Inexpensive drinkin' wine.

[TN.Frank]

I'm making some inexpensive general propose drinkin' wine and wonder how long I need to ferment it.
Basically it's just 100% Grape Juice concentrate cut with 2 cans of water instead of 3 with a cup of sugar added and a dash of Baker's Yeast to ferment it. I'm fermenting in a 4L glass wine bottle with my homemade air lock system(hose from the lid into a small glass of water). I'd like to got for 10-12% alcohol and I know that Baker's Yeast normally tends to die off at about 14%. I just wonder how many days I should let it ferment before I put it into the fridge and put the yeast to sleep and let it settle on the bottom of the bottle before I pour it off into another container for storage and drinking? Would 4 days be enough, maybe 5, should I just wait until I don't see the Yeast working anymore? Anyway, not wanting to make a premium drinking wine here, just something cheap and fun to drink. Thanks.

[blind drunk]

You can't determine ahead of time how long it should ferment before you put it in the fridge. Let it ferment dry, rack the wine off of the lees etc, then put it in the fridge to clear even further. You could also do a racking before it's fully fermented and then another one after it's sat in the fridge. I know you want to make a cheap drinking wine but if you don't ferment it dry it will be sweet and if you don't let it clear it could also be gross. Better to take that little extra time and make a better product. HTH, bd.

[TN.Frank]

So basically, let the yeast do it's thing totally then rack it off, put the racked wine into the fridge to clear then rack it again. At that point I can check the alcohol content with my hydrometer, hopefully it'll be around 10-12% if not a touch more. Then, I'll do a taste test, if it's a bit more bitter then I like I can always add a can or two of grape juice concentrate to it to sweeten it back up. That's how I did my cider from concentrate and it turned out pretty decent. Thanks for the reply.

[blind drunk]

Hi TN,

Then, I'll do a taste test, if it's a bit more bitter then I like I can always add a can or two of grape juice concentrate to it to sweeten it back up. That's how I did my cider from concentrate and it turned out pretty decent.

Didn't the cider start fermenting again when you added the apple concentrate? bd.

[TN.Frank]

Nope, I kept it in the fridge and drank it within a couple days so there was no problems.

[TN.Frank]

5 days in and did a little taste test. Still a bit sweet, about like Sangria, I'd guess that it's around 5-6% alcohol. I'm going to give it a few more days then do another taste test so see where it's at. All in all it seems to be going well but kind of slow. May need to get a few more jugs going so I can stock up and have enough to drink, LOL.

[Fastill]

I make lots of Welches grape wine, the longer you let it sit, the better it gets. After about 90-120 days it loses all of the yeasty flavors and using charred red oak after about 30 days really gives some complex flavors that compare with pretty high quality wines.
I let it go until it is no longer fizzy. this can take up to 2 to 3 months at certain times of the year.
I Rack once after 30 days, add charred oak and let it set until no fizz, re-rack and add campden and let it sit for another 30 days, still with oak, then bottle. I believe that rushing the process will leave lots of yeasty flavors that only time and racking can remove. Also I never chill the wine, it is always at room temerature until drank.

[TN.Frank]

Wow, a man could go thirsty waiting that long,LOL. I'll give it another week or so then it's into the fridge to put the yeast to sleep, rack it off, fridge again to put anything I missed to sleep then one last rack and I'm drinkin'. I just can't wait for 3 or more months to get wine to drink, not with this batch. Guess I should think about AA, LOL. Patients isn't one of my huge virtues. That why I normally like to make 'Shine, one week of fermenting then cook off the whiskey and you're ready to drink.

[northcountry]

Do up some 5 gal. batches to get ahead for some aging. I just put together some pyment (polish grape mead) with 3 qts. grape concentrate, 3 qts. honey, 3/4 C lime juice, and EC1118 yeast. Did the same recipe but with 8# sugar last week. One month wait for top taste for the honey batch, and 6 months for the sugar batch.

[TN.Frank]

Just started my second batch tonight. That'll put each batch a week apart so by the time I'm ready to drink one the other should be about ready for racking off. Figure I need to go at least 2 weeks in the ferment then rack it and maybe give it another week to ferment out totally then rack again and store in the fridge so it won't ferment any further. That'll be 3 weeks total ferment time, which I hope will get me around 10-12% alcohol content and a decent not too sweet taste.

[Dnderhead]

i don't thank you are going to git a off dry doing it that way.

[TN.Frank]

i don't thank you are going to git a off dry doing it that way.

So, what do you think I will get doing it that way? I'm just wanting some grape juice with enough alcohol in it to make me feel nice after a couple glasses. Not looking for a fine French Table wine or anything, just cheap wine.

[Dnderhead]

three ways that I know of making a off dry/sweet wine.
1) do as you did but when finished fermenting add 1/2-1 cup sugar,,let that ferment,test, if not sweet add another,keep doing this until yeast wont ferment any more,then sweeten.

2) another way is to add potassium sulfate and potassium sorbate , these together will prevent further fermentation.then sweeten.

there's other ways but your not prepared , like .5 micron filters. most cost a bunch. Iv got one, I made up cost me about 200$ US and 10$ for filter pads
to do 20-50 gal. another way is pasteurizing.

as long as the yeast are alive and there is sugar it will keep fermenting. so you have to kill the yeast,or eliminate the yeast. or limit the sugar.
sort of like putting out a fire. putting in refrigerator will just prolong this happening. yeast will ferment down to 0c /32f just slowly.then when you take it out they will wake up, and it wont never clear.

[blind drunk]

Not looking for a fine French Table wine or anything

Coulda fooled me . Cheers, bd.

[TN.Frank]

Pasteurizing may be the easiest way, just don't want to boil off any of the alcohol. What temp will kill the yeast?

[rednose]

I have a pasteurisator that I use for a product out of distilling and wine and passed a fruit ferment last week.

It changes the flavor slightly if you go over 70C for 20sec.

I will try potassium sulfate like Dnder said before.

Pasteurizing may be the easiest way, just don't want to boil off any of the alcohol. What temp will kill the yeast?

[TN.Frank]

Did some checking. 140 deg F is fatal to yeast so if I go 150 deg F for a minute it should kill all of em ' off without boiling off the alcohol. Then I can put the wine in the fridge, let things settle and rack it over to storage bottles.

[TN.Frank]

Well, after 7 and a half days of fermenting I took a little taste and it's just where I want it. Not too tart, not too sweet, just like I like it. So, I put both jugs into the fridge to put the yeast to sleep and let em' settle at the bottom of the container. Then I'll rack em' off into a larger stainless steel cooking pot, run it up to 150deg F to kill off all the yeast and bottle and chill it down. I think that'll put me where I want to be for a wine I can sip on in the evenings.

[blind drunk]

Then I'll rack em' off into a larger stainless steel cooking pot, run it up to 150deg F to kill off all the yeast and bottle and chill it down.

Maybe do just the one and make sure you like it cooked. Cooking without a pasteurizer might give it "that cooked taste." My 2 bits. Cheers, bd.

[TN.Frank]

I don't really think of a quick run up to 150 F as "cooking" . Cooking involves boiling which is 212F and that's a long way over 150F. I'm just heating it up enough to kill off the yeast, that's all. Either way for under $4 bucks a gallon I'm not going to be real picky, LOL.

[blind drunk]

Found this -

http://www.ehow.com/how_5959220_pasteur ... -wine.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Cheers, bd.

[TN.Frank]

Good article. I put the wine into a large stainless cooking pot, brought it up to 140F slowly and kept stirring it so it'd not burn on the bottom the put it into the 4L glass jugs and stuck it in the fridge to chill down. That should have killed off most if not all of the yeast AND I plan on keeping the wine in the fridge so I think I'm ok. Once it sits for a couple days and all the dead yeast settle to the bottom of the jug I'll probably decant it off into a clean jug for further storage.

[TN.Frank]

This stuff is awesome. Not sure what the alcohol content is, maybe 11-12% but it's Perfect, not too tart, not too sweet, just perfect. I think I'm really on to something here. Think I'll give up making 'Shine and just make wine from here on out. Least it's legal, LOL. I'm very happy with what I've got. Never thought about making it before but now that I know it can turn out so well I really am hooked.

[coctailgirl]

I have an alternative suggestion.

If you have trouble with inexpensive or low-quaility wine, or let's say you happen to have a bottle of bad wine all you have to do is add one cherry-tang to the bottle. Then filter it into a pitcher. Let it rest for couple of hours and you're ready to go. The low-quality wine will have a very sweet taste, also for some reason it makes you become drunk real fast This one goes very well with fruits but not meat based meals (don't try it!).

P.S. If you have high blood pressure, this mixture will make it even worse so beware.
P.S.S Red wine only.

[PA41]

Pasteurizing may be the easiest way, just don't want to boil off any of the alcohol. What temp will kill the yeast?

Do you think Another upside to Pasteurizing might be removal of some methnol since it goes off at 150 degrees, just keep it below the 170 where ethnol boils ? Maybe easier on the day after..??

Never done that--just wondering...

PA41

[aliced]

TN.Frank knows best..........

[GuyFawkes]

Pasteurizing may be the easiest way, just don't want to boil off any of the alcohol. What temp will kill the yeast?

Do you think Another upside to Pasteurizing might be removal of some methnol since it goes off at 150 degrees, just keep it below the 170 where ethnol boils ? Maybe easier on the day after..??

Never done that--just wondering...

PA41

Pure methanol has a boiling point of 149 degrees F. Anyone who has distilled knows that very little boils off right at 149, since you don't have pure methanol. You would get some off maybe, but not enough to be noticeable. You would have to get up closer and closer to boiling the ethanol to really get the methanol off. Besides, boiling alcohol is a serious fire hazard and should not be your intent.

Also, to anyone looking to create cheap wine like the OP, look into port wines. Make some brandy (or even neutral spirit if you wish) and pour it into your drink when it is near done fermenting. It will kill all the remaining yeast, then you can sweeten it however you want with no worries of further fermentation since all the yeast should be gone.