Airlock | Home Wine Making

Strawberry Wine Recipe

Jun 30th, 2010 by admin

strawberry wine

Fruit wines are great to play with and berries are often easy to make nice wines with. Here is a simple, but effective Strawberry Wine Recipe...

Strawberry Wine Recipe

Makes one gallon - You will need:

3-1/2 lbs. Strawberries
7 Pints Water
2 lbs. Sugar
1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 tsp Acid Blend
1 crushed Campden tablet
1 Pkg Wine Yeast
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1/4 tsp Tannin

The starting specific gravity should be 1.090-1.095.

Keep your hydrometer and your acid tester handy. Remember, as with all wild fruits, the sugar and acid content can vary widely from one location to another as well as from year to year. This is a basically general recipe to use, which you may have to adjust according to your liking.

Directions;

1. Pick the berries when they are fully ripe, but not overly so. We don't want mold, as this will kill the yeast and destroy the wine. Remove any stems and leaves, and clean them thoroughly.

2. Wash and drain the berries using a nylon straining pouch, or press them, straining out the pulp - then strain the juice into the primary fermentation container. Keeping all of the pulp in straining bag, tie off the top and place it into the primary container with the juice.

3. Stir in all other ingredients (except the yeast). Cover the primary container with an airlock.

4. After 24 hrs., add the yeast. Return the airlock into place.

5. Stir daily, check hydrometer reading, and press the pulp lightly in order to aid in the extraction of the residual juice.

6. When the specific gravity reaches 1.030 (in around 5 days), strain out the juice from the bag. Siphon it all into a clean secondary fermentation container. Reattach the airlock.

7. When the specific gravity reaches 1.000 (generally in around 3 weeks), the fermentation has completed. Siphon it all into a clean glass container. Reattach the airlock.

8. To aid in clearing, siphon it all again in 2 months, then again, if necessary, before you start bottling it all.

9. From here on out, allow the wine to age. If a slightly sweeter wine is more to your liking, add 1/2 tsp. of stabilizer and 1/4 cup of dissolved sugar when bottling your strawberry wine.

There you go, in a few weeks, you will have some nice bottles of strawberry wine ready to share with whomever you choose to pop a cork with.

If you'd like to learn more in-depth information on homemade wine making, grab some more free wine recipes, learn some wine tasting tips or want to build a wine cellar, please feel free to drop on by my website on wine making for an informative read on these and other wine making related topics.

=>Still need to learn the basics of successful wine making or improve your general knowledge, grab a copy of our winemaking guide here: Successful Winemaking.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jesse_Robinson ---- http://EzineArticles.com/?Free-Wine-Recipes-to-Tempt-Your-Palate-and-Make-Your-Heart-Rejoice&id=2432361

Strawberry Wine Recipe

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Blackberry Wine Recipe

Jun 30th, 2010 by admin

blackberry wine

A Fruit Wine Recipe to Tempt Your Palate and Make Your Heart Rejoice
By Jesse Robinson

Here is free Wine recipes to wow your friends and loved ones with, or even share with just that one special someone on a romantic picnic of bread, fruit, cheese, chocolate and wine. These recipes assume you have an adequate knowledge of wine making. Let's get started with a nice Blackberry wine recipe...

Blackberry wine recipe

Makes one gallon - you will need:

5 Pints Water
1 49 oz. Can Blackberry Puree
1-3/4 lbs. Sugar
1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
1/2 tsp Acid Blend
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1 Pkg Wine Yeast*

*Recommended; Lavlin 71B-1122 or Red Star Cote de Blanc

Make certain that your hydrometer and acid tester are readily available. As is the case with all wild fruits, the acid and sugar content can vary greatly from year to year, and even from place to place from which they were taken. This blackberry wine recipe is a general one to use, which you may have to adjust according to taste. This is especially true if you start with fresh blackberries...

Directions;

2. Take a reading of the specific gravity with your hydrometer. Your "must" (that which is in the primary fermentation container) should have a Specific Gravity of 1.090 to 1.100. If it's a bit low, add sugar to it, in order to raise the specific gravity. Generally speaking, 4 ounces of sugar will raise the S.G. about 10 points in 1 gallon of water, or in other words, from 1.080 to 1.090.

3. Make a yeast starter by hydrating the yeast with warm water and add to the must.

4. Cover the primary fermenting container with something that will allow it to breathe (preferably an airlock to allow air to go out, but not go in).

5. Stir daily until the specific gravity reaches 1.030 (in around 5-7 days).

6. Transfer into a clean secondary fermentation container, siphoning out the juice and leaving behind any sediment.

7. When specific gravity reaches 1.000 (in generally around 2-4 weeks), the fermentation has completed. Siphon this off into a clean glass container, leaving behind all of the sediment. Re-attach airlock.

8. Transfer it all into another clean fermentation container. Add stabilizing agents and reattach airlock.

9. Allow to sit for 4 weeks to clear and stabilize.

10. When the wine is clear and stable, it is ready to be bottled.

For a sweeter wine, dissolve 2-4 tablespoons sugar into 1/4 cup warm water and add to wine after stabilizing with 1/2 teaspoon Potassium Sorbate, prior to bottling your blackberry wine.

=>Still need to learn the basics of successful wine making or improve your general knowledge, grab a copy of our winemaking guide here: Successful Winemaking.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jesse_Robinson ---- http://EzineArticles.com/?Free-Wine-Recipes-to-Tempt-Your-Palate-and-Make-Your-Heart-Rejoice&id=2432361

Cooking With Betty - Episode 2 - Blackberry Wine Cake

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Home Winemaking – Airlocks – Don’t Keep Them Full!

May 28th, 2010 by admin

Airlocks are a vital part of the home winemaker's equipment. Fitting into a bung or rubber stopper that is used as a closure for the carboy (secondary fermenter), an airlock should allow carbon dioxide gas to escape while keeping air out. Many new winemakers don't seem to know exactly what do with an airlock.

I've seen two wrong ways of using the cylinder shaped airlocks:

1. An Empty Airlock

An airlock needs to have liquid in it in order to stop air from entering into the carboy and possibly contaminating the wine. An empty airlock, while allowing carbon dioxide gas to escape, is offering zero protection to the wine as air and bacteria can get in. The liquids that are commonly used include plain water, a potassium metabisulfite and water solution, or vodka.

2. A full Airlock

While a full airlock will offer protection against air getting into the wine, it does not allow carbon dioxide gas to escape. Indeed, while a fermentation is going on, if the airlock is overfilled, the carbon dioxide gas building up in the carboy will cause the rubber bung or stopper to blow out of the opening of the carboy - and you've just lost your protection from air and other contaminants.

The Correct Way:

So how full is "full enough" when using standard cylinder type airlocks? If you look closely at the large cylinder portion (not the tube that is inserted into the bung or stopper), you will see a line about half way between the top and bottom. You should fill the airlock to this line before inserting the internal plastic dome. Then, snap the dust cover over the top.

Doing it the correct way will protect your wine while allowing carbon dioxide to escape. Even over filling too much beyond the line on the airlock can slow down the degassing process.

You can learn more about how to make wine at Ian's website.

Why not also follow along with Ian's daily blog of home winemaking activities.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Hugh_Scott

Excerpt from: Home Winemaking - Airlocks - Don't Keep Them Full!

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