Wine FAQ's
How do I know how much acid is in my wine? Where can I find ingredients to make wine with?
Why doesn't my wine start fermenting? Why is there so much settlement in the bottom of my fermenter?
What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic fermentation? How long does it take to make wine?
When do I bottle my wine? How much wine can I make?
This is normal!! depending on the amount of fruit you use, you can get alot of settlement. Dead yeast will also settle out can give you alot of lees on the bottom of your fermenter. NEVER allow your wine to stand to long on settlement. rack off of the lees and 3-4 week increments. or sooner if alot of settlement occurs
Arobic means with air, and is o.k. during primary fermentation. (first 5-10 days) Anarobic means without air and is called secondary fermentation. after primary fermentation, always keep the air from your wine after primary fermentation...
This varies depending on fermentation temperatures and type of wine yeast used. But usually fermentation takes around 1-2 months, and then you should let wine age in bulk an additional 2-3 months
Bottling time will vary greatly, depending on the fruit used and the fermentation environment. For instance if your wine has developed a haze, you will need to fine it and this could generally take longer, and postpone bottling. I find that with the majority of fruit wines, you can bottle at about 3-4 months after your start your wine.(though additonal aging in bulk will be better.) This time frame is allowing for a cool fermentation of about 65 degrees, and natural clearing of the wine. Remember fermentation is usually completed in the first month or so, then the racking takes place right after fermentation ends. One or two other rackings should be done in 1-2 month intervals to help your wine clear and stabilize. You should observe your wine for around 2 months or so after the last racking to see if any more settlement is forming in the bottom of your carboy. If it is, then rack the wine and let sit for anouther month or two, Until you longer see any settlement at all. This is when it will usually be safe to bottle your wine. You can also filter prior to bottling for added clairity, and protection from additional yeast settlemnt in the bottle. Add 25ppm sodium metabisulphate to wine before bottling. 1/8 tsp. Settlememt in the bottle is VERY hard to avoid, and it will take meticulous attention in order to avoid it. Filtering with a 1 micron filter or smaller is the best way to avoid settlement. the second best solution is extended aging in bulk.. 6 months to a year....
The amount of wine you can make depends largely on the amount of fruit or grapes you have, and to some extent the size of your fermenting vessels. The amount of fruit to aim for is roughly 3 lbs per gallon of finished wine. I have found that with only 2 lbs of fruit your wine will not have enough flavor. roughly 15-18 lbs of fruit will be needed to produce 5 gallons of wine. Remember when in doubt, use more fruit it will never hurt your wine and will lend a stronger fruit flavor in the end. BE CAREFUL with raspberry's they are very strong flavored and its easy to use to much. keep the fruit to around 2 - 2 1/2 lbs per gallon. Tast the must before you start fermentation, if its got a nice good flavor, then your will should too!! OH!! by the way, federal laws in most states allow a single individual in a single residence to make only 100 gallons of wine per year for personal consumption. 2 persons can make 200 gallons a year.