help with youngs country definitive

[aaron1969]

Hi,
i have begun making my very first wine using youngs strawberry kit.
I have followed the instructions carefully and fermentation is nearly complete.
The instructions tell me that when it has finished fermenting that i should add the wine stabiliser
then the finings and agitate the container at least six times,then leave undisturbed til clear and then bottle.

Do i not have to seperate the wine at any point in this process? and am i correct in thinking this is called racking?

any help would be much appreciated

thanks

 

[dandan]

Do i not have to seperate the wine at any point in this process? and am i correct in thinking this is called racking?

Hi aaron1969,

Racking is the process of syphoning wine off the lees (sediment), it allows clarification, and aids in stabilization. if the wine is left on the sediment too long it can make the wine taste yeasty/slightly off!

when/if adding finnings I rack off before i do so, and rack again after a few weeks/when there is a large build up of sediment!

I would once fermentation has finished, syphon, bung in the stabiliser/finnings, agitate, leave to clear, rack again, bottle/condition on bulk and then drink and enjoy!

 

[Moley]

Hi Aaron, and welcome.

I've never made a kit wine in my life and never will, but, as dandan rightly says, when it seems to have finished fermentation leave it for a couple of weeks and most of the yeast will settle to the bottom of the jar. Next you syphon it into another jar, trying to leave all of the sediment behind. Wilkinson's sell a syphon tube with an upturned little cup on the end of a plastic tube for around a quid and a half, this is ideal.

Pop in a campden tablet, add your potassium sorbate stabiliser, pour some of your wine into a (sanitised) glass and add your finings to that. Mix it up and return it to the demijohn. Put your (thoroughly washed) hand over the neck of the jar and give it a damned good shake. Ease your hand off and it should fizz. Put your hand back and shake it again, release the pressure. Don't faff around with this, shake it vigorously 3 or 4 times until it doesn't fizz. This is called de-gassing. Refit the airlock, put your jar away somewhere cool and dark and leave it for another week or two. Bottle (using your U-bend syphoning gadget) and enjoy. If you can leave your bottles alone for a while, your wines will improve.

Have fun :

 

[aaron1969]

Thank you both very much for your help. :thumb:

Thought i would start with the kits to try to get a basic grasp of the process before moving on to better things !

also have beer kit on the go at the moment,its kegged-and the long wait to sample has begun lol

 

[falafael]

i have made a lot of these kits and find them very nice, i follow it to the letter and not had any problems, i certainly dont do all the messing around as mentioned to you..campden tablets, degassing etc, to me , your just inviting germs in, just let it run its course and when its done, bottle it..its simple, thats the beauty of these kits....why people want to further complicate things gets me, they must have too much time on their hands!!

Just do as it says on the tin, and you won't go wrong, play about with it, and play at your peril!!

 

[leondz]

Easy on there falafael

 

[Smod]

i have made a lot of these kits and find them very nice, i follow it to the letter and not had any problems, i certainly dont do all the messing around as mentioned to you..campden tablets, degassing etc, to me , your just inviting germs in, just let it run its course and when its done, bottle it..its simple, thats the beauty of these kits....why people want to further complicate things gets me, they must have too much time on their hands!!

Just do as it says on the tin, and you won't go wrong, play about with it, and play at your peril!!

Have to agree. Just follow the instructions. No need to rack until you've done everything on the instructions, let it clear and then rack carefully. Once racked then leave for a day or two or if all the racked wine is clear then transfer straight to bottles.

The racking will only make sure you don't accidentally disturb the yeast and end up siphoning that into the bottles the first time.

Good luck. :thumb: