Using Wine To Distill In Pot Still

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:44 pm

I have a surplus of good but cheap red wine...Australian Cabernet/Syrah blend I believe. I was given a few cases.

I plan on running a batch through my pot still (this will be my first batch) to see how things work BEFORE I start working with/fermenting home made "batches"

Any suggestions ? I assume alcohol level of the wine to be +/- 18%

Since I am using such a relatively "clean" source, do I need to worry as much about separating out the heads and tails ?? or even re running the product several times to improve purity ??

I realize that distilling wine will produce a brandy type liquor, just not sure exactly what to expect, or how much for that matter....

I will have maybe 3-4 gallons of wine to work with I think....

Thanks for your thoughts

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:21 pm

THM.....BY stripping run, do you mean....run the whole batch through....through out the residue left after the run in the boiler....put the distilled product back in the boiler and run it again, but perhaps more slowly ??

As to making cuts....I realize that this is as much ART as science....but if I start with say 2 gals....how much on the front should be set out as heads...and when does one judge to start separating tails ??

I assume tht one will have several vessels available for storage....and that you should divy up in several different vessels, taking care to mark them in order so you know which is 1st, 2nd, ....last...

and that taste can be used to determine where the good turns badd ?

I know wine isnt pure so to speak, but thought it would be purer than a wash created by fermentation, but I can also understand that commercially made wines, most likely have additives, and "stuff" in them, that we want to remove for cleaner, higher quality squeezins....

Thanks again for the responses...

Professor Duck · Post by **Professor Duck** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:37 pm

Wine is a wash created by fermentation.

Anyway, the stripping process you described is basically right, just collect everything to about 92 C on the first run.

I'm no expert on making cuts, having only distilled one sugar wash, but basically you use temp. as a rough guide (if you want to) and make the cuts based on smell and taste. Whatever tastes good to you is your middle run.

Yttrium · Post by **Yttrium** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:40 pm

I concur with the statments that you can expect to have a fair amount of methanol in wine. Also, I believe your estimation of the amount of alcohol in the wine is a bit high. Around 12% would be what I would expect to find in most wines.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:04 am

Thanks for the info guys.....I will follow your advice and see what happens....the worst thing that can happen is I mess it up and learn something ! I assume that even after running a batch of wine, the worst I will get is something close to what I started with ??? LOL

As to the "filthy" stuff in wines....that would explain the nasty hangovers I suppose, esp with red wine...

But when you start thinking about it, it makes you wonder why commercial manufacturers leave so much "filthy" stuff in their final product....Im sure its part economics, part volume, part flavor and part meeting the demand of the public for a moderately nasty product !

I have made one water/steam run, but need to improve my seal on the lid and make one more water/steam run before I move on to the real mc coy !

Thanks guys for your help....

runforthehills · Post by **runforthehills** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:08 am

Sorry...THought I was logged in but I wasnt ! Thanks