Wine making
Another project that I’m starting for the wet days when I can’t get out in the fresh air is brewing both wine and beer as if we need any more projects!
Wine brewing I have done before just the once using a kit I did some red which tasted alright the process was the problem and put me off a bit due to the first part of the fermenting process. This was a bit on the violent side the demijohn was on top of the fridge freezer. Overnight it managed to cover the ceiling and the wall dripping all down the back. So the wife wasn’t too pleased. The sticky mess this created was the main thing that I needed to sort this time round.
The wine kits that I have started with this time are Wine buddy Cabernet Sauvignon and a Wine buddy Chardonnay bought from brew-it-yourself. The only ingredients they do not contain are 900g of sugar and the water. Last evening I carried out the first step which was the same for both kits. Dissolve the sugar in boiling water and then add the concentrate top up with more water then the yeast and oak chips all in a demijohn. Then put the air lock and bung on the top.
After the mess it created last time I had to create some defences so after placing a tray in a bin bag I placed the demijohns on the tray and pulled the bag up so only the tops of the airlocks were sticking out. The white wine seemed happy enough during the evening bubbling at a very fast rate the red was the same but was also frothing in side the bottle. This made me check the temperature and it was on the high side so as the evening was quite warm it was time to cool down the ambient air temperature inside the bag by placing a freezer block on the tray. This immediately cooled down the air so I went to bed.
The following morning was a bit of a mess as the froth in the red wine had come up through the airlock. This was cleaned and all seamed fine when I left for work, a call about an hour later wasn’t so sure about things as it had happened again! This was dealt with in the same way and all was well we thought….
On return from work there was evidence of a slight eruption from the airlock but not a great deal of mess which was good. Since then all has been well until I returned from work tonight. The white is very happy but the red seams to have stopped working which is a little concerning as it is supposed to take a week not two days!
April 21st, 2009 at 8:52 am
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