Total noob looking to distill wine

[BigH]

Howdy

I am a home grape grower and wine maker who hit a brick wall 3 years ago and quit the hobby. Now I am sitting on roughly 125 gallons of wine stored in a bunch of 5 gallon carboys. Would like to distill all my old wine and get back to ground zero so I can resume the hobby next season.

My wine tastes oxidized, which was likely caused by not keeping my sulfate levels up and imperfect air locks. I don't think I have an acetic acid problem because my sanitation practices were always overkill for winemaking. I carried over my cleaning and sanitizing practices from homebrewing beer.

Thinking of purchasing a copper alembic still to make oak-aged brandy if the result is good, or a neutral flavorless spirit if the result is clean but boring. My wife makes homemade apple pie liquor from our orchard, but we don't ferment that. The alcohol comes from everclear that we purchase.

Is this idea crazy for a total distilling noob? I do have about 20 gallons of frozen grape juice that I could practice with. I could ferment and distill that without having to deal with sulfates and acetaldehyde

H

[greggn]

Welcome to HD !

Is this idea crazy for a total distilling noob?

Not at all. The hobbies are complimentary and I suspect your wife may soon become interested.

[PalCabral]

Is this idea crazy for a total distilling noob? I do have about 20 gallons of frozen grape juice that I could practice with. I could ferment and distill that without having to deal with sulfates and acetaldehyde

We all started for one or the other reason, yours is as good as any. I wish I had grapes and wines that I could distill, but it's too cold here and the wine made is worth gold per ml.

Distilling will not "fix" oxidized wines, so keep the distillates you make from wines you feel are overly oxidized separate from the ones that are more straightforward. See if you can blend them using samples before mixing them together. If they still taste foul, run them for neutral (as you were suggesting). But wines that are good should make a nice aged product. Reds, unfortunately, make more flabby distillates than whites, not sure if cutting specifically for it can make it good. I am not an expert.

A copper alambique is perfect for fruit and whiskey, and rum, but not optimal if you want to make neutral. Check out modular stills, if they work for you. Being able to replace still components as you prefer is an excellent way to keeping costs down by being able to configure the still as you need it.

Look forward to see you in the forum.

[BigH]

Reds, unfortunately, make more flabby distillates than whites...

This is not bad news. We currently produce more white wine than we care to drink, and it is less forgiving in the winery with respect to oxygen.

I live in the midwest where we have to grow cold hardy grapes. The white wine grapes are ahead of their red sisters in terms of the quality of the wine they produce. If I could distill half of the whites into a high quality brandy, I would jump at the chance (speaking of future years, not this oxygen laden swill that I have to deal with now)

H

[Salt Must Flow]

If you have 125 gallons of wine to distill, why not start with a 15.5 gal keg boiler? I know you want copper, but you can put copper bits inside the boiler, use a copper riser and can easily put rolls of copper mesh within the riser (in the vapor path) if desired. A basic pot still with modular/Tri-Clamp connections would be a really good starting place considering the volume you have to run. It would probably be cheaper to put together than buying a relatively small copper alembic. With a keg boiler you can still do smaller batch runs.

Do you intend to cook over flame or are you interested in running electric? Electric is ideal in my opinion, especially 240V with a controller.

[Saltbush Bill]

If you have 125 gallons of wine to distill, why not start with a 15.5 gal keg boiler? I know you want copper, but you can put copper bits inside the boiler, use a copper riser and can easily put rolls of copper mesh within the riser (in the vapor path) if desired. A basic pot still with modular/Tri-Clamp connections would be a really good starting place considering the volume

I agree with SMF a beer keg is a much better and cheaper choice, only need a beer keg a 3 ring gas burner and your in business.
Once you learn more you can decide what mods you want to make to the keg if you want.
To begin with stay cheap and simple, it will do exactly the same job.

[Salt Must Flow]

If you have 125 gallons of wine to distill, why not start with a 15.5 gal keg boiler? I know you want copper, but you can put copper bits inside the boiler, use a copper riser and can easily put rolls of copper mesh within the riser (in the vapor path) if desired. A basic pot still with modular/Tri-Clamp connections would be a really good starting place considering the volume

A much better and cheaper choice, only need a beer keg a 3 ring gas burner and your in business.
Once you learn more you can decide what mods you want to make to the keg if you want.
To begin with stay cheap and simple, it will do exactly the same job.

I'm not sure 3 ring gas burners are all that cheap or plentiful here in the US. Banjo burners readily available and the flame can be adjusted really low if needed.

"Better" is subjective. Electric was "better" for me when I first started. The idea heating over gas was not at all desirable to me. Electric circuits are easy to install especially if a service box is accessible. Electric seems WAY safer to me. Electric is quiet and you can insulate the boiler. Electric power input can be really precise, easily repeatable and more convenient in my opinion. Having to lug tanks of propane around, having to refill (or exchange them) sucks. With electric you don't have to worry about air exchange. If I'm not mistaken, I believe electric is more economical too. Electric is definitely more efficient.

I don't think anyone would argue that Tri-Clamp connections aren't ideal and well worth using. When I recommended Tri-Clamp connections, that includes connecting directly to the existing keg connection using a 2" Tri-Clamp ferrule. To run electric it would only require one small modification to the keg for a heating element (cut a hole and solder or weld a Tri-Clamp ferrule to the keg). Controllers are much cheaper and easier these days to assemble. Retail controllers exist, but are usually ridiculously expensive for what they are (in my opinion).

It's a really easy decision to make for those that have absolutely no interest in electricity.

[Saltbush Bill]

Is this not a banjo burner with 3 rings ? Just a different lingo here.
$20 Au second hand from Yard sale / Garage sale if you look around.
Damn sight cheaper for a beginner that electric elements and controllers.
Enough anyway ........this is supposed to be a Welcome Post.

3 ring.jpg

[Copperhead road]

Welcome into the fold BigH.

[TDick]

Is this not a banjo burner with 3 rings ? Just a different lingo here.
$20 Au second hand from Yard sale / Garage sale if you look around.
Damn sight cheaper for a beginner that electric elements and controllers.
Enough anyway ........this is supposed to be a Welcome Post.
3 ring.jpg

I was looking on Facebook Marketplace, guy wanting to "clean out"
$20 for a burner and TWO propane tanks. And one of those was half full.
and here in the States if you have a crappy tank, just exchange for a "full" refurbed for $20.00.
No brainer.

[zach]

Welcome aboard!

I also am a home vintner. I use a propane burner with a 15 gallon keg for a boiler.

With a keg you already have a fitting that will adapt to 2" tri clamp.

It's not hard to find a 2" tri clamp condenser, riser and a few tri clamp 90's and your in business.

Something like this can be found for around $100

kit.jpg

[BigH]

Do you intend to cook over flame or are you interested in running electric? Electric is ideal in my opinion, especially 240V with a controller.

I was envisioning flame, but am open to either. Tapping into my fuse box to add a 240 V outlet is well within my ability.

If a 15 gallon keg still is capable of doing smaller 5 gallon runs in future years, then that might be a good approach. 5 gallons is typically the smallest amount of wine I want to deal with, although I do have 3 gallon carboys that I use for odd amounts (ie when a grape variety produced 8 gallons of wine).

For the short term, I may submit some of my old wines for testing to verify I don't have an acetic acid problem.

H

[PalCabral]

Do you intend to cook over flame or are you interested in running electric? Electric is ideal in my opinion, especially 240V with a controller.

I was envisioning flame, but am open to either. Tapping into my fuse box to add a 240 V outlet is well within my ability.

If a 15 gallon keg still is capable of doing smaller 5 gallon runs in future years, then that might be a good approach. 5 gallons is typically the smallest amount of wine I want to deal with, although I do have 3 gallon carboys that I use for odd amounts (ie when a grape variety produced 8 gallons of wine).

For the short term, I may submit some of my old wines for testing to verify I don't have an acetic acid problem.

H

It’s all about how low your electric element ports are positioned in the boiler, as the elements always need to be covered by liquid not to burn out. In my 13 gallon boiler, the lower of two elements get exposed at 9 liters and the upper at 13 liters, so when I distill I just need to shut down the upper at 15 liters and never go below 11 liters (to have a bit of margin).

If you’re on gas, the lowest is just before running the boiler bone dry.

[aja]

At 30 USD, this burner has worked very well for my 13g.

www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ715KSS

[zach]

Here is the best reference for making brandy that I have read.

https://www.bostonapothecary.com/le-cog ... laud-1958/

[Saltbush Bill]

This welcome thread has gone right off topic
Welcomes only.