Wine from Grape Juice (Part 2) | Racking and Bottling, Explained

[@joannemerriner2407]

Just love you! You remind me of my grandson who is 21! Your personality is amazing and you make me laugh! And you’re one smart cookie!

[@letswineaboutit]

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@trudyglover2557]

I really liked part 1. I was able to take notes . I’m 66 but have never done this before- so a REAL novice here! Part 2 (in my opinion) it would have been helpful to know additional equipment needed( at the beginning of part 2) so all these new “tubes” and things wouldn’t be a surprise during the video. Taking notes and (what did he say that thing was??). I feel you know a lot about This topic and I will be taking more notes on how to figure out alcohol content , gravity etc. The only downside I see is waiting for MONTHS for a gallon and a half of wine. 🤷‍♀️ But I plan on giving it a go! Thanks!

[@letswineaboutit]

Good suggestion! I’ll restructure things in the future for sure!

[@gabek8945]

How did the wine making go?

[@GreenfieldsHomeplace]

Love your humor. My son is your age and I know he would appreciate this video…too much probably. 🍻 😂 I just started making my own wine -can’t believe I haven’t been doing it before. I have the Concord grape fermenting now. Thanks for this video!

[@letswineaboutit]

Thank you! Keep up the hobby, I miss doing it! I've been in a graduate program, but want to get back to the winemaking one day.

[@zachburton4190]

I was going to ask why it didn’t eat more sugar after having so long to ferment but after some thought I remembered bread yeast doesn’t go far past 10% so that’s probably why. Great video tho! Super simple which is what new brewers need

[@letswineaboutit]

Yep! That’s most likely what happened.

[@ThePeacePlant]

@@letswineaboutit ohhh ok. Well they do sell vodka yeast online. I was wondering how to get more but I was also thinking that if I put more sugar it will create a %20 AVB

[@winesoup6907]

I actually have added oak chips to mine...it definitely gives that 'real' wine taste and aroma!

[@letswineaboutit]

Which oak chips did you use?

[@winesoup6907]

@@letswineaboutit I think it was medium roast American chips I got from a wine supply store few miles from my old house (before I moved). This is in Hillsboro, Oregon. It was not too much, maybe about 1/4 of a cup for a couple quarts...but I took it out after I racked it the second time for a couple months. I'm a newbie so my method might be wrong and you can definitely try and experiment. Sorry for the late reply. It didn't come up in my notification.

[@happyacres1761]

I love love love your video!! You have THE BEST video yet!! Please make more videos! I love your humor. 😁

[@letswineaboutit]

Thank you!! I’ll keep at it!

[@amberbarker3732]

Thank you for your videos I've never made before so I'm following your videos step by step. I've watched tons of other videos yours is the best imo! 👌

[@letswineaboutit]

I really appreciate that!

[@myavatar9590]

I agree; MilesKDonahue's explanations are the best that I've seen.

[@scottmong4183]

Where did you get the 1.5 fermenter?

[@edgrock1]

well done young fella!!!! very informative.... Because you I will start making wine. Great video

[@letswineaboutit]

Thank you!

[@OcVdub90]

Are the measurements for the stabilizers the same for 1 or 5 gallons? I’m going to make 5 and wanted to know how much of each would I need to put in?

[@bryan34wable]

Ok guys, I’m going to show you a low commitment way for beginners to see if they want to get into it…… *12 months later you can see if you want to keep doing it. Real nice.

[@myavatar9590]

Forgot about that, part one did say that, didn't it! 🤣😂

[@place910]

great video - thanks for sharing. You've inspired me to give this a try.

[@jameskennedy184]

Love your videos my house stays around 65-68 is that to cold? What is the perfect temp? Thank you

[@letswineaboutit]

Thank you! Yep, that's a good temperature I should think.

[@myavatar9590]

This is great. Thanks for sharing.

[@Grandpa_RLP]

I like the video and will be watching more. I have seen a lot of wine making videos and notice some people put their yeast right into primary while others hydrate first. Do you think it matters? Also some add yeast nutrients while others don't. Your thoughts? I have also seen some who continue to shake or try to add in oxygen for the first couple of days to help the yeast. Do you do that? Sorry for all the questions.

[@letswineaboutit]

I love questions! I always hydrate these days. I use a yeast nutrient called “Go-Ferm” with some water and let my yeast rehydrate in the mixture for 20 minutes or so before I pitch it. I do use nutrients nowadays. I use Go-Ferm and Fermaid O. You don’t have to use them, but nutrients will make a better end product. Watch any of my more recent videos for more information on them. You can shake the fermentation for the first few days for sure, though I usually do not.

[@antonwilson2880]

So do you absolutely have to add the chemicals or is it 100% necessary 🤔

[@letswineaboutit]

Nothing is 100% necessary, given that you won't die regardless of what you do (unless you add poison to your wine; then you will die). Adding stabilizing chemicals yields several benefits - increased shelf life, decreased risk of bottle fermentation, etc. - with no downsides that I know of. If your risk/reward assessment differs, that's okay! BUT, if you forgo the sorbate and sulfite route, you'll have to either (i) not back-sweeten your wine, (ii) back-sweeten only after going past the alcohol tolerance of the yeast, or (iii) pasteurize your wine right after you bottle it (though I have never done that, but there are some good videos on KZbin that explain it).

[@syreetabryant2141]

Great tutorial do I stir in the stabilizers thanks

[@letswineaboutit]

You can!

[@flsuccesscoach]

Question: Have seen some wine recipes where they put oak chips into the juice while fermenting to give it more of an oak flavor. Have you tried that? If so, what are you thoughts on it?

[@letswineaboutit]

I have! I’ve used oak several times myself. You can check out either the blueberry wine (part 3) or the apple pie wine (part 3) where I add oak to both wines :) Personally I love heavy toast oak because it brings so many rich, sweet flavors to a wine.

[@flsuccesscoach]

@@letswineaboutit Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. I just ordered a bag of toasted French oak chips. Going to make a batch using your recipe above and add the oak to it. Any idea how much I should add for a one gallon batch? This will be my second attempt at making wine. Used someone else's recipe last year and it was an unmitigated disaster. Your process makes a lot more sense so I'm confident it will go much more smoothly this time.

[@letswineaboutit]

I believe the recommendation for chips is 1 oz. per gallon, but do some Google sleuthing to check that. I’m glad you appreciate my process!

[@flsuccesscoach]

@@letswineaboutit Will do. Thanks again for the feedback!

[@judyguffey5489]

Try making Federweisser please you’re awesome

[@John_doe627]

I haven’t gotten drunk in some time but I made grapejuice pruno and shit got me a lil drunk which fermented for a week and I’m making more, doesn’t taste sweet it taste like a modelo with a bitter grape taste not sweet tho, made my tummy and throat warm

[@jasonmoore3980]

Why did you use bread yeast? Just curious.

[@letswineaboutit]

Honestly because I didn’t know better at the time. And it’ll still make decent wine, just not as good as a wine yeast.

[@jasonmoore3980]

@@letswineaboutit I almost did that too for my first batch. But after watching a few videos on KZbin it seemed like it would require more work to make it taste just as good as from wine/mead yeast. I didn’t know if you had like a particular reason for using it lol

[@letswineaboutit]

@@jasonmoore3980 I agree with the videos you found. Bread yeast has the advantage of easy accessibility for the new brewer, but that's pretty much it's only advantage.

[@keithsmith6932]

Awesome description. Glad I came across your channel. I am going to be fermenting some Welches Grape juice and your description of the process has helped me a lot. Just one question - how do you know when the fermentation has stopped and you are ready to rack? Do you take a gravity reading or is it just a case that there are no more bubbles coming out of your airlock? Surprised at the long fermentation time.

[@letswineaboutit]

The best method is to take two gravity readings, a week apart from one another. If those two readings are exactly the same, you know your fermentation is done!

[@keithsmith6932]

@@letswineaboutit OK thank you. That makes sense.

[@trudyglover2557]

@@keithsmith6932 yes The long fermentation period surprised me too. I saw another video by a woman who demonstrated wine making with juice- hers was ready In 10 days.

[@keithsmith6932]

@@trudyglover2557 The batch I made at the time of writing my initisl comment took also about 10 days. I bought a cherry wine kit this year and that took about the same length of time fo complete fermentation.

[@ThePeacePlant]

What's the shortest amount in time, weeks and month to be ready to drink? I am looking for something at least %13AVB or %20 is my desired AVB

[@scottguenthner4106]

You won't get to 20% with yeasts. When the yeast produces alcohol to a high enough level, the yeast can't survive it and it dies...basically killing its self because it did what it was supposed to do. Bread yeast can't usually survive over 8% and wine yeast will die off after about 15%....for 20% you need to look at distillation......yes, like moonshine😊.

[@TheArtofBoxing101]

Do you mix the potassiums or just add them in and let them sink?

[@letswineaboutit]

Mix 'em up a bit prior to bottling!

[@TheArtofBoxing101]

@@letswineaboutit can I shake the bottle if it seems like my fermentation is completely done after 12 days? Would the air be a problem? The airlock is no longer bubbling and inside it's no longer bubbling and when I tasted it, it came out to a perfect dessert wine. Your recommendation of 1 1/2 cups of sugar to 1 gallon of juice and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast (I used wine yeast) was fucking perfect btw. Best tasting wine I've ever tasted. The reason I ask is because I dont have anything long enough or thin enough to go through even my secondary bottle so I'd have to shake to mix and not stir.

[@friedfish69]

If you skip racking, you can cold crash. Stick the fermenter in the fridge for a day or two. Yeast goes dormant and sinks. Then bottle. Clearer wine. Less yeast taste.

[@letswineaboutit]

I wouldn’t consider cold crashing an alternative to racking; one can both rack and cold crash prior to bottling, and I think that’s the best practice if you’re going to do it. I certainly wouldn’t cold crash in primary if I have fruit in a bucket; I would at least rack once into a carboy.

[@typerightseesight]

I wonder if 131.25 has anything to do with barometric pressure. 31.25inHg is an average quality barometric air pressure readout on a sunny day when the pressures high (no rain).

[@letswineaboutit]

Ah! That would be a remarkable coincidence if the two were unrelated!

[@dj1NM3]

Would using a vessel with a tap remove the need for a syphon? Or, would the stream of wine coming out get too aerated and go sour during the yeast settling or bottling phase?

[@letswineaboutit]

That would be my worry. I would at least attach tubing to the tap so that moving the wine avoid air exposure.

[@dj1NM3]

@@letswineaboutit I suspected that something like that might have been happening. I've tried beer making a couple of times, but it always had a sour (but not really horribly bad) taste.

[@DivergentDroid]

The reason I wanna make wine is so i can have it whenever I want with as little cost as possible. Letting it sit for 8 months won't work. LOL I'd have drank that in 15 days as soon as the bubbles stopped.

[@joescott6270]

want to make 21 litres of this how mant cartons of jouice would i need

[@Will_Notcomply365]

Thanks for your help

[@letswineaboutit]

Any time!

[@moselleisrael3879]

Is it possible to just rack to bottle after two months if you don’t wanna wait for the extra clarity?

[@letswineaboutit]

Certainly. What you MUST make sure of before you bottle, however, is that the fermentation has stopped completely. Otherwise, your bottles will eventually explode from all that CO2 the yeast produce during fermentation.

[@IsaacNewton1966]

So no waiting to bottle after adding the stabilizers?

[@letswineaboutit]

I usually stabilize and bottle on the same day!

[@KonsuiKoyojutsu]

What about wild yeast? Like from a sourdough culture?

[@letswineaboutit]

You could use wild yeast, if you know how to cultivate it (or ‘capture’ it or whatever word they use in this context 😂). I’ve never done it, but the concern is that you have no idea what you’re gonna get when working with wild yeast - it leads to inconsistent results.

[@KonsuiKoyojutsu]

@@letswineaboutit Right, as a baker i always have a Sourdough starter so I'm curious how that would work vs commercial bread yeast and even vs wine yeast. Maybe one day I will experiment myself.

[@Agenda21Truth1]

@@letswineaboutitHistorically, you would use Raw Milk Yogurt Whey not yeast.

[@pierrethomas1023]

Hey, I got a suggestion for a video. You should make wine from a few different store bought juice flavors with the same starting gravity and yeast and compare. I’ve tried white grape peach and cran-mango so far. I’d love to see you grab a few and pick your favorite.

[@letswineaboutit]

Ooo that’s an excellent idea, I will take you up on it. I’ll give you a shoutout in the video as the inspiration!

[@eddiemann1452]

both racks at room temp? no need to chill?

[@letswineaboutit]

You certainly can chill them prior to racking, that would help particulates settle out a bit more quickly. I usually just wait until it falls clear on its own.

[@teampinksquad2632]

Wonder what it would taste like after 100 years 🤔

[@letswineaboutit]

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that it would be disastrously disgusting 😂

[@DivergentDroid]

If you are making this to drink right away, no need to add chemical stabilizers. That's only for those lofty enough to want to make wine sitting on a shelf for years so they can one day get bragging rights before they die.

[@V081WLBlue]

How come there are people doing this in a week rather than 6 - 8 months?

[@letswineaboutit]

It’s all about what your goals are. If all you want is alcohol, you can go from buying the grape juice to drinking the wine in about two weeks. If you want to make a nice quality wine that tastes good and looks pretty, it’s a slower process that takes time and attention to detail.

[@TheOpp111]

Wow 8 months, do I really have to wait that long 😂

[@furrycircuitry2378]

No this wine is meant to be consumed young just add real wine yeast get the abv up wait 1 week or 2 and once it stops bubbling rack to get rid of yeast cap at bottom chill and drink up man

[@TheOpp111]

@@furrycircuitry2378 Oh wow, I actually recently made my first wine, let it ferment for about a month and it turned out great, I didn’t have a therdometer but I roughly guess it’s around 10%+. Thought I was bottling it too soon but ig I overdid it😂

[@furrycircuitry2378]

@@TheOpp111 yeah you did but you live and you learn regularly the abv is around 12-14% when using wine yeast but 10 is good I try and aim for really dry wine the only problem is I love getting white girl wasted and drink it all before it gets really dry

[@knightmare1015]

Very cool. I did the math and came up with 13.125% ABV which is 26.25 proof. Now here's a little tip for you. After you add the potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulphite and want to back sweeten it without lowering the alcohol level, add 2 fluid ounces of vegetable glycerin. It will slightly thicken the wine a little bit while adding a tiny bit of sweetness and makes it easier to drink. You can also back sweeten it with the same juice you used to make the wine. I used Redstar DADY distiller's active dry yeast, Fermax yeast nutrient and Mile High Distilling's Yeast energizer. If it ferments out dry I should have a cranberry wine with 21% ABV.

[@letswineaboutit]

Good tip! I’ll have to try glycerine out and see how I like it!

[@johnwerner7194]

: )

[@ge0metr1xx]

8 fucking months holy shit

[@letswineaboutit]

Tell me about it