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Archive-name: crafts/winemaking-faq
Last modified: April 17, 1999
Posting: Bi-monthly
Url: http://www.pobox.com/~malak/rcw.faq

Changes since last update (March 15, 1999):

- addition of my policy for my recipe archive in G42. DOES ANYBODY HAVE
A RECIPE FOR {INSERT WINE TYPE HERE}?
- slight addition to G43. REMOVING CARBONATION FROM WINE

This is the FAQ for rec.crafts.winemaking. If you have any additions,
deletions, corrections, comments, questions or the like, please direct
them to r.c.w. or Don Buchan at malak&pobox.com (&=@)

To get the latest version of this file, choose one of the following:

A) anonymous ftp to ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-
group/rec.crafts.winemaking/rec.crafts.winemaking_FAQ
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hierarchy/rec/crafts/winemaking/rec.crafts.winemaking_FAQ
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hierarchy/rec/answers/crafts/winemaking-faq
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quotes, "send usenet/news.answers/crafts/winemaking-faq"
F) gopher to gopher://gopher.physics.utoronto.ca (FAQ's via
rtfm.mit.edu)
G) WWW to http://www.pobox.com/~malak/rcw.faq
H) newsgroup news://rec.crafts.winemaking (posted twice monthly)
I) newsgroup news://rec.answers (posted twice monthly)
J) newsgroup news://news.answers (posted twice monthly)
K) email to malak&pobox.com (&=@) -- discouraged.

Copyright notice:

Copyright 1995-1999 by Don Buchan, all rights reserved. This FAQ may be
distributed to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, BBS or any other
means, electronic or physical (such as, but not limited to, floppy
diskettes and printouts) as long as:

A) it is distributed in its entirety,
B) no fee is charged to anyone:
  i) downloading this file beyond nominal online fees, or
 ii) receiving the information beyond nominal format charges,
C) it is not distributed for financial gain. To be included in
commercial collections or compilations (except online services as
allowed above), express permission from Don Buchan (malak&pobox.com)
(&=@) must be obtained.

I have granted permission to Better Winemaking by Cybercom Publications
to print excepts from this document. I only receive a free copy of the
magazine, and have donated the value of the yearly subscription fee to
my church's Minister's Discretionary Fund.

Academic or professional use and accuracy:

In the case of academic use, follow the guidelines set out at your
institution for referencing electronic texts, provided that my name,
Don Buchan, and email ID, malak&pobox.com (&=@), are referenced as
editor/compilor. I suggest as title "FAQ List for Usenet Usegroup
rec.crafts.winemaking". An essay on suggested referencing guidelines
is available at http://clever.net/quinion/words/citation.htm or by
email from michael&quinion.demon.co.uk (&=@)

I am not an oenologist, nor is this text guaranteed to be 100%
accurate. No liability or warranty, express or implied, is assumed by
the editor or contributors. If you see an error, please send it to
malak&pobox.com (&=@)

This text covers the actual procedures of making wine to varying
degrees, as well as various approaches, techniques, and philosophies
about winemaking. These are sometimes going to contradict each other --
remember, different people wrote various sections. While the editor has
made an effort to bring the whole thing together, these contradictions
were left in to allow for the numorous methods of reaching the same
goal: Good to better to even great wine. The caveat to all this? Read
the whole document as much as possible. There are various sections that
contain loads of information that perhaps in and of themselves perhaps
are better contained in other sections but are left where they are.

If you want more information of a basic nature, request the primers
mentioned in the NET RESOURCES posting for wine & winemaking.

Editing & spelling conventions:

The editor has tried to edit for brevity in some cases, therefore
contributions may be shorter than submitted or as originally posted in
the newsgroup. When used, the word "I" is the contributor, not
necessarily the editor. Text in {} is the original question.

British (and Canadian) spelling conventions are used.

Measurement conventions:

An attempt has been made to include imperial, American and metric
measurements.

When a reference to a gallon is made, it will be identified as an
imperial or American gallon, and its equivalent in the other size is
made as well in litres. In this text, a gallon of wine is usually an
imperial gallon (4.5 L, 1.19 USG) and a gallon jug is usually 1.06 USG
(4 L, 0.89 imp. gal.).

G01. Newsgroup Charter
G02. Definitions
G03. How is wine made?
G04. Yeast
G05. Possible ingredients
G06. BTW, can I use jam?
G07. The recipe calls for tannin. What's the conversion dry to liquid?
G08. What equipment is required?
G09. Sucrose vs. corn sugar
G10. Kits vs. Grapes or Fruit
G11. What are the usual sizes used in home winemaking?
G12. Barrels
G13. Sanitation
G14. Procedure
G15. Why am I adding the bentonite at the beginning? How much do I put
in? Where do I get it?
G16. Egg white clearing
G17. Higher alcohol levels
G18. Sparkling your wine
G19. Ice wine
G20. Different kinds of fermentation used in winemaking
G21. Acid balance
G22. Chillproofing
G23. Do all wines contain sulphites?
G24. How much sulphite is needed?
G25. Topping up your wine
G26. Bulk Aging
G27. Will my wine last?
G28. How to know when a wine is ready to drink
G29. Vinometers
G30. How to measure alcohol levels in your wine
G31. What's the best paper and adhesive to use for labels?
G32. Bottles & Corks
G33. Corkers
G34. How about distilling my wine?
G35. What are good references for winemaking?
G36. What is [insert wine type here] like?
G37. What kind of water should I use?
G38. Are elderberries toxic? How about {insert fruit here}?
G39. Kosher wines/winemaking/beer/beermaking
G40. What amount of grapes should be used?
G41. How can I contact Presque Ile Wine Cellars or anyone else?
G42. Does anybody have a recipe for {insert wine type here}?
G43. Removing carbobation from wine
G44. Cleaning out dirty bottles, carboys and the like
G45. Why am I getting headaches?
G46. I want to make some Sherry. Do I require a special type of yeast?
G47. Sweetening wine
G48. "Strengthening" a wine
G49. Humidity & Storage
G50. Knowing when to pick your grapes
G51. Wild Yeasts
G52. Are any other winemaking topics covered somewhere?
G53. Cold Stabilization
G54. How much pectic enzyme should I use?
G55. Getting rid of excessive pulp
G56. What if I don't have any yeast nutrient?
G57. Arresting fermentation
G58. Removing corks from bottles
G59. Your friendly hydrometer

CREDITS

TROUBLESHOOTING -- Can be found in the seperate posting TROUBLESHOOTING
for wine & winemaking

NET RESOURCES -- Can be found in the seperate posting NET RESOURCES for
wine & winemaking.

G01. NEWSGROUP CHARTER

Name: rec.crafts.winemaking
Moderation status: unmoderated

Rec.crafts.winemaking will be a news group dedicated to the discussion
of the process, recipes, tips, storage, techniques and general exchange
of lore on the process, methods and history of wine making. The above
list is not considered exhaustive, and if a discussion is of interest
to wine makers it may be deemed as appropriate. This group is to be
general enough to encompass both traditional grape wines as well as
wines which are generally described as country wines, sparkling wines,
and champagnes. In general, the appropriateness of a particular
beverage will be determined by the process involved in its making.
Essentially, if the process used is that of winemaking, then the
discussion is considered appropriate. This may include such beverages
as cider or mead. It is recognized that there are topics which are of
interest to both wine makers and brewers, and posting or cross posting
of such topics is considered both appropriate and desirable. Personal
stories and experiences shall be welcome as long as they pertain to the
craft of wine making.

G02. DEFINITIONS

Not all these terms appear elsewhere in this FAQ; but those that don't
are still useful or at least interesting.

Acid Blend: A blend of (usually) tartaric and malic acids in crystal
form.

Air Lock: see vapour lock.

Astringency: The effect of tannin on the mouth; it causes the mouth to
pucker and leave a "dry" feeling in the mouth.

Basic 10: A term used by F. Stanley Anderson in his books. The basic
equipment needed for winemaking. These are: Long-handled spoon;
fermentation bin (widemouthed bucket); carboy (large bottle with
constricted neck); air lock & bung; sulphite; gallon jug (for sulphite
solution); plastic sheet; racking cane (for transferring wine);
large measuring cup; and hydrometer.

Beer: According to the Bavarian Purity Law, a fermented beverage
containing only water, malt, hops and yeast. Generally, an undistilled
fermented beverage with a water and grain base. Other ingredients may be
added to vary the beverage, as well as the type of malt and hops.

Bentonite: A type of finely ground clay that is used as a clarifying
agent. It is used at varying stages of the process, including at the
beginning to provide something to which yeast can attach themselves to
improve growth and help clear out solids from the primary fermentation.

Bouquet: A wine's aroma. Bouquet evolves over time as the wine ages.

Bracket (braggot): An alcoholic beverage made with malt and honey; thus
it bridges the gap between mead and ale.

Brix: A measurement of sugar content in a must. Degrees Brix, as
measured on your hydrometer, is very close to percent sugar and is most
easily considered as such. Conversion of sugar to alcohol is usually in
the range of 0.52 to 0.59.

Campden Tablets: Tablets of a standard amount of compressed sulphite.
It usually has a mass of about either 0.44g or 0.55g (depending on your
source), roughly equivalent to about 0.28g or 0.35g SO2.

Cap: The vegetable matter and foam layer that forms on the top of the
wine during the first few days of fermentation. Although your
fermenting wine may break it up and absorb it eventually, it is best to
manually break it with your wine stirrer/spoon as often as it forms to
avoid the production of off smells and problems with overflowing as
well as to maximize colour and flavour extraction.

Carboy: A container of five imperial gallons (22.5 litres, 6 USG). It
is the next commonly used size smaller than a demijohn. Carboys are
made from glass or plastic and, like a big bottle, have a constricted
neck. Other sizes also exist.

Carbonic Maceration: It means "carbon dioxide soaking" and it can be
done by using CO2 to displace oxygen from a tank stacked with grape
boxes (N2 does the same but is actually more extensive then CO2) and is
commonly done by duping clusters into vertical tanks in which the juice
from broken berries actually suffocates the berry by submersion. The
main reactions are intracellular ethanol production by glycolytic
enzymes which stop at about 5% ethanol. Hence the practice of then
pressing the berries and completing the fermentation with added or
natural yeast. There are some other phenol conversions of gallic and
caffeic to benzyl derivatives and the development of a "silage" dusty
grain character. The pigmentation is also usually light red with a
distinct purple tone.

Clearing: Causing the wine to go clear by either fining, repeated
racking or both. See fining.

Cider: Fermented apple juice.

Cuvee: French for a batch of wine.

Cyser: A mead with apple juice added (and thus you might consider it
either an apple melomel or a cider with honey).

Demijohn: A container identical in function and similar in shape to a
carboy. They typically hold 25 to 64 litres, about 5 to 14 imp. gal. (6
to 17 USG) though come in various sizes as small as 1 imperial gallon.

Distillation: The process of heating a liquid to separate its various
dissolved components. Our reference would be the separation of alcohol
from water. Home distillation is generally considered at least somewhat
dangerous because it concentrates methanol, an alcohol produced in
minute (and safe) concentrations in fermentation. The problem comes in
keeping track of the proper distillation temperatures. Home distillation
is illegal just about everywhere except New Zealand.

Fermentation: The anaerobic (no oxygen) digestion of various organic
compounds by microflora and microfauna. In our case, yeast are
anaerobically digesting sugar, water and nutrients to produce alcohol.

Fining: The use of some agent that will collect fine particles
(cloudiness) in the wine and cause them to fall to the bottom so that
clear wine can be racked off the top. For technical types, it's called
clarification and flocculation. These substances are usually isinglass
(ground fishbladders) or a gelatin substance, but also include
bentonite and various cationic and anionic polymers.

Hydrometer: A glass bulb with a weight in the bulb, a narrow stick like
end with a scale inside it that is used to measure properties such as
liquid density, and in the case of fermentation, usually other scales
such as Brix, Balling and potential alcohol (based on the liquid
density.)

Kit: A package containing juice concentrate and other ingredients used
to make wine. Add water and follow the instructions. Formats will vary:
Some are a can of concentrate (add your own sugar, yeast, some other
ingredients); some are 5kg to 7kg (11 lbs to 15.4 lbs) of concentrate in
a bag, complete with everything needed either in the concentrate or
seperately in the box, except water; others are 15 litres (3.33 imp.
gal.; 4 USG) of concentrated juice you bring up to 23 litres (5 imp.
gal.; 6 USG). There are even packets of dehydrated juice crystals in
which you add all the water and sugar. Often the concentrate is actually
a hybrid containing juices of more than one kind of grape (California
requires at 51% of a given grape to be present to call it that variety,
for instance. Other areas require 75%.) Quality is discussed in section
G10. KITS VS. GRAPES OR FRUIT.

Lees: The solids that have fallen to the bottom of your fermentation
vessel. Among much else, they contain live and dead yeast.

Mead: An alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of honey and
water. Many ingredients can be added to the basic recipe.

Melomel: A mead with fruit and/or fruit juices added.

Metheglin: A mead with herbs and/or spices added.

Must: Unfermented wine (ie. grape juice).

Pectins: Large protein molecules that don't clear properly. They're
important in jam making, but annoying and undesireable in winemaking.

Pectic Enzyme: Pectic enzymes break up pectin to make smaller molecules
that clear more easily.

Pitching: The act of adding yeast to a must. Often yeast may be added
directly to the must while still dry, but the yeast is more likely to
work if rehydrated in a cup of water first, particularly if the must is
NOT from a concentrate.

Primary Fermentation: The stage during which most fermentation takes
place, usually in a covered widemouthed vessel.

Pyment: Honey and grape juice fermented together. This can be either a
fermented combination (as a melomel) or grape wine to which honey is
added after it is finished.

Racking: Transferring wine by siphoning clear wine from one vessel into
another closed vessel without transferring the lees at the bottom of
the first vessel.

Reverse Osmosis: A method of separating various dissolved substances,
similar to what cells do, only backwards. High pressures force a liquid
through a membrane with very fine pores. Typically we are interested in
city water being forced through an RO filter to produce an ulra-pure
water for the purpose of either reconstituting concentrated juice or as
part of a fruit wine recipe so as to avoid off flavours or other
undesired dissolved solids.

Riddler: Two planks with a hinge holding them together end to end, holes
along their length wide enough to hold the necks of champagne bottles,
and a chain or rope on each side that are used to adjust the distance of
the bases of the boards, and therefore the angle at which the boards are
to horizontal. See section G18. SPARKLING YOUR WINE.

Secondary Fermentation: The stage during which fermentation is
completed, usually in a closed vessel such as a carboy. This period
commonly refers to the completion of sugar fermentation by yeast, but
also refers to the time when other fermentations, particularly
malolactic fermentation, take place. See section G20. DIFFERENT KINDS
OF FERMENTATION USED IN WINEMAKING.

sg: Specific gravity. The reading taken from your hydrometer that
measures the relative density of your must/wine to water. Rarely should
the reading go above 1.100 as this makes it very difficult for yeast to
work and this will produce a wine with 14% alcohol, getting in the area
that yeast have difficulty tolerating.

Sorbate: Potassium sorbate (also shortened Ksorbate). A substance that
is toxic to yeast and used as a stabilizer. Sorbate's effectiveness
depends on low yeast counts in the wine; if it's high, sorbate will be
inneffective. Clear your wine properly, and ferment out to sg 1.000 or
less.

Sulphite (or sulphate): Referring to sodium metabisulphite or potassium
metabisulphite. A substance that is noxious to many spoilage
microorganisms and wild yeasts and is used as a microbiological and
oxidative inhibitor. Sulphite's effectiveness depends on low organism
counts in the wine; if it's high, the sulphite will be inneffective.
Clear your wine properly and ferment out to sg 1.000 or less.
Chemically, sulphite is S03(-2) while sulphate is SO4(-2); the desired
form in winemaking is sulphite, however, the two words are often used
(or confused) interchangeably. Since sulphate is oxidized sulphite (ie.
sulphite reacts with oxygen in the air), sulphite prevents unwanted
browning in wine, and too much sulphate in a wine will cause
bitterness. Therefore avoid letting your wine contact the air as much
as possible. More in G24. HOW MUCH SULPHITE IS NEEDED?

Sulphite solution: A solution of 1 tablespoon sulphite crystals to one
gallon of water, used to sanitize all surfaces in contact with your
wine. The solution may be reused with care. Usually only one reuse would
be a sure way that the solution remains viable.

TA: titratable acid. It's directly relative to the amount of a base --
such as sodium hydroxide -- required to bring the pH of the liquid to
8.3. This is useful as it is one of many ways of measuring the acidity
of your wine and as such determining whether or not the acidity of your
wine is sufficient. See G21. ACIDE BALANCE

Vapour lock: A simple device that looks like a wide letter 'S' laying
on its side (this is the standard form, there are others). It is filled
with enough water such that air or contaminants cannot flow through it
back into the wine while allowing the pressure from fermentation gases
(primarily CO2) to push out. These are also known as fermentation locks
and air locks.

Wine: The fermented juice of fruits having an alcohol content of 7% to
14% (higher levels are possible).

Wine Thief: A hollow tube similar to a turkey baster that has a hole on
each end, one at the bottom to allow wine in when you put it into your
wine, and the other at the top to cover with your thumb when you take
it out so that the wine in the tube stays there until you put it over a
glass and uncover the hole at top to release the wine. Also, someone
who takes some of your wine without your knowledge; typically the
culprit is a family member or friend. :)

Wort: Unfermented beer.

G03. HOW IS WINE MADE?

First, for those who are expecting a quick answer on how to make wine
easily:

{how do you make red wine?}

That is a loaded question, but here are the basics which you *can*
follow to make wine.

Real easy way:

First, go to a homebrew shop and have the salesperson sell you a kit and
all the equipment. If they try to sell you anything for any more than
USD $120 then they're either ripping you off or trying to sell you too
much. Ask for a red kit. Follow the instructions in the box. The basic
equipment should cost up to USD $50 and the kit up to USD $70 (probably
a very high end kit and you should probably be looking at a kit that is
a little less expensive, in the USD $60 max range.)

Easy way:

Go to the market and find some fresh juice and add some yeast. Follow
instructions as below.

Involved way:

- Buy some red wine grapes.
- Rent a grape crusher from said homebrew shop, crush said grapes and
collect the juice in the bucket purchased from said homebrew shop.
- Add yeast.
- Using the hydrometer purchased from the shop, transfer to a carboy
when the reading is 1.010.
- When the reading is at about 0.992, wait two weeks.
- Add a clearing agent (homebrew shop)
- After three weeks rack the wine to a clean carboy.
- Either let sit in the carboy or go on to filter if desired and bottle.

A little more involved is as follows:

Wine is the product of fermenting fruit juice, usually grapes.
Generally, it has an alcoholic content of 7% to 14%. Further, this
alcoholic content is only derived by fermentation, ie. no distillation,
nor as a general rule are distilled products added to fortify the wine.

The process of fermenting is basically feeding sugars and nutrients to
yeast, which then produce carbon dioxide and alcohol. This process goes
on until either all the sugar is gone or the yeast can no longer
tolerate the alcoholic content of the wine. Different yeasts produce
different results, and have different tolerance levels.

- The fruit is crushed to give free-running juice; red wines are
usually fermented with the skins to maximize colour and tannin
extraction.

- The must is sanitized, usually with sulphite, and is innoculated with
a domesticated yeast; occasionally, the must is allowed to ferment from
the wild yeasts found on grapeskins, though this method can be
unreliable, may allow for the growth of undesireable bacteria and/or
may produce off flavours and/or odours.

- The wine is racked part way through the process to a closed vessel to
complete fermentation. This is done to avoid contamination and
oxidation that would be possible during the slow fermentation of this
period (and therefore low production of a CO2 blanket over the wine to
protect it from such).

- The wine may or may not be stabilized to prevent further fermentation
and contamination. High alcoholic content and a low pH may help in
deciding whether or not to stabilize as these usually present an
environment noxious to many microorganisms; another consideration may
be an allergy to sulphite.

- The wine is allowed to clear either naturally or with the aid of
fining agents, and may be further racked off the lees to avoid foul
smells and tastes developing from the lees when they begin to decompose.

- The wine may be bulk aged before or after filtering and before
bottling.

G04. YEAST

Here's a list of different kinds of yeast often used with different
kinds of wine. Ask your dealer for further recommendations, or visit
http://www.lallemand.com/

Epernay 2

Slow fermenter; leaves a delicate, perfumey aroma without tropical
overtones of UCD 594, and a smooth, fruity flavour. Temperature should
be kept cool to preserve fruitiness. Good for whites and fruits. May
have trouble going to dryness if used with too-cold or nutrient poor
wines (like Chardonnay). Sometimes used for Pinot Noir. Foams very
little.

California Champagne, UCD 505

Flocculates superbly, leaving large chunks if left to settle
undisturbed. White wines have a simple, clean, yeasty quality similar
to champagne. Recommended for sparkling wines and very aromatic fruits.

Fermivin

Very fast and vigourous fermenter. Good for stuck fermentations. Never
use if you want to leave some residual sugar. Provides clean, varietal
wines. Often used for Cabernet.

Montrachet

Can produce varied results. When good, it's very, very good. When bad,
it's very, very bad. Never use if fruit has been recently dusted with
sulphur. Has a tendency to product H2S. Starts fast, attaining a very
high temperature, then slows and sometimes sticks if stressed. Very
good for reds and full bodied whites that need a hot fermentation.
Flavours are full and complex and intense in colour.

Beaujolais

Intended for carbonic maceration of fresh, fruity red wine. Ferments
strongly but leaves a grapey sort of fruitiness.

Pasteur Champagne

An all purpose white wine yeast sometimes used for reds as well.
Usually a fast, complete fermentation. Do not use for slow
fermentations needing residual sugar. Flavours are clean and pleasant
while body and complexity are not emphasized. Sometimes used for stuck
fermentations. Despite the name, it is not used for sparkling wines.

Prise de Mousse

Ferments evenly and usually goes to completion. Clean, slightly yeasty
aroma does not interfere with varietal flavours. Used for both reds and
whites.

Assmanshausen

Slow fermentation rate with an austere fruitiness. Wines are spicy,
complex, with medium body and dark colour. Often preferred for Pinot
Noir. Sometimes needs balancing with oak ageing.

Beerenauslese

Used for grapes infected with botrytis. It intensifies the
apricot/honey flavours produced by the mould.

Chanson

Ferments evenly, low H2S production, floculates well, makes compact
lees. Flavours are refined and elegant with emphasis on varietal fruit.
Often used for Chardonnay. Prone to sticking in nutrient-poor musts.

Etoile

Usually used as a tirage yeast but could be used for innoculating the
cuvee in sparkling wines as well. Has subdued yeastiness with crispness.

Pasteur Red

Very popular for reds. Fast, strong fermenter used for full bodied
reds. Yields wines that are complex with cabernet style concentration
of fruit and colour.

Pasteur White

Intended for dry, crisp, white wines. The yeast provides complexity
instead of fruitiness emphasizing acidity. Sensitive to sudden
chilling. Foams spectacularly.

Steinberg

Produces a distinctive, flowery, complex combination of scents when
fermented cool. Slows with sudden chilling but usually completes. Good
for riesling and other German style wines.

UCD 594

Starts very slowly and ferments evenly. Fermentation temperature does
not change much nor is activity that apparent. Provides a highly
aromatic character called 'fruit salad' or tropical flavour. Not
generally used in reds. Sensitive to SO2. May produce excess H2S if
sulphur dust is on the fruit.

Lalvin K1-1118

Champagne yeast (Saccharomycetes Bayanus) High alcohol tolerant, clean
fermenting yeast. High sulphite tolerance. Will ferment dry. Good for
champagnes, stuck ferments, particularly in a high alcohol and/or high
sugar wine. A "killer strain", it excretes enzymes which are noxious to
other yeasts. Also typically used to innoculate a still, sulphited,
fined and filtered but unsorbated wine ready for champagning.

Lalvin K1-1116

Saccharomycetes Ceriviceae. General purpose mid to high alcohol tolerant
"killer yeast" good for innoculating fresh juices which may contain wild
strains of yeast, particularly under conditions of sulphite-free
fermentation and/or to innoculate an spontaneously fermenting must.

Some suggestions (depending on styles)

White wines

Chardonnay (regular): Chanson, Prise de Mousse
Chardonnay (heavy): Montrachet
Chenin Blanc: UCD 594, Epernay 2
Gewurztraminer & Riesling (young/fresh): Epernay 2
Gewurztraminer & Riesling (complex): Steinberg
Muscat: UCD 594 or any white wine yeast
Sauvignon Blanc: Chanson, Pasteur White, Prise de Mousse
Semillon: Chanson, Pasteur Champagne

Red Wines

Cabernet (regular): Pasteur Red
Cabernet (other): Pasteur Champagne, Montrachet, Prise de Mousse
Merlot: Pasteur Red, Assmanshausen
Merlot (for blending): Epernay 2, Beaujolais, Assmanshausen
Gamay: Beaujolais
Petit Sirah: Doesn't matter
Pinot Noir (light): Beaujolais
Pinot Noir (regular): Assmanshausen
White Zin: Epernay 2, Prise de Mousse
Zinfandel, claret style: Pasteur Red
Zinfandel, fruity: Prise de Mousse
Zinfandel, heavy: Montrachet
Zinfandel, over 25 brix: Fermivin

French/American hybrids

Aurora: Epernay 2
Cayuga: Chanson, Prise de Mousse
Red fruity (Chelois, Foch, etc): Epernay 2, Beaujolais
Red full bodied (Baco, Chambourcin, etc): Pasteur Red, Fermivin,
  Assmanshausen
Seyval/Vidal Blanc (dry): Chanson, Prise de Mousse
Seyval/Vidal Blanc (sweet): Epernay 2

Special types

Blanc de noirs and Rose: Epernay 2, Prise de Mousse
Carbonic Maceration: Beaujolais
Late Harvest (Botrytis): Beerenauslese, Steinberg
Port: Pasteur Champagne
Sparkling (cuvee): Eperney 2, Prise de Mousse, Pasteur Champagne
Sparkling (tirage): Etoile, Calif Champagne, Prise de Mousse
Stuck fermentations: Fermivin, Pasteur Champagne

Non Grape wines

Apples: Epernay 2, Chanson
Berry, Cherry: Pasteur Red, Beaujolais
Peach, pear, apricot, plum: Epernay 2, C. Champ, Prise de Mousse
Other: Epernay 2

G05. POSSIBLE INGREDIENTS

Besides the basic grape juice that most winemakers use, the following
is a non-exhaustive list of possible additives or even bases for your
wine.

Honey, Sugar (sucrose -- white table sugar), Corn Syrup (glucose) (most
commercial corn syrup has vanilla added), Corn Sugar (dextrose), Fruit
(dried or fresh), Fruit Juices (can be concentrate, but no
preservatives: Sorbate is often mentioned in small print even in "100%
juice"), Molasses, Maple syrup, Acid blend, Citric acid (Vitamin C, you
can use lemon or orange juice), Tannin (can be purchased), Yeast
Nutrient (you can boil yeast from previous batch for this, but
commercial nutrients work best), Spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger,
etc), Pectic Enzyme (needed for fresh fruit pulp, as some fruit juices
(pear and apple notably) require this to clear).

G06. BTW, CAN I USE JAM?

In principle, you could. Recipes you may come across for jam wines may
call for pectin-free jams -- something rather rare unless you make the
jam yourself and don't add pectin. Fruit jams naturally will contain
pectin from the fruit anyway. Further, the jam need not be pectin-free
to work -- that's what pectic enzyme is used for.

The big questions is, though, WHY? If you make the jam yourself, why
not just make the wine directly? If it's old jam, it's probably
oxidized and not appropriate for winemaking (and if opened, probably
contaminated too.) It would take about twice as much pectic enzyme to
break down the extra pectin added to the jam.

Expect fair wine only, at best, from this method.

G07. THE RECIPE CALLS FOR TANNIN. WHAT'S THE CONVERSION DRY TO LIQUID?

The conversion is 1/4 teaspoon dry tannin equals 0.338140227 fluid
ounces. This is about half a gram dry tannin to 10 millilitres liquid.

G08. WHAT EQUIPMENT IS REQUIRED

Standard Kit (all necessary):

- 6.5 imperial gallon bucket (7.74 USG; 29.25 litres)
- 5 imperial gallon carboy (6 USG; 23 litres)
- plastic spoon
- airlock & bung
- sheet of plastic
- sulphite

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