Comments for Washington Winemaker

Comment on Titratable Acidity: A Better Way! by Erroll

Erroll — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:59:53 +0000

Hi Tomer,

An acid, any acid, is a molecule that can break into one (or more) hydrogen ion(s) and the rest of the molecule. A hydrogen ion is just a free proton, and that’s why acids are sometimes described as “proton donors.”

When sodium bicarbonate is in a solution with an acid, the sodium (NA) combines with “the rest” to form a salt, and the bicarbonate (HCO3) combines with the hydrogen ion to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). The carbonic acid then breaks down into carbon dioxide gas (CO2 – which is what the acid testing device measures) and water (H2O).

This works for tartaric acid, citric acid, malic acid, and any other acid. Hope this helps,

Erroll

Comment on Titratable Acidity: A Better Way! by Tomer1

Tomer1 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:05:38 +0000

Wouldnt sodium bicarbonate only react with tartaric acid?
What about fruits which mainly feature citric or malic acid?

Comment on Simple Homemade Sanitizer by Tomer1

Tomer1 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:34:41 +0000

I belive that when the acid compound come with contant with the SO2 ,free so2 is released. thats why with high PH wines (low on acid) you need to up the SO2 ppm.

Comment on Better Wine Through Hard Choices by John H.

John H. — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:10:51 +0000

Erroll,
You and Jack Keller are the two most important influences on my own love for wine making. I’m sure you already know that. I practically hang on every word you both have to say about the subject. This article is no exception. I find it excruciating to throw away a batch of wine I’ve spent months pampering. When my watermelon wine got some kind of bacterial spoilage last year I turned to Jack, asking him his (expert) opinion about what I should do and what my options were. He told me something I won’t forget for a long time: When he starts a batch of watermelon wine – or a wine with watermelon in it – he does so with the EXPECTATION that it will spoil and he’ll have to throw it out! My shock at that revelation was intense. I’d never want to start a batch with the THOUGHT of perhaps throwing it out let alone the expectation that I will have to, but his attitude was that this approach makes it all the more rewarding when a batch makes it all the way to bottling without any problems. I completely get that, the necessity to cut one’s losses in spite of the effort already put into a batch.

If I had difficulty throwing out one gallon of wine, I can only imagine your dilemma with eight. I drank all of my vanilla mead last year despite it not being in my top 50 best-tasting commercial wines, so a wine would have to taste just terrible for me to come to the place where I’d toss it solely on that criteria, but I don’t discount the possibility.

Kudos, Erroll! Keep your highly useful and very interesting perspective on home wine making coming as you have been.

Comment on Washington Winemaker Goes Mobile by Lenore

Lenore — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:34:41 +0000

Hi Errol,

Thanks for making the website more mobile-friendly! I’m a big fan of your experimental wine recipes (about to bottle my first batch of Welch’s Wine today, actually) and look forward to using Washington Winemaker Mobile when shopping for ingredients in the future.

Comment on Know Your Ingredients: Chocolate by Erroll

Erroll — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:27:30 +0000

Hello Randall,

Give Lord Rhys Chocolate Mead a try!

Erroll

Comment on Bailout Blanc: White wine for hard times by Erroll

Erroll — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:25:42 +0000

Hi Dave,

You can use more cans of concentrate instead of adding sugar. I tried it and didn’t like it because the wine ended up tasting a bit like Welch’s grape juice. It’s your wine, though, so it doesn’t matter if I like it or not – give it a try and see.

It’s possible to make a nice dry white wine, and the recipe I posted will get you there. I just don’t think any amount of tinkering with Welch’s concentrates will get you something with the weight of a full bodied red wine. Have you thought about a red wine kit?

Erroll

Comment on Bailout Blanc: White wine for hard times by dave

dave — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:54:12 +0000

Hi,
Great article!
I am experimenting with 2 liter batches of wine. So far they all taste good but a bit thin for my tastes (i like cabs!) Anyway, besides all the additives – i use one can of concentrate and 1-1/2 cup sugar. that does about 13-15% abv using star cuvee yeast, but again…it is a bit thin tasting with an alcohol burn like port wine.

Could i substitute the sugar by simply using an extra can of concentrate? If so would the abv be about the same? I like my wines in the 12-14% range. Do i really have to add extra sugar if I use two cans?

Thanks!
Dave

Comment on Know Your Ingredients: Chocolate by Randall

Randall — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:27:03 +0000

Good information. I’m just a beginner at wine making and am really interested in some wines using chocolate. Any info you could share would be gretly appreciated. Just made a kit of Chocolate Raspberry port and loved it.

Comment on A Simple Mead Recipe: Bottled! by Erroll

Erroll — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:12:06 +0000

Hello Dustin,

It looks like we have a few different things to talk about. Let’s start with sulfite. The usual practice is to add 1/4 tsp sulfite powder to a 5-gallon (about 19 liter) batch before pitching the yeast, at every other racking, and just before bottling. It sounds to me like you added 3/4 tsp of sulfite powder to a 15 liter (about 4 US gallon) batch. Is that right? If so, the dosage is high – about what you would add after racking a 5-gallon (19 liter) batch five times – and I would not add any more until bottling time.

As to racking, you’re right that it’s best to do it based on the lees that collect at the bottom rather than a fixed schedule. Many recipes use schedules because they’re easier to explain (and to follow). You can rack too much, because you’re exposing your mead to air every time. After your first racking, you should have it under an airlock. I would say rack when it drops lees, but no more than once a month. You should see the racking become less frequent over time because the heavier sediment has already fallen out.

You need to be sure that fermentation is finished, and your mead is stable, before you bottle. Your hydrometer can tell you if it’s finished, and by “stable” I mean either dry (a specific gravity less than 1.000) or stabilized with sulfite and sorbate. It’s also nice if the mead is clear and finished dropping sediment. So if the mead is clear, dry (or has been stabilized), and you see no lees or change in SG over two months, then you can bottle.

I know it can be hard to wait, but mead does age well. If you can stand to wait a year, you will be rewarded. It’s rare for me to open a bottle earlier than three years. In the end though, your mead is ready when you think it’s ready – if you taste it and it tastes good then don’t let me or anyone else tell you not to drink it!

Thanks for the update, and I hope this helps
Erroll