Who's good at making apple wine?

MaryContrary · Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:17 pm

This is my first go at making wine of any sort, and I think I have what CJJ Berry calls a 'stuck ferment'...bearing in mind that I am a complete novice, this is what I have done so far, quantities not included, but followed the letter when I did it (I think!):

...cooked up windfall apples with water, let it cool and added sugar, yeast, nutrient and lemon juice, and some sultanas, bunged it all in a fermenting bucket put the lid on and left it in the kitchen for a couple of days...

...put into a gallon jar, having removed fruit pulp, up to the shoulder and fitted with fermenting lock. The remainder went into a smaller jar also with air lock. It went bonkers for about 3 days, then just sort of stopped.

...transferred the remainder into the gallon jar, put the lock back on and now it's ontop of the fridge. I reckon the temp in the kitchen ranges between 16 at night and 20 in the day. There have been no signs of fermenting going on since then, a week ago. I've been stirring it. Am I just being impatient? Have I forgotten something?

...any advice would be gratefully received! CJJ Berry is going a bit over my head...

Thanks,
Mary

ilan · Post: # 75279Post **ilan** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:47 am

The best thing to do is taste it ! is it very sweet may be too much sugar to soon is it fizzy still fermenting or very dry sharp almost finished or just sweet and no fizz stuck ferment ! If it has stuck and you used less than 2lbs sugar then just make up some more yeast in a bottle with sugar and acid( Lemon juce) and add . Yeasts can also be killed by to much sugar dont forget the rasins will be mostly sugar , if its very sweet and stuck make the gallon and bit upto two gallons using apple juce from the cartons and a new yeast culture .

MaryContrary · Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:20 am

Taste it you say? OK, here goes...smells like cider, no surprise there...looks like murky cider...tastes very sour and dry, not sweet but not vinegary either....no fizziness...

what do you reckon?

red · Post: # 75291Post **red** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:45 am

maybe its run out of sugar then. if its sour and dry.

MaryContrary · Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:21 pm

Yes, perhaps a bit more sugar might do the trick? Should I rack it first and then add the sugar, or just bung the sugar in with a bit of apple juice?

Thanks,

Mary

red · Post: # 75310Post **red** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:14 pm

difficult to say. Any chance its just a bit cold now? you could move it to somewhere warmer and see if it picks up? I have restarted stuck wine just by racking it, and yes you could try just bunging some sugar in and seeing how it goes. course it could go wrong.. but if its not good as it is migh tbe worth a try,

ilan · Post: # 75320Post **ilan** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:45 pm

Its a little difficult to say how much sugar did you use to start with ? For it to be a "good wine " it needs to in in balence so its no good making a wine with 5lbs of fruit and 3lbs of sugar so this wine may have finished just put it into a new jar leaving the sludge behind put it into the cold till it drops clear taste it if dry bottle it and sweeten it with sugar once you open it to drink ! To make a sweet wine takes the most skill and cost ! as many contain over 10lbs of sweet or dried fruits and once fermenting are fed sugar often by the table spoon full till wines of 16% are possible .

MaryContrary · Wed Oct 31, 2007 10:56 pm

I think about 5lbs of fruit went in and 2 of sugar, along with a good couple of handfuls of sultanas...I've discovered a hydrometer in a box of brewing paraphanalia I got from Freecycle, so perhaps will give that a try and go from there...I don't think its too cold, but I'll put it in the airing cupboard for good measure.

Thanks for the advice guys, will keep you posted!