I am brand new to home wine making. I live in southern Nebraska, and have decided to make wine from kits, i.e. the concentrates. I want to start out with a good Zinfandel.
In reading and researching, it seems the fermentation(s), first, second, etc, must be kept in a space/room with a stable temperature of around 70-72 degrees. My basement is much colder, after all it is winter here, and I cant heat it.
How critical is the room temperature? The kitchen nook where I am planning on doing the fermentations, has no heat, and the temperature can vary from 40 to 60 from day to night.
I can put a space heater in the room and keep the temperature stable....
Any advice or tips?

Thanks
Nebraska Joe


Tags: winemaking temperature control

68 to 72 is a good temp to ferment wine. The more stable the better. My wine room runs about 70 degrees. If a wine is aging and through with the fermentation stage you can drop the temp. In fact a wine that is brought down to 40 degrees while aging will drop a lot of the lees and clear faster.

If this your first attempt at wine making instead of purchasing an expensive wine kit I would buy an off the shelf juice that doesn't have metabisulphate or sorbates in it. Absorbic acid is OK. If you have a hydrometer and a acid titration test kit you can make some good wine quite cheap. Plus if you do make a mistake the cost will be minimal. Then expand out and try some kits, fruits, or some of the recipes that are available. On the below web site there are lots of recipes. Plus a lot of other info on wine making.

http://www.winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp

Howdy, I'm making wine and beer in Nebraska, too,--North Platte.
I have a basement I use for a wine cellar, the temp all year in it is around 64 degrees farenheit. I have left my beer down there to ferment and it did well until I moved upstairs and the ambient temp upstairs is a bit more than in the basement so my beer has troubles with the temp but the wine perks up or down stairs with no problems.

I have troubles selecting juices at the store since most are watered down considerably, I like to use juice instead of water to add to the wine-making-juice so as not to dilute it more. You may try the frozen concentrate found at the store but I have not--most juices in the store are good juices to drink for breakfast and be an okay wine, but they don't make real good wines. I prefer to buy the heavier concentrates made just for wine making. It depends a lot on how much you want to spend to make a good wine or a really great wine. If you like the flavor of the wine you made, then you have a great wine! I have several friends that show up around the time of bottling cuz they like my wines. I make Merlot mostly.

jrphelan is talking about temps down to 40 degrees. Lower temps are great for beer. 55 degrees works, although I am not a beer expert. They use lower temp yeast. For wine the problem you can run into is getting the fermentation started. Some juices will spoil before the yeast starts working, especially if the conditions are not quite right i.e. acid slightly low etc. If you have added yeast nutrient and yeast energizer you may be able to get away with lower temps, especially if you use a yeast starter instead of sprinkling the yeast on top you can get a faster start at lower temps. Once the yeast starts fermenting you'll probably be OK at 64 degrees. It will ferment much slower, and some yeasts types will almost die off. If I had a constant 64 degree basement I would always use a starter and make that starter in a warmer room to get a good start with nutrient and energizer. Plus check the spec sheet on the yeast for fermentation temps. If I have the choice I like to keep my wine room at 68 to 70 degrees.

I also like to use the heavier concentrates for my wine. If I am using Alexander's concentrates I use 3 cans for 5 gallons to make the heavier body wine.

Many new wine makers jump into the very expensive kits for their first attempt at making wine. They receive the kit with a bunch of magic packets to add as they go along. Actually, in most cases, they get a pretty good wine. Some of these premier kits cost well over a 100 bucks. I have seen questions on forums where they accidently added the wrong packet, or wondering why they are stirring the crap out of their wine and when they get all finished and they bottle their wine they have absolutely no idea what they did right, or possibly, what they did wrong. If you start out with a cheapo concentrate on your first wine when the wine gets finished you will have learned the process. What went right and what went wrong. You will also learn the use of a hydrometer, an acid tritration kit, how fast wine clears on its own, how and what to use to top off, why the wine doesn't have much body, maybe even why the corks on the bottles blew. Things you and I probably have already experienced along the line.

I like to use concentrates or juices. Mix them with frozen or fresh fruits and increase the body of my wine. If you do use frozen or fresh fruits I would suggest using an ATC refractor in addition to a hydrometer and acid titration kit.

Do you live anywhere near Cozad?

It is difficult making wine in the summer when temps sky rocket. Of those mentioned I go for the air conditioning method. I am lucky enough to have a dedicated wine making room. Since my room is a room in the corner of the garage without windows I used a Walmart $100 airconditioner. 70 degrees and dark except when I am in the room. Plus keeping the room shut off from the rest of the world helps keep out contaminents.