Jul 24 2010

Video: Winemaking Disasters and Mistakes

Published by admin at 4:17 am under Main Content

Winemaker’s Formula 2.0

Have questions? Post them below and in the next video – I will answer the most popular winemaking questions.

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View Comments

  • Plemfitr
    I have used conditioner in the past. I made some inverted sugar, can I add pot. Sorbate to make my own conditioner?
  • Kathy
    When I move my wine to the carboy in the secondary fermentation process, should they be filled to the top?
  • wood
    Another good video Mike, thank you. Had a tip you could pass on to your followers to help keep contaminants out of their airlocks. A small (2" square) piece of foil squeezed tight over the cap keeps dust particles and nasties from setteling on top or through the little holes while allowing gases to freely escape. Old mycology trick. New untouched aluminum foil is about as sterile as can be fresh out of the package because of the manufacturing process too, so no need to sanitize it. Thanks again.

    Wood
  • Chances are you're not even know however the article solved many of my inquiries just like, Are there any Side effects of Chitosan? In case there are Chitosan Overdoses what's going to happen to us?
  • Sherryr804
    Mike, can this be corrected and how?  If the wine in the bottles is forming and the cork does not blow out, what do you do with it.  Is the wine still good.  Many thanks
  • Liam O Ruairc
    ferementation has stoped due to too much heat how do i get it to start again
  • Civilsig
    Can you put too little potassium sorbate in your batch of musk?
  • Lr Johnson
    I made wine from a kit one time but I got little fermention reaction. The end result was a product that tasted more like cool aid rather than wine. Is there anything I could do to mKE it taste like wine or will I have to pour it doen the drain?
  • Tcurtisfree
    what do you do if you are making organic wine?
  • Pete Skalsky
    Mike I think I screwed up! My wine was ready to rack today. I tasted it and it seemed awefully sweet. any suggestions? P.S. I don't have a hydrometer yet!
  • Bchinneck
    I'm the crazy guy that has a Carbouy full of what I think is totally fermented wine. "I have not seen a bubble in 3 days" It has spent 8 days in Primary Fermentation, that bubbled away merrily. I racked it and with in a day the bubbling decreased to a bubble or two per minute and now on the 10th day after racking there are no signs of any bubbles. Does this tell me that I'm ready to Rack again and make ready to bottle? I would hate to "Rush any wine before it's time!"
  • Randy Crump
    these videos where very helpful. thankyou. I have a recipe to make wine with grape concintrate. Its for one gallon. Now if I want to make a carbouy full do i add 5 times the ingrediants. That would be alot of yeast.
  • mikefirst1
    Not for the yeast - for 5 gallons, you would just use one small packet. Make a yeast starter first consisting of lukewarm water and a little of the grape juice. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, or until it starts bubbling, and then pour it in the carboy.
  • RGN
    I've been making wine from concord grapes the last two years. My problem is that the wine is tart. Is this due to acidity, or is there something else I should be looking at?
  • Dwd1859
    How long should I keep red wine bulk aging before transfering to bottles?
  • Y Cymro
    Hi Mike, what if you want to make a sparkling wine (as I have done with apples). Won't the stabiliser prevent this?
  • Malcolm Dale
    Dear Mike,
    Can you show a list on video of when: To add campden tablets, when to add tanning, when to add citric acid, when to add yeast nutrient, when to add yeast, when to add chemicals to stop fermentation, when to add clearing chemicals etc. We all know the what but few know the when?
    Malcolm Dale
  • mikefirst1
    Well - a better question is IF you need tannins and IF you need acid. You should always measure the must first to see what it needs. The yeast nutrient goes in at the beginning and the stabilizer (sorbate) goes in just before you bottle.
  • Bobjphelan
    I have been told that it is very important to keep the juice in the bucket during primary fermentation until you get a specific gravity of 990 to 996. I have not been able to get it below 1.010 to 1.000 for different types of California juice. Do you agree with this and how long should I wait for primary fermentation to be complete?
    Bob
  • ShirleyStoddard
    I have crushed the grapes, added the yeast fermented and now have the wine in a carboy with an airlock. The wine looks as though it is settling. But the bubbles in the airlock are very slow to form. is this normal?
  • Blondepi
    Can I pick my grapes ( a day or 2) prior to making the wine?
  • Thea Goujon
    last years wine in carboys in shed tastes awful..sort of earthy! Do I throw it away?

    Thelma Johnston thea.gouon@virgin.net
  • mikefirst1
    you need to bottle it ASAP. Once in the bottle, the wine will undergo a taste change within 6 to 9 months.
    Mike
  • Susan Taylor
    Hello, & thank you so much for offering information for free ;) I started my wine in a red can...Is this ok? & on top of that, when I started it, I only put a net cloth over it....Is this ok? It has been fermenting for 5 days now, so I strained it & started over again, but this time I put rynolds wrap on it to make it more air-tight.....I beleive it is fermenting better now, but has never really foamed yet :( Am I doing something wrong? What now without throwing out all the money, time & effort to do this.....First Time Here :( Thanks so very very much for any info ;) Sincerely Susan
  • mikefirst1
    a can? I would never use a can. You need to get the wine into glass.

    Also - for wine - you WANT the gas to escape.
    Mike
  • Regcrompton
    Can you please explane Chitosan and its uses in wine making.
    Also what is the procedure to calculate the alcoholic content of our wine using an hydrometer or any other instrument.
    Regards Reg C
  • Bettarahmed
    its a red wine and my qyestion is why there are a fom coming out off the btl as i know only sparkling wine or chambgane has the foam thanx
  • Canada91
    How did opening a bottle of wine in your shoe work out?
  • mikefirst1
    wine all over the floor for me! You?
  • Meowkat007
    We put a small hose through the cork into a container of water using alka seltzer to take care of the smell. Is that the right thing to do?
  • Claude Greeson
    On occasions I have ended up with a vinagar taste and smell even tho I have tried to work very clean.....
  • Paul
    How to procced to invert sugar for 100 liter grape juice making wine?

    one liter=1000 cmc
  • Harry_ria
    Hallo I had 5 gal of cherry juice put it in some botles en corked it fot later making wine it started to ferment on me so i opened all botles and put in in a pail with a air lock it stopt fermenting so took a reading incresed my sugar cotend to 2090 and now i can not get the fermentation started again what to do help me i dont want to waist 15 gal of juice my e mail is harry_ria@bell.net
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