This was so useful! I made my first two batches of wine last summer and now I'm building on my knowledge to make this years batches even better! Drank my first bottle of homemade wine (blackberry) with my partner the other day and can't stop daydreaming about wine making for years to come. Strawberry next!
Its my first ever batch and dollingvand old recipe, which at times is hard to follow.Excellent explanation, and I also now know what to use with topping up to the neck. Sugar and hot water cooled. When you don't know, you don't. Thanks for the help.
Explained perfectly, thank you very much. I am trying your potato and mushroom recipes. They are tasting lovely, just one question, the mushroom is smelling a bit like varnish, is this normal?
I normally rack wine after a week. Then after it stops fermenting. That’s normally it unless there’s a lot of sediment build up while it’s still fermenting.
Thanks for sharing! I always try to have a gallon or 2 with additional wine from the main batch and add it to the new batch during the initial racking. Using the sirop solution is really effective ? Thanks again!
Instead of sugar water, could I use 100% fruit juice to top off? I'm making apple wine using apple juice, and I'm wondering if I could just add more to fill the gap.
But if you top it up adding sugar wont that prolong the fermentation process? Another great video as always I'm making a red wine from grapes and I use extra wine I from the 1st fermentation that's kept in the fridge to top it off.
Yes it will, and no harm in prolonging the ferment. Raises the alcohol content and takes it above the yeast alcohol tolerance level, thus reducing the need for stabilizers and fermentation stoppers. Using extra wine is also a good method if they blend well.
@@HappyHomestead hi I'm 3 weeks into fermentation of my red grape wine for the last few weeks of its fermentation till finish would it benefit the yeast if I put in a bit of yeast nutrient?
How much of a difference do you think this makes? I've not tried it so can't comment but I've made a fair amount of wine over the years and generally just go straight to bottle from the original fermentation container once fermentation is complete and the wine is stabilised and fined which seems to work well and means you don't need so many containers. I know it's done by the commercial vineyards and they use it in a quite sophisticated way to manage the texture and oxygenation levels but in a small kitchen there's a lot to be said for keeping the number of steps and kit down to the minimum. Also why is it important to top up again, I'd have thought any oxygenation from the air at the top of the vessel wouldn't be anywhere near as significant as what's been added during racking (I just brewed 4 gallons of blackberry wine in a 5 gallon bin so couldn't really top that up for instance)?
Finding these so helpful. My dandelion wine has been fermenting for 1 month. It has cleared slightly but still quite cloudy. However it does have a layer of sediment, about 1/2 cm. Should I rack it or leave it a bit longer? Thank you.
Thank you. I would personally rack it off - removing that layer of dead yeast will help with the cloudyness of it. It's also a good chance to put some in a trial jar and test with a hydrometer if you have one. . . and of course have a wee taste!
@@midgeporter7495 After you're done fermenting, you can also try cold crashing your wine to improve clarity. (I did this with a strawberry wine I made; helped a little.) Basically, just put it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. HH probably has this as a topic of a video later in the series though. =)
@@RealRuler2112 thank you for the tip. Is this after racking and before bottling? I am very new to home brewing but remember my Dad doing quite a bit after getting me to collect bags of black and elderberries when I was young. :)
Is it okay to rack half a gallon of wine into a 1 gallon carboy ? Like I lost half the wine racking because the carboy fell over 😓 so I just kept what was left in the original carboy and racked it into a new carboy. Will my wine be okay? Should I rack it into a smaller carboy ? Like if that’s the case, I’ll have to make one because I only have 1 gallon carboys right now 🥺 my intuition is telling me it will be okay, but I would feel better if I got a 2nd opinion from someone who isn’t a novice like myself.
I did that and ended up shaking the gallon jar to create a gas layer over the wine for the secondary ferment and it turned out great. It may not be great to do that but it works in a pinch since the gas kills any bacteria that may form on the wine otherwise.
ummm ... if the point is to get the lees off the bottom, wouldn't it be easier & safer to just syphon it out? Like cleaning the leaves from the bottom of the pool.
You would need to get a container that can do that first, also moving wine or other fermented liquid from a container to another one is good becaus a little air (and i mean a little) is good for the ueast inside but also its good for hygienic reasons theres alot of dead yeast and bacteria on the sides of the container so moving it from one to another container is the better and preffered choie.
Why rack though? I've made wines where I racked the wine 4 times during fermentation and did the same thing again, just letting the sediments build up until they were about 2" thick and fermentation done, only pouring off the clear liquid at the end. There was no discernible difference in the end product, only a lot less work. Also, I have to disagree with you about keeping the jug topped off... made viking's blood (cherry mead) one time and left about 3" of room at the top. A few days later, I walked into my basement workshop (where I keep the wines while fermenting) and my table saw, surface planer, and tool chest were all covered in a combination of honey and cherry juice. The fermentation was so vigorous that the demijohn had overflowed and sprayed liquid all over; everything withing about a 2 foot circle of the jug was covered! Took forever to clean up and I swear, years later, I'm still finding little sticky areas when using my tools...
The aim of racking frequently, when the sediment builds up is to remove the dead yeast cells and fruit sediment. This allows the wine to clear faster and also so the lees does not impart off flavours to the wine. Also, it is a preventative barrier to infection in the wine. The reason you keep the demijohn topped up (after the initial primary fermentation) is to minimize the surface area of the wine which reduces contact with air. Oxydization can happen if you don't, and this results in either vinegar, sherry or Leuconostoc oenos. If you set out to make vinegar or sherry, there are better ways of doing! I would assume that you topped up the vessel too full too soon in order for it to make such a mess - that is one of the two reasons you don't over fill the vessel during the primary fermentation :)
Novice here, This was a great tutorial, and I plan on trying this tomorrow on my first Hasson of Dandelion wine. Thank you
This was so useful! I made my first two batches of wine last summer and now I'm building on my knowledge to make this years batches even better! Drank my first bottle of homemade wine (blackberry) with my partner the other day and can't stop daydreaming about wine making for years to come. Strawberry next!
This is the part that I struggle with winemaking. And I am indeed a novice! So thank you so very much for this video!
it's my first time making wine, your video has helped me a lot and thank you so much for making it easy to understand
Thank you! Simplest instructions I have found to my questions . Specific too which is so hard to find sometimes.
Its my first ever batch and dollingvand old recipe, which at times is hard to follow.Excellent explanation, and I also now know what to use with topping up to the neck. Sugar and hot water cooled. When you don't know, you don't. Thanks for the help.
I’m new at the wine making biz and I have been enjoying your videos so much. Thank you so very much. Jenny
Oh thank you for the information and the stoned teenager was thoroughly entertained with your knowledge of racking off.
Hadn't thought about using simple syrup to top back off. Thanks!
Loving your videos!! Making first batch raspberry wine today
Good video, thanks for the info.
Great video and love the cows in the background
Nice insight. Making some cab now
Great series James!
Thank you. The air gap getting bigger and bigger with each racking step concerned me. I thought you went over this well.
Good job.
Keep up the great videos,just finished racking up my strawberry wine,good idea with the sugar and water to top it up.
Thank you, I picked up some useful tips that I will definitely be putting into practice.
Thanks so much for the great tips no more thirsty in this quarantine,,thank youuuu
Great video thanks! Very clearly explained.
Fantastic, I am learning new tricks from you regularly, thanks.
Very fun and helpful. And I love cows.
That had some great activity in the full demijohn 👍🍷
Thanks for clearing up for me (no pun intended ) . I'm intrigued by your daisy wine I'm going to check out the video next 🌻
Explained perfectly, thank you very much. I am trying your potato and mushroom recipes. They are tasting lovely, just one question, the mushroom is smelling a bit like varnish, is this normal?
I normally rack wine after a week. Then after it stops fermenting. That’s normally it unless there’s a lot of sediment build up while it’s still fermenting.
Thanks for sharing!
I always try to have a gallon or 2 with additional wine from the main batch and add it to the new batch during the initial racking.
Using the sirop solution is really effective ?
Thanks again!
Cool
Instead of sugar water, could I use 100% fruit juice to top off? I'm making apple wine using apple juice, and I'm wondering if I could just add more to fill the gap.
If your wine needs topping up after racking what do you use? Just plain boiled water or sugar solution? 😁
But if you top it up adding sugar wont that prolong the fermentation process? Another great video as always I'm making a red wine from grapes and I use extra wine I from the 1st fermentation that's kept in the fridge to top it off.
Yes it will, and no harm in prolonging the ferment. Raises the alcohol content and takes it above the yeast alcohol tolerance level, thus reducing the need for stabilizers and fermentation stoppers.
Using extra wine is also a good method if they blend well.
@@HappyHomestead hi I'm 3 weeks into fermentation of my red grape wine for the last few weeks of its fermentation till finish would it benefit the yeast if I put in a bit of yeast nutrient?
what if its still bubbling in the airlock Sir?
How much of a difference do you think this makes? I've not tried it so can't comment but I've made a fair amount of wine over the years and generally just go straight to bottle from the original fermentation container once fermentation is complete and the wine is stabilised and fined which seems to work well and means you don't need so many containers. I know it's done by the commercial vineyards and they use it in a quite sophisticated way to manage the texture and oxygenation levels but in a small kitchen there's a lot to be said for keeping the number of steps and kit down to the minimum. Also why is it important to top up again, I'd have thought any oxygenation from the air at the top of the vessel wouldn't be anywhere near as significant as what's been added during racking (I just brewed 4 gallons of blackberry wine in a 5 gallon bin so couldn't really top that up for instance)?
Have you made a parsnip wine please
Finding these so helpful. My dandelion wine has been fermenting for 1 month. It has cleared slightly but still quite cloudy. However it does have a layer of sediment, about 1/2 cm. Should I rack it or leave it a bit longer? Thank you.
Thank you. I would personally rack it off - removing that layer of dead yeast will help with the cloudyness of it. It's also a good chance to put some in a trial jar and test with a hydrometer if you have one. . . and of course have a wee taste!
@@HappyHomestead thank you :)
@@midgeporter7495 After you're done fermenting, you can also try cold crashing your wine to improve clarity. (I did this with a strawberry wine I made; helped a little.) Basically, just put it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. HH probably has this as a topic of a video later in the series though. =)
@@RealRuler2112 thank you for the tip. Is this after racking and before bottling? I am very new to home brewing but remember my Dad doing quite a bit after getting me to collect bags of black and elderberries when I was young. :)
@@midgeporter7495 Exactly right - put the whole jug in the fridge. I left the airlock in place when I did, but don't know if this is needed or not.
Is it okay to rack half a gallon of wine into a 1 gallon carboy ? Like I lost half the wine racking because the carboy fell over 😓 so I just kept what was left in the original carboy and racked it into a new carboy. Will my wine be okay? Should I rack it into a smaller carboy ? Like if that’s the case, I’ll have to make one because I only have 1 gallon carboys right now 🥺 my intuition is telling me it will be okay, but I would feel better if I got a 2nd opinion from someone who isn’t a novice like myself.
it's not okay because you don't want a lot of empty air space
I did that and ended up shaking the gallon jar to create a gas layer over the wine for the secondary ferment and it turned out great. It may not be great to do that but it works in a pinch since the gas kills any bacteria that may form on the wine otherwise.
ummm ... if the point is to get the lees off the bottom, wouldn't it be easier & safer to just syphon it out? Like cleaning the leaves from the bottom of the pool.
You would need to get a container that can do that first, also moving wine or other fermented liquid from a container to another one is good becaus a little air (and i mean a little) is good for the ueast inside but also its good for hygienic reasons theres alot of dead yeast and bacteria on the sides of the container so moving it from one to another container is the better and preffered choie.
Love the Donald Duck impression 🤣🤣
Why rack though? I've made wines where I racked the wine 4 times during fermentation and did the same thing again, just letting the sediments build up until they were about 2" thick and fermentation done, only pouring off the clear liquid at the end. There was no discernible difference in the end product, only a lot less work.
Also, I have to disagree with you about keeping the jug topped off... made viking's blood (cherry mead) one time and left about 3" of room at the top. A few days later, I walked into my basement workshop (where I keep the wines while fermenting) and my table saw, surface planer, and tool chest were all covered in a combination of honey and cherry juice. The fermentation was so vigorous that the demijohn had overflowed and sprayed liquid all over; everything withing about a 2 foot circle of the jug was covered! Took forever to clean up and I swear, years later, I'm still finding little sticky areas when using my tools...
The aim of racking frequently, when the sediment builds up is to remove the dead yeast cells and fruit sediment. This allows the wine to clear faster and also so the lees does not impart off flavours to the wine. Also, it is a preventative barrier to infection in the wine.
The reason you keep the demijohn topped up (after the initial primary fermentation) is to minimize the surface area of the wine which reduces contact with air. Oxydization can happen if you don't, and this results in either vinegar, sherry or Leuconostoc oenos. If you set out to make vinegar or sherry, there are better ways of doing!
I would assume that you topped up the vessel too full too soon in order for it to make such a mess - that is one of the two reasons you don't over fill the vessel during the primary fermentation :)
Please, please tell me how to make my peach juice taste good. What I made is horrible.
peach is the problem i think, learning on something more sweet would be easier, plums for example.
This video should have an age restriction. Its nothing but a bunch of racking off