Finally getting around to making my wine. This is my cave in the basement where I do my Neanderthal think. I use two carboys one for primary fermentation and one for secondary fermentation. The blue band around the first carboy is a carboy heat tape and helps to maintain the wine at 75 deg f for ideal fermenting. P1280001 by tsebmj, on Flickr Mt first batch will be Black Raspberry Merlot and when it is bottled, I will be making Green Apple Riesling. I should end up with nearly 60 750 ml bottles of premium wine for app. $2 per bottle. P1290001 by tsebmj, on Flickr Each kit contains all the items to produce six gal of wine. P1290002 by tsebmj, on Flickr Here the primary fermentation is on the way and after the fermentation starts to slow I will bring the fluid level up to the bottom of the carboy neck. After five to seven days, I will rack the wine into the second carboy, leaving most of the sediment behind, to complete the fermentation. P1290003 by tsebmj, on Flickr This is an air lock that sits on top of the carboy. It lets the CO2 escape and blocks any air from getting inside the carboy. P1290011 by tsebmj, on Flickr The primary fermentation is complete and I have racked the wine into the second carboy. The second carboy has been placed back up on the bench with the air lock and heat tape installed. It will continue fermenting for another ten days before the stabilizing and fining. P2030002 by tsebmj, on Flickr
That is amazing! I always wanted to try making wine. There is a wine making place in town that I may try, but it's nice to see your post and how it's done. Black Raspberry Merlot sounds delicious
Do you have to be concerned with the sterility of your apparatus? If so, how do you assure that your implements are contamination free? Jerry
If you don't sanitize you take the chance of losing the entire batch. I use Potassium Metabisulphite then rinse wit tap water.
Great post,..its something i tried years ago and enjoyed the outcome but it wasn't as professional a kit as yours,..well done.
Our son is a professional winemaker and he makes his own wine, too. We watched one time when he was visiting. He has a grape crusher and all the equipment it takes. He does research into the chemical make up of wines and other alcoholic beverages. dooley
