Wine making tutorial please!

[Bonniegirl]

I have enough plums for Africa
Aside from all the other thing you can do with plums can someone do a step by step guide to making wine.

I got da plums........now what?

A barrel...??

[ElizabethBinary]

Um.... on the right side of my screen the first two hits I see are:

# Taking the fear out of winemaking part 2 – By MKG
# Taking the fear out of wine making – Part one -By MKG


...check that?

[Bonniegirl]

Yes saw those but as great as they are there's too much text to wade through

I need one line at a time lol!

Eg: Get plums, chop up
Get bucket, put in bucket with

Plain simple and no extra bits lol

[Minnesota]

every once in a while a friend of mine will drink some of my Rhubarb wine and then gets a hankerin' to make some...and ask the same question as you. My answer is always read a "how to" book.

There is just too much to list in step by step. There are different procedures for different style recipes. The equipment you have also will dictate how you will make it.

I should read the links Elizabeth pointed out. Maybe they are thorough enough. Good Luck. If you do deside to make some wine, post any questions you have. There are lots of homebrewer/winemakers here to give you answers.

[Bonniegirl]

Ahh! That's more like it!

So I don't need to chop the plums or cut in half? How does the flavour come out!'

See what I mean! I need to know! lmao, sorry it;s how me poor wee brain works!!

[indy]

You don't need to chop the plums if you don't want to, they soak long enough for the flavour and they mush up when you stir the brew occasionally while its in the big bin

[Minnesota]

Here is my recipe for:
Rhubarb country wine with ale yeast.

2.5 gal rain water
4 lb cane sugar
2 lb brown sugar
11 lb rhubarb cut into 1" pc
1/4 tsp vegemite
yeast (munton's dry ale)

Boiled water,
added sugars,
boiled a little more, G=1.090 at this point
cut heat and added rhubarb,
temp stabilized at 165
added diluted vegemite and covered.
added enough heat to hold temp at 160 for 20 min.
cut heat and let sit for an hour or so.
inserted sanitized wort chiller...chilled to 75 deg.
OG=1.080
yielded four gallons with chunks of rhubarb and all.
I expect to lose about a gallon
when I rack off the yeast and chunks of rhubarb.
I put the Must into plastic fermentor and threw yeast.
Fermentation activity started in less than two hours.
I hit the gravities (within 10%) of my guesstimations.
I hoped for a OG=1.085

after 3 to 7 days, after fermentation ended
I racked the wine off the rhubarb chunks.
then I added Campton tablets with a G=1.018 so it well be sweet.

after another week I've racked again.

then I age it for 1 to 6 months in a Glass Carboy.

then I will bottle it.

[Bonniegirl]

Hi Minnesota now thats when it all starts to get scary!

[pumpy]

I have enough plums for Africa
Aside from all the other thing you can do with plums can someone do a step by step guide to making wine.

I got da plums........now what?

A barrel...??

Buy some sugar, & chuck it all in a bucket

[MKG]

It's all great advice

The only thing I'd add is some pectic enzyme because plums are buggers for creating hazes. On the other hand, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Personally, I'd at least slash the plums to allow the flavour out even quicker.

Above all, Bonniegirl - the point of the tutorials - is not to be afraid of doing it. Do it the simple way first and worry about all the additions later IF you feel the need.

Call to mind what happens if you leave a bowl of plums sitting around for too long - they start to ferment all by themselves (with the help of the yeast on the skins). All you're doing is taking that natural process under your control.

Best of luck - Mike

[Bonniegirl]

Thanks guys! Yer little darlin's yer!

Off out tomorrow morning to buy a barrel! Then in the wise words of Arnie...I'll be back!

[Bonniegirl]

It has begun!

Will report back later, with pics and stuff!

[Bonniegirl]

MKG I see you are online, so far I've cut in half the plums, filled to the 1 gallon mark put a tsp pectic enzyme and poured over 2 kettles hot water to cover plums and now I;m letting it sit there for an hour for the enzyme to work.
Does that sound ok so far??

Oh I think I missed you..

[MKG]

Aaaaaaaaahhhh! Pectic enzyme doesn't like hot water.

You've probably destroyed the enzyme, but no matter - just add some more and it will start to work immediately and continue to do so throughout the first stages of fermentation. Just carry on - you're doing fine and it's actually difficult to make a world-shattering mistake.

Mike

[Bonniegirl]

Oops!

See now ya know why I need a step by step instructions! lmao

No-one told me that bit!

so how much? I've topped the barrell up to the 5 gallon mark and the yeast is in, it's covered with a t-towel.