I'm thinking about getting into winemaking after many years of beer brewing. Is there any software out there to help? I'm thinking of something with a large database of different juices and sugars and their potential gravity that would allow you to build a recipe and keep track of your wine-making "sessions". Thanks!

Hi, from the other side of Wy. Actually wine is a lot easier making than beer. You can measure everything as you go along. No cooking, etc. The Jack Keller web site has a lot of stuff on it. He has some charts that are nice to have. Relationship of specific gravity, sugar, brix, and potential alcohol. Where beer starts out at about 1.045 SG wine usually starts out aprox. 1.092 SG. It is nice to be able to check the acid with a titration acid kit. Other than that all it takes is a lot of time to get the wine to clear. Up to 6 to 8 months is not unusual.

Chemicals I like to have on hand are: tannin (flavors wine, helps keep wine longer), pectic enzyme (clears wine), acid blend (sets the acid level), bentonite (helps clear wine), yeast nutrient (gives the yeast a good start), campden (helps reduce bacteria), potassium sorbate (If you add sugar later to sweeten wine, this plus campden keeps the wine from re-fermenting), potassium carbonate (lowers acid if you have a high acid fruit). Instead of cooking wine like beer, wine makers use campden in the must 24 hours prior to adding the yeast.

If you want to try something real inexpensive try a gallon of Sam's concord grape juice. Or any other off the shelf juice that doesn't have metabisulphate or sorbates in it. absorbic acid or pasturized is OK. Use 1 campden tablet crushed per gallon, add the yeast 24 hours later. Wine makers also start out in an open container and stir the must a couple of times a day and check the SG. When the SG drops to 1.030 or a little lower rack it over to a carboy with a air lock.

The chart I was referring to is at:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/hydrom.asp

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/basics.asp

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

He has a large web site sometimes hard to navigate it.

Great info! I fully intended to use store-bought juice for my first batch. I figure that way, if it's undrinkable, I'm only out a few dollars! Is there a good wine-making book you could recommend? For beer I live and die by Charlie Papazain's writings!

P.S. I never brew beers as "small" as 1.045 SG ..... If I'm putting that much time and energy in, I might-as-well have something that packs a punch!

It is hard to beat info on Jack Keller's web site. I have the book "Vines to Wines" by Jeff Cox. It covers everything from growing grapes to making wine. I also have the book "Techniques in Home Winemaking" by Daniel Pambianchi. Both of those books are good books on wine making.

One additional item about wine making. Once the wine finishes its fermentation it is important to add full dose of campden at every other racking or a half dose of campden at every racking. Since wine ages a long time it can become oxidized and will have a burned taste. The wine will also have a brownish color. A full dose of campden (metabisulphate) is one crushed campden tablet per gallon.

How many rackings do you need to do? What's the point of repeated racking? I feel so naive..

Mix up the wine must in the primary. I usually make 5 gallons at a time. (I want slightly more than 5 gallons so there is no head space when I rack) I use a food grade trash can that is about 8 gallons. I put in my concentrate or juice, set the SG to about 1.092, check the acid (acid needs to be about .60% for fruit wines. About .70% for grape wines) add acid blend for the acid level, add 1 1/2 teaspoons pectic enzyme per gallon, 1/4 teaspoon of tannin per gallon (In a slurry because it is hard to mix), 1 campden tablet per gallon crushed. Stir it all up. Put a dish towel over the container. Wait 24 hours. Add yeast. Stir couple of times a day watching the SG. Make sure all tools are clean. When the SG drops to 1.030 or below I rack for the first time. You can wait a little longer, even with an SG down to 1.010 or a little lower. Keep in mind two things. 1. If the must is still fermenting rapidly you can get an overflow after you rack to the carboy. 2. If you wait too long you can have bad wine because you don't have an air lock on the primary like you do in making beer.

That will be your first racking. Install the airlock. Make sure you have minimal head space. Within 3 weeks rack again. This is to get the wine off of the gross lees. I usually start out with 6 gallons in the primary so when I rack off of the gross lees at the 3 weeks I will have enough to fill a 5 gallon carboy. Use either a 6 gallon carboy or a 5 and a 1 gallon carboy when you come out of the primary.

Once the wine stops fermenting and the SG has dropped to .996 approx. add some more campden. Half dose every racking or a full dose of 1 crushed campden tablet every other racking. Campden is really important in wine making. All of that said, once your wine is in the carboy and you are sure the alcohol level is up to what you expect all is OK. I measure the alcohol with the 5 buck vino meter. easier than trying to measure the SG.

Then rack every 2 months until the wine clears. If the wine hasn't cleared in a couple of months I add some bentonite. One teaspoon per gallon won't hurt. Bentonite needs to be in a slurry. Some people heat some wine before mixing the bentonite to make it mix better.

Bottom line: Out of the primary into a carboy with an airlock in approx 5 days, rack again in about 3 weeks (longer and you may get a rotten egg odor), then rack approx every 2 months until your wine is clear. I age my wine for approx 6 to 8 months.

At the end when the wine is clear and tastes good at 6 months or so I rack again, add 1 crushed campden tablen per gallon, 1/2 teaspoon of potassium sorbate per gallon, sweeten to taste, possibly add cup of oak to the carboy, replace the air lock and bottle about 6 weeks later.

Do you have Excell or a spread sheet program ?

I have excell, and I LOVE to test the wine and add data to the spread sheet. I make a new excell sheet with the batch number in the name from a master-generic sheet. I also keep notes on the recipe and keep data like how many grams of sugar I used last time and such. Im also very happy to give you a copy of the spread sheet that I use.


for instance, i have my own data on how sweet to make a batch, measured by refractometer (brix)
each batch, with my immpression and my friends and reletives comments. I know how sweet to make it for me and how sweet everyone else likes it. Im diabetic so sweetness is a carefully controlled substance in my house. LOL

Sounds like your scale is working out pretty good for you. I didn't order the scale and lost the info. Could you give me the info on the scale again. I want one now

I luv this scale. Now that i make sure that the must is exacly 6 gal. That "Wine Calc" program really dials it in.
i even weigh out my meta-bisulphite now instead of that heavy solution form that I was mixing up,,,it finaly ate through the metal with corosion and i threw it out ... too scared to use it after that.


http://okpocketscale.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=468

Randy, you have a wine calc program????? Curlyfat is looking for one.

Hey Curly!

I thought you wanted a software to track recipes. Email me if you would like software that calculates "how much of what to put into"

its freeware and its awsome. from blending, acid, brix to just conversions its simple and easy.

email at RandyLmiller777@aol.com and I can zip it up and send it to you. I dont think i still have the shortcut to find it.

its called "WineCalc"

I'll check that out. I ended up building a simple excel sheet that works for me right now. But free and better is always a good thing!

randy, i have been making wine for many years now and use a book that we found in the library that was printed in the 40's. it uses natural ingredients wholly, and makes no mention of any of the chemicals used in modern wine making. i would be interested in the program that you mentioned to curlyfat called "winecalc". i've learned a lot about the wine making process that you use from what i've picked up from this forum but have no idea of the amount of the different ingredients to use in a batch. any help would be greatly appreciated.
gary

OK, here is the web page to the site that containes the WineCalc program.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~mpesgens/thwp/

Shineman,
tell us what size do you like to use? do you have 1 gal, 5 gal or 6 gal carboys ? I have all 6 gal recipes.
Every one loves to share recipes.