Step 4: ..... then let it stand until fermentation ceases & the wine clears, usually in about three months.
After a couple of weeks or so, the blackcurrant wine has stopped noticeably bubbling through the airlock and just sits not doing much, so fermentation has pretty much finished.
It's time to take it from its nice warm spot by the radiator - where I keep tripping over it - and up into the attic room out of the way in order to clear. CJJ doesn't say to do this here, but elsewhere in the book he says to move wines to a cool place to clear, so that's good enough for me.
I've angled the demijohn (by resting the back edge on a handy inch-thick notepad) so that as the sediment settles, it will all be piled up in the corner rather than a thin layer over the whole bottom area, which will mean it'll be easier to siphon off more of the good stuff later.
When I do siphon off the wine from the sediment, I'll make the level back up with the extra in the milk carton, but there is surprisingly little sediment which means that I might not need all of the extra.
Meanwhile, I can forget about it for a few weeks until it looks clear.
After a couple of weeks or so, the blackcurrant wine has stopped noticeably bubbling through the airlock and just sits not doing much, so fermentation has pretty much finished.
It's time to take it from its nice warm spot by the radiator - where I keep tripping over it - and up into the attic room out of the way in order to clear. CJJ doesn't say to do this here, but elsewhere in the book he says to move wines to a cool place to clear, so that's good enough for me.I've angled the demijohn (by resting the back edge on a handy inch-thick notepad) so that as the sediment settles, it will all be piled up in the corner rather than a thin layer over the whole bottom area, which will mean it'll be easier to siphon off more of the good stuff later.
When I do siphon off the wine from the sediment, I'll make the level back up with the extra in the milk carton, but there is surprisingly little sediment which means that I might not need all of the extra.
Meanwhile, I can forget about it for a few weeks until it looks clear.
A gazillion years ago when I made wine I seem to remember leaving the demijohns to clear somewhere cool.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a wine-making shop nearby or do you get supplies online? Apart from a little bit of stuff in Wilko's, there doesn't seem to be much viticulture in West Cumbria {gg} so I'm guessing buying online would be the best bet for me?
Yes, Bilbo, CJJ recommends putting wine in a cooler place to clear, so I do - no idea of the science behind it though.
ReplyDeleteThere is a good brew shop about five miles away (looking at your neck of the woods your nearest seems to be in Barrow!) - but the good news for you is that there has only been one item that I haven't been able to get hold of in Wilko, and had to go to the brewshop for.
Thanks Hazel, reassuring to know that Wilko has pretty much everything I will need. Barrow isn't exactly "near"
ReplyDeletePS: Why do comments on some of your posts appear immediately and others (this post) say 'visible after approval'? Blogger been on the cooking sherry again?
ReplyDeleteNot blogger on this occasion, Bilbo - I have the settings so that any comments on posts over 7 days old needing modding - I did it so that older comments wouldn't slip through without me seeing them.
ReplyDeleteTotally unnecessary now I come to think about at as all posts are emailed to me anyway...
Makes sense when disorganised Hobbits don't always read posts in a timely fashion ...
ReplyDelete