KitzKikz: WineBatch03
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Apple Wine from The Joy of Home Winemaking
Major Ingredient: Apple Juice, Frozen Concentrate from Supermarket Source: http://www.joyofwine.net/wine101.htm
Beginning (16-Oct-2005)
Mixed the water, sugar, apple juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, and pectic enzyme and put into a glass 1-gallon jug. Covered with plastic and elastic band to hold the plastic in place. Let sit for a day before adding yeast. I'm going to attempt to follow Terry's instructions as closely as possible. That includes no unnecessary measurements. Ok, I lied, specific gravity is 1.064, temperature is 87F.
Day One (17-Oct-2005)One whole packet of Montrachet (Red Star brand) yeast added. This seems a bit of overkill, but that's what the directions said to do. Did not stir.A couple of hours later and bubles had filled the neck of the gallon jug and started to force their way into the plastic coverring. Clear evidence of why a bucket with plenty of extra space is preferred by many for the primary fermentation step. I put the jug in a dishpan to catch any overflow that might make it past the elastic band.
Day Two (18-Oct-2005)Larger bubles subsided and left a gunk around the inside neck of the bottle. I cleaned it out with a paper towel. Lots and lots of little bubbles are rushing through the must now - what they call rapid fermentation. The plastic cover / elastic band isn't working out like I would have thought. There doesn't seem to be any positive pressure keeping outside air from getting inside the bottle. I would think that the plastic would balloon out a little bit until the pressure was enough to get past the elastic band. It hasn't. Perhaps I'm not using a strong enough elastic band. I replaced this contraption with a stopper and air lock and it's bubbling away nicely. This way I can at least see that there is no air going the other way.
Day Four (20-Oct-2005)Still fermenting like mad. The airlock hasn't slowed down one bit. I know this is fermenting apple juice, but it looks exactly like the orange juice in my refrigerator. I'm attributing this difference to the yeast and bubbles.
Day Fifteen (31-Oct-2005)Fermentation has slowed to just a few bubbles every second. Took readings and a sip. Tastes horrible with a slight aftertaste of apple. I'm hoping this gets better and is not ruined.
Day Thirty-One (16-Nov-2005)There are still a few small bubble breaking the surface now and then. I took measurements and then a taste. It does taste and look like wine now, so I'm feeling more optimistic about this batch. Following the instructions, I racked into a fresh clean 1-gallon glass bottle. This was the first time I managed to use a siphon and racking tube without incident. I think I may have found the trick to this siphoning business. If I have, then I may start to enjoy this part of the process instead of dreading it.
Day Thirty-Five (20-Nov-2005)I decided to fine the wine starting today so I can bottle it next weekend. I added 3 ml of Kieselsol and stirred gently. Eight hours later, I added 1/2 fl. oz. of Chitosan and stirred.
Day Forty-One (26-Nov-2005)The wine cleared within 24 hours but I let it sit for the remainder of the week. I got 5 full bottles out of it.
Eighteen Months Later (22-May-2007)I had given 4 bottles away to friends and family. I just opened the final bottle today and it tastes very good. Tastes just like a less sweet Champaign.
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