Waiting an extra day worked out perfectly. The specific gravity reading last night was right on target. I transferred the wine to a new container, sealed it, and attached an air lock. Now it’s 12 days of letting the carbon dioxide vent off.
Last night the specific gravity was just a little bit high. I opted to let the wine sit at least one more day. I’ll check again tonight and hopefully it will have dropped a little closer to my target reading. Looks like tonight or tomorrow, I’ll be moving on to step two.
The yeast is very active now doing its yeasty thing. The smell is less like grape juice and more of the musty smell I would expect. Things seem to be going well. If the specific gravity is right I will be able to proceed to step two on Sunday evening. If not I will have to let it sit for a couple more days.
My winemaking kit arrived on Friday and last night I started a batch of Red Bordeaux. I have 6 gallons of grape juice fermenting in my kitchen! The primary fermentation phase lasts 7 days and I really don’t have much to do other than monitor the tempertature and make sure the yeast is still active.
It’s been very easy so far. Here’s hoping it turns out well.
He got me the home wine making kit I wanted. He didn’t place the order until the last minute though so it hasn’t arrived yet. He assured me that he had his best elves on it and that I should have it within a week. The ingredients with the kit are for a red Bordeaux so hopefully I can get started on making that as soon as the stuff arrives.
Of course, a batch of Velo’s Vintage Pinot Noir will be forthcoming very soon.
I have found this starter kit that provides all the ingredients to make 30 bottles of the wine of your choice in 28 days. Just need to buy bottles which the people who sell the kit also sell.
With any luck, I’ll be making my own Pinot Noir very soon!
