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Wine
Making Questions and Answers
The Most Common Winemaking Questions:
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What happens if I use inadequate equipment?
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Why is it necessary to add the fining agents (package #4)
before transferring the wine must off the sediment that has
built up in the carboy bottom? Wouldn't it be more efficient
for package #4 to be added after the sediment has been removed?
It seems the clearing agent has to do more work to clear the
wine by adding it with the sediment still in the carboy, especially
when you're stirring this sediment up in the process.
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Can I reuse equipment that has held other food products?
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What happens if equipment isn't properly cleaned?
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Can I cut corners or simplify a process to save time?
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Is water a factor in the success of my wine?
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What is the best way to handle the yeast?
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My basement is cold. Is this a good place to make my wine?
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I added sulphite and sorbate too early in the process. What
will it do to the wine?
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Can I leave sulphite out of my wines?
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How long do I stir the concentrate mix?
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The kit says 28 days. Is that when it's ready to drink?
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My kit has two packages of oak chips in it. Am I supposed
to add both?
Q:
What happens if I use inadequate equipment?
A: Winemaking equipment - such as pails, carboys and spoons
- often seems similar to items that may be around the home.
However, in many cases, proper winemaking equipment and utensils
are made of special materials, and this can influence your
finished product.
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Q:
Why is it necessary to add the fining agents (package #4)
before transferring the wine must off the sediment that has
built up in the carboy bottom? Wouldn't it be more efficient
for package #4 to be added after the sediment has been removed?
It seems the clearing agent has to do more work to clear the
wine by adding it with the sediment still in the carboy, especially
when you're stirring this sediment up in the process.
A:
This one fools a lot of people, as it does seem at the outset
that you'd want to get rid of the sediment first and then
add the clearing agent, particularly when the wine in the
carboy otherwise seems clear. The temptation is so great,
many winemakers DO switch the steps themselves. This is not
wrong - it's just less efficient, believe it or not.
The
clearing, or fining, agents used in Winexpert's wine kits,
whether it be chitosan or isinglass, both act more efficiently
in clearing wine when they have a base of sediment to begin
with. The sediment acts as a trigger mechanism which sends
the finings into action in clearing out the mix of proteins,
pigments, phenolics, dead yeast, etc.
Both
the fining agents and the particles to clear out from the
wine have either a positive or a negative charge. And just
like in the movies, opposites attract. A negatively charged
fining agent like bentonite will serve to bring together those
particles having a positive charge, while positively charged
fining agents like chitosan or isinglass will attract negatively
charged particles. This process allows for the molecular weight
structures of the particles to become larger: smaller particles
join together to become larger particles, which in turn fall
to the bottom of the carboy when their mass becomes great
enough.
If
the fining agents do not 'find' enough particles present in
the wine must to join together into larger particles, the
clearing process may stall, as there will not be enough small
particles present to conglomerate into the larger particles
which will fall out. Small particles on their own will remain
suspended in the must, and the fining's efficiency is reduced.
This
is why you must thoroughly stir the sediment when adding package
#4, as it effectively mixes the fining agents and the particles
together to start the clearing process.
Resist
the urge to jump the gun on transferring, or racking, the
wine! Trust the method behind the madness of Winexpert's instructions,
and stir up that sediment with confidence!
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Q:
Can I reuse equipment that has held other food products?
A:
Re-using plastic pails from other sources, like buckets that
previously held food products, is always a mistake. The food
odours will have sunk into the plastic, and will taint the
wine. Also, plastic items not intended for food purposes,
such as brand-new garbage pails must never be used for winemaking.
The pigments, UV protectants and plasticisers (chemicals used
to keep the plastic from becoming brittle) will leach into
the wine, and could affect your health.
Your
retailer will be able to direct you to equipment appropriate
for winemaking. Saving a few dollars by using suspect equipment
is not worth it.
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Q:
What happens if equipment isn't properly cleaned?
A:
90% of all winemaking failures can be traced to a lapse in
cleaning or sanitation. (Cleaning is removing visible dirt
and residue from your equipment. Sanitising is treating that
equipment with a chemical that will eliminate, or prevent
the growth of, spoilage organisms).
Everything
that comes in contact with your wine must be clean, and properly
sanitised, from the thermometer to the carboy, from the siphon
hose to the bung and airlock. One single lapse could cause
a failure of your batch.
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Q:
Can I cut corners or simplify a process to save time?
A:
Wine kit instructions may seem to be long and complicated,
and the urge is to simplify them, or to standardise steps
between different kits. This is always a mistake, for several
reasons.
First,
the kit instructions are based both on sound winemaking techniques,
and empirical trials. Development of the specific steps employed
in the instructions came about through both learned theoretical
winemaking practices and through repeated wine laboratory
testing. Following the instructions to a 'T' affords the maximum
opportunity for success.
Second,
if your kit fails to ferment correctly, or clear sufficiently,
there may be no easy way to correct it if you have not followed
the directions.
This
is sometimes a problem in that kit instructions are very different
from those for wines made from fresh grapes. Trying to use
the techniques described in winemaking textbooks will usually
lead to problems: wine kits are another kettle of fish entirely.
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Q:
Is water a factor in the success of my wine?
A:
Water is not quite as critical as many people think. In fact,
if your water is fit to drink, it is usually just fine for
winemaking. However, if your water has a lot of hardness or
a high mineral content, especially iron, it could lead to
permanent haze or off flavours. Also, if your house is equipped
with a salt-exchange water softener, that water can't be used
for winemaking. If you're in doubt, go ahead and use bottled
water to make your wine: you'll appreciate the difference.
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Q:
What is the best way to handle the yeast?
A:
If you look at the instructions in your wine kit (and please,
do), they will likely instruct you to sprinkle your packet
of yeast directly on to the must. Yet if you read the yeast
package (and many winemaking textbooks) they recommend rehydrating
the yeast. If the objective is to deliver the maximum number
of yeast cells to the must, which technique is best?
It
turns out that the answer is not as simple as one or the other,
but the main point is that rehydration is not really necessary.
You can rehydrate your yeast if you absolutely want to, but
be sure to do it accurately and precisely, as explained further
below. The rest of us will tear open the package and dump
it in, and spend the extra time sampling our last batch!
When
performed correctly, rehydrating gives the highest live cell
counts, and the quickest, most thorough fermentation. The
catch is, it has to be done precisely correctly. Lalvin EC
1118 champagne yeast, for instance, asks you to add the yeast
to 10 times its weight in water at 40-43°C (104-109°F).
Breaking
it down, the amount of '10 times' is important if you're trying
to maximise live cell counts. That's because the yeast is
dried on a substrate of nutrients and sugars. At a ratio of
10:1 water/yeast, the osmotic pressure allows for maximum
nutrient uptake (osmotic pressure is influenced by the dissolved
solids in the water, like nutrients and sugars). If too much
water is used, the yeast will grow only sluggishly. If too
little water is used, the cells may burst from the flood of
liquid and nutrients forced into them.
Secondly,
the temperature range is inflexible. The outer integument
of a yeast cell is made up of two layers of fatty acids. These
layers soften best in warm water, much as greasy film will
come off of dishes best in warm water. Once it has softened
up, it will allow the passage of nutrients and waste products
in and out of the cell much more efficiently. If the water
isn't warm enough, the cell won't soften. If it's too warm,
generally anywhere above 52°C (125.6°F) the yeast
cell will cook and die.
The
next thing you have to worry about is temperature shear. Yeast
is terrifically sensitive to environmental conditions. If
it goes too quickly from a favourable temperature to a less
favourable one, weakened cells may die, and others may go
dormant, in an attempt to ride out the temperature shift.
This reduces the numbers of live, viable cells available to
ferment the must, and gives spoilage organisms a chance to
get a foothold, and potentially ruin your wine. So if you
are rehydrating your yeast, you'll have to wait as the yeast
cools to within two degrees of your must temperature before
adding it: accuracy counts!
On
the other hand, simply dumping the yeast onto the top of the
must should result in lower cell counts. Empirical evidence
shows this isn't the case: the yeast appear to know what they're
doing. Generally, a five-gram packet of yeast will have less
than a six-hour lag phase on an average wine kit. This is
perfectly acceptable, and isn't long enough to allow spoilage
organisms to get a foothold in your wine. Plus, it's a heck
of a lot simpler than going through the rehydrating process,
fraught as it is with risks.
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Q:
My basement is cold. Is this a good place to make my wine?
A:
Kit instructions tell you to ferment your wine within a specific
temperature range. We recommend 18 to 24°C (65°F to
75°F). Yeast thrives between these temperatures. This
is one of the situations where Winexpert's instructions are
different than commercial winemaking techniques. In commercial
wineries, some white wines are fermented cooler than this,
sometimes below 55°F. Commercial wineries have the luxury
of taking a year (or two, or three) before they bottle their
wines, so they don't have a problem. For the home winemaker
though, if the fermentation area is too cool the wine will
ferment very slowly. This will lead to an excess of CO2 gas
(fizz) in the wine, and it may not be ready to stabilise and
fine on the appropriate day. Even worse, the kind of fining
agents included with Winexpert kits don't work well at temperatures
outside of the 18 to 24°C (65°F to 75°F) range.
Below 17°C (64°F) your wine kit may not clear at all!
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Q:
I added sulphite and sorbate too early in the process. What
will it do to the wine?
A:
Sulphite and sorbate - the stabilisers in the kit - work to
inhibit yeast activity. If, by mistake, you add them too early
your wine may not finish fermenting. If you add the sorbate
on day one, the yeast will never become active, and the kit
will not ferment.
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Q:
Can I leave sulphite out of my wines?
A:
Some people believe that they are allergic to sulphites, and
want to leave them out of their kits. While this is their
option, it's a bad idea. True sulphite allergies are terrifically
rare, and if someone has a reaction to drinking wine, it's
almost always due to some other cause (for a complete discussion
on this topic, see our handout "Sulphites: the Facts").
Besides, yeast make sulphites themselves during fermentation,
so no wine can ever be sulphite-free, no matter what.
Without
added sulphites the kit will oxidise and spoil very rapidly.
It will start to go off in less than 4 weeks, and be undrinkable
in less than three months. Also, if the sulphite is left out,
but the sorbate is added, the wine will be attacked by lactic
bacteria, which will convert the sorbate into the compound
hexadienol, which smells like rotting geraniums and dead fish.
The
bottom line is this: if you do not add the sulphite to the
kit, neither your retailer, nor Winexpert can guarantee the
wine, so think carefully before you do it.
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Q:
How long do I stir the concentrate mix?
A:
On day one, the kit needs to be stirred very vigorously. This
is because the juice and concentrate are very viscous, and
don't mix easily with water. Even if it seems that dumping
the contents of the bag into the primary with the water has
done the job, it hasn't. The wine lies on the bottom of the
pail, with a layer of water on top, throwing off any gravity
readings, and making the yeast work extra hard.
When
it comes time to stabilise and fine the wine, it has to be
stirred vigorously enough to drive off all of the CO2 it accumulated
during fermentation. This is because the dissolved gas will
attach to the fining agents, preventing them from settling
out. You need to stir hard enough to make the wine foam, and
keep stirring until it will no longer foam. Only then will
the gas be driven off so the fining agents can work their
magic.
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Q:
The kit says 28 days. Is that when it's ready to drink?
A:
Wine kits are ready to bottle in 28 or 45 days; they're not
ready to drink! If you really, really can't wait, the minimum
time before a kit tastes good is about one month. This is
long enough for the wine to get over the shock of bottling,
and begin opening up to release its aromas and flavours. Three
months is much better, and the wine will show most of its
character at this point. For most whites, however, and virtually
all reds, six months is needed to smooth out the wine and
allow it to express mature character. Heavy reds will continue
to improve for at least a year, rewarding your patience with
delicious bouquet.
Think
of your wine like a gourmet meal: you wouldn't take your omelette
out of a pan before it was half-cooked, and you wouldn't want
to eat a cake that was only half-baked, so let the magic ingredient
(time, of course!) do its work! For further information on
ageing, click on the section called 'Ageing and Storage' within
this Answer Box section.
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Q:
My kit has two packages of oak chips in it. Am I supposed
to add both?
A:
Yes. Wherever Winexpert's instructions call for the addition
of a certain item, you are required to add ALL of the packages
of that item found in the kit. This goes for packages of oak,
fining agents like isinglass, and so on.
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