Timing is everything.

I'm right smack in the midst of the secondary fermentation process. Fermentation slows, but still occurs enough keep a layer of CO2 on top of the wine to protect it from oxygen. I'm supposed to check the specific gravity after 10 days (on July 6th), but I realized that I'm going to be out of town until July 12th. Thankfully, I found some friends to ask.

I posted a thread at the Wine Making Discussion Forums regarding my timing situation. I was reassured that letting secondary fermentation go longer is not only fine, but usually preferred. I also was told that the kits are designed on the assumption that the wine maker wants to bottle ASAP. No worries here anymore. I'll check when I get back from camping.

It's been 5 days... now what?

So it's been five days now, and its time to check the progress of the fermentation. The wine kit suggests that the specific gravity (sg) should be below 1.010. So I clean and sanitize my test jar, wine thief (a fancy name for a tube to get wine out of the bucket), and hydrometer (measures specific gravity).

I withdraw enough samples into the test jar so that the hydrometer has room to float, plop it in there and take a reading... 0.998! That’s far lower than the suggested 1.010. After a bit of thought, it makes sense that fermentation is moving faster than expected. The suggested temperature for fermentation is between 65°F and 75°F. My apartment has been in the 80s for the last several days. This additional heat can become a problem and kill the yeast, depending on the strain used. But it seems that mine are still alive and kickin'!

So its time to move to the next step: racking. This wine making jargon for "transferring from one vessel to another." Since wine can oxidize (the reason why a bottle of red goes bad after 2 or 3 days), racking generally involves siphoning carefully, not pouring.

I lift the fermentation bucket to the counter: move the carboy (think arrowhead bottle, but better) to the floor below, start a siphon and just sit back. After a couple minutes, I have to stick my one of my accounting textbooks under one side, to minimize the amount of sediment that comes with. I knew I kept those books for a reason!




I attach the cork and airlock, and wait 10 more days...

Oooh that smell! Can't you smell that smell?

It smells like fermentation in my apartment. Very yeasty. That's good news. I'll be checking on the progress in 4 or 5 more days...

So we begin...

Yesterday was the start of the big adventure. Well, the adventure isn't that big. We are simply following the instructions in the grape concentrate kit I purchased earlier this week. Anyhoo, we started the first fermentation of the wine phase yesterday. Technically, it started this morning at 12:40 AM, since the temperature wasn't quite right to throw the yeast in. A little more on that later...


We cleaned our equipment, sanitized it with a water/sodium metabisulfite solution, and let it dry. Although watching the equipment dry was quite riveting, the fun steps came next:

(1) We dissolved the bentonite in the fermentation bucket. Bentonite helps the wine clear, so it doesn't end up being cloudy (think the difference between a Coors Light and Pyramid Hefeweizen). In a commercial operation, bentonite is usually added towards the end of the fermentation process. However, the fermentation causes a churning action, which works the bentonite through the must (aka the grape juice).

(2) We emptied the grape concentrate (henceforth called the "must" until it becomes wine) into the bucket.

(3) Next, topped off the bucket to the 23 liter mark with water and stirred (we are working with concentrate after all).

(4) We took a specific gravity reading (to measure the density of the liquid, specifically trying to measure the sugar content). We were at 1.089, meaning that the must is more dense than water (1.000).

(5) The kit came with oak powder, which is nice because I don't own nor do I have space for, an oak barrel.

(6) We were supposed to toss the yeast in, but fermentation starts between 65-75°F. At that point in the day, it was around 79°F. We went out that night, so at about 12:40 AM it was cool enough to pitch the yeast. I popped the lid on and we were on our way.

Hooray for fermentation! And now we wait...

Step one: where do I start?

I can't quite remember why I decided to pursue wine making. I guess it must have been one of my trips to Livermore Valley, or better yet, my trip to Sonoma that inspired me. Regardless, I ventured to my local retailer today in Campbell, CA: Fermentation Solutions (not much of a website, but the store is great).

There was only one person working the store today. It happened to be the store owner's son. He seemed very knowledgeable, so I decided to follow his guidance. I figured he was a good source, since his dad is a brewer and wine maker. He had to at least know the basics.

He suggested I start off with a basic wine making kit and a box of grape concentrate. At first, I thought that would be a bit too amateur-ish: the kit was mostly plastic and I pictured the grape concentrate having a "Welch's" label. I didn't want to look too douche-ey, so I was a bit hesitant.

However the grape concentrate was from the Malbec varietal grown in Argentina. The brand was "WinExpert" and the clerk assured me that it was reputable. I said "what the hell," and threw down my debit card.

In hindsight, the equipment kit is not only where most people start, but it contains the equipment that most people prefer (plastic is quite common for amateurs). Not only did I research the equipment today, but I also looked up the brand "WinExpert." It turns out that their wine kits have won tasting medals (my kit won a gold award at the 2008 Winemaker mag international amateur competition). I guess I didn't need to be so hesitant about purchasing this stuff.

I have since brought it home and thrown it in the guest room. I want Cassie (my ol' GF) to help me out so that it will be a team effort. We'll have fun and have 30 bottles of wine (~23L) when we're done. Wish us luck.