December 2009 Newsletter
December 2009
News from: Winemakers Depot
or 888-326-4999
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE:
- Tips, Topics, & Factoids
- New Products
- Featured Products/Seasonal Products & Gift Ideas
- Promotions & Gift Ideas
- Industry News
- What’s New at Winemakers Depot
- Drop us a Line
- Recipes from Our Friends
Seasons Greetings from Winemakers Depot! Yes, this means Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! Sorry our Newsletter is a bit late this month. I’d like to blame it on an overdose of Tryptophan from Thanksgiving Dinner, but come to find out that turkey has far less effect than I thought, we could just call it Carbohydrate overload. The reality is this is a very busy time of the year and we are working very hard to guarantee we have everything you all have ordered and will order in stock, and have it safely packed and shipped for delivery when you need it. A big thank you to all of you for making us so busy!
TIPS, TOPICS, & FACTOIDS:
Here is a question we often get asked… Can I make beer with my wine making equipment? And what additional equipment do I need? The answer is absolutely! And just a few additional items.
- You will need the following additional items:
- Capper to put caps on bottles unless you use reusable EZ Cap Flip Top Bottles or Keg your beer.
- Assuming you make a beer kit that requires boiling, which most do, you should get a probe thermometer
- A 20 Quart pot for boiling your ingredients in to make your wart
- Not absolutely necessary but makes for a much clearer beer is a Worth Chiller. However, you can cool your wort by putting your pot of boiled wort in a sink full of ice.
- I have a 6 gallon carboy and I see all the beer kits make 5 gallon batches, am I going to have wine oxidation/head space problems. No, there are no oxidation problems in beer making so the extra head space is not a problem.
We often get asked how much sugar to add to a wine before bottling it or how much fruit flavoring should be added before bottling it. Well, it really depends on your taste. So just like blending wines create samples by diligently measuring how many ounces or milliliters of wine you have in your sample and how much sugar or fruit flavor concentrate you add to your sample. When you achieve the taste you are happy with carry the ratio of the sample over to your carboy or keg. Rule of thumb is that 0.1% to 0.4% residual sugar is not typically noticeable and most sweet wines such as a Riesling or Gewurztraminer are 0.75% to 1.00% residual sugar.
What makes a red wine red and a white wine white? In part it is the color of the grape, but more so it is the grape skin, as most white wines are fermented without their skins as the juice is pressed from the grape prior to fermentation, whereas a red wine is fermented on the skins. Furthermore, the color of red wine is derived primarily from Anthocyanins, Phenolic Compounds that are extracted from the grape skins. Several factors will influence the color and intensity of the color extracted from the skins. Only 25% to 50% of the grapes Phenolic Compound will be extracted without added influence, here are some factors impacting the amount extracted and what you can do to influence the color of your wine:
- A low PH will create more red, a high PH more blue.
- Wine aged with wood chips will likely intensify the color
- Punching down the Cap more often than once a day
- Pumping Over – The process of using a pump to pull juice from the bottom of the fermenter and pumping it over the Cap
- Bleeding Off – After crushing removing 10% to 30% of the juice so the ratio of skins to juice is increased
- High Temperature Fermentation – Higher temperatures help break down the grape solids for better color extraction. CAUTION not to exceed your yeasts temperature range.
- Prefermentation cold soak from 1 to 10 days (typically 2 to 7 days) at a temperature ranging from 39 to 50 degrees.
- How many grapes does it take to make a bottle of wine? – About 2.5 lbs
- How many gallons of wine are produced from one acre of grapevines? – Approximately 800
- How many grapevines are there typically on a single acre? – Approximately 400
- Cork was developed as a bottle closure in the late 17th century. It was only after this that bottles were laid down for aging, and the bottle shapes slowly changed from short and bulbous to tall and slender.
- Chilling tones down the sweetness of wine. If a red wine becomes too warm, it may lose some of its fruity flavor.
- Should I ever use a decanter for my wines? A decanter is used mainly to remove sediment from older red wines. Also, it can be used to open up young red wines. Otherwise, wine will “breathe” enough in your glass and decanting is not necessary.
- Why should I swirl wine in my glass before I drink it? By swirling your wine, oxygen is invited into the glass, which allows the aromas to escape.
NEW PRODUCTS:
FEATURED PRODUCTS & CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS:
PROMOTIONS & CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS:
Here are a few of the items we have on special right now.
We will also add items during the month. For more information on current promotions Click the Following Link:
PROMOTIONS
WHAT’S NEW AT WINEMAKERS DEPOT:
We have reduced the prices on all our True Brew Beer Kits 10% to 15%
· Have a question about a product
· If there is a product you need but can’t find on our website
· If there is there is a topic you would like to see covered in our next or future Newsletter
· If you have a recipe you want to share
INDUSTRY NEWS
Missouri Valley Wine Competition to be held February 21
st, 2010 in Warrenton Missouri. For more information CLICK the Link to this
Wine Making Competition Brochure or contact Bob Truetken at 314-604-4139. You can also visit their website at http://mvws.org/
RECIPE of the MONTH: Cranberry Wine Recipe - Sent to us by Marth K.
2 pounds cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 pound raisins
3 pounds granulated sugar (about 6 3/4 cups)
1 campden tablet
1 teaspoon nutrients
1/4 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 1/4 teaspoon acid blend
1 package wine yeast
1 gallon water
- Chop cranberries coarsely. The goal here is the break the skin on every berry to help the juice leach into the water. Place them in the primary fermenter. Add raisins, water, sugar, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, acid blend and crushed campden tablet. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Let sit over night.
- The next day, check the specific gravity. It should be between 1.110 and 1.115. Add yeast and mix in well. Cover primary fermenter. Stir daily for five days.
- Strain fruit, squeezing out as much juice as possible. Put into secondary fermenter and place airlock on the bottle.
- For a dry wine, Rack in three weeks and return to secondary fermenter.
- Rack again in three months, and every three months until 1 year old, then bottle.
- For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermenter.
- Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old, then bottle.
- This wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for a year and a half from the date it was started.