My first brew- youngs wine kit

[hypnophil]

Hi, i have after much deliberation bought a youngs chardonnay wine kit, the one with the tubs etc.. it says it is the smallest re-usable wine kit.
I have done the first part tonight and put it in my bedroom to ferment, i have not made wine before and am a bit dubious due to people telling me of their paintstripper stories!!
I thought it was a good idea to buy because i would have a small kit for future wine making.
Have any of you used this kit and is it useful for future winemaking?
Does it stink? and i have it in the window, so do i need to close the curtains to stop it getting too hot?
My mind is a bit boggled as i dont know any of the terms used from searching on here.
I will put some pics of the initial stage on soon but any advice is very welcome!

[SarzWix]

It wants to be in the warm to begin with, then when it's finished fermenting (bubbling), put it somewhere cool to help it to clear (sediment dropping down to the bottom of the demi-john leaving the wine clear not cloudy).

If none of the components of the kit are damaged, it should be re-usable afterwards.

[craiglockley]

Welcome to the world of home brewing, hypnophil. I prefer to make beer myself but either way it's a very rewarding hobby. I'm waiting to get my tomato plants outside to make room for my beer tub in the utility room!

[podfather]

first time for wine this year, have rhubarb on the go and yesterday got a white wine kit, hopefully will not turn into paintstripper looking forward to others over the next few months

[hypnophil]

thanks sarzwiz.
Its bubbling away today, was so tempted to take the lid off and have a look but dont want it to spoil.
Why will this only take a week when others take much longer? is it to do with the concentrate?

[shirlthegirl43]

You have chosen well for your first kit. I still buy the 30 bottle kit for a nice, quick, easy everyday drinking wine. Lots of my friends don't even realise it is homebrew!

It won't smell, won't make any noise, and so long as you are careful not to let any flies in - you can peek whenever you like. Don't worry about moving it - it only takes a week (I have had it finished and bottled in 6 days twice) and you would be hard pushed to make it go wrong (so long as the flies stay out).

Enjoy your first experience in brewing and look forward to enjoying it. Just make sure you de-gass it properly or it will taste odd.

[Brewer-again]

wine kit

Welcome to a very good source of informaton on homebrewing. I hope you will enjoy your wine kit and that it will lead you to make your own fruit, veg and flower wines.

Small point but brews are best kept out of the sun, it will actually bleach dark wines. For best and quickest brewing you want a warm steady temperature, in the sun it will go up and down. If you don't have the room then don't worry and leave it where it is.

If you read the pages here and post your questions here you should never have that sort of problem.

[hypnophil]

Thanks shirl and brewer,
I will look up de-gassing now,
not long to go, and its my birthday on friday!!! woo-hoo

[shirlthegirl43]

It should tell you about the de-gassing in the wine kit instructions.

[hypnophil]

yeah it does, siphon to a different container six times at least!
I read through the instructions briefly and then made it thinking i would have time to look up the next stage during the week.
I'm quite excited, had a little look earlier and smelling alcoholly now and quite pleasant, i didn't put in the full oak chips sachet because i don't like wine too oaky.
Looking forward to getting recipes off here for some more!
Still not sure why some take a week and others take months tho, must do a bit more swotting.
Thanks for your help so far.

[shirlthegirl43]

I didn't put the full oak in the first one I did either, now I put the lot in as it gives a little more body but without the oaked chardonnay taste (which I dislike). Don't worry about siphoning from container to container, did you get two buckets in the kit? If so, slosh (without spilling) the wine from one to the other a few times, then go on to the adding the finings bit. If you only got one bucket, then rinse your biggest pot out with boiling water and use that instead.

When I do the 5 gallon kit, I just stir it a lot and that knocks the fizz out fine.

[hypnophil]

Thanks Shirl,
I did get two buckets so will give it a go on saturday, day 6 is friday but i will probably be busy. will let you know what its like on sunday if all goes to plan!!

[lez]

well done I used to make gallons of wine. I still have all the equipment but it's finding time to play. I will recommend a book to you though called first steps in wine making by JJ Berry. loads of recipes and very informative. I have even made pineapple wine from unsweetened juice. never got to the bottle as oh loved it. I keep saying I will start again but keep putting it off. I took a couple of bottles of blackcurrant wine to a mates once. we didn't drink it all so he said he would hold on to it, no probs only he put in the laundry room, as he had a hotel, well with the tempreture fluctuations the bottle popped and stained all the nice fresh laundered linen in the room, he was well impressed but I had to laugh. the staining did not come out either. another time I left a new brew of in the demis on the living room table. white ceilings we had, any way the air locks blocked during the night and pressure biuld up deposited the lees all over. I did a quick exit for work and claimed I hadn't seen it. boy I was in some lumber. She had only just painted it. then there was the time, I ramble on. anyone else had any mishaps?. its all part of the fun. don't seem like it at the time but now. giggle giggle. good luck all.

[hypnophil]

I think it's stopped fizzing now but will leave it another day, smells quite strong tho.
May have a little taste when i de-gas it, now i know what that means LOL

[shirlthegirl43]

Sounding good!

I think I am going to treat myself to a kit tomorrow.