Making Wine.

[Atheist]

Bit of a long shot. Anyone here make wine from their own grapes? Mine are red and I have crushed them and left to ferment on the skins but I don't know how long to leave them before pressing. I think they are Baco, which is not a quality variety.

[Old_Geezer]

I haven't, but I'd have thought, not that long. Once your wild yeast has hit the grapes the fermentation would surely be moved into a demijohn or carboy or whatever. I'd not want to risk other stuff getting at it. Personally I'd have opted for a bought yeast rather than risk the wild ones on the skins.

[Atheist]

Thanks, OG. We've lots of grapes here and therefore lots of wild yeast, and that seems to work well. This time I've added English-bought yeast powder and after four days the wine is well on the way and rather beaujolais-like, but when it's finished fermenting it's probably going to taste too acidic and lacking in tannin. I can usually drink it but not Mrs A. Each year I try slightly different techniques, hoping that one day it will be OK. I think I'll press it by the weekend and then lock it down in closed vessels (with airlocks) to relax over winter. Hopefully it will be potable in spring.

[Tilly2]

It sounds very complicated.

[Atheist]

Yes, Tilly, it is. I can make alcohol, but making decent wine is more difficult.

[Tilly2]

I bet.

Good luck though. I hope you manage to make something that Mrs A actually likes.

[Atheist]

Thanks, Tilly, so do I. She's bit cross because I let it start fermenting before I pressed a couple of bottles of juice. Trouble is, it goes like the clappers and even ferments raw juice in the fridge after a couple of days.

[Etch]

It's a while since I made wine from my grapes (Black Hamburg variety) but I seem to recall following the advice in C J J Berry's books: after crushing the grapes to form a pulp, add one Camden tablet per gallon to kill off any natural yeast, leave for a day or so and then add a wine yeast culture after pressing the pulp.

[Old_Geezer]

I seem to recall having a paperback from him about brewing beers like those you buy. I really must restart the wine making/beer brewing hobby again. To be honest I have a kit I bought a while ago and I have checked the equipment, but need to get some sodium metabisulfite first.

[Atheist]

OG; my grapes have now been fermenting on the skins, pips and stalks for 9 days. The initial fermentation is nearly over and the wine is full bodied and quite strong. Very black, as Baco is a very dark grape. I'll press it in the next couple of days, when the hornets are quiet in the early morning. I'm hoping for a better, more rich wine this year. After pressing I'll have black fingers for a week. I'll continue here when I see how it's working out. Thanks for your comments .

[Atheist]

Pressed this morning. Plenty of hornets, but not agressive ones.
https://ibb.co/Bw8j0gw

[Atheist]

Maybe 60 litres from a single old vine. It's asking too much for the old b.......r to produce good wine, but we'll have to wait and see.