Good morning,

I think I've finally got enough concord grapes to make my first batch
of homemade wine. I probably have between 40-50 lbs (stems and all)
sitting in the fridge. I haven't had any luck finding information on
what to do next. I gather I need to get them crushed, but I'm not
sure if I need to pull the grapes from the stems or simply crush them
as is. I assume that crushing is something I can do by hand. I would
be grateful if someone could point me to some resources or be willing
to provide some assistance for this first-time wine maker.

Thank you very much for any help you may be able to provide.

Mike

Athens, Ohio

Mike,

First buy i of these :

http://www.piwine.com/store/product....3&cat=0&page=2

and 1 of these:

http://www.piwine.com/store/product....2&cat=0&page=1

When you get them, add 1/4 teaspoon of the Potassium metabisulfate to
a clean container that can hold about 10 gallons ( a clean plastic
rubbermaid garbage can will do). Throw the grapes in the can and crush
them with your feet or some other clean utensil. Add the yeast when
done. Next day stir the stuff , once in the morning and once at night.
Be sure to make sure that the crushed grapes that may be floating on
the top are submerged in the juice. Soon it'll be bubbling and it'll
smell great. After about 5 days of doing this every day press the
"wine" off the skins and stems into a carboy with an airlock on it.

This:

http://www.piwine.com/store/product....8&cat=0&page=2

and this:

http://www.piwine.com/store/product....9&cat=0&page=1

and this:

http://www.piwine.com/store/product....5&cat=0&page=1

That's the basics.





On Sep 7, 8:06*am, Takeadoe > wrote:
> Good morning,
>
> I think I've finally got enough concord grapes to make my first batch
> of homemade wine. *I probably have between 40-50 lbs (stems and all)
> sitting in the fridge. *I haven't had any luck finding information on
> what to do next. *I gather I need to get them crushed, but I'm not
> sure if I need to pull the grapes from the stems or simply crush them
> as is. *I assume that crushing is something I can do by hand. *I would
> be grateful if someone could point me to some resources or be willing
> to provide some assistance for this first-time wine maker.
>
> Thank you very much for any help you may be able to provide.
>
> Mike
>
> Athens, Ohio

On Sep 7, 8:06 am, Takeadoe > wrote:
> Good morning,
>
> I think I've finally got enough concord grapes to make my first batch
> of homemade wine. I probably have between 40-50 lbs (stems and all)
> sitting in the fridge. I haven't had any luck finding information on
> what to do next. I gather I need to get them crushed, but I'm not
> sure if I need to pull the grapes from the stems or simply crush them
> as is. I assume that crushing is something I can do by hand. I would
> be grateful if someone could point me to some resources or be willing
> to provide some assistance for this first-time wine maker.
>
> Thank you very much for any help you may be able to provide.
>
> Mike
>
> Athens, Ohio

For general information on wine making:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

In particular for Concord:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques10.asp

The recipes are for one gallon. Scale to what you have (except for
the yeast). If you use a recipe that does not add water, you probably
only need a 3 gallon carboy. Campden tablets are a more economical
form of metabisulfite for small batches.

wrote:

> Mike,
>
> First buy i of these :
>
> http://www.piwine.com/store/product....3&cat=0&page=2
>
> and 1 of these:
>
> http://www.piwine.com/store/product....2&cat=0&page=1
>
> When you get them, add 1/4 teaspoon of the Potassium metabisulfate to
> a clean container that can hold about 10 gallons

> ( a clean plastic
> rubbermaid garbage can will do).

NO. Rubbermaid trash containers are NOT food grade. They will leach into
your wine. I just called yesterday to see if they are suitable for
winemaking and I was told they are NOT.

I buy HDPE fermenters from Unites States Plastic Corp.
www.usplastic.com
Call and ask them for a catalog 1 800 537 9724

US plastics sells the Rubbermaid Brute containers along with all kinds of
plastics products.

The price is right so I talked to technical support at US plastics.
They told me that they were not safe for winemaking. To confirm this they
called Rubbermaid and verified that they are NOT
SAFE for this purpose.


> Throw the grapes in the can and crush
> them with your feet or some other clean utensil. Add the yeast when
> done. Next day stir the stuff , once in the morning and once at night.
> Be sure to make sure that the crushed grapes that may be floating on
> the top are submerged in the juice. Soon it'll be bubbling and it'll
> smell great. After about 5 days of doing this every day press the
> "wine" off the skins and stems into a carboy with an airlock on it.
>
> This:
>
> http://www.piwine.com/store/product....8&cat=0&page=2
>
> and this:
>
> http://www.piwine.com/store/product....9&cat=0&page=1
>
> and this:
>
> http://www.piwine.com/store/product....5&cat=0&page=1
>
> That's the basics.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sep 7, 8:06Â*am, Takeadoe > wrote:
>> Good morning,
>>
>> I think I've finally got enough concord grapes to make my first batch
>> of homemade wine. Â*I probably have between 40-50 lbs (stems and all)
>> sitting in the fridge. Â*I haven't had any luck finding information on
>> what to do next. Â*I gather I need to get them crushed, but I'm not
>> sure if I need to pull the grapes from the stems or simply crush them
>> as is. Â*I assume that crushing is something I can do by hand. Â*I would
>> be grateful if someone could point me to some resources or be willing
>> to provide some assistance for this first-time wine maker.
>>
>> Thank you very much for any help you may be able to provide.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> Athens, Ohio

On Sep 7, 8:06*am, Takeadoe > wrote:
> Good morning,
>
> I think I've finally got enough concord grapes to make my first batch
> of homemade wine. *I probably have between 40-50 lbs (stems and all)
> sitting in the fridge. *I haven't had any luck finding information on
> what to do next. *I gather I need to get them crushed, but I'm not
> sure if I need to pull the grapes from the stems or simply crush them
> as is. *I assume that crushing is something I can do by hand. *I would
> be grateful if someone could point me to some resources or be willing
> to provide some assistance for this first-time wine maker.
>
> Thank you very much for any help you may be able to provide.
>
> Mike
>
> Athens, Ohio

I like to wait 18 to 24 hours before adding the yeast. The
metabisulphate or campton tablets release sulfite gas to keep off any
wild yeast or bacteria and it then slows down after 18 hours. It
won't kill your good yeast, but it will certainly inhibit it from
growing, so let the chemical do it's job first

Tom