Questions about winemaking from an experienced homebrewer

[tooldudetool]

So I've been homebrewing beer almost every week for several years, brewing all-grain for the last 6 months or so. I just inherited several 5 gallon carboys and a couple 8 gallon bucket fermenters, so I would love to try making my first batch of wine. I've ordered my first kit, a World Vineyards California Pinot Noir, and bought all of the other additives, corks, corker, etc that I will need. I've read the kit instructions, and the Jack Keller website (not all of it, but the basic info sections), but I still have some questions about whether some of my brewing processes will translate over. My specific questions are as follows:

- I see that Metabisulphate is used for sanitizing, but I've never used it before. I'm a big fan of Starsan for my brewing, is there any reason I can't use it? Is there some advantage to the Metabisulphate that Starsan doesn't have?

- Is fermentation temperature control as critical with winemaking as it is with beer making? I use a temperature controlled chiller setup for brewing, should I use this for winemaking as well? The kit just gives a general 65-75 degree range for fermentation. Is there a sweet spot in that range? Does wine yeast throw esters at higher temps the same way ale yeast does, or is this not a concern?

- Should I rehydrate the dry wine yeast the way I do with my dry ale yeast? According to Jamil, about half of the yeast population is lost by simply sprinkling yeast on top of the wort (or must?) rather than properly rehydrating it. Are proper yeast pitching rates critical with winemaking like they are with beer brewing?

- I've seen instructions to top off with either water or store bought wine to fill in the headspace after racking, to prevent oxidation. Does one method make better wine than another? I also have the ability to inject CO2 into the headspace, is that a reasonable alternative, or should I just top off with liquid as suggested?

Any other tips or suggestions from homebrewers turned winemakers would be appreciated, I'm excited to branch out into a whole new realm of fermentation, thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[Yooper]

-Star-san is great! I use it all the time for both wine and beer equipment.

- It's important, but most wine yeast strains have a very wide temperature range. In general, cooler is better, but we're talking mid 60s vs 80s.

- Yes. But I often don't, and just sprinkle. There are rehydration instructions on the package, and should be followed. But I usually don't.

- Top off. The c02 will dissipate out the airlock eventually. You can use water (that's sometimes built into the recipe), or a "like" wine.

One tip I have is that wine kits make 6 gallons of wine. You really need a six gallon carboy, but you can get by for a bit with a 5 gallon carboy and a one gallon jug. A jug generally takes a #6 bung. But if you want to make a few wine kits, a 6 gallon carboy is pretty much required.

 

[AlCophile]

Get e c kraus' wine catalog. They are located in Missouri.
MetabisulfITE, not ATE. It is not for ster'g equ'pt. , rather put IN the wine to prevent competing microbes from, well, competing. It breaks up in water and releases sulfur dioxide, a sterilant. Commercial wine yeast can tolerate it. In the old days, a sulfur candle was allowed to fill bottles with SO2 for long-term storage. Get a book on the subject.
Ask Yooper, she's been making wine forever.
I've used Yooper's recipe for Welch's Grape wine for seven batches so far, NO preservative, no problems.

 

[Yooper]

Get e c kraus' wine catalog. They are located in Missouri.
MetabisulfITE, not ATE. It is not for ster'g equ'pt. , rather put IN the wine to prevent competing microbes from, well, competing. It breaks up in water and releases sulfur dioxide, a sterilant. Commercial wine yeast can tolerate it. In the old days, a sulfur candle was allowed to fill bottles with SO2 for long-term storage. Get a book on the subject.
Ask Yooper, she's been making wine forever.
I've used Yooper's recipe for Welch's Grape wine for seven batches so far, NO preservative, no problems.

Sure, most winemakers do use k-meta for sanitizing equipment. It's mixed up at a higher concentration, but it's what they use as a sanitizer.

 

[tooldudetool]

Thanks for the replies! So it sounds like I shouldn't worry too much about the temp control, I'll just keep it in my brewery bathtub which stays around 66 degrees or so (which is great because I have a Scottish ale in the chiller right now). Does yeast not contribute as much character in wine making as it does in beer making? I know with beer making yeast strain and fermentation temp can be one of the main factors in the flavors of the finished product.

Thanks for the tip about the 6 gallon carboys Yooper, a couple of them might actually be 6 gallons, I know they were used for winemaking before, I'll have to double check.

 

[tooldudetool]

One other quick question I forgot, I do have an oxygen setup with a diffusion stone, should I oxygenate the must before pitching the yeast? I haven't noticed any mention of oxygenating with winemaking like I do with beer making. Is this also not as critical?

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I recently did my first wine batch (a Merlot). I recommend getting the correct sized primary and carboy - if winemaking turns out not to be your thing you can start making 6-gallon batches of beer. You have to do several rackings and having two properly sized containers makes things pretty easy.

Outside of the extra rackings, you'll find that making wine (from a kit, anyway) is somewhat easier and less finicky than making beer. Follow the instructions and the wine practically makes itself.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

One other quick question I forgot, I do have an oxygen setup with a diffusion stone, should I oxygenate the must before pitching the yeast? I haven't noticed any mention of oxygenating with winemaking like I do with beer making. Is this also not as critical?

Not sure about your kit, but my Merlot kit came with grape skins and required the "cap" of skins to be punched down. For the first 5-7 days you had to open up the fermenter and push the skins down and stir out the CO2.

Oxygen is good while the ferment is in progress. I'd open it up, check the gravity, and if you aren't fermented completely out a bit of a rousing won't hurt. You can splash the must as much as you please when you are filling the fermenter (watch for juice stains on the floor). You want to avoid oxygen after fermentation is complete though. I'd just follow whatever instructions are provided for your kit. The wine kits are rather good.

 

[DoctorCAD]

I wouldn't use oxygen, its the mortal enemy of wine.

I think you'll find wine making to be so much easier than beer making. Wine instructions use words like "about" , "approximatly", "around" etc. Way less rigid.

Topping off is always a combative subject on wine boards, I make the Welches wine found in lots of recipies and thats what I use. It doesn't drink very well, but it does blend well. For your first batch, stick to a low-dollar bottle and if you need more than one or two bottles, you aren't racking enough on the first racking (anything that can fir through the racking tube should be used).

Good luck!