Lucky you! Oak barrels in wineries
are usually heirlooms. As long as you don't use any harsh chemicals to clean
them they will last as long as you do.
However, they must be kept at a
constant temperature to prevent warping and cracking, and if a wine turns
really vinegary in them - they will have to be cleaned. The benefit of aging
in oak casks is the improvement in taste that builds up with the pickling of
the wood. If you have to clean them to remove mold etc you lose that benefit.
Keep the wine, white or red, in
separate casks - horrible effects are achieved by mixing the 2.
It is hard to advise you about the
ingredients for your watermelon wine (especially in such a large quantity). I
would first try and gauge how sweet the juice is (watermelons vary a lot).
If you raised the watermelons - did
you have to water them a lot, were they very large or just a large crop -
small, concentrated watermelon produces the sweetest juice.
Sieve the juice before you start
and before you taste it. If you are intent on using all juice and it is sweet
to taste, start about a gallon off with some yeast and the juice from 2
lemons. If it is fermenting well a week later (steady bubbling that hasn't
subsided since day 2), start the rest.
If fermentation stops abruptly
during the week, add about 1 cup of sugar and the lemon juice to another
gallon. If you have to add more than a cup and a half to keep it fermenting a
week it probably won't make good wine.
If you do a good job sieving it at
the beginning, it should be crystal clear and no further chemicals need to be
added (and quite potent !) after it stops fermenting. Make sure ALL action has
stopped before you decant it into bottles.
4. Instead of using
a 1 gallon glass jug, could you use plastic jugs?
Yes, plastic jugs can be
substituted for glass - I recommend you use clear plastic, as you will want to
see any sediment that hasn't settled before you decant the wine at the end.
5. How long should
the yeast mixture bubble ?
If you start Baker's yeast as you
add the ingredients to your gallon jug - the yeast starter mixture should be
ready to use as the last ingredient is added. For Baker's yeast at room
temperature, this should be 10-15 minutes. For wine or brewer's yeast this can
be 1-2 days.
6. How long can you
let the wine sit in the fermenting jug?
As long as no contaminants are
allowed into the mix, you can let the wine stay in the fermenting jug until
you are ready to drink it ! The alcohol content will vary with the temperature
during fermentation and also the amount of sugar that is converted (i.e. how
much you add and how long it successfully ferments)
A hydrometer is a cheap piece of
equipment to measure this if you need an accurate measure. I have had batches
of this wine that were quite potent over a 80 degree summer fermenting.
7. Hydrometer
- The books I have talk about how to use one but its not real clear and how do I
know if mine takes readings at 60 degrees or 68?
I can't
advise you on the scale of your hydrometer - there should have been
instructions with it. I would try for a relative change - i.e. measure the
specific gravity of the must before fermenting and again before you bottle it.
The degrees of change reflect the sugar to alcohol conversion. In wine the
change will be around 4 to 14 degrees.
8.
The kit I got is a 7 gal. fermenting bucket with a 5 gal. glass carboy most of
the recipes I see are for 1 gal. do I just double the ingredients including the
yeast?
For
a 5 gallon carboy you must increase the recipe quantities by 5 except the yeast
which will multiply itself until the food source (sugar) is gone or the alcohol
content rises to a level it cannot tolerate. In a larger quantity, be sure to
have an even temperature throughout the must before you introduce the yeast
(Give it a really good shake !)
You
can make just 1 gallon in a 5 gallon carboy - but the chances of contamination
are higher because of the extra air in the container. This is especially true
of a small quantity in a fermenting bucket. Make sure you cover it completely
with a clean cloth.
9.
I have several carboy's of wine working and add sugar syrup frequently.
Should I continue adding sugar syrup, as necessary, when the bubbling slows
down? ... When do I stop adding sugar syrup? Do I continue
this process of adding syrup for a year?
If
you keep adding sugar in any form, the yeast will continue to work it into
alcohol. The amount of sugar left defines the sweetness of the final brew. The
amount that has been converted defines the amount of alcohol. I can't advise you
about how much sugar you needed to add - it depends on the recipe and the
sweetness of the fruit you used originally. When the bubbling subsides next
time, taste the must - it will probably be quite sweet (!) I would leave it to
bubble slowly for 3-6 months if it still tastes of the fruit you used. If
it tastes like sugar water you will have to chalk it up to experience.
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10.
How do you preserve home made wine like the wineries?
Most
commercial wine makers (non-organic) add sulphites as a preservative. Sulphites
kill off anything live in the wine and are also not too healthy for you.
However, if your wine isn't keeping for at least a couple of years without
spoiling, try a denser cork (the cheaper corks sometimes aren't completely
airtight.) The bottle should be stored on it's side to keep the cork moist (and
plump enough to be airtight) and store at around 50 degrees.
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11.
If I am making triple the quantity do I triple all ingredients?
If you are making 3 separate batches
of the wine, you will need to treble all of the ingredients.
If you are making one 3 gallon batch,
I would recommend that you reduce the sugar by a third and you will only need
one yeast mix - just make sure that it is really frothing before you add it.
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12.
I had a problem
first starting the wine off as the temp dropped and the fermentation did not
start, so after 3 days I started some more yeast in 500 ml of the juice (once
warmed). After an hour and the yeast was activated I add it to the rest in the
primary. Temp has been good for two days now but still no fermentation...?
The problem you are having
might be to do with the warming of the yeast starter mix. Yeasts are finicky
about their operating temperature range. Once the liquid cools down, the yeast
might be dying off.
 | You could try a different
yeast (run the must through some muslin to remove the yeast that is in it
and make up a new batch of yeast starter with a different yeast brand - try
baker's or brewer's yeast if you are using a wine yeast now) |
| Try to reactivate the must
by giving it a really good shake and putting it somewhere warmer (above the
fridge, next to the water heater) If this works, wrap the container in a
blanket to keep the temperature even. |
| Cranberries are a very
bitter fruit and the amount of sugar in the recipe may have been too low to
sustain the yeast beyond the short fomentation you describe. You can add
sugar water to the must, but the resulting taste will probably be a lot less
cranberry and a lot more bland than you would hope for. |
| Also check that your air
lock is complete - if you have a leak, there may be fermentation going
on that you are missing. |
