1st brews of my new season.

[Horden Hillbilly]

Yippee! I'm brewing again after my summer break!

I have just started these three wines, from L-R, Youngs Peach, Hop & Grape Rose & Beaverdale Chardonnay.



Now, where did I put those earplugs for when these start bubbling!

[Horden Hillbilly]

Do you top them up at any point HH?

Yea I do, after the initial foam of the vigorous fermentation has died down. I learned the hard way, the first wines I made were topped up to the 1 gallon mark, I fermented them slightly on the warm side, when I returned home from work & checked them there was foam all over the place after it had spurted out the airlocks!

[Vossy1]

Nice line up HH

On the question of topping up, how long can a wine be left before topping up, ie, max time?
I've always done it after initial vigorous fermentation is over, but today I noticed I've missed 2 which were under the stairs
The yeast will probably need rousing but will there be any side effects due to the delay?

[mysterio]

So how does wine making differ from beer making HH? How long does it need to mature etc? Might give it a shot.

[iowalad]

Here is a site that will tell you something about making wine from a kit -

http://uk-homebrew.tripod.com/id10.html

The guy seems to know his stuff!

[dan_olo]

Here is a site that will tell you something about making wine from a kit -

http://uk-homebrew.tripod.com/id10.html

The guy seems to know his stuff!

I think the author of the site was also the author of this post...

[iowalad]

[Horden Hillbilly]

Nice line up HH

On the question of topping up, how long can a wine be left before topping up, ie, max time?
I've always done it after initial vigorous fermentation is over, but today I noticed I've missed 2 which were under the stairs
The yeast will probably need rousing but will there be any side effects due to the delay?

I shouldn't think there is any harm done, I have forgotten about them myself on the odd occasion over the years and topped them up later without any problems occurring.

So how does wine making differ from beer making HH? How long does it need to mature etc? Might give it a shot.

To start it off using a kit is identical to a beer kit, sterilise your equipment, mix your grape juice, water & sugar, (if needed) add the yeast, fit the airlock & wait for the yeast to do its job. It needs a little more care & attention after fermentation, ie. ensure that it is clear & sediment free before bottling. Regarding maturing, the better quality the kit the longer the maturing period. The above wines will be left a minumum of 2 months after bottling before consuming, if I had made a selection estate wine kit I would normally leave it for a minimum of 6 months after bottling before I opened a bottle.

Here is a site that will tell you something about making wine from a kit -

http://uk-homebrew.tripod.com/id10.html

The guy seems to know his stuff!

You chaps are embarrasing me now!

[mysterio]

Thanks HH, I had a browse of your website and I might give it a shot at some point. I see H&G are giving away lots of wine making equipment if you buy a Selection kit from them, sounds good.

[Horden Hillbilly]

Just to update everyone on their progress, I have just finished racking these a short while ago.

They are looking good, nice & clear. I will give them a run through a filter next weekend & bottle them shortly afterwards.



They are in the same order as the 1st post, L-R, peach, rose & chardonnay.

[iowalad]

Those look great - you'll make a wino out of me yet!

[Horden Hillbilly]

I have ran them through a filter this afternoon to give them a final "polish" before I bottle them, probably next weekend.



They are sparkling now, who needs anything shiny when I have these!

[delboy]

Thats very clear, job well done

[Bigster]

Nice one HH - diamond sparklers. Filtering makes all the difference IMO. Shame we cant do the same with beer

[Horden Hillbilly]

All bottled this afternoon, I will leave them standing upright for 3 days before laying down in the rack. This allows the corks to swell after being squashed in the corking tool, this prevents "weeping" from the bottles.