Hello everyone, I have just joined the forum. Since yesterday I have 10lbs grapes mashing in a fermentation bucket. I was so excited to have picked so many grapes from my allotment, but now I need a good simply recipe, I am not sure if I will need yeast, I have heard that grapes make there own yeast, can anyone give me advice please. and perhaps a recipe.
Hope you can help.
from Adeliene
Hi adeliene, :D
It`s probably a bit late, but what i would do is, remove as many stalks as possible from the grapes, as these impart bitterness to the wine. 10lbs of grapes is about enough for 2 gallons of wine, so I would look to make no more than this. Dissolve 2lbs (900 grms) of sugar in hot water add this to the grapes, add 2 litres of apple or grape juice then make up to 2 gallons with cold water. If you have a hydrometer strain off some juice & take a reading , hopefully this will be about 1.070 to 1.080. This will give you approximately 12% alcohol . Add i tsp pectolase, 1 tsp nutrient & also a good quality wine yeast ,I would not leave it to ferment naturally, wild yeasts are poor in comparison to a correct wine yeast. Cover & leave somewhere warm , stirring twice a day for 4 days. Strain into 2 demijons, top up with water or grape juive & ferment out to dryness approx 3 weeks. Hope this info is not too late for you.
Adrian.