I made this wine back in 2017 based on this video. Cracked a bottle of it today. Very tasty. Really nice strawberry flavor and smell. Thank you so much for the video!
Brother just wanted to tell you my Peach Wine turned out perfect. Everyone loves the taste. I even had someone who had been drinking his Grandpas wine for years who was a wonderful man who lived to be 93 years old and made his wine for years told me if I told anyone he said mine was so much better he would deny I even existed and he is family. Lol Now I’m gonna try the Strawberry. Thank you so much for the video!
Excellent Video! I'm just getting into wine making and I have used your videos as one of my references. Thank you. Also, I'm glad you added the bit about the smell as I am making Strawberry wine currently and was worried that I had a bad batch and was wasting my time.
+Matthew Thanks, I try to throw in what bits of knowledge I have. The fermentation smell is like a strawberry scented chemical solvent factory. It is a bit of a shock to smell the first time.
Thank you for watching. I am happy it was helpful. Glad to share the knowledge. Still learning new things too. Wine is fun to make and there's not much risk of failure, especially the wonderful strawberry. Good luck and have fun with your wine making!
@@lukerutter2045 It is good from dry to very sweet. Feel free to sweeten to the amount you like at bottling, if desired, to balance out any excess alcohol heat and it will be a hit. Good luck.
Ok I’m in the process of fermentation at this time and I’m so thrilled, I woke up this morning after putting the yeast in yesterday and it’s bubbling good in the airlock... this is my first batch ever and I’m happy all is going good!!! I owe this to you and your videos for the inspiration... I’m disabled and needed a good hobby also on fixed income so I had to buy my supplies a little at a time over the past months but it’s a great goal and worth it! Thanks again!
Glad you are having fun. I am happy to share what I do. It is fun and it is nice to have a selection of wine handy. It takes time to acquire equipment but most of it lasts a long time. If you use it, it is a great investment. I am not rolling in cash so I'm always looking for low cost fruit. :)
It's good to know people with excess fruit trees and grape vines. Sometimes a trade can be worked out. Frozen berries are sometimes cheaper and work fine. I don't usually find the labels in stores but an office supply place might have them. They are Avery 16460. I think I've gotten them from both Walmart.com and Amazon.
I’ve finally finished my first batch and it turned out amazing... the wine is a beautiful light rose color and has a great strawberry taste , it has a alcohol volume of almost 15% and should be amazing by summer... I wish I had a way to send a pic it really is clear and beautiful. Thanks again for the videos brother!
Great video! Thank you again! Would there be any issues with excessive head space in a carboy? I have a carboy that is 6.5 gallons (to my 5.5 gallons of actual wine). Want to make sure the "gallon" of head space would not impact the final product. Any advice is appreciated!
Happy New Year! As I try this recipe, my question is how long should you leave the strawberries in the primary fermentation? In your video, you let it ferment fro 16 days, but can it be longer? My batch (6.5 gallons) has been fermenting for 15 days, but there's still lots of bubbles in the airlock. Thoughts? Thank you!
That's a good question. I prefer not to go much more than two weeks, especially with grapes as they can get bitter tasting. Strawberries I am not sure how long. I have read that fruit can decay and create off flavors but have not experienced that. If the wine has picked up enough flavor and color you can remove the fruit or rack the wine. It can bubble in the carboy for a while. Some things like meads and berries can bubble slowly for a long time.
Great video, great job, I'm going to give it a shot. I've been wanting to make strawberry wine for quite awhile now. I'm going to take the risk of not adding Campden tablets though. I currently have 3 types of wines going(Elderberry, Apple Cider, and Reisling) and have not used Campden tablets yet. I do sanitize all equipment though. I've had no problems with contamination yet. I do plan to add potassium sorbate and sweeten at bottling time. I'm going to use your recipe, thanks...
Thanks. Odds are it will work OK if the yeast get going well. I did not use to add sulfites when I racked and had no problems. Started adding one tablet because a lot of sources recommend keeping a certain level. It's insurance I guess. After all that effort I don't like to take chances and sulfites don't bother me. I have heard Elderberry wine is very good. Good luck.
sorry I ha e another question.. so I prolly have 2 gallons or so of space left in my glass carboy after my transfer.. its a 7 1/2 gallon carboy I think I asked u this before and you said it might be OK.should I leave it or go for the 5 gallon plastic what would you do in this situation
Thank you for posting this great video. I have watched it about 10 times in order to get the courage to start my own strawberry wine. I have just racked to my secondary and I have a newbie question for you. Why would one not take a SG reading before bottling? I noticed that you took an SG reading before you racked it to the secondary fermenter but that was it. Is there a chance that the wine will dry out further during secondary and bulk aging?
It doesn't hurt to check the gravity at every stage. It may ferment a tiny bit more but it won't change much, if at all. The gravity was so low on this batch that I couldn't see it going much lower. I make beer and it does get slightly dryer with age but wine sugars ferment almost completely in the primary fermentation. I do check the SG sometimes after sweetening at bottle time to give me an idea of how to classify it as sweet or semi sweet, but that's just extra information I put in my records. Good luck with your wine.
I’ve followed a few of your wine recipes. I really enjoy your content. Do you happen to have a recipe for watermelon? Like how many pounds of fruit /sugar ratio for a 5 gallon batch?
I am glad it helped. It is a leap of faith to risk that much fruit and work. Strawberry is drinkable early and amazing after a year. The true meaning of the word amazing.
I love your videos.. The recipe turns out great wine.. I followed your suggestion to leave the tops on.. I'm wondering if you have made any without the tops, and if you have found a difference in color? There is a very slight brown hue, and I was trying to decide if it was from the greens.. I love the taste, so it's strictly for the aesthetics.. Thank you for your posts..
Thanks for watching. I've made it both ways. My first couple batches had all the green removed from the berries. I did not notice much change in color or taste. I have noticed the color of strawberry wine varies in different batches but I haven't observed any brown colors. Not sure what's causing it but here's a couple things to look for. Rotten spots in the fruit could cause problems so I remove them. Brown color could be from the fruit getting brown from oxidation before it's in the must. I think white wines can get brown from oxidation. Not something I've encountered. Maybe the fruit needs to be removed sooner in the fermentation. My berries look a light color when I dump out the waste. Berries vary a lot too. Too much light might also damage the color of the wine. Good luck!
I will absolutely keep all of that in mind when I make it again next year.. I can't say for sure if any of that applies, except for the natural variation of the fruit.. I thought it was strange because when it was all in the carboy it looked bright red.. It was only in the smaller bottles, and when I pour it into a glass that it doesn't seem as brilliant.. I wasn't sure if that was normal..
Glad you liked it. That is another form of sulfites and would be substituted for the sodium metabisulfite or potassium metabisulfite or campden tablets.
Good morning, I was all set to start my 1 gallon of your strawberry wine and cannot find my video or recipe 🙀. Love making your wine. Have made your blueberry and cherry, but also the 1 gallon of strawberry. Am I missing it? Would it be the same instructions as the 1 gallon of cherry? Help, lol
I'm not sure I made a 1 gallon strawberry. I usually do at least 3 gallons of strawberry and a few 1 gallon batches of other things. You can always divide the 5 gallon recipe by 5 for the right amounts for 1 gallon. The 1 gallon cherry wine should be close but I'd use a Campden tablet instead of heat. Wouldn't want to affect the delicate flavor of the berries with heat. Good luck and have fun.
beoracha thanks for getting back to me, that is exactly what I did. I am assuming that is what I did last time. It came out awesome so hopefully this one will to.
hey love your video, for simplified purposes would you please write the ingredients with measurements of each for the 12 percent wine, 5 gallons of it. please and thank you and did this take you 3 months to make?
I made another batch this year and the only change was to reduce the sugar from 12 to 11 pounds. It has a starting potential of 11.2% (1.084) which is lower than I expected. The strawberries vary and it's not an exact recipe. I added notes to the description. I started in May and bottled in August. All the settling time is to reduce sediment forming in the bottle. There was still a small amount of sediment after aging in the bottle for a year. Some folks filter their wine but I don't. EDIT: This batch with 11 pounds of sugar and 14 quarts of berries had a start gravity of 1.084 and finished at a very dry 0.988 yielding 12.4% alcohol.
Great vedio. I working on my first batch right now and had a question. I watched the video 10 + time and was wondering if you degassed the wine to help it clear?
+Charles Chiaramonte Not intentionally, I just wait, rack and wait more, repeat as long as needed. Time will eventually clear almost everything including or in spite of residual gas. Good luck!
it also seems its saturated with co2..if u smell it its like putting ur head in a bucket of dry ice and smelling..like a carbonated water smell..it don't have a fruity smell as I would expect or will that come after awhile? hope this batch isn't ruined
no I don't usually unless there are a lot of bubbles forming while racking. Most wines that spend a long time sitting in carboys do not need to be degassed. It's also more of an issues with white wines, of which I make very few. Here is a good article on degassing. winemakersacademy.com/degas-wine/ Time The easiest way to degas a wine is through patience. Given enough time all the carbon dioxide will come out of suspension and leave your wine. This is the method employed by most wineries. Since they usually age their wine for months or years degassing is a lot less of a problem for them. If you choose this method be sure that you’re not storing your wine on the lees. Rack off of all sediment and let the CO2 escape slowly. Should more sediment accumulate you’ll have to consider racking again to avoid off flavors from the decomposing yeast.
No, I've used tannin in peach but not strawberry. It might give it a bit more structure but I don't feel the need for it. Maybe it's because it is usually somewhat sweet it doesn't seem to need more body. That's one of those things that the winemaker may prefer to use, or not.
Ok so I am getting ready to bottle my wine and was wondering what is your sulfite & sulfite solution made with? Are they just the Campden tablets or something different, thanks again for the help on this!
+MrGattor33 You can crush a few Campden tablets in a few gallons of water or use potassium metabisulfite powder. I typically use about an eighth teaspoon of the powder in about 3 gallons of water. Some sources may say to use really high levels of sulfites for sanitizing but I figure if it's strong enough to work for the raw fruit it should be good enough for the equipment, if it's clean. Good luck with your wine. I've made widely varying strengths of strawberry and they always came out good, though the stronger ones needed more aging.
+MrGattor33 There are many ways to sanitize...sanitization cycle in a dishwasher, iodine, bleach, any of a number of products made for sanitizing brewing/winemaking equipment...sulfites are handy because a wine maker usually has them already and if they aren't rinsed completely it won't harm the wine. I don't know about the effectiveness of using one vs another or both.
beoracha Ok, well I had only asked because i have all that stuff. I had picked it up when i got the kit to make the wine the first time that i failed at but this second one so far seems to be doing good and I am to the point and time of bottling, i just need to get the bottles from my local brew shop and do it. I am trying to get as much info as i can so the end product turns out as good as yours .....lol I must say you have been a great deal of help to me on this.Thank you so much!!
+MrGattor33 Sanitizing is more critical early in the process. Once alcohol forms the wine can help fight so it's not as big a worry. I used an oxygen type cleaner on a beer fermenter once and it got infected so I went to bleach for the beer, which meant rinse many, many times but it never failed. Always used sulfites for wine and not a bad batch yet. Glad I could help and have fun bottling!
That's interesting. I've never noticed a color change. I don't know if there is a chemical process going on. Mine is usually a fairly deep red/pink color. If yours is a lighter color then a color change would be more noticeable. I have noticed how the color of strawberry wine varies with depth. Skinny hydrometer test jar strawberry is more orange colored than wine bottle strawberry.
Sulfites or sorbates are not supposed to affect color. I did some searching and all I found was someone that thought sulfites were making their wine lighter colored and photos that showed what you are describing. That wine was still cloudy though. I've not experienced it or noticed any color change. I really have no idea. There must be something going on. I have heard tales of strawberry wine doing strange things but not that.
gamble514 At the beginning I crush and add one campden tablet per gallon and wait 24 hours before adding yeast OR I use metabisulfite powder instead of the tablets, about 1/4 teaspoon is enough for 5 or 6 gallons. It's concentrated and needs careful measurement. The tablets are more accurate. I usually add one tablet at each racking. I didn't always do that and had no problems. Maintaining a level of sulfites helps to insure against spoilage.
+cornbread420h More berries will give you more flavor and body with slight additional sugar. Honey should work but I understand honey to be about 80% sugar so it would take more. 12 pounds with 22 lbs of berries should work. It would technically be a strawberry mead and likely excellent.
potassium sorbate at the rate of 1/2 teaspoon per gallon, 2 and 1/2 teaspoons for 5 gallons combined with crushed Campden tablets at the rate of 1 per gallon, 5 for 5 gallons will prevent fermentation in the bottle
I've watched a few of these videos now of people making their strawberry wine, since we are doing it for chemistry at school. Just noticed that all the people seem very laid back and very calm in their talking like they're in no rush. xD Must be the secret to wine making
ejano Crowsnatcher It's the opposite of immediate gratification, unless you have a bottle from the previous year. :) It's also best to proceed carefully and avoid mistakes.
Yes but sparingly as it affects flavor. To keep alcohol levels down in the future choose a yeast with low alcohol tolerance and/or start fermentation with less sugar.
not usually, if something has bubbles forming at places during what should be the last racking I may give it some extra stirring. Someone else asked me about that and I had to think about it. Only once had a problem with popping corks or bubbles in the bottle and that was a mead that apparently wasn't quite done when I bottled it, could've used another racking or maybe degassing would've helped. I think it is more of a problem with shorter term white wines, which I make very few, they are more flavor sensitive than reds. The fact that I often use the ec-1118 yeast, a very strong and attenuative yeast, makes most wines I make ferment completely and quickly. The Concord and most of the fruit wines I make are also racked many times over a long period. I don't use filtering or fining, just time. I think, by accidental coincidence, that most of my wines are really flat and don't need degassing by the time they are bottled.
Ok, first of all I would like to say that this is a great and informative video. I have watched this over and over again and am just amazed by how good this is! Ok I do have a question for you if you can help me out..... I bought a wine making kit from my local wine and brew shop and I bought the canned fruit that they recommend using because I thought it would be cheaper in a sense to do, however I have made my must and my initial SG reading was 1.120+5 (add a specified number to it because of a higher temperature) and my second reading at the time of my first racking into my carboy was 1.080+1 for temperature! When I followed your formula to figure out what the AVB % was it comes out to something like 5.676 and I was wondering if you could possibly tell me what I might have done wrong? Also would this still be any good? I understand it needs to be 10-12% for it to last and/age well in the bottles but I guess what I'm saying is should I throw this out and start over? Sorry for the long comment and or questions but I too am a " newb " and this is my first go at this. Thanks again for a great video and thank you in advance for any information you can give me.
MrGattor33 Sorry it took me a couple days to answer, I'm outside a lot this time of year. It sounds like maybe the yeast quit on you, a stuck fermentation. I'm guessing it's been fermenting for a while. You had a rather high initial starting gravity and still a lot of sugar left. I would add more yeast, something with a high tolerance for alcohol like the lalvin champagne yeast I use. Then give it a good stir. Or just try stirring first. Sometimes yeast will lay on the bottom and just stirring up the existing yeast will get things going. search out more info for stuck fermentation. I wouldn't throw it out unless it tastes or smells really bad. Good luck.
beoracha No worries on the late reply, i completely understand. I did rack it into my carboy already, i will just go ahead and pitch some more yeast into it as it sits. I did not have metabisulfites when you said to use it after the first 24 hours, it took me like 2 additional days before i could put it in. Then after that we had a cold spell where the must was not working at all so i ended up buying a brew belt to put on the fermenting bucket and it was working like a champ and it did a full week where it was bubbling real good and then it stopped so i figured it had run it's course! I did Use Lalvin EC 1118 yeast as recommended by you in your video, I picked up several packets just in case and they are not that expensive, I had watched your video several times before i purchased the Wine kit and I will watch it even a few more times afterwards to make sure things are in order. Just one more quick thing .... should i just pitch the yeast or add it to more sugar as in getting it started or should i just pitch it in as is? Thanks for your response and enjoy your time in the outdoors!!! OBTW sorry this is so long!!
MrGattor33 An adventure in winemaking! If your gravity is still 1.080 then there is plenty of sugar left in the must. I would think it would be lower after a good week of bubbling. That was a high starting gravity and pushing the limits of the yeast, but you should be way under 1.080, even under 1.008. I've made 16%+ wine with that yeast and it is like rocket fuel. Temperature fluctuations can slow it but I am surprised it quit. You could build up a pint or so bubbling yeast starter before adding for more kick but maybe not necessary. The sulfites are put in at the beginning, then left to sit for at least 24 hours before putting in the yeast. That gives it time to lower the levels to where the yeast can tolerate it. I tried to be thorough in my video but winemaking is a huge subject. Good luck, it sounds like you have a plan.
beoracha Ok thank you very much for the info, I will give it another go with some more yeast and hopefully that will resolve the problem. As for the SG according to the book that came with my kit said that is the average range and the instructions on my Hydrometer said that the readings I got would give me a medium sweet wine. But I really don't know that much about it or wine making, like I said this is my first time and if i have to i'll throw it out and start over from scratch (not really what i want to do) but I may not have a choice. Thank you again for all the help and feedback it is very much appreciated!!
MrGattor33 By starting at a very high gravity the yeast will reach their limits and finish at a fairly high ending gravity. It leaves residual sugar to give you a sweet or semi sweet wine that needs no sugar added at bottling. You may still finish at a fairly high gravity but should get at least 12% alcohol. Since the yeast is maxed out it should not ferment in the bottle and there is probably no need for sorbates at bottling, but I would still add sulfites and maybe sorbates too just in case it wants to ferment more. Don't throw it out unless it goes bad. Keep trying to ferment. Add yeast and stir. Besides taking hydrometer readings, take a sample to taste occasionally to get an idea of how it is doing. Sampling the process is part of the fun. Hang in there.
yes, I quit using plastic water bottles and use my old glass and new plastic carboys made for wine. Realistically it's probably not a big deal but who knows. The smooth sides of the carboys also work better, don't hold sediment, when siphoning.
probably sometime this summer, depends on what fruit rolls around. strawberries don't look so good this year, maybe remake peach and blueberry...maybe more apple. I'd really like to make some cherry. The Regent grapes should produce enough for a good full body gallon this fall. been thinking about a general informational video. who knows...
Wines lacking acidity can taste dull and flat. Strawberries don't have a lot of acidity. The acid blend mimics the acids in grapes to make it more like a grape wine. It is optional. I don't use it much anymore as my palate has grown accustomed to fruit wines. I am tending to also use fewer ingredients like tannin to add body.
I don't know about a month...I float my corks in a sulphite solution for about an hour before corking to get them slick and sanitary. The corked wine bottles should be stored on the side to keep the corks wet. Cork swells when wet to make a good seal. Dry corks may shrink or deteriorate and lose the seal.
@@avanti2762 Corks should seal when inserted. Being wet maintains and strengthens the existing seal. It keeps the cork from drying and shrinking. Just had a thought...commercial wineries may lay them down for a month to swell them before shipping vertically in cases. That may make sense.
It means it finished very dry and that's good. The alcohol may be a bit higher than planned since it is so dry. It makes it slightly harder to calculate the alcohol as you have to estimate the number.
beoracha OK I left u another comment it didn't have a fruity smell to it really..seemed lieka. strong carbonated co2 smell...good bad? a fix to balance or takes time?
Strawberry smells very odd when it is fermenting. It is almost like a solvent smell and it's strong. It should taste OK at this point, maybe hot and with a yeasty bite but not terrible. Smell can be deceiving. Some yeasts put out odd sulfur smells.
beoracha ya I didn't taste it it really had a overwhelming co2,carbonated smell to it...I'll re rack it in a month and see what happens then..did your straw berry not have a strong strawberry smell to it?
beoracha thank you for your quick response I went ahead and bagged all I did and refridged and order some..I'm following yours step my step don't wanna mess with the ingredients any
beoracha I'm doing 18 pounds of Strawberry's, 10-11 pounds of sugar..hoping for a 12% alcohol.. and then doing a sweetening at end..does this sound OK?
That sounds good. You'll probably need 11 pounds of sugar to get over 12% but maybe try 10 first and see what gravity you have. I've had strawberry get a bit slow fermenting and had to stir it to get it going even with nutrients. It should go faster and better with yeast nutrient.
beoracha awesome thanks a lot for the help I should begin my first batch Wednesday or Thursday when nutrients get n mail.. have you ever did raspberry wine?
You could filter it. I don't use finings or filtering just to try to make things simpler and cheaper. Enough time and racking will get it pretty clear. There are different particle size ratings for filters. A big size will remove most particles. A small size might strip out flavor and color.
+Piano Man42 The goal is to reduce oxygen getting in. Glass is great but heavy and dangerous. Plastic buckets should not be used long term because of the surface area and possible air leakage around the lid. I've used both PET bottles made for wine and plastic water bottles. Both worked fine but the water bottles hold yeast on the ledges that fall in when racking. I had a batch of Concord in plastic bottles for months and it had no hint of oxidation. Others may have different opinions...
I made this wine back in 2017 based on this video. Cracked a bottle of it today. Very tasty. Really nice strawberry flavor and smell. Thank you so much for the video!
Brother just wanted to tell you my Peach Wine turned out perfect. Everyone loves the taste. I even had someone who had been drinking his Grandpas wine for years who was a wonderful man who lived to be 93 years old and made his wine for years told me if I told anyone he said mine was so much better he would deny I even existed and he is family. Lol Now I’m gonna try the Strawberry. Thank you so much for the video!
Wow, thanks! Glad it's well liked. Good luck with the strawberry.
Thank you! Made 2 batches of blueberry wine following your recipe, came out great! Thanks again for sharing!
You are welcome! Happy to help make great wine. Thanks for taking the time to watch.
A good and very technical tutorial about wine making ... Great 🙏🙏
Thank you for watching.
Tried the recipe and came out great! Thank you for sharing! On to peach next!
Excellent Video! I'm just getting into wine making and I have used your videos as one of my references. Thank you. Also, I'm glad you added the bit about the smell as I am making Strawberry wine currently and was worried that I had a bad batch and was wasting my time.
+Matthew Thanks, I try to throw in what bits of knowledge I have. The fermentation smell is like a strawberry scented chemical solvent factory. It is a bit of a shock to smell the first time.
Man that looks great! We have a huge strawberry and blueberry patch I can see from my farm. Almost time to pick! Thanks for the video!
i made this wine and im in the process of racking again last time before bottling and i gave it a try and it tastes amazing really happy with it!
Glad it's turning out well. It will be even better with age. Real strawberry wine is a great thing to have. Congratulations!
Well done Sir! Great video, and very nice clear wine!!
Thank you!
You are a life saver! So informative! 👍👍
I'm brand new to the wine making and this is by far the best video I've found. Thank you thank you!
Thank you for watching. I am happy it was helpful. Glad to share the knowledge. Still learning new things too. Wine is fun to make and there's not much risk of failure, especially the wonderful strawberry. Good luck and have fun with your wine making!
@@beoracha good to know. I am starting on a strawberry batch right now for my friends wedding this summer
@@lukerutter2045 It is good from dry to very sweet. Feel free to sweeten to the amount you like at bottling, if desired, to balance out any excess alcohol heat and it will be a hit. Good luck.
@@beoracha solid advice. I will be sure to do that thank you very much
Ok I’m in the process of fermentation at this time and I’m so thrilled, I woke up this morning after putting the yeast in yesterday and it’s bubbling good in the airlock... this is my first batch ever and I’m happy all is going good!!!
I owe this to you and your videos for the inspiration... I’m disabled and needed a good hobby also on fixed income so I had to buy my supplies a little at a time over the past months but it’s a great goal and worth it!
Thanks again!
Glad you are having fun. I am happy to share what I do. It is fun and it is nice to have a selection of wine handy. It takes time to acquire equipment but most of it lasts a long time. If you use it, it is a great investment. I am not rolling in cash so I'm always looking for low cost fruit. :)
Yeah it’s amazing how much the fruits cost... oh by the way where can I buy the wine labels from that are printable and easy to get off?
It's good to know people with excess fruit trees and grape vines. Sometimes a trade can be worked out. Frozen berries are sometimes cheaper and work fine. I don't usually find the labels in stores but an office supply place might have them. They are Avery 16460. I think I've gotten them from both Walmart.com and Amazon.
I’ve finally finished my first batch and it turned out amazing... the wine is a beautiful light rose color and has a great strawberry taste , it has a alcohol volume of almost 15% and should be amazing by summer... I wish I had a way to send a pic it really is clear and beautiful.
Thanks again for the videos brother!
Good stuff.. Thanx for taking time.. An showing us how to do wine... Very much appreciated ,. Keep them coming ........
I'm happy it was helpful. Wine making is a big subject. Strawberries have always made great wine for me. I am working on a peach wine video now.
Great video! Thank you again! Would there be any issues with excessive head space in a carboy? I have a carboy that is 6.5 gallons (to my 5.5 gallons of actual wine). Want to make sure the "gallon" of head space would not impact the final product. Any advice is appreciated!
Shouldn’t be a problem.
excellent video and informative!
cherios1234 Thank you!
Happy New Year! As I try this recipe, my question is how long should you leave the strawberries in the primary fermentation? In your video, you let it ferment fro 16 days, but can it be longer? My batch (6.5 gallons) has been fermenting for 15 days, but there's still lots of bubbles in the airlock. Thoughts? Thank you!
That's a good question. I prefer not to go much more than two weeks, especially with grapes as they can get bitter tasting. Strawberries I am not sure how long. I have read that fruit can decay and create off flavors but have not experienced that. If the wine has picked up enough flavor and color you can remove the fruit or rack the wine. It can bubble in the carboy for a while. Some things like meads and berries can bubble slowly for a long time.
@@beoracha Good to know. Thank you very much!
Great video, great job, I'm going to give it a shot. I've been wanting to make strawberry wine for quite awhile now. I'm going to take the risk of not adding Campden tablets though. I currently have 3 types of wines going(Elderberry, Apple Cider, and Reisling) and have not used Campden tablets yet. I do sanitize all equipment though. I've had no problems with contamination yet. I do plan to add potassium sorbate and sweeten at bottling time. I'm going to use your recipe, thanks...
Thanks. Odds are it will work OK if the yeast get going well. I did not use to add sulfites when I racked and had no problems. Started adding one tablet because a lot of sources recommend keeping a certain level. It's insurance I guess. After all that effort I don't like to take chances and sulfites don't bother me. I have heard Elderberry wine is very good. Good luck.
sorry I ha e another question.. so I prolly have 2 gallons or so of space left in my glass carboy after my transfer.. its a 7 1/2 gallon carboy I think I asked u this before and you said it might be OK.should I leave it or go for the 5 gallon plastic what would you do in this situation
Great video. well done!
Thank you for posting this great video. I have watched it about 10 times in order to get the courage to start my own strawberry wine. I have just racked to my secondary and I have a newbie question for you. Why would one not take a SG reading before bottling? I noticed that you took an SG reading before you racked it to the secondary fermenter but that was it. Is there a chance that the wine will dry out further during secondary and bulk aging?
It doesn't hurt to check the gravity at every stage. It may ferment a tiny bit more but it won't change much, if at all. The gravity was so low on this batch that I couldn't see it going much lower. I make beer and it does get slightly dryer with age but wine sugars ferment almost completely in the primary fermentation. I do check the SG sometimes after sweetening at bottle time to give me an idea of how to classify it as sweet or semi sweet, but that's just extra information I put in my records. Good luck with your wine.
I’ve followed a few of your wine recipes. I really enjoy your content. Do you happen to have a recipe for watermelon? Like how many pounds of fruit /sugar ratio for a 5 gallon batch?
About 10 pounds of sugar, 15 pounds of watermelon should be close. That's one I haven't made. Probably use pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient too.
Thanks for the vid. I am now making my first batch, just racked it a 2nd time, and tastes GOOD,
I am glad it helped. It is a leap of faith to risk that much fruit and work. Strawberry is drinkable early and amazing after a year. The true meaning of the word amazing.
I love your videos.. The recipe turns out great wine.. I followed your suggestion to leave the tops on.. I'm wondering if you have made any without the tops, and if you have found a difference in color? There is a very slight brown hue, and I was trying to decide if it was from the greens.. I love the taste, so it's strictly for the aesthetics.. Thank you for your posts..
Thanks for watching. I've made it both ways. My first couple batches had all the green removed from the berries. I did not notice much change in color or taste. I have noticed the color of strawberry wine varies in different batches but I haven't observed any brown colors. Not sure what's causing it but here's a couple things to look for. Rotten spots in the fruit could cause problems so I remove them. Brown color could be from the fruit getting brown from oxidation before it's in the must. I think white wines can get brown from oxidation. Not something I've encountered. Maybe the fruit needs to be removed sooner in the fermentation. My berries look a light color when I dump out the waste. Berries vary a lot too. Too much light might also damage the color of the wine. Good luck!
I will absolutely keep all of that in mind when I make it again next year.. I can't say for sure if any of that applies, except for the natural variation of the fruit.. I thought it was strange because when it was all in the carboy it looked bright red.. It was only in the smaller bottles, and when I pour it into a glass that it doesn't seem as brilliant.. I wasn't sure if that was normal..
Where do you get your formula for calculating ABV? I've been lead to believe that after subtraction I need to multiply by 131.25.
It is 131.25. Years ago I used 129, don't recall where I got it, for beermaking. Sometime after making this video I realized the error.
awesome video. I had gotten a recipe off the internet that was close to the same but uses sodium bisulifite, is that kinda the same as the acid blend?
Glad you liked it. That is another form of sulfites and would be substituted for the sodium metabisulfite or potassium metabisulfite or campden tablets.
Do I need a airlock on the primary fermentation pail? The pail doesn't have any pre-drilled hole.
+Michel M The carbon dioxide has to come out somewhere. Leave the lid loose and it may be OK. Something will blow apart if it's on tight.
Good morning, I was all set to start my 1 gallon of your strawberry wine and cannot find my video or recipe 🙀. Love making your wine. Have made your blueberry and cherry, but also the 1 gallon of strawberry. Am I missing it? Would it be the same instructions as the 1 gallon of cherry? Help, lol
I'm not sure I made a 1 gallon strawberry. I usually do at least 3 gallons of strawberry and a few 1 gallon batches of other things. You can always divide the 5 gallon recipe by 5 for the right amounts for 1 gallon. The 1 gallon cherry wine should be close but I'd use a Campden tablet instead of heat. Wouldn't want to affect the delicate flavor of the berries with heat. Good luck and have fun.
beoracha thanks for getting back to me, that is exactly what I did. I am assuming that is what I did last time. It came out awesome so hopefully this one will to.
That type of label printer do you use?
a regular ink jet printer using Avery 6460 removable labels. I create using Apache Open Office with the Avery 6460 template.
hey love your video, for simplified purposes would you please write the ingredients with measurements of each for the 12 percent wine, 5 gallons of it. please and thank you and did this take you 3 months to make?
I made another batch this year and the only change was to reduce the sugar from 12 to 11 pounds. It has a starting potential of 11.2% (1.084) which is lower than I expected. The strawberries vary and it's not an exact recipe. I added notes to the description. I started in May and bottled in August. All the settling time is to reduce sediment forming in the bottle. There was still a small amount of sediment after aging in the bottle for a year. Some folks filter their wine but I don't. EDIT: This batch with 11 pounds of sugar and 14 quarts of berries had a start gravity of 1.084 and finished at a very dry 0.988 yielding 12.4% alcohol.
Great vedio. I working on my first batch right now and had a question. I watched the video 10 + time and was wondering if you degassed the wine to help it clear?
+Charles Chiaramonte Not intentionally, I just wait, rack and wait more, repeat as long as needed. Time will eventually clear almost everything including or in spite of residual gas. Good luck!
it also seems its saturated with co2..if u smell it its like putting ur head in a bucket of dry ice and smelling..like a carbonated water smell..it don't have a fruity smell as I would expect or will that come after awhile? hope this batch isn't ruined
i liked your videos a lot
but i'm wondering if you degasse your wine and at what stage
no I don't usually unless there are a lot of bubbles forming while racking. Most wines that spend a long time sitting in carboys do not need to be degassed. It's also more of an issues with white wines, of which I make very few. Here is a good article on degassing. winemakersacademy.com/degas-wine/
Time
The easiest way to degas a wine is through patience. Given enough time all the carbon dioxide will come out of suspension and leave your wine.
This is the method employed by most wineries. Since they usually age their wine for months or years degassing is a lot less of a problem for them.
If you choose this method be sure that you’re not storing your wine on the lees. Rack off of all sediment and let the CO2 escape slowly. Should more sediment accumulate you’ll have to consider racking again to avoid off flavors from the decomposing yeast.
thank you for your reply
cheers
Thanks for the video. Have you ever tried this wine with tannins added?
No, I've used tannin in peach but not strawberry. It might give it a bit more structure but I don't feel the need for it. Maybe it's because it is usually somewhat sweet it doesn't seem to need more body. That's one of those things that the winemaker may prefer to use, or not.
Ok so I am getting ready to bottle my wine and was wondering what is your sulfite & sulfite solution made with? Are they just the Campden tablets or something different, thanks again for the help on this!
+MrGattor33 You can crush a few Campden tablets in a few gallons of water or use potassium metabisulfite powder. I typically use about an eighth teaspoon of the powder in about 3 gallons of water. Some sources may say to use really high levels of sulfites for sanitizing but I figure if it's strong enough to work for the raw fruit it should be good enough for the equipment, if it's clean. Good luck with your wine. I've made widely varying strengths of strawberry and they always came out good, though the stronger ones needed more aging.
beoracha Does it do anything different if you were to use the cleaner/ sanitizer that you use to clean with?
+MrGattor33 There are many ways to sanitize...sanitization cycle in a dishwasher, iodine, bleach, any of a number of products made for sanitizing brewing/winemaking equipment...sulfites are handy because a wine maker usually has them already and if they aren't rinsed completely it won't harm the wine. I don't know about the effectiveness of using one vs another or both.
beoracha Ok, well I had only asked because i have all that stuff. I had picked it up when i got the kit to make the wine the first time that i failed at but this second one so far seems to be doing good and I am to the point and time of bottling, i just need to get the bottles from my local brew shop and do it. I am trying to get as much info as i can so the end product turns out as good as yours .....lol
I must say you have been a great deal of help to me on this.Thank you so much!!
+MrGattor33 Sanitizing is more critical early in the process. Once alcohol forms the wine can help fight so it's not as big a worry. I used an oxygen type cleaner on a beer fermenter once and it got infected so I went to bleach for the beer, which meant rinse many, many times but it never failed. Always used sulfites for wine and not a bad batch yet. Glad I could help and have fun bottling!
Thanks for this!i like wine!
How do you keep your wine from turning orange when you add the potassium sorbate? Mine was a nice shade of pink until that point.
That's interesting. I've never noticed a color change. I don't know if there is a chemical process going on. Mine is usually a fairly deep red/pink color. If yours is a lighter color then a color change would be more noticeable. I have noticed how the color of strawberry wine varies with depth. Skinny hydrometer test jar strawberry is more orange colored than wine bottle strawberry.
Mine is dark like yours then turns orange. This is my second batch and it did it both times.
Sulfites or sorbates are not supposed to affect color. I did some searching and all I found was someone that thought sulfites were making their wine lighter colored and photos that showed what you are describing. That wine was still cloudy though. I've not experienced it or noticed any color change. I really have no idea. There must be something going on. I have heard tales of strawberry wine doing strange things but not that.
Were there any other times that you added the campden tablets,,, other than bottling?
gamble514 At the beginning I crush and add one campden tablet per gallon and wait 24 hours before adding yeast OR I use metabisulfite powder instead of the tablets, about 1/4 teaspoon is enough for 5 or 6 gallons. It's concentrated and needs careful measurement. The tablets are more accurate. I usually add one tablet at each racking. I didn't always do that and had no problems. Maintaining a level of sulfites helps to insure against spoilage.
Awesome!!!!
is it okay to switch the sugar with honey? what will adding more than 22 lbs of berries do?
+cornbread420h More berries will give you more flavor and body with slight additional sugar. Honey should work but I understand honey to be about 80% sugar so it would take more. 12 pounds with 22 lbs of berries should work. It would technically be a strawberry mead and likely excellent.
When you said two and a half teaspoons of sorbate what do I use
potassium sorbate at the rate of 1/2 teaspoon per gallon, 2 and 1/2 teaspoons for 5 gallons combined with crushed Campden tablets at the rate of 1 per gallon, 5 for 5 gallons will prevent fermentation in the bottle
what temperature are you fermenting at?
I've watched a few of these videos now of people making their strawberry wine, since we are doing it for chemistry at school. Just noticed that all the people seem very laid back and very calm in their talking like they're in no rush. xD Must be the secret to wine making
ejano Crowsnatcher It's the opposite of immediate gratification, unless you have a bottle from the previous year. :) It's also best to proceed carefully and avoid mistakes.
Can you just add a little water to reduce the alcohol content.
Yes but sparingly as it affects flavor. To keep alcohol levels down in the future choose a yeast with low alcohol tolerance and/or start fermentation with less sugar.
If I did a gallon how much sugar would you recommend for 3 to 5 pounds of strawberries.
I use about 4 pounds berries per gallon and 11 pounds sugar in 5 gallons so about 2.2 pounds.
The fermentation temperature was around 75 degrees F.
Do you ever degas your wine before bottling? And why?
not usually, if something has bubbles forming at places during what should be the last racking I may give it some extra stirring. Someone else asked me about that and I had to think about it. Only once had a problem with popping corks or bubbles in the bottle and that was a mead that apparently wasn't quite done when I bottled it, could've used another racking or maybe degassing would've helped. I think it is more of a problem with shorter term white wines, which I make very few, they are more flavor sensitive than reds. The fact that I often use the ec-1118 yeast, a very strong and attenuative yeast, makes most wines I make ferment completely and quickly. The Concord and most of the fruit wines I make are also racked many times over a long period. I don't use filtering or fining, just time. I think, by accidental coincidence, that most of my wines are really flat and don't need degassing by the time they are bottled.
Ok, first of all I would like to say that this is a great and informative video. I have watched this over and over again and am just amazed by how good this is!
Ok I do have a question for you if you can help me out..... I bought a wine making kit from my local wine and brew shop and I bought the canned fruit that they recommend using because I thought it would be cheaper in a sense to do, however I have made my must and my initial SG reading was 1.120+5 (add a specified number to it because of a higher temperature) and my second reading at the time of my first racking into my carboy was 1.080+1 for temperature! When I followed your formula to figure out what the AVB % was it comes out to something like 5.676 and I was wondering if you could possibly tell me what I might have done wrong? Also would this still be any good? I understand it needs to be 10-12% for it to last and/age well in the bottles but I guess what I'm saying is should I throw this out and start over?
Sorry for the long comment and or questions but I too am a " newb " and this is my first go at this. Thanks again for a great video and thank you in advance for any information you can give me.
MrGattor33 Sorry it took me a couple days to answer, I'm outside a lot this time of year. It sounds like maybe the yeast quit on you, a stuck fermentation. I'm guessing it's been fermenting for a while. You had a rather high initial starting gravity and still a lot of sugar left. I would add more yeast, something with a high tolerance for alcohol like the lalvin champagne yeast I use. Then give it a good stir. Or just try stirring first. Sometimes yeast will lay on the bottom and just stirring up the existing yeast will get things going. search out more info for stuck fermentation. I wouldn't throw it out unless it tastes or smells really bad. Good luck.
beoracha No worries on the late reply, i completely understand. I did rack it into my carboy already, i will just go ahead and pitch some more yeast into it as it sits. I did not have metabisulfites when you said to use it after the first 24 hours, it took me like 2 additional days before i could put it in. Then after that we had a cold spell where the must was not working at all so i ended up buying a brew belt to put on the fermenting bucket and it was working like a champ and it did a full week where it was bubbling real good and then it stopped so i figured it had run it's course! I did Use Lalvin EC 1118 yeast as recommended by you in your video, I picked up several packets just in case and they are not that expensive, I had watched your video several times before i purchased the Wine kit and I will watch it even a few more times afterwards to make sure things are in order. Just one more quick thing .... should i just pitch the yeast or add it to more sugar as in getting it started or should i just pitch it in as is? Thanks for your response and enjoy your time in the outdoors!!! OBTW sorry this is so long!!
MrGattor33 An adventure in winemaking! If your gravity is still 1.080 then there is plenty of sugar left in the must. I would think it would be lower after a good week of bubbling. That was a high starting gravity and pushing the limits of the yeast, but you should be way under 1.080, even under 1.008. I've made 16%+ wine with that yeast and it is like rocket fuel. Temperature fluctuations can slow it but I am surprised it quit. You could build up a pint or so bubbling yeast starter before adding for more kick but maybe not necessary. The sulfites are put in at the beginning, then left to sit for at least 24 hours before putting in the yeast. That gives it time to lower the levels to where the yeast can tolerate it. I tried to be thorough in my video but winemaking is a huge subject. Good luck, it sounds like you have a plan.
beoracha Ok thank you very much for the info, I will give it another go with some more yeast and hopefully that will resolve the problem. As for the SG according to the book that came with my kit said that is the average range and the instructions on my Hydrometer said that the readings I got would give me a medium sweet wine. But I really don't know that much about it or wine making, like I said this is my first time and if i have to i'll throw it out and start over from scratch (not really what i want to do) but I may not have a choice. Thank you again for all the help and feedback it is very much appreciated!!
MrGattor33 By starting at a very high gravity the yeast will reach their limits and finish at a fairly high ending gravity. It leaves residual sugar to give you a sweet or semi sweet wine that needs no sugar added at bottling. You may still finish at a fairly high gravity but should get at least 12% alcohol. Since the yeast is maxed out it should not ferment in the bottle and there is probably no need for sorbates at bottling, but I would still add sulfites and maybe sorbates too just in case it wants to ferment more. Don't throw it out unless it goes bad. Keep trying to ferment. Add yeast and stir. Besides taking hydrometer readings, take a sample to taste occasionally to get an idea of how it is doing. Sampling the process is part of the fun. Hang in there.
Re: Plastic bottles, is it not so much the permeability of the plastic, but the leeching of plastic and it's chemicals into the wine/mead, etc?
yes, I quit using plastic water bottles and use my old glass and new plastic carboys made for wine. Realistically it's probably not a big deal but who knows. The smooth sides of the carboys also work better, don't hold sediment, when siphoning.
Are you going to make some more wine videos soon?
probably sometime this summer, depends on what fruit rolls around. strawberries don't look so good this year, maybe remake peach and blueberry...maybe more apple. I'd really like to make some cherry. The Regent grapes should produce enough for a good full body gallon this fall. been thinking about a general informational video. who knows...
What is the acid blend for?
Wines lacking acidity can taste dull and flat. Strawberries don't have a lot of acidity. The acid blend mimics the acids in grapes to make it more like a grape wine. It is optional. I don't use it much anymore as my palate has grown accustomed to fruit wines. I am tending to also use fewer ingredients like tannin to add body.
why should the cork stay wet for a month?
I don't know about a month...I float my corks in a sulphite solution for about an hour before corking to get them slick and sanitary. The corked wine bottles should be stored on the side to keep the corks wet. Cork swells when wet to make a good seal. Dry corks may shrink or deteriorate and lose the seal.
@@beoracha the swelling creates a seal?
@@avanti2762 Corks should seal when inserted. Being wet maintains and strengthens the existing seal. It keeps the cork from drying and shrinking. Just had a thought...commercial wineries may lay them down for a month to swell them before shipping vertically in cases. That may make sense.
so I did my first strawberry transfer into carboy..the hydrometer fell slightly lower then the numbers read..this a bad thing?
It means it finished very dry and that's good. The alcohol may be a bit higher than planned since it is so dry. It makes it slightly harder to calculate the alcohol as you have to estimate the number.
beoracha OK I left u another comment it didn't have a fruity smell to it really..seemed lieka. strong carbonated co2 smell...good bad? a fix to balance or takes time?
Strawberry smells very odd when it is fermenting. It is almost like a solvent smell and it's strong. It should taste OK at this point, maybe hot and with a yeasty bite but not terrible. Smell can be deceiving. Some yeasts put out odd sulfur smells.
beoracha ya I didn't taste it it really had a overwhelming co2,carbonated smell to it...I'll re rack it in a month and see what happens then..did your straw berry not have a strong strawberry smell to it?
It does smell like strawberry but also a lot of other things too. It's good to taste at different times in the process to evaluate what is going on.
I just started smashing everything and I have no nutrients.. is it a absolute must have can I go without?
It may ferment OK without it, possibly slower but it should work. Don't worry about it unless it gets stuck and stops fermenting too soon.
beoracha thank you for your quick response I went ahead and bagged all I did and refridged and order some..I'm following yours step my step don't wanna mess with the ingredients any
beoracha I'm doing 18 pounds of Strawberry's, 10-11 pounds of sugar..hoping for a 12% alcohol.. and then doing a sweetening at end..does this sound OK?
That sounds good. You'll probably need 11 pounds of sugar to get over 12% but maybe try 10 first and see what gravity you have. I've had strawberry get a bit slow fermenting and had to stir it to get it going even with nutrients. It should go faster and better with yeast nutrient.
beoracha awesome thanks a lot for the help I should begin my first batch Wednesday or Thursday when nutrients get n mail.. have you ever did raspberry wine?
Could you filter this? You think it would taste the same ?
You could filter it. I don't use finings or filtering just to try to make things simpler and cheaper. Enough time and racking will get it pretty clear. There are different particle size ratings for filters. A big size will remove most particles. A small size might strip out flavor and color.
Does it really make a difference if you age in plastic bottles vs glass? Can anyone comment?
+Piano Man42 The goal is to reduce oxygen getting in. Glass is great but heavy and dangerous. Plastic buckets should not be used long term because of the surface area and possible air leakage around the lid. I've used both PET bottles made for wine and plastic water bottles. Both worked fine but the water bottles hold yeast on the ledges that fall in when racking. I had a batch of Concord in plastic bottles for months and it had no hint of oxidation. Others may have different opinions...
Oh My God.
Couldn't stop laughing.. IT'S GOING TO BE A SIPPIN WINE, INSTEAD OF A DRINKING WINE...! LOL.
Just blend them up in a food processor
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