Septembers Top 5 Wine Making Tips
September 3, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
Apoliges that the site has been a little quiet - its been that holiday time of year, which was actualyl a good thing, as both batches of wine needed time to finish fermenting. I’ll update on the progress of the white wine and the red wine in klater posts.
This post is the first of a monthly regular feature - Top 5 tips!!!
So i’m no expert at making wine, but I have already discovered a few fundamental things which will help make sure your winer making goes without a hitch :
Tip 1 - ALWAYS sterilise and clean all your equipment before use! It may seem boring, and you may not be able to spot any dirt, but believe me, them pesky little bacteria’s are lurking there and they will cause your pride and joy batch of wine to be rendered useless and tasting horrible! Just do it and rest safe in the knowledge that you’re using clean wine making equipment.
Tip 2 - ALWAYS read the instructions through, and then read each step through prior to actioning it! Even for the more experienced wine makers, I guess this would be a good tip!! Not all wine has the same process - it may be similar, but they can differ!!
Tip 3 - ALWAYS plan your batches of wine! Especially if you intend to do this on a constant basis! I have started to keep a diary and calendar of my wine, so I know when I can realistically start a new batch, when i need which equipment for which batch…and of course when I can organise a party!!
Tip 4 - ALWAYS reuse your bottles! I thought wine bottles would be 10 a penny, but they do actually cost money, so when you’ve finished with a bottle, save it, sterilise it, and then reuse it! You’ll save loads over the course of the year!
Tip 5 - ALWAYS be constructive in your criticism of your wine! If it doesn’t taste right, why doesn’t it taste right? What could have been done to make it better? Is there too much or too little of something? Only by being constructive, and objective, can you hope to refine your wine making!
I hope these top 5 tips are of use, if anyone has any other tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
Caution when reading Wine Making instructions!!
August 11, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
I was always taught to read instructions through, then read them again! If only I had listened!!!
So what i did wrong was - when I siphoned my home made wine into the glass carbouy, I “assumed” the sediment left behind would just sit in the pail, and the wine would be sediment free and ready for the secondary fermentation process to begin!
Having action/ed the siphoning, I noticed after 10 mins a fair amount of sediment grouping on the bottom of the glass carbouy. At this stage, i thought I should reread the instructions to see if this was normal!!
Alas, it’s not normal - what i should have done is use the racking tube and gauze on the end of the siphon tubing to filter out the sediment - obvious when you think about it!!! Further disaster - I could not find the needed racking tube or gauze!! So I improvised - using an old shirt, I siphoned the home made wine back through to the pail, then respiphoned ( again through the shirt ) back into the glass carbouy. Unconventional, but it seems to have done the trick.
The resulting wine is now air tight and looking decidedly clearer already!
So the advice? Read the instructions clearly, reread the instructions before each step, and make sure you understand what is happening at each step!!!
