Home Made Wine Making (Strip District Pittsburgh)

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   I will create this post as we make our wine this year.. 

The juice I obtained was from Sunseri’s in Pittsburgh PA.  The juice comes in a bucket so the instructions are geared toward moving the wine from the Plastic Buckets to Glass Carboys.  During this process you will “re-rack” the wine several times to eliminate sediment and clean the wine.  Everyone makes wine differently and the instructions below are even new to me I guess will see in 3 months how good the wine is..

Necessary Hardware 
6 Gallon Plastic Sunseri Bucket
5 Gallon Glass Carboy
Fermentation Lock with Rubber Bung
Yeast
Metabisulfite
Siphon / Stir Stick
1. Bring juice home and allow the juice to come to room temperature

2. Remove lid from wine with out destroying top
3. Take (1) cup of juice out of the buckets and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Metabisulfate into the cup of juice.

4. Using a clean sterile utensil (I will be using a plastic siphon) stir in the 1 cup of juice listed above into the 6 gallon wine container.  Make sure to disrupt any sediment that’s on the bottom of the bucket.  Keep stirring for several minutes to dissipate the entire 1 cup mixture.

5. Now place the lid on the bucket but do not seal it the wine will need to escape air, wait 24 hours before step 6.
6. Take (1) cup of wine juice and mix in the yeast allow 20 minutes for the yeast to fully dissolve.  Stir in the 1 cup mixture into the 6 gallon wine container.  Make sure to disrupt any sediment that’s on the bottom of the bucket.  Keep stirring for several minutes to dissipate the entire 1 cup mixture.  Be careful some wines will begin to react very fast to the yeast and will start to foam and even overflow.

7. Replace lid but do not seal the wine has started the fermentation process and will release a lot of air at first.
8. For the next 5 days stir each bucket with a very clean stirring stick make sure to disrupt any sediment that’s on the bottom of the bucket.  Then close bucket lid without sealing.

9. After the 5th day of stirring clean and sterilize your glass Carboy, Fermentation Lock, and Rubber Bung.

11. Take (1) cup of juice out of the buckets and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Metabisulfate into the cup of juice.  Stir and let dissolve.  Using a clean sterile utensil (I will be using a plastic siphon) stir in the 1 cup of juice listed above into the 6 gallon wine container.  

12. Now begin to siphon the juice/wine into the nice Clean glass Carboy fill the Carboy to the First Thick Lip on the container.  After filling the Carboy you will have some excess Juice in the bucket you will use the extra juice to top of the Carboy’s between re-racking the wine.  Any excess juice should be placed in glass bottles with a (water lock, balloon, and or cheese cloth) this will prevent air contact with the juice.

Adding Metabisulfate 

Bucket of fermenting wine

Siphon Wine from Bucket to Carboy

5 Gallon Carboy's and 1 Gallon Wine Jugs

2 Different Water Locks (I prefer the crazy straw design!)

13. **Optional ** (Wait 6 weeks then time to re-rack the wine) Siphon (1) cup of juice out of the Glass Carboy and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Metabisulfate into the cup of juice.  Stir and let dissolve.  Using a clean sterile utensil (I will be using a plastic siphon) stir in the 1 cup of juice into the new 5 gallon glass Carboy then siphon the 5 gallons of juice/wine from the other Carboy.  Top off the new Carboy with some of the wine that was left over from the 1st re-rack then place the water lock back on and let the wine work.

14. If you choose not to re-rack your wine let is sit and ferment and keep your water locks full of water until the wine stops working.  This could very in time depending on the sugar content, wine type and temperature anywhere from 3 - 5 months.

*Notes*
When working with water locks make sure to keep on eye on the water lock if the water get's to low this could allow air back into the Carboy which could turn the wine Sour or into Vinegar.

Metabisulfate is a Sterilization / Cleaning agent.  It is commonly used in homebrewing preparations to sanitize equipment.

Remember the point to re-rack your wine is to remove as much sediment as possible but you will want to use the Metabisulfate between the processes to eliminate bad yeast and bacteria.

Bear in mind that the longer you age your wine the better it will taste but unfortunately like the rest of us we need something to drink through the winter

Metabisulfite

Yeast

Glass Carboy

Water Lock

The collection from the last 4 years.

Edited by lodogg - 09 October 2007 at 3:15pm

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lodogg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2003 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1831	Quote Reply Topic: Home Made Wine Making (Strip District Pittsburgh) Posted: 30 September 2007 at 11:23pm
	I will create this post as we make our wine this year.. The juice I obtained was from Sunseri’s in Pittsburgh PA. The juice comes in a bucket so the instructions are geared toward moving the wine from the Plastic Buckets to Glass Carboys. During this process you will “re-rack” the wine several times to eliminate sediment and clean the wine. Everyone makes wine differently and the instructions below are even new to me I guess will see in 3 months how good the wine is.. Necessary Hardware 6 Gallon Plastic Sunseri Bucket 5 Gallon Glass Carboy Fermentation Lock with Rubber Bung Yeast Metabisulfite Siphon / Stir Stick 1. Bring juice home and allow the juice to come to room temperature 2. Remove lid from wine with out destroying top 3. Take (1) cup of juice out of the buckets and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Metabisulfate into the cup of juice. 4. Using a clean sterile utensil (I will be using a plastic siphon) stir in the 1 cup of juice listed above into the 6 gallon wine container. Make sure to disrupt any sediment that’s on the bottom of the bucket. Keep stirring for several minutes to dissipate the entire 1 cup mixture. 5. Now place the lid on the bucket but do not seal it the wine will need to escape air, wait 24 hours before step 6. 6. Take (1) cup of wine juice and mix in the yeast allow 20 minutes for the yeast to fully dissolve. Stir in the 1 cup mixture into the 6 gallon wine container. Make sure to disrupt any sediment that’s on the bottom of the bucket. Keep stirring for several minutes to dissipate the entire 1 cup mixture. Be careful some wines will begin to react very fast to the yeast and will start to foam and even overflow. 7. Replace lid but do not seal the wine has started the fermentation process and will release a lot of air at first. 8. For the next 5 days stir each bucket with a very clean stirring stick make sure to disrupt any sediment that’s on the bottom of the bucket. Then close bucket lid without sealing. 9. After the 5th day of stirring clean and sterilize your glass Carboy, Fermentation Lock, and Rubber Bung. 11. Take (1) cup of juice out of the buckets and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Metabisulfate into the cup of juice. Stir and let dissolve. Using a clean sterile utensil (I will be using a plastic siphon) stir in the 1 cup of juice listed above into the 6 gallon wine container. 12. Now begin to siphon the juice/wine into the nice Clean glass Carboy fill the Carboy to the First Thick Lip on the container. After filling the Carboy you will have some excess Juice in the bucket you will use the extra juice to top of the Carboy’s between re-racking the wine. Any excess juice should be placed in glass bottles with a (water lock, balloon, and or cheese cloth) this will prevent air contact with the juice. Adding Metabisulfate Bucket of fermenting wine Siphon Wine from Bucket to Carboy 5 Gallon Carboy's and 1 Gallon Wine Jugs 2 Different Water Locks (I prefer the crazy straw design!) 13. Optional (Wait 6 weeks then time to re-rack the wine) Siphon (1) cup of juice out of the Glass Carboy and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Metabisulfate into the cup of juice. Stir and let dissolve. Using a clean sterile utensil (I will be using a plastic siphon) stir in the 1 cup of juice into the new 5 gallon glass Carboy then siphon the 5 gallons of juice/wine from the other Carboy. Top off the new Carboy with some of the wine that was left over from the 1st re-rack then place the water lock back on and let the wine work. 14. If you choose not to re-rack your wine let is sit and ferment and keep your water locks full of water until the wine stops working. This could very in time depending on the sugar content, wine type and temperature anywhere from 3 - 5 months. Notes When working with water locks make sure to keep on eye on the water lock if the water get's to low this could allow air back into the Carboy which could turn the wine Sour or into Vinegar. Metabisulfate is a Sterilization / Cleaning agent. It is commonly used in homebrewing preparations to sanitize equipment. Remember the point to re-rack your wine is to remove as much sediment as possible but you will want to use the Metabisulfate between the processes to eliminate bad yeast and bacteria. Bear in mind that the longer you age your wine the better it will taste but unfortunately like the rest of us we need something to drink through the winter Metabisulfite Yeast Glass Carboy Water Lock The collection from the last 4 years. Edited by lodogg - 09 October 2007 at 3:15pm

lodogg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2003 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1831	Quote Reply Posted: 02 October 2007 at 10:04pm
	Question what wine are you making this year? Sangiovese – My uncle says this is a winner!! It’s a West Coast wine and when I added the yeast it was bubbling over the edges. Seems thick and lots of sugar. 6 Gallons White Merlot – The wife’s pick seems like a light red blush and had no reaction to the yeast which some what concerns me but everyone said not to worry it could just take a long time to work. I think the sugar content is low and I may have to add Sugar.. Will see.. 6 Gallons In 2 weeks will be picking up the following from Walkers Winery in NY. Steuben – East Coast wine and usually always turns out to be a winner. 15 Gallons Niagra – East Coast White yet again was an awesome White we made 2 years ago. 10 – 15 Gallons

Kari Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 30 April 2004 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 53	Quote Reply Posted: 05 October 2007 at 1:28pm
	Why do you have to pick on my wine chioce! Especially since I have no choice, apparently when we go to New York, since those are your wine choices.....Not really fair honey for you to have three different wines and I only get one! Gosh does the wine cellar need painted! Such an ugly green color!

TmoneyBignuts Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest	Quote Reply Posted: 17 October 2007 at 1:30pm
	Thanks for the instructions. Followed them to a "T", and now my basement smells like rotten eggs! Your first step should be: 1. Make sure you don't get crap juice and yeast! I'll still trade you a gallon in a few months, when it's done. And I'll MAKE you drink it.

lodogg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2003 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1831	Quote Reply Posted: 17 October 2007 at 2:13pm
	Can’t wait to have a glass!!! Will take care of it my friend. Using a copper pipe as part of the siphon will fix the issue plus a few re-racks!!

lodogg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2003 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1831	Quote Reply Posted: 24 September 2008 at 9:27pm
	The White Merlot was very good last year so we decided to make 10 gallons this year! Here is the time line for this year: * 9/20/08 - Got wine (let wine sit for 3 days untouched in the bucket) * 9/23/08 - I added an 1/8 of Metabisulfite and stirred for 2 minutes * 9/24/08 - I added 3/4 of a packet of yeast to each 5 gallon bucket and stirred for 2 minutes * 9/27/08 - I will rack the wine from the buckets to the Carboys What I purchased on 9/20/08: * (3) Packets of Yeast - Lalvin K1-V1116 * (2) 5 Gallon Buckets of White Merlot * (1) 5 Gallon Bucket of Petite Syrah Edited by lodogg - 28 September 2008 at 9:26am
	The only bad question is the question that is not asked.