[Welcome, Eschatonians! —lambert]

Those of you who have followed my series on home winemaking have read about my Red Currant wine. This year I entered it into the Indiana State Fair International Wine Competition, the first time I’ve entered any of my wines in competition. And I’m pleased to announce that it won a Silver Medal!

I decided to hold off on posting until after the big primaries yesterday, so now it’s time for a change of topic. Whether making your own wine or buying in bulk, you need to consider the needs of the wine if you’re going to hold it for any significant length of time. And how long should you hold it?

For Winemaking 101 Pts. 1-6, see these previous posts.  Read more 

A day like today when the temperature struggles to reach O (and fails!), is a good day to add some finishing touches to your bottled wine. These additions certainly aren’t necessary, but add a lot of visual appeal and show a sense of pride in your accomplishment.
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The wild grape wine that I started last week has been fermenting enthusiastically. I drew a sample last Saturday to measure the specific gravity and pH, and taste of course.

A Wine Thief in action.  Read more 

I recently bottled the Currant wine I had in the works, so there were some carboys emptied and available for the next round of winemaking. I had 30 lbs. of wild grapes that I had collected last fall and had frozen for future fermenting, so it was time to get them thawed and put to work.

30 lbs of Vitis Riparia ready for fermenting  Read more 

Last year, a neighbor of mine gave me a 10 lb. bag of cranberries. My apple tree had born badly that year, so I had only enough apples for a couple of gallons of juice. A little creative combination let to a new wine that turned out rather interesting, CranZapple. This year I got 19 lbs of cranberries, so I thought I’d do it again.

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I had a bumper crop of Red Currants this year, so last July when they were at optimal ripeness, 31 lbs. of them went into the fermenter. Red Currant is one of my favorite wines to make as it ferments well, colors and clears beautifully, and is something I’ve rarely seen elsewhere. Since the wine was last racked, about 3 months ago, fermentation has finished, and it has cleared completely. Now it can be stabilized, sweetened, and prepared for bottling.
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Holidays are often times when the confluence of family, friends, food and drink bring new things to your table. This year at the Feral household I served my Pear wine with Thanksgiving turkey which went over better than I expected considering my parents and sibilings preference for sweet wine. Of course, I had some Riesling Spatelese as a backup in case the Pear bombed. So how was your holiday experience? Any pleasant (or unpleasant) suprises?  Read more 

When we last visited the Red Raspberry wine three weeks ago, it had just gone from the primary into the secondary fermenter. Fermentation has slowed and a layer of lees has formed on the bottom of the jugs, so it’s time for the second racking. A hydrometer check shows a reading of 1.009, so there are still some sugars to ferment. Compare this picture to the previous hydrometer pic and you can see the wine is starting to clear.
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Well, the raspberry wine won’t be ready for the second racking for another week, and I just racked the apple wine yesterday, so while there’s a bit of a lull, I thought I ask if any of you are making wine, or have made wine, or are thinking about making wine. So what have you got fermenting? What would you like to try? I’ll be around for the rest of the weekend, so let’s talk wine and winemaking.

It’s been 6 days since the addition of the yeast to the Red Raspberry wine. The cap has been punched down into the must twice daily, and the latest hydrometer reading of strained must shows an s.g. of 1.040, so it’s time for racking into the secondary fermenter.
(See here for the post on Primary Fermentation)
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The apples on my Ida Red tree have finally gotten ripe, so while the red raspberry wine is working in the primary fermenter (see here for the beginning of the raspberry wine), it was time to pick my apples and press them out.

Ready to start squeezing  Read more 

Earlier this year, I collected and froze 15 lbs. of red raspberries. Now join me as I start the process of turning them into 5 gallons of wine.  Read more 

You want some good exercise? Try harvesting wild grapes while standing in a canoe! To keep your balance you’ll use muscles you didn’t know you had.

I’ve been busy and was out of town last weekend so I haven’t gotten the next batch of wine started yet, but in the meantime there’s a bumper crop of wild grapes along my river, so I’m collecting with the plan of taking another shot at wild grape wine. I haven’t make wild grape since very early in my winemaking adventures and I have to admit my first attempt wasn’t all that good, but my techniques have improved immensely since then. And the grapes are free, all you have to do is collect and clean them. Which leads me to today’s topic: Procuring Fruit for Making Wine.

The SS Sour Grapes  Read more 

By this time you’ve racked your wine several times from one carboy to another. The airlock is quiet as fermentation has stopped. You notice that after the last racking, there has been no more sediment deposited on the bottom of the carboy, and using a wine thief, a specially formed glass tube for drawing samples of wine; you fill half a wine glass with your labor of love to check it for clarity and flavor. If you’re satisfied with the wine you can either leave it in the carboy for further aging, (assuming you don’t need the jug for additional batches of wine), transfer it to another container such as a small barrel, or in most cases you’ll choose to bottle. (For info on equipment up to this stage see Pt. 1a and Pt. 1b)  Read more 

Feral Liberal’s series on winemaking.

Your wine is now bubbling merrily along in your primary fermenter, the yeast cells working furiously to create alcohol for your drinking pleasure. Soon fermentation will slow down, and it will be time for the first racking, moving the wine from one container into another. This post will outline equipment needed for racking wine into a container for secondary fermentation, the second, slower stage of fermenting; and bulk aging. (For info on equipment up to this stage see Pt. 1a) What you’ll need at this point will again depend on how much wine you’re making, and what you are making it from.  Read more 

So you think you’d like to take up home winemaking? Go for it! It’s not difficult, and for the casual vintner it doesn’t take a lot of exotic equipment. Today I’ll be going over what items you’ll need to get a batch of wine going through the primary fermenting stage. Equipment will vary somewhat depending on how much wine you’re making and what you’re making your wine from.  Read more 

I’ve occasionally been asked why I make my own wine when there’s an abundance of reasonably priced, decent quality wine so readily available. I admit, I frequently dip into that well (I’m sipping a hearty California Zinfandel right now). But making your own wine gives you possibilities and a perspective that you’ll never get from merely making a purchase.  Read more 

Hello! I’m FeralLiberal, and I’ve been invited to guest post at Corrente. Those of you who spend much time in the comments at Eschaton have probably run across me. For those of you who haven’t, I’d like to tell you a little about myself.  Read more