversion chart. A hydrometer can be thrown off by any buoyant particles suspended in the wine. If it is a kit wine, it may be that the concentrate had not fully mixed well. If a wine from grapes, it may be that you are having some whole berries releasing sugars as the fermentation nears completion and things really break down. It is common to leave a small percentage of while berries to help drag out the fermentation and release smells and flavors late in the game when they have a shot of being retained.

[@stevenk6775]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel i am using a hydrometer and it is a kit. the kit came with dried raisins that were supposed to be added in during primary fermentation. is it possible the raisins are releasing to much sugar?

[@simon3291a]

I’m brewing home made kit wine and because I’m now using brewing sugar rather than cane sugar it’s now fermenting very quickly is that bad or good Cheers Simon

[@Cnzxco]

😂 smoking a blunt and I’m 420 like

[@bopDS]

why the hell u are talking to no 1 from time to time lol, looks realy wierd :)

[@bopDS]

aso it would be nice to use also non retarded units for us retards lol :D

[@oxidize99]

Great information. Thanks!