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After a break of about 11 years I am finally trying my hand at (intentionally) fermenting things again. The last time around it was beer, this time I am trying my hand at home-made wine. Since my first time working with grapes (my previous experience has all been with barley), I decided to be safe and unambitious, and opted for a 30-day, green-apple Riesling.
If I learned only one thing from my previous forays into the art of zymurgy, it's to sterilize the equipment. I have kept a spray bottle of the sterilizing agent within arm's reach through the whole process. It's a bit too early in the game to tell if my vigilance will pay off, but I'm hopeful. Wine is much more forgiving than beer, and my last batch of beer turned out pretty darned good in my opinion. I'm only three days into being a first-time vintner and I am already making mental notes for things that I will probably change in the next batch. For instance, I may as well put that yeast nutrient I have to good use and pre-activate the yeast next time. The faster you can get it working in the must, the less chance there is for stray bacteria to gain a foothold (or use whatever appendage it is that bacteria use to hold on).
The ambient temperature is a bit lower than they recommend in the recipe, but we're still getting pretty robust fermentation right now. The kitchen is alive with the sound of yeast farts bubbling up through the air trap. Go, little yeasties, go! Eat that sugar and poop that alcohol!
If I learned only one thing from my previous forays into the art of zymurgy, it's to sterilize the equipment. I have kept a spray bottle of the sterilizing agent within arm's reach through the whole process. It's a bit too early in the game to tell if my vigilance will pay off, but I'm hopeful. Wine is much more forgiving than beer, and my last batch of beer turned out pretty darned good in my opinion. I'm only three days into being a first-time vintner and I am already making mental notes for things that I will probably change in the next batch. For instance, I may as well put that yeast nutrient I have to good use and pre-activate the yeast next time. The faster you can get it working in the must, the less chance there is for stray bacteria to gain a foothold (or use whatever appendage it is that bacteria use to hold on).
The ambient temperature is a bit lower than they recommend in the recipe, but we're still getting pretty robust fermentation right now. The kitchen is alive with the sound of yeast farts bubbling up through the air trap. Go, little yeasties, go! Eat that sugar and poop that alcohol!
