Muntons just sent us a 15 bottle kit: Muntons Cedars Gold – Cabernet Sauvignon

Here’s the rundown:
Opening the box presented us with the following ingredients:

• 2 Cans of concentrate
• A Packet of Yeast
• Yeast Nutrient
• Stabilizer
• 2 Finings packets
• Instruction Booklet

We got right to work following the simple directions. Here it is during the primary fermentation, the yeast looks very happy and it smells great.

Below is the uneventful secondary fermentation, the bubbly is done, and it’s settling out.

And finally, after only about 23 days, it’s in the bottle. As seen below with my label on it.

The kit made 15 delicious bottles. This wine paired great with some steaks I made the night we bottled it. At 10% alcohol by volume it’s not overpowering.

I enjoyed making this kit and would certainly make this one again.

Muntons just sent us a 15 bottle kit: Muntons Cedars Gold – Pinot Grigio

Here’s the rundown:
Opening the box presented us with the following ingredients:

• 2 Cans of concentrate
• A Packet of Yeast
• Yeast Nutrient
• Stabilizer
• 2 Finings packets
• Instruction Booklet

We got right to work following the simple directions. Here it is during the primary fermentation, the yeast looks very happy and it smells great.

Below is the uneventful secondary fermentation, the bubbly is done, and it’s settling out.

And finally, after only about 23 days, it’s in the bottle. As seen below with my label on it.

The Cedars Gold Pinot Grigio from Muntons turned out great. The kit made 15 bottles in no time, and had surprising body without any aging.  I’m sure as this bottle ages a bit it’ll be even better.  It came out at about 10% alcohol by volume, but doesn’t taste of alcohol as you drink it.

I’d give this kit a solid rating, and would make it again.

Hey Everybody,

We’d love to start showcasing your amazing wine labels from your wine batches.

Please send any entries to adam@winemakingjournal.com please include any of the following:

• A picture of your custom label, either the graphic or a picture of it on a wine bottle.
• Your Name and Location
• Your blog/website address if you have one.
• Any story behind the label

We’ll make a post and showcase your label / art.

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10. You Can’t Please Everybody

When it comes to Wine Making, everyone has different tastes. Some like white, others red. Certain people like dry wine, others prefer sweet and desert wine. The same holds true in all parts of life, nobody likes the same thing. So, you need to stop doing things in order to please everyone. It’s a futile effort. Instead, you should focus on doing things that you like, that you’ll find pleasing. You’ll find that it makes you much happier and content, and you’ll still please plenty of people along the way as well.

9. Stop Thinking So Much and Act

Nothing happens or gets created by thinking about it. I’ve spent hundreds of hours thinking about different batches of wine. But all of that thinking has not created a single drop of wine. It’s only when I did something, besides think, that some wine actually got made. You can think about washing the car, creating a blog, or sending that birthday present, but that will not get it done, you actually have to take some steps, even just one step to make it happen.

If you start to apply this, I think you will find that action creates more action. Even taking just the first step on a project will start the cascade of events that the plan needs in order for it to be completed. Just one small step can jump start the whole process. It certainly makes much more happen, then just thinking about it.

8. Cut Your Loses

Every batch of wine is not going to go as planned. It’s better to dump a bad batch then to invest any more time or money in to it. Adding any more effort into a failed endeavor only adds more of your emotional investment to the project. This will make it even harder to abandon it in the future.

In life, it is painful to give up on something that you’ve spent a lot of time and money on. But, the alternative is living with constant worry and agonizing over these failing projects. Your efforts could be better spent on new projects, this time using what you have learned from the failed ones.

7. Make Lots of Mistakes

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And when they happen, you shouldn’t sweat them either. Everyone makes mistakes, it’s part of the learning process. You do not learn any other way. Imagine if you didn’t make any mistakes, if you did everything perfect the first time. This might seem like an ideal situation at first, but what would you have learned from the process?

When you make mistakes, your brain takes all that knowledge and information and assimilates it for the next time. The only trick here is to recognize if you are repeating the same mistakes and correcting for it.

6. It’s OK to Say I Don’t Know

If you are not still in High School, chances are that you don’t know everything. Once you admit this, you stop it from limiting your actions, or decisions to act, a whole word of possibilities opens up in front of you. I’m certain that whatever is in front of you that you don’t know how to answer or solve, someone else can probably help, or the answer is available. You just need to go and find it or ask for it. This leads into the next two lessons as well.

5. The Internet Can Answer Almost Any Question

I would be willing to bet that 99% of all human knowledge is freely available on the internet. Even if it’s not, you will certainly be pointed in the right direction. Weather it be a book that can address the issue, or a person or an organization that can help. It doesn’t matter how far out the question may be, you can find the answer, again you just have to go look for it.

4. Get Out and Help and Work With Other People

You are not an island. Chances are, you are not the only one working on a project, pursuing a hobby or career.

First, give your help away to others freely. A lot can be learned by simply helping someone else accomplish the same things that you have done. Don’t worry about getting paid or receiving any sort of compensation. Rewards for being generous with your time will certainly come and in ways that you would never expect. So, if you are able to help someone, simply offer, or say Yes! when asked. Karma has a way of keeping score and will reward you in some way.

For example, my winery has always been open to my friends and acquaintances, to make their own wine, with my help. Just one of the rewards I’ve gained from this are some of the most amazing batches of home made wine. Had I not been open to helping these friends, and providing space and equipment, I would have missed out on some excellent wine.

Next, other people like to help others just as much. So don’t be afraid of asking for help or seeking out a mentor. There are others who have already done what ever it is that you are trying to accomplish that are willing to help, often for free. You can use the wisdom that they have gained from their mistakes, so that you do not have to go through them yourself.

3. Patience

Wine is a fickle beast. If you rush it, it all falls apart. Life is the same way, things take time. Ideas and processes that you put into place may not pay immediate dividends. But, given enough time and nurturing, they can pay huge rewards. For example, it’s nearly impossible to loss 100 pounds overnight, but given some time it’s entirely possible for you to achieve this.

As long as things are progressing in a positive direction, do not sweat it or give up. Just keep things moving and it will all work out.

2. Cleanliness, or an Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

In Wine Making, a little bacteria can spoil a whole lot of wine, and along with it your time and money. Once a batch of wine becomes infected with some nefarious agent, their isn’t too much you can do to save it. The only thing left to do with it is pour it down the drain. The old saying about an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is absolutely true, both in Wine Making and in real life.

Now, I’m not saying you can prevent every possible bad outcome, but you can certainly think ahead a little bit and prevent plenty of them. Sanitizing your wine making equipment 100% of the time is much easier than starting batches over. Just like not running with scissors is much easier than a trip to the emergency room. I may have oversimplified this one, but I hope that you have caught the jist of it.

1. Everything Happens For A Reason, or Don’t Worry

I try not to fret too much about the batches of wine that I currently have going. I’m sure I’ve done everything I can to ensure their success. Everything else is out of my control. Worrying about the things that I can’t control does absolutely nothing to prevent them from happening anyways. The constant worrying just creates anxiety and wastes your limited time, time that you could be using to instead work on something that you can actually make happen, such as making even more wine.

If such worries or doubts do enter your mind, try to picture the worst that could possibly happen. Then briefly imagine how that would actually affect your life. Once you realize it wouldn’t be as bad as you first thought, you can easily dismiss the worrying, and get back to the things that you can control.

What have you learned?

If you’ve made your own wine, or beer, what have you learned from the process? I’d love for you to drop a comment and share with everyone. Both success and failure teaches us something, practice number 4 on this list and share with everyone.

Wine Making Additives

Teaspoons Per Ounce

Measurement Conversions

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 ounces
1 pint = 2 cups = 16 fluid ounces = 1 pound
1 quart = 4 cups = 2 pints = 32 fluid ounces = 2 pounds

Hydrometer Temperature Conversion

Hydrometer Conversion

Fahrenheit to Celsius

The formula for converting from Fahrenheit to Celsius is:

((Deg. F) – 32) x (5/9) = Deg. C

Celsius to Fahrenheit

The formula to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit is:

(C * 9)/5 + 32

Wine Making Bung Sizes

Solera Method

The Solera method of aging liquors is quiet fascinating. This process can be used for different types of booze, but for the rest of this post, I’ll refer to it as wine, for simplicity. This method produces wine that is both consistent year after year and provides and smoothed out aging process.

The Basic Steps

1. Each year a portion of wine in the oldest barrel is pulled off and bottled.
2. This barrel is topped up from a barrel one year newer.
3. That barrel is topped up from another barrel even newer.
4. This continues all the way to the last barrel, which is filled with fresh wine from this year.

Here’s a graphic video showing the method. Solera Method on Vimeo

Fun Facts

• The Spanish and Portuguese created the Solera method.
• Sherry is the most common liquor that uses this method.
• Glenfiddich’s 15 year single malt scotch is made using the Solera Method.
• It takes 10 years to create a Solera with an average age of only 8 years.

Wine Making At Home

I really want to try creating one of these at home. If I do, I’ll be sure to post about it here, so check back. If you have attempted this, leave me a note in the comments, I’d love to hear about your experience.

More Resources

• WikiPedia
• Wine Maker Magazine

Having an organized winery can make wine making easier, less stressful and more fun. Even smaller spaces can be organized to make efficient use out of the space you do have. With a new baby on the way (our first) my wife and I decided to move our office downstairs, giving us an extra bedroom upstairs. This move chopped the winery space I had in half. After some carefull planning I now feel like I have more room. Below are some of the key areas I focused on. Improving my organization and layout in these areas has given me more working space and more storage space.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Ugly

Before the move I had the following setup:

One rickety old desk which served as both my working area and my full carboy storage. This meant I usually had no working area at all, as the desk was chuck full of carboys. The desk had one drawer in it which served as my only storage for chemicals, corks, funnels etc. As you can imagine the drawer was always full and I had to dig through it to find anything. My floor corker (a must have) sat next to the desk. During bottling I had to stack the full bottles on the floor. There was also no running water, only a floor drain. The floor drain was usable but very messy when trying to empty a carboy into it. To fill anything with water I would have to trek upstairs then haul it back downstairs. Some improvement was definitely needed.

The Bad

The first 2 steps in the improvement process were adding running water with a viable drain and bottle storage. I bought a utility sink kit from home depot and tapped into the nearby water pipes and drain lines. With all the parts included this project cost less than a hundred dollars. I was very pleased to never again run up the stairs to retrieve water. And the floor drain stays nice and clean as well. Bottle storage was next next problem. Wine cases tipped on their side on the floor wasn’t cutting it. I searched on-line for different racking systems. They all seemed very expensive, ranging from $1 to $3 per bottle. I figured I wanted to be able to shelve about 200 bottles. So $200 to $600 wasn’t going to work for me. So I asked my handy carpenter friend for some help. He came up with a rack system that stored 98 bottles for less than fifty bucks. I built two of them and painted them white. So now I had the water and the bottle storage problem solved. I felt like I was getting somewhere. Then the dreaded move came, cutting my floor space in half.

The Good

I figured as long as I was forced to move things around, I might as well make some more improvements. First step was to throw out the rickety desk and replace it with a new laminated counter-top ($23), with two twelve inch cabinets holding it up ($50 each). This counter-top would be my new working space. The cabinets also provided some storage for supplies. The space between the cabinets was open, leaving space for a garbage can and storage for some empty buckets. The next solution was to add carboy storage. I purchased 3 sheets of medium density fiber board 24 by 48 inches ($6 x 3) and 3 square support brackets for each of the top two shelves ($5 x 6). I installed the bottom two about 30 inches apart. I can store 16 six gallon carboys on these bottom two shelves. On the top shelve I can store 3 gallon carboys and other miscellaneous items. The only downfall to this setup is not being able to get a racking thief into the carboys. So from now on I am using a pump to rack and bottle. Even though I had much more storage already, I added a wire shelf above the counter-top, around the corner and over the wine racks. This shelf is great, it’s nice to have some things handy, right above your work area.

The results

Even though I have less raw floor space to use, I feel like my new winery is much better then the old one. With a little planning and effort you can maximize the space you do have, with out too much money, to make your winery fun and organized.

Here’s a simple diagram of how to make home made wine.

How to Stabilize Home Made Wine using Potassium Sorbate

The most common way to stabilize a batch of wine is to add the following ingredients per gallon:

• 1/2 tsp Potassium Sorbate
• 1 Crushed Campden Tablet

I’ve been using this formula since the begining. However, I did have one batch start to referment after sweeting and bottling. Any ideas why, or how to improve on this process, please add it to the comments.

Potassium Sorbate

Potassium sorbate is actually a potassium salt variation of sorbic acid, a polyunsaturated fat utilized to prevent mold development. It is put into wine to hinder additional yeast development, safeguarding your wine. It can be used to hinder molds, yeasts, and fungi in numerous food items, for example cheese, wines, and baked goods.

Potassium sorbate is really a popular food additive offered at most shops supplying supplies for wine making and natural food retailers or anyplace canning supplies can be purchased over the world wide web.

Potassium sorbate is generally contained in dehydrated fruit items and it is getting to be utilized in herbal dietary supplements. It has additionally became popular because of its effectiveness when utilized in various personalized care products. It continues to be generally acknowledged as safe to be used in foods and individual care products. It is put into numerous goods, such as grape juice in order to avoid spoiling.

Potassium sorbate can be used in plasticizers, lubrication, glossing coatings etc. It is regarded as the most popular preservative on earth. It’s efficient up to pH 6.5.

Potassium sorbate is 5 to Ten times more efficient at safeguarding food items than sodium benzoate, one other popular preservative.

Potassium sorbate is well-tolerated in the majority of individuals, being effortlessly metabolized. Allergic responses are scarce. It is often a fine, white colored powder that melts quickly in fluids. It isn’t dangerous if taken internally and will not trigger respiratory system irritation but you can get eye irritation.

How I find extreme happiness and joy by making my own wine

Homemade wine making is a wonderful experience. Picking out the fruit and deciding on a recipe is only the beginning. Cleaning and cutting up the fruit can be tedious at times, but I get a surreal feeling as I go through the fruit. Selecting only the best specimens and discarding the bruised and battered pieces. Then comes preparing the must for the primary. Measuring the fruit, doing this I never use a scale or measuring cup. I just make sure I come close to the recipe I’ve decided on.

With some recipes I get to sanitize my hands and smash the fruit to smithereens. If I used my feet none of my friends would drink it. Getting your hands dirty is a blast, and makes it more of “hands-on” experience. Carefully measuring the chemicals, sugar, and water makes it feel like you are preparing your next masterpiece. You start to imagine how the wine is going to turn out, picturing the final color in your mind, relishing how the body will turn out, and already starting to design a label in your head.

The anticipation while your at work the next day is always exciting. When you finally arrive home you rush over to the primary bucket and check for the tell tale signs of an active fermentation. You see the bubbles and do a little happy fermentation dance. Next I always put my nose up close and smell the yeast working. It reminds me of driving through Milwaukee. For you beer lovers out there a trip to Milwaukee is a must (pun intended). There are many breweries with free tours and of course Free Beer!

Each day as you punch down the must your excitement grows. Your next little baby is taking shape. As you move into the secondary stage you start to feel like a protector, making sure the bung is nice and tight and the air lock is set. Gotta protect the wine from all that pesky oxygen. Once the batch has been racked a few times and we get to the aging process, patience is the key. I go a little crazy during this stage. Every few days I go and peek at it. I check the color and make sure nothing weird has happened, or started to grow in there. Sometimes I ease the pain of waiting by printing the labels. I also make sure I have enough bottles and corks ready to go.

Then finally the day of bottling comes. I usually invite someone over to help. Having a friend over for this can double the excitement. They can also help to determine the amount of sweetening the batch needs. Once we get the sweetening worked out, we pull off a bottle (or two) for us to enjoy during the bottling. As the corked bottles start to pile up, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I start to think how my loyal fans are going to like this latest batch. After the entire batch is bottled and labeled, I like to sit and look at all the bottles as I reflect on the joy I had in creating them. Then I uncork another one and start thinking about what I’m going to make next

If you’ve never made homemade wine before, I highly recommend starting. It’s not as difficult as it may seem and I promise you’ll love it when that first batch is done.

How to cope with a bad batch of wine, because saving it is just to painful

Sometimes a batch of wine that you are working on is so bad that you just have to dump it out. We’ve all been there, months of hard work and the batch still tastes horrible. If you haven’t been there you will be sooner or later. Here are some ways to cope with the thought of having to pour all your hard work down the drain. This assumes that you have tried to troubleshoot it, and nothing works.

The easiest method is to crack open a good bottle of wine, get liquored up a bit, and stare at the offending batch. Once you’ve drank enough about the wine, and pondered on how bad the batch really is, it should be easy just to dump it down the drain.

Another way is to start a new batch. Starting a new batch will add a bit more excitement into your wine making experience, and will lessen the hurt of pouring out a batch. While dumping the old batch down the drain, try to focus on how great the new batch is going to be. If your confidence has been shaken, try starting a batch from a kit. These kits are moderately priced and it’s really hard to mess them up.

Phone a friend. Call in one of those lifelines and have another wine buddy come over and taste it. Ask your buddy to be honest. If it is truly horrible, your friend should have no problem agreeing with you. Hopefully this reassurance is all that is needed to help you make the plunge. If not, ask your friend to dump it out while your not looking.

If all this fails, or you just can’t bring yourself to do it. Simply put the carboy to the back of your shelves and cover it up. Leave it for 6 months, even put a note with a date of when to try it next. When the time rolls around, try it again, if it’s gotten worse try one of the above methods again. If it’s better, but not quite right, wait another 6 months. If it’s a miracle and tastes great, consider yourself lucky and bottle it.

Remember, wine making is an art, not a science. Some paintings are not going to turn out. It’s not your fault, it’s just God’s way of saying you can do better.

Quick facts about Concord Grapes

• The Latin: Vitis Labrusca.
• The skin color is Purple, or maybe Dark Blue.
• Accounts for about  336,000 tons or eight percent of the U.S. Grape Harvest.
• Naturally low in sodium and contains no fat or cholesterol.
• One of the most popular wines made by amateurs.
• Supplementation with it’s juice improves memory function in adults with mild cognitive impairment.
• It’s juice contains flavonoid polyphenol compounds, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and influence neuronal signaling.
• At home growing has gained popularity in the past several years and is a great way to start your grape growing venture.
• The juice was initially introduced as an alternative to communion wine.
• Named after the city of Cord in Massachusetts.

Uses for Concord Grapes

• Wine Making, including Kosher Wine
• Jelly
• Juice
• Soft Drinks
• Pie
• Candy

History of the Concord Grape

This grape was first created in Concord MA by Ephraim Wales Bull in 1849. Ephraim pored over twenty two thousand seedlings then finally settled on what he thought was a grape that was pure perfection. What a dedicated Viticulturist. Ephraim the went on to first place in the Boston Horticultural Society Exhibition in 1853. In 1869, Welch’s created the first Concord grape juice.

Do you want to plant your own?

These grow great in the US, even in the north. Check out Inland Desert Nursery, to get your own seedlings.

A hydrometer is a must have for the home brew maker.

A hydrometer is generally built of glass and includes a cylindrical stem along with a bulb weighted with mercury or lead making it float vertically. The must being analyzed is added to a tall container, normally a graduated cylinder, and then the hydrometer is softly lowered in to the must until it floats easily. The point where the top of the must touches the stem on the hydrometer is observed. Hydrometers generally include a scale within the stem, in order for the specific gravity to be read. Hydrometer readings will need to be noted both just before and following fermentation.

A hydrometer displays:

• Specific Gravity from .990 to 1.170
• Balling or Brix from 0 to +38% sugar by weight
• Potential Alcohol by Volume from 0 to +22%.

Specialized Types of Hyrdrometers

• Acidometer / Acidimeter: An acidometer is a hydrometer applied to calculate the specific gravity of an acid
• Alcoholometer: An alcoholometer is a hydrometer which is employed for identifying the alcohol power of fluids.
• Antifreeze Tester: An additional automotive use of hydrometers is evaluating the quality of antifreeze used for motor engine cooling.
• Barkometer: A barkometer is adjusted to check the strength of tanning liquors utilized in tanning leather items.
• Battery Hydrometer: A hydrometer calibrated employed for servicing electric automobile batteries
• Lactometer / Galactometer: A lactometer (or galactometer) is a hydrometer utilized to examine milk products
• Saccharometer: A saccharometer is a hydrometer utilized for analyzing the quantity of sugars in a solution.
• Urinometer: A urinometer is a healthcare hydrometer intended for urinalysis.

Reference Charts for your Home Brew Hydrometer

• Hydrometer Conversion
• Hydrometer Temperature Conversion

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