First WOW

[Markdon]

Started my first WOW on 14/02/14.

23L
7L white grape juice
2L grapefruit juice
4L apple juice
3800g sugar
5tsp tannin
1tsp lemon juice
10g elderflowers
OG 1.088

17/02/14 - 1.042, added 30g french oak chips
21/02/14 - 0.996

Very grapefruity and dry, but not unpleasant.

Quicker than i expected.

 

[the golden heap]

My first WOW went like a steam train made a hell of a mess, racked it, tastes very nice, although a lsigth vinegar smell which i have been assured is something to do with Co2. Cant wait for it to settle and clear

 

[wino2012]

:thumb:

2 grapefuit might be a bit powerful mind :

 

[Markdon]

Yeh its quite strong. Would half it at least next time.

Whats the next step? Campden into clean bucket and rack into that?

 

[Robbo]

If the wine has finished fermenting rack into a sanitised tub, de-gass ,stabilise and put the wine somewhere cool for it to clear unless you are going to use some kind of fining agent. once clear you can back sweeten to taste if you want or just bottle it dry.

 

[Markdon]

So rack, put lid on, shake for few mins, remove lid, fit lid, shake for few mins etc etc etc, then add crushed campden tablets, shake, air lock on, shed for few weeks, bottle when clear?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Rack onto a crushed campden tablet, cover neck with a clean hand shake release gas and do the same agin until you hardly hear the gas escaping when you remove your hand, add stabiliser and finings if you want it to clear quick.

I use a coat hanger degassing wand that fits in a drill and will do the job much faster without the effort, i followed this video to make one - http://youtu.be/SMwq3TpkqCE

 

[Markdon]

Ta. Is one crushed tablet enough for 23L?

Dont have any finings, can i rack and degass, and pop in shed? Get finings tomorrow?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Ta. Is one crushed tablet enough for 23L?

Dont have any finings, can i rack and degass, and pop in shed? Get finings tomorrow?

I forgot you are making 23l I would use 5 crushed campdens, you wont be covering that with your hand or shaking it :lol: you will have to use the big spoon and plenty of elbow grease method, if you have a drill make a degassing wand it really does make a lot of difference in time and effort.

Leaving it in the shed will be OK you can put the finings in tomorrow and the cool will help it clear, if you can get hold of Kwik Clear get some its the best i have used.

 

[Markdon]

Nah its ok, thats what i do before i pitch yeast, ive got a lid with no hole in, whack that on, turn it upside down and shake it around til i bust a blood vessel.

Will give it a go, and get some finings in tomorrow afternoon when i get to the hbs.

Cheers.

 

[Markdon]

Just kept shaking and releasing til it stopped hissing? Im doing a beaverdale sauv blanc kit alongside this for comparison, and the instructions for that say to add stabiliser, shake for 3-4mins then repeat 3 times a day for 3-4 days. Is that overkill or is that what i should be doing with both?

Thanks.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I wouldn't want to shake five gallons very often.

 

[Markdon]

Its a bit tiring tbh.

Burning off the calories though!

 

[Markdon]

Well busy bottling this, tastes not very good and still cloudy. If it tasted nicer i would have added more finings, but i really cant be arsed as i think i may have 30 bottles of not very good wine here.

The beaverdale kit i made at the same time is polar opposite, crystal clear and pretty palatable already. May have a look at a different recipe at a later date, but unless this matures into something drinkable i think i will stick to kits, turbo cider and ale.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

To be honest I am not surprised it does not taste nice, the wow recipes usually say to use an equal amount of each juice and you used 7 of wgj and 2 of the others, members have posted many times that grape juice on its own does not make nice wine, if you do try again make a gallon and use two juices only and not orange.