My Fourth Wine Kit - VinClasse Italian Red - 7 Day - 23lts

This is another 30 bottle (23 Litre) kit from the 'VinClasse' range as before. However, this time a 'Italian Red' rather than the previous 'Riesling' white wine. The 'Vinclasse Italian Red' requires 4kg of Sugar to be added.

Day 1

I sterilised all my equipment as before:

• 23Lt/5 Gallon Fermentation Bucket (with lid)
  
• Bubbler/Air lock
• Hydrometer
• Long handled plastic spoon
• new jiffy clothe for wiping down equipment

 I kept the sterilising solution as before in a spare container  just in case other equipment needed cleaning or if I'd forgotten something!

I started by adding 4kg Vinclasse Brewing & Wine Making Sugar to the 23Lt Fermenting Bucket as instructed.  I then dissolved it in 5 Lts hot water and stirred well. The consistency looked very similar to that of icing sugar before you ice a cake . . . if you've ever iced a cake!? Smooth and creamy . . . 

Day 1 - Rosso Classico - 4kg Sugar

 I then added the grape juice as instructed and topped up with a mixture of hot and cold water to 23 Lts to 28°C ( instructions suggested between 25°C - 30°C) I stirred it well again as with a previous kit I hadn't stirred the juice in well enough and got a low hydrometer reading!

Once stirred well I took an hydrometer reading for a starting point. This is referred to as an Original Gravity Reading or OG Reading

OG Reading: 1072 Temperature: 28°C

This reading appeared quite low therefore I added an extra  ½kg sugar to the must and stirred in well, then took another hydrometer reading: 1080

Note: I think it's worth mentioning if I haven't already that it's really usefully to write everything down eg. dates, hydrometer readings, temps etc. I keep a little book and have already started comparing results.

Day 1 - Rosso Classico

 I placed the lid on the fermentation bucket with an airlock and placed in the 'Fermentation Fridge' (mentioned in previous blog) with a view to keep it at a constant  between 28 - 30°C .

Day 4

The must had been left to ferment over the weekend and when I got into work on Monday morning I checked it's progress and Oops ! . . . . It had exploded . . . well not literally, but there was plenty of mess. The lid had actually buckled under the pressure, yeast scum had overflowed down the bucket and splattered the sides of the fridge, impressive but a pain to clean up!

Day 4 - Rosso Classico - Fermentation Frenzy!

°

Day 4 - Rosso Classico - The Clean Up!

I reduced the temperature slightly in the Fermentation Fridge to hopefully slow down the process or at least make it less aggressive. It was currently 28°C so I reduced it to 26°C on the thermostat.

Day 5

I checked the must and it had blown the lid and spilled over again, however not so violently this time. Again I cleaned it up and reduced the temperature to 24°C on the thermostat. The must was still fermenting and hadn't appeared to slow down.


I checked daily and fermentation continued . . . . .

Day 11

Fermentation had stopped and I took an hydrometer reading: 997 Temperature: 18°C as I had removed it from the 'Fermentation Fridge'  the previous day.

Calculated ABV : 11.1 % by using the Homebrew Alcohol Calculator

As per instructions I racked the must off into a clean/sterilised 23Lt bucket using a 5/16" Syphon Tube and Rigid Syphon Tube (Can also be referred to as a Racking Cane) on the end . The 'Rigid Syphon Tube'  has 2 small holes drilled 10mm from one end with bung at that end. This allows you to syphon the must without sucking up the sediment.

Once this was complete I added the 'Stabiliser' sachet, mixed well and then 'Degassed' using a 'Wine Whip' (as described in a previous post) This was repeated a couple of times as suggested in the instructions. Each time the result was a pink, frothy head on the must.

Day 11 - Rosso Classico

I then added the 'Finings' (A) Sachet, stirred well and left over night. 

Day 12

I added 'Finings' (B) Sachet plus the Extract Sachet as directed and gently stirred in, then left to settle for a day before racking off. They suggest placing on a table or work surface at this stage so that the sediment is not disturbed before racking off . . . which makes sense.

Day 13

I racked off into another sterilised 25 litre bucket, using the lever tap, which left the sediment behind. I carefully tilted the bucket to capture any remaining wine into a small jug and added it to the clean bucket also. 

For extra clarity I racked it off again back into the sterilised lever tap bucket using a 'vinbrite wine filter kit mkIII' , I have used this before and like the results. I had to use 2 filter pads as the first started to slow the filtering to a snails pace, but once changed, filtration sped up again. I find it worth the extra time taken.

Vinbrite Filter Kit - In order it's assembled

I thought it worth taking a photo, as when I put it together for the first time I assembled it the wrong way! :o)

Vinbrite Filter Kit

 Once this was completed I left overnight to bottle/bag tomorrow.

Day 14

I decanted the wine into 'Bag in a Box' bags (sterilised and re-used from previous homebrews) using the lever tap on the fermentation bucket . . . .  Clean, quick and easy :o)

This is now the 2nd 'Vinclasse 7 Day Wine Kit' (23litres) that I've made. The 1st (Riesling) was a 'no sugar' to add kit. They were both quite straight forward to make. However, the 'Rosso Classico' did erupt quite impressively and I'm wondering whether the temperature was too high? Or it could be something to do with the extra 1/2 kg of sugar added on Day 1?

I'm yet to do the 'taste test' but as soon as I've tested it on my colleagues I shall post some reviews . . . 

Taste Reviews

Rachel:   "Fruity aroma and smooth taste. It was worth cleaning up the mess of the 
                fermentation eruption :o)"

Brad:      "Light and Fruity (not much body) but really easy drinking! Pleasantly suprised at
               the quality given that this was a 'budget kit' !"

Declan:  "Smooth, Fruity and very drinkable!"












 





 
 

My Third Wine Kit - 'VinClasse Riesling' - 7 Day Kit (30 Bottles)

This is another first for me, as so far I've only made 6 Bottle Kits, but the principles are the same I'm assuming.

With this kit I sterilised a 5 Gallon Fermentation Bucket (with lid), Plastic Jug, Demi John, Hydrometer, and a Plastic Long Handled Spoon, as per instructions and rinsed thoroughly with cold, running water.

VinClasse Riesling - 7 Day Kit - (No Sugar Required)  According to the instructions on the outside of the box you're meant to break the perforated seal to expose the tap (similar to that of a pre-made  wine box) This is meant to make it easier/ less messy to drain the Grape Juice into the Fermentation Bucket? I did find this method quite easy as you also have the box handles to grip rather than an unpredictable, heavy, wobbly bag if you decide to remove from the box first. Which ever is your preference, the bag will need to be removed once nearly empty to rinse the remaining juice with a little hot water.

Then all I had to do was top up to the  5 Gallon mark on the  Fermentation Bucket with warm water and check the temperature was around 22° (temperature strip on bucket) and stirred the water and juice together.

Once this was done and the temperature was correct I took a hydrometer reading which read 1068. A colleague commented that they thought this quite a low reading and suggested that I stir more vigorously to ensure the juice and water were combined properly. Which I did and took the reading again. This time it read 1075. That'll teach me not to stir properly!

I then added the sachet of Wine Yeast and Nutrient (Sachet 1) as instructed and stirred in well again. 

Day 1 - VinClasse Riesling 7 Day Kit

 This is what it looked like shortly after adding the sachet and stirring.

I then placed a half filled air lock bubbler to the lid and sealed it onto the bucket to await fermentation to start. . . . . 

Day 1 - VinClasse Riesling

Day 2

Checked the must and fermentation appeared well under way, with air lock gently bubbling, must 'fizzing' both visibly and audibly :o) The temperature strip on the bucket read 22°C.   

Fermenting Fridge

This is an unused fridge (with the insides removed) at work that has a thermostatic control that is linked to a brew belt heater inside,  enabling a constant temperature to be met regardless of the temperature outside the fridge . . . .

I placed the fermenting bucket in here to maintain a constant 22°C for the duration of the fermentation process checking the temperature daily . . . .

Day 6

Checked the must and it still appeared to be fermenting as when I lifted the lid I could still see tiny bubbles rising and hear it fizzing (much quieter than before though) The temperature was still around 22°C. 

I also checked the Specific Gravity with a Hydrometer (as instructed) The reading was 1004. According to the instructions the reading should be 997 (for white wine) Whilst fermentation was still occuring and the SG was very close, a work colleague advised me to  stir the must well to get the yeast working again and try to get closer the the desired SG of 997. This in fact did reactivate the yeast and fermentation continued . . . 

Day 9

I waited a couple of days for fermentation to finally stop and it did by Day 9. I took a final SG reading and it came out at 1000. I was aiming for the suggested 997 for white wine but didn't quite reach this as fermentation had ceased. 

To calculate the alcohol content of my wine (ABV) I entered my Original and Final SG readings into the Homebrew Alcohol Calculator on the Balliihoo Website :

Original Gravity : 1075

Final Gravity:       1000

ABV:                     9.97%

Now that fermentation had stopped I racked my wine off into a sterilised bucket using a sterilised syphon tube with a 300mm Rigid Syphon Pipe/ Racking Cane attached (to avoid sucking up sediment) This was now the third time I've done this process with various wines and it does get easier :o)

Once this was done I added the Stabiliser Sachet as directed and stirred in with a long handled spoon and it began to froth (apparently this is normal)

Degassing

The instructions directed me to 'stir or shake very thoroughly to remove CO2' . Now on further reading other material this sounds like 'degassing' though it was not mentioned by name.

Apparently 'Degassing' is necessary to remove CO2 which is toxic to yeast and inhibits the yeast's ability to ferment. The removal of CO2 also stops you from having fizzy or frothy wine which is meant to be served 'still'.

I used a Wine Whip Degasser which I attached to an electric drill. This agitated the wine to bring out the CO2 bubbles . I repeated this a couple of times at hourly intervals.

Day 9 - Racking Off

 

Day 9 - Degassing with Wine Whip

 I then added  the 'finings' sachet as directed, stirred in, replaced the lid to keep clean and left over nite in a cool room to settle and clear.

Day 10

I added the second 'finings' sachet and stirred in and left to clear over the week end.

Day 13

I 'racked off' again into a sterilised 5 gallon fermentation bucket with lever tap. This time I used the tap on the bottom of the bucket instead of using a syphon tube. I must admit I found this very easy and just needed to tilt the bucket slightly to get the remaining wine into a jug (avoiding the sediment) I then left overnight to settle again before racking off again.

Day 14

I 'racked off' again but this time using a Vinbrite Filter III for extra brightness and clarity.

Day 14 - 'Racking Off' using a Vinbrite Filter III

Day 14 - Vinbrite Filter III

This process took around 1 hour but the results were worth it! It produced a very clear, bright, light yellow wine. When I next use this method I am going to punch a hole in a bucket lid on which to rest the Vinbrite Filter 1) to ensure it is safer and less likely to fall in 2) to keep the wine clear from dust and general foreign bodies.

Day 15

Again I wanted to experience different bottling methods so I did some bottles and the rest 'bag in a box's.
Decanting the wine into bottles was simple using the lever tap on the bucket, this method has my vote so far!

Day 15 - Bottling using a lever tap

 After bottling 6 bottles I went on to use a 'bag in a box'. which holds 5 Lts/1 Gallon. Again using the lever tap it was reasonably simple. It just got a little tricky as the bag got heavier and I found it useful to sit on a stool and rest the bag on my knee as it filled.

Day 15 - Filling the 'bag in a box'

I used both the box that came with the bag but also re-used the original kit box.

Day 15 - VinClasse Riesling

 In the end I got 6 bottles and 4 x 5Lts 'bag in a box' of wine. Just got to wait for feed back now from all who drink it :o)

I found this kit straight forward and enjoyable to make. Now whether that's because I'm becoming more experienced and used to the processes or whether it's because I was using different processes which made it more interesting, who knows? But the results are looking good and I'm starting to feel like I'm learning something new each time. 

Taste Reviews

Rachel: " A smooth tasting white with a bit of a kick, lovely"

Phil:      " A characteristic Riesling with fresh flavours of pink grapefruit and a smooth finish. 
               A great summer drink for BBQs or Salad Days or just sharing with friends"

Brad:    "Clean taste, light, refreshing. Not particularly strong and perfect for summer"

 

My Second Ever Wine Kit - Solomom Grundy Cherry Wine Kit

Solomom Grundy's Wine Kit - Cherry - 6 Bottle

With my first kit nearing completion of fermentation I thought I'd start a new one using a different fermentation vessel. With my first kit I used a VinClasse 5 Litre Fermentation Bucket, I thought I'd use a Plastic 5 Litre Demi John to be able to compare the results. From ease of use to wine results.

Day 1

As with my first kit, I sterilised all my equipment in VinClasse Cleaner Steriliser as per instructions. I poured some of this solution into the Plastic Demi-John and swilled it around the inside every few minutes for 15 minutes (it was already new and clean) 

This kits' instructions were clear and easy to follow to make up the must. However, as a novice I would have found it helpful to have a list of Required Equipment before I started sterilising as when it came to adding the Sugar I didn't have a Funnel sterilised! Having made my first Kit in a Fermenting Bucket it hadn't crossed my mind to do so . . . but I wont make that mistake again! Another faux pas I made was to try and add the Sugar before the Funnel was completely dry . . . Oops! Not catastrophic, just annoying.

Day - 1  Solomon Grundy

Day 1 - Solomon Grundy

Anyhow, once the ingredients were added to the Demi-John, all I had to do was shake it up until the Sugar was fully dissolved, add the sachets of Wine Yeast, Acid Regulator and Nutrient, give it another shake then voila! All ready to fit Cap with Air lock. Place in a warm place to ferment. It started fermenting pretty much straight away which was impressive.

Day 4 & 5

I noted the temperature daily (there is a temperature strip on the side of the Demi-John) and it was consistently 24°c. The Must was bubbling away nicely for the first 5 days.

Day 6

Fermentation had ceased, and the Air lock had stopped bubbling. As per instructions I took an Hydrometer reading, it read 994 (the instructions stated to add STABILISER if under 995)
Added Stabiliser and shook vigorously at intervals for 2hours as recommended to DEGAS. This whole process was clean and easy, with the cap on the Demi- John.

I added the 'Add Back' Sachet (Cherry Concentrate) plus the Kieselsol Sachet (Clearing Agent) as instructed and left over night.

Day 6 - Degassing

                                                 
Day 7


I added the 'Chitosan' Sachet (Another Clearing Agent/ Finings)
On reading up about this I found that Kieselsol and Chitosan are both Clearing Agents that work together to help clump the microscopic yeast cells together so that they fall to the bottom of the demi-john, leaving the wine clear. I left for a day or so as instructed.

Day 7 - Clearing

Day 8

Time to 'Rack Off' the Wine. Now the instructions just said to syphon the wine off into a clean demi-john taking care not to suck up any of the sediment . . . easier said that done (not having done it before) Time to think it through logically . . . 

I Sterilised all equipment that I thought I'd need :

• Clean Plastic Demi John
• 300mm Rigid Syphon Tube
• 5/16″ Syphon Tube
• Plastic Funnel 
• Plastic Syphon Tap

.........and rinsed in cold running water. When sterilising the syphon tubes I took care to ensure that the inside of the tubes where fully immersed in the sterilising solution, rinsed, then swung around outside to get rid of excess water.

Racking Off

I attached the Rigid Syphon Tube to one end of the Syphoning Tube then carefully placed it in the Demi John that held the wine, I attached the Plastic Syphon Tap to the other end to stop flow when needed . I placed the empty/clean demi -john on a stool (at a level that was lower than the wine demi-john. To start the wine flowing from one vessel to the other I sucked until the flow started. This was easy to do. Note: Need to hold empty vessels as lighter and prone to tipping up!

Day 8 - Racking Off

Sweeten

The Instruction leaflet gives guidelines as to how much sugar to add according to taste. As suggested I measured out ½ the suggested amount as you can always add more but you can't take it away if too sweet ! After tasting I decided not to add the remaining sugar, it was sweet enough for me.

Bottling

I sterilised 6 Wine Bottles, the rest of the equipment used was already sterilised from shortly before. I set up the syphoning method as before, but this time found it easier to put the Bottles on the floor for fear of them falling off the stool and smashing, yep it nearly happened!
I used the Syphoning Tap to regulate wine flow but found it quite difficult to use when trying to steady the bottle at the same time. I abandoned this tool and resorted to pinching the tube. 

How Full to Fill the Wine Bottle?

There appears to be conflicting views as to how much gap to leave between the Wine and the Cork when bottling. The average consensus seems to be around 1″ to 1½″. 

Day 8 - Bottling

Using a 'Hand Corker'

I found this simple gadget easy to use, especially once I found the 'How to use a Hand Corker' link on the Balliihoo Web Site! Initially I had tried using it on the kitchen work surface but found it tricky to get any weight behind it. I then tried putting the bottle on the floor and standing over the hand corker which I found much easier.

Day 8

 Conclusion

On the whole I found the 'Solomon Grundy Cherry Kit' simple to use and the results were quick and pleasing. I followed the instructions to the 't' so that I could give objective feed back.
I liked using the Plastic Demi-John as it was like making a 'one pot' recipe and was easy to shake the ingredients when instructed. It was also really easy to see what was going on with all the various processes eg. Fermentation, Clearing etc without disruption.

Once bottling had taken place I did notice there was a small amount of sediment at the bottom of each bottle. If I'd have had more experience I probably would have 'racked off' again, but wanted to follow instructions.

 Taste Reviews

Rachel:  " Light, fruity and suprisingly tasted of cherries! :o) I love cherries so it's a winner                  in  my eyes. Not particularly strong but very moreish! "

Paul:      " Tasted of cherries . . .Slept well :o)"

Started Making My First Ever Wine Kit - Young's Country Definitive Blackcherry

As I mentioned in my original Blog, as part of my new job I have to learn how to make wine, therefore this Blog will be a perfect way to track a complete novice's progress. I'm hoping it will be a useful tool for anyone starting wine making for the first time to see photos of each stage, objective opinions of what I've found useful or difficult and I'm really hopeful to demonstrate how easy and enjoyable it is :o)

Day 1

Young's Country Definitive - Blackcherry

I thought this would be a good starting point as I have no experience of making wine, the added ingredients are minimal and the results are relatively quick for an impatient first timer!

This kit gives you 6 bottles of Blackcherry Wine at the end of 3 - 4 weeks, perfect!

I started by reading the instructions carefully, obvious you may think, however after spending 5 minutes just looking for the instructions only to find small print stating 'instructions on reverse of label ' . . . duh!

I'm lucky to have access to all the equipment I'll need at work but wanted to use all the same equipment that one would find in a 6 Bottle Wine Making Equipment Kit  for authenticity.

Sterilising all the equipment was straight forward and the instructions were clear. However, I did find that further on in the process I needed another container sterilized to dissolve the sugar. If I'd have read the instructions thoroughly in the first place I would have realized this . . . probably :o) So now I have learned that after you have finished sterilizing your equipment, do not throw the remaining solution away, you never know when you'll need it that day. 

I found the overall instructions easy to follow with the minimum of fuss. I liked making this first batch of wine in a wine fermenting bucket as it had 1litre graduation marks for ease of measuring, a temperature strip and was transparent to enable you to see what was going on. It was also easy to add ingredients and give a good stir with no mess. Thus far it has my vote, but I suppose I don't have anything to compare it to :o)

  After following the instructions carefully, all the processes were followed to the letter, my wine brew was now ready, lid on with air lock bubbler. 

So what about temperature to optimize fermentation? My works' kitchen is quite warm so I put the fermentation bucket in there and it stayed at a steady 22°c, lovely!

Day 1 - Blackcherry

Day 2

I was really excited to get into work to see how my Young's Country Definitive Blackcherry Wine was coming along. 

To be honest there wasn't that much activity in the air lock bubbler, however on viewing through the fermentation bucket I could see that it was starting to ferment slowly . . . even to my untrained eye :o) I checked the temperature and it was still around 22c as before.

Day 2 - Fermentation well under way

I had to leave it to it's own devices over the weekend but look forward to what it's going to look like on Monday morning when I need to add some tepid water  . . .apparently .



Day 5

Days 3 and 4 are missing as my wine was locked away in my works' Kitchen over the week end. This was a shame as I was meant to add some tepid water to the bucket on Day 3, but alas had to wait until Day 5 :o(

On inspection my Blackcherry Wine (Must) was still bubbling away gently and the lid of the fermentation bucket was slightly bulging. According to the instructions I needed to top the 'Must' up to 4.54 liters with tepid water. When I removed the lid (along with the air lock bubbler) I noticed there was yeast scum residue on the wall of the bucket (which apparently is healthy) I added the required amount of tepid water and gave the 'Must' a stir with a sterilized, long plastic spoon  and replaced the lid and air lock tightly.

 Day 5 - Blackcherry

I just have to wait for fermentation now . . . . . . . . 


Day 6 

On checking my fermentation bucket containing the Young's Country Definitive Blackcherry 'Must' visually,  I could see that the air lock was still bubbling therefore fermentation was still taking place. I recorded the temperature as usual which was 22°c.

Day 7

According to the instructions, fermentation should stop between 7 ans 20 days (dependent on temp) It appeared the air lock was no longer bubbling however when I lifted the lid there was still tiny bubble activity. I left it to check the next day.

Day 11

I checked the must daily and there was still some fermentation activity present. By Day 11 this had stopped. According to the instructions I should take a hydrometer reading. Having never done this before I sterilised it and placed it in the fermentation bucket with the must . . . . . It hit the bottom. As a last resort (not wanting to look silly) I asked a colleague who suggested I use a trial jar , this made sense once I used it :o) The reading was 1000 and I added the 'wine stabiliser' as directed.

Day 12

I added the 'finings' as instructed and waited to clear. I took another hydrometer reading which was 1006 (to test dryness - sweetness) When I actually tasted it it was still on the 'dry' side for my taste so I added 4 tsp of granulated sugar (dissolved in a drop of warm water)

Racking Off

I sterilised a 5lt Plastic Demi John, Plastic Jug, Plastic Funnel, and 6 Wine Bottles.

There appeared to be quite a lot of sediment in the bottom of the fermenting bucket so I used a jug to place the wine in the clean Demi John via a plastic funnel. I also used Filter Vinpapers in the funnel as extra filtration for the sediment. The process was slow but the result was a clear, bright wine! (I changed the Vinpapers a couple of times when filtering slowed)

Day 12 - Racking Off Using Filter Vinpapers

Once filtering was complete, I syphoned the wine into bottles. I used a Syphon Clamp to regulate the flow of the wine into the bottles, which was easy to use. I got approx 5.5 bottles of wine from this kit.

I used a 3 Handled Wine Corker to cork the bottles. Simple for one person the use.

Day 12 - Bottling With 3 Handled Corker

Day 12 - Clear & Bright Young's Blackcherry

The finished article was very pleasing for a first attempt. All had gone well without major incident . . . considering. I'm yet to taste it, but it looks and smells good :o)

NEW JOB

Just started my new job at  Balliihoo Homebrew. It's a whole new world for me as my only previous experience of wine is drinking it! :o)

As part of my new job I'm having to learn all aspects of Home Brewing and Wine Making, from learning about all the ingredients and equipment, packing, shipping, customer queries to actually learning about how to make wine and beer. As part of this process I thought it may be a good idea to start a 'blog', something else I've never done (so please bare with me)  

I'm starting with a basic 6 bottle wine kit, Youngs - Country Definitive Blackcherry tomorrow and plan to chart my progress on my blog. I'm expecting to have a few hic-cups along the way, but hey that's how we learn :o)

Wish me luck!