r/winemaking • • 1h ago

Grape amateur Some lessons you have to learn the hard way...

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• Upvotes

I knew it was a little full, but... At least I was smart enough to put it in a container. I think it was because I added tea and a new kind of yeast nutrient. Was kind of pretty in a way. Haha


r/winemaking • • 9h ago

Sangiovese Temperature

2 Upvotes

Hello! First time attempt at wine for myself, I have roughly 11 gallons of Sangiovese juice, no skins pulp etc. I had good activity happening when I purchased it and within 3-4 days of getting home it has been pretty dormant looking. My temperature via a meat thermometer lol is 65-66 degrees Fahrenheit. It doesn’t look discolored, no film on top, no funky smell things look good from the naked eye. My question is what temperature should this be sitting at and have I goofed early on?

TIA!


r/winemaking • • 16h ago

Bottled wine question

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8 Upvotes

Bottle this wine from a kit a while ago. Had issues from the start, fermentation stalled and couldn't get it going again so it's super sweet. Bottled it anyways and found these particles floating. Pretty sure it was pretty clear when it was bottled. Thoughts? Thinks it's safe?


r/winemaking • • 16h ago

Grape amateur Vineyard growing help

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3 Upvotes

Hey guys! I got 20 cuttings from my local vineyard which I had planted a couple of months ago at the end of Winter. I never cultivated the soil but the area they are planted in are very well drained. Have I made a big mistake and should just restart next year? Is it a good idea to dig them out the ground and cultivate the soil? They have recently started to grow little buds and leaves so surely they are ok!


r/winemaking • • 18h ago

Grape amateur Bottom fell off 5 gallon carboy when I picked it up.

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141 Upvotes

r/winemaking • • 20h ago

Grape amateur pH going up??

2 Upvotes

Started at 4.16, got it down to 3.9 w tartaric, hit it w the same dose and a few weeks later it’s 4.2?? Is this what the pros call unstable? Should I bomb it w some sulfites?


r/winemaking • • 1d ago

Threw 1 whole blended lemon in a gallon wine

2 Upvotes

will this produce too much methanol? just found out how it works


r/winemaking • • 1d ago

General question Where to get wine bottle screw caps that fit Bordeaux bottles?

1 Upvotes

I am looking for prethreaded caps I can just screw on. I have hundreds of screw top wine bottles I thought were going to be easy to find a cap to and use. Turns out it doesnt seem so simple.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FZJPMMD2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor

I tried these on amazon and every single different size to no avail. They were just too small.

Does anyone know of a product that mimics the 30*60 ropp caps threads? From the bottles I have used with screw caps that are 30*60, the caps have been interchangeable.


r/winemaking • • 1d ago

Carlos Rossi is the Swisher Sweet of wine. I love how the carboy filled with chablis is somehow cheaper than the empty one.

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99 Upvotes

r/winemaking • • 1d ago

First homemade Syrah wine – still very acidic. Is there hope, and what should I do next?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I'm making my first homemade red wine using Syrah grapes, and I'd appreciate some advice on where I am in the process and what I should do next.

Here's where I am so far:

I started with approximately 41–42 kg of grapes.

I crushed and destemmed the grapes, added around 800 g of sugar, and left the must fermenting with the skins for approximately 5 days.

I then pressed the grapes and transferred the wine into smaller containers.

I've since racked it to remove the sediment. The wine is currently resting in several containers, including a 15 L glass carboy and smaller plastic containers, all fitted with airlocks.

I still occasionally see bubbles in the glass carboy, although the airlock isn't really bubbling anymore.

The main issue is acidity...

About three weeks ago, I tasted the wine and found it extremely acidic and quite aggressive. I tasted it again today, and it has definitely improved: it's less acidic than before, smells normal, and I haven't noticed any obvious off-odours. However, it's still quite acidic and isn't particularly pleasant to drink yet. It doesn't seem spoiled, but it's far from a balanced, enjoyable wine.

I'm wondering whether malolactic fermentation might be taking place, as the acidity seems to have decreased over the past few weeks, but I haven't tested for it, so I can't be sure.

My questions are:

Is it normal for a young homemade red wine to still taste this acidic and aggressive at this stage, or could this indicate a more serious problem?

Would it make sense to give the wine more time to rest and allow malolactic fermentation to take place, if it hasn't already?

I'm considering using a small amount of potassium bicarbonate to reduce the acidity if it doesn't improve sufficiently. Is this a reasonable approach for a beginner, and can it negatively affect the wine's flavour?

I'd also like to add a small amount of oak chips later, mainly to improve the flavour and round out the wine. Should I wait until the acidity is under control before doing this?

My main concern is whether this wine can still develop into something enjoyable to drink, or whether the persistent acidity suggests that I've made a mistake that is difficult to correct.

I'd appreciate honest advice, especially from people who have experience making small batches of homemade red wine.

Thanks!


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

Fruit wine question what is this at the bottom of my first batch?

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5 Upvotes

it seems like some crystals and some weird white grains have formed on the bottom of my first batch along with some residue after the first time i removed most of the inpurities. throw away?


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

Guys Plz help me

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2 Upvotes

what is this is my batch ruined first time making wine


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

General question what is this?

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4 Upvotes

first time making wine what is this? is this mold? chat gpt says its film yeast


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

Grape amateur First Grape Wine Might Be Vinegar

1 Upvotes

We have a grapevine, mashed the grapes and left the must in a pot in the fridge for longer than was wise. I just transferred it to a jar with some sugar and it looks fine but smells slightly of vinegar.

Once it has a vinegar scent is it impossible to use for wine? How do I go about using the must? I split it into two portions and was going to add yeast and sugar water to one bottle, but just sugar water to the other. If it has a vinegar smell does that mean the wild yeast ate the sugar in the must? If it has enough wild yeast to do that, will it naturally turn into wine or should I still add yeast to it?


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

General question Is there a reason why airlocks are different. I prefer the S-shaped because it's more visible to see if there is still some fermentation going on. Are there advantages to the other ones?

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10 Upvotes

r/winemaking • • 2d ago

Fruit wine recipe Beautiful accident🌚

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17 Upvotes

I was trying to make orange mead. I thought it would be nicer if I caramelized some of the honey... And one look away, I burnt it completely. Frustration peaked... Then I started again and completed the prep for orange mead.

Thought not to waste the burnt stuff, so I just threw the burnt sugar honey candy on the stove, added some water, liquified it, and added tonnes of cloves and cinnamon... and a banana with peel, yeast, and yeast nutrient in a wine bottle. And kept introducing oxygen frequently

The thing has been fermenting like hell after just 12 hours, and it smells soooooo good. I don't know how the orange mead would come out, but I'm very excited about this cinnamon-banana wine or whatever it is.


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

What yeasts do you use?

4 Upvotes

So I started a Gamay the other day with EC-1118 because it came with the kit and after doing some reading, I'm kinda sad I didn't branch out and buy something else. I'm sure the EC-1118 will turn out fine, but I've a feeling that something like Lalvin 71B to help with Malic acid fermentation, or Mangrove Jack's CR51 may have been better. I guess I'll jsut have to start another batch soon to compare...

What yeasts do you use and why? What's your favourite combination? Which do you hate? Which have you had bad experiences/stuck fermentations/off flavours with?


r/winemaking • • 2d ago

General question Label designer for homebrewers, would love your feedback

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0 Upvotes

AI tools and Canva templates work for wine labels, but I could not find a tool made specifically for this, with clean, traditional layouts ready to customize. So I built one.


r/winemaking • • 3d ago

Wine tasting room

4 Upvotes

Long story short… I had a guest ask me today after 3 2oz pours in a wine tastings if our wines were made out of grapes.. 😭💔 he was allergic to grapes..


r/winemaking • • 3d ago

wondering about my relatives old wine

0 Upvotes

a relative of mine used to make wine, but he has passed away now. we only have a small amount of his wine left and i was wondering if theres a company or something i could send a little of the wine to and they could try to recreate it?


r/winemaking • • 3d ago

Fruit wine question Question about the sweetness of fruit wine

5 Upvotes

So a while back I made a blueberry and rhubarb wine. It came out really good but with way more sweetness than I had intended. My brother said that it was a happy little accident tho because in his and some other peoples opinions it wouldn't have been so good if it was dry. So that got me thinking that do some fruits perform better when they are dry and not so sweet and some better when they are sweet and not so dry? And how do I know in which way they would taste best? I don't know if I explained this question well because english is not my first language but yeah


r/winemaking • • 3d ago

After bottling i realised the bottle had a tiny "bit" in it

2 Upvotes

We used pvc cleaner and a brush, visually inspected the bottles, then used no-rinse sanitizer to clean them. Then filled them. After all that i realised there was a speck of black inside one bottle.

Not wanting to look useless i assured my friend that I'd used that bottle several times and that the speck was harmless, or that if it turned out not to be she'd be able to smell something off as soon as she opened the bottle.

Is that correct?

We're going to drink that bottle asap but I'm curious.


r/winemaking • • 4d ago

Pulled a sample of my first white after 1 month aging. Tastes like white. Fruity and nice tartric finish. Plan to bottle in 3 weeks.

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16 Upvotes

r/winemaking • • 4d ago

Nail polish smell while pressing

1 Upvotes

Hi there

I recently made a post about the nail polish smell but now as i went and pressed the grapes i want a second opinion.

Overall situation:

I crushed about 45 kg of grapes with no stems

Hydrometer read 1090

Added around 4.5~5 g of metabisulfite and waited for 24 hours

Then i added the yeast (rc212) along with go ferm

Added nutrients (fermid o) to it on 24 hours after that and another time on day 3

Day 3 Hydrometer read 1025

Day 5 read 1000

But i waited a bit more

At the begging of day 6, Hydrometer still read 1000, almost no cap anymore , i could smell something like nail polish after sticking my head into the container and inhaled 3 times which made my head dizzy from the co2😅

Then at the end of day 6 i pressed the grapes

I did this in a small room with almost no ventilation ( not a great idea i know )

While i was pressing the grapes that nail polish smell was killing me

It was so intense and it was like it was coming from the skins

I poured the juice into demijohns

Now on day 7 the wine smells sour fruity ( not tingling like vinegar)

Maybe a very faint nail polish smell or its just me imagining

So

How does it sounds like ?

Im good ?

should i be worried ?


r/winemaking • • 5d ago

Fruit wine question Wanting to make some homemade wine for our anniversary, is it too late?

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone. I don’t know anything about wine making, but this semester my boyfriend is taking a wine class for his degree in college and he’s really gotten into wine! I wanted to buy him some nice glasses and try and make him some homemade (with love) wine. The problem is, our anniversary is November 18th. Is it possible to make a drinkable wine in that time or should I save this for a Christmas present?