E. C. Kraus
HOME WINE MAKING NEWSLETTER

Issue Number 12

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*About This Newsletter*

The E. C. Kraus Home Wine Making Newsletter is a FREE publication
that covers issues and topics of general interest to the home
winemaker. You may pass this newsletter on to friends and others,
as long as it is used in its entirety.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

* 5 Fundamentals To Keep Your Wine Making On Track
    - Be Sanitary
    - Start With A Sound Recipe
    - Use A Hydrometer
    - Control Your Fermentation Temperatures
    - Keep Air Exposure To A Minimum
* Winemaker's Glossary
* New Wine Making Catalog Is In The Mail Now
    - New Legacy Wine Ingredient Kits
    - New Curved Rack Tube Sizes
    - New County Fair Fruit Bases
    - Over 100 Wine Making Juices
* Wine Making Quick Tips
* Additional Home Wine Making Information

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5 FUNDAMENTALS

To Keep Your Wine Making On Track

Not once have I ever heard a winemaker say, "I don't care how my
wine turns out, as long as I can drink it." On the contrary, home
winemakers generally seem to be more in tune with obtaining
perfection than just obtaining passable.

Wine making is a hobby that seems to bring out a yearning in
people to produce the best wine they can--to create a wine worthy
of recognition. And often winemakers will go to great lengths in
their quest to create such a wine.

With some home wine makers, every little detail of the wine
making process is analyzed and scrutinized with great care. The
selection of wine yeast to be used will be thought over again and
again. "Is my tap water okay, or should I get bottled water from
the store", they'll think to themselves. "And if I do buy bottled
water from the store, which brand is best?"

Some details are worthy of attention. Some are just simply tom-
foolery. But the biggest point to make here is that too much
attention given to too many details can often fuzzy-up the focus
of what matters the most when making a wine.

Too many times I've talked to a home wine maker whose thoughts
were being consumed with a minute detail only to find out that
they were overlooking some key wine making fundamentals.

With that in mind, here is a list of five things that you should
focus on first and foremost when making your own wine at home,
particularly if you are just getting started.

These are the issues that matter the most, but sometimes get lost
in the clutter of fine details that spring up here and there when
learning about wine making for the first time. Concentrate on
these key points and your wine making efforts will be consist-
ently rewarded with exceptional wine.


1. Be Sanitary.

Being sanitary and being clean are two different things. To keep
things "clean" is to wash the grime and grit off the equipment
and bottles--much like you would do when you wash dishes.

But being sanitary requires that you go a step further. Sanitiz-
ing solutions such as Sodium Bisulfite, CleanPro SDH or B-Brite
must be employed in order to eliminate wild mold, bacteria and
other micro-organisms that can be hiding on your equipment even
after it has been washed.

Keeping these "little nasties" under control will provide for a
faster, healthier fermentation. And will greatly enhance the
ability of your wine to stay fresh and fruity tasting for years
while being stored in the wine bottle.

There is no reason to become obsessed with sanitation. Just
practicing it and being aware of its necessity is enough.

For more information about the cleaners we offer go to:
Equipment Sanitizers & Cleaners


2. Start With A Sound Recipe.

Recipes come in many shapes and sizes--from clippings found in
the folds of an old cookbook, to your neighbors recollection of
what he saw his grandpa do when he was watching as a child. Some
are fine. Some are simply a "recipe for failure". If you have a
recipe from a questionable source, it might be worth your effort
to investigate a little further.

There are many instructional books available on wine making that
also include recipes for producing many types of wine. One that
comes to mind is the book, "First Steps In Winemaking". The first
60 pages for the most part goes through the wine making process.
The remaining pages include about 60 different wine making
recipes.

This book is available separately on our web site and it is also
included in our beginner Winemaker's Necessities Box at the
following links:

First Steps In Winemaking

SunCal Necessities Box

If you are making wine from one of our concentrated wine making
juices, a dependable recipe is already included with it. These
concentrates are a good way to get your feet wet just for that
reason. Not to mention the fact that they are easier to deal with
than processing fresh fruit and they are available all throughout
the year.

We also have several recipes on our web site at the following
link:
Wine Making Recipes


3. Use A Hydrometer.

A hydrometer is as important to a winemaker as a compass is to a
navigator. Without a hydrometer it is impossible to get a handle
on which way your fermentation is headed.

The hydrometer is simply a long glass cylinder with a weight at
one end. You can take readings with it by seeing how high or low
it floats in your juice.

What the hydrometer can do for you is two-fold. First, it allows
you to track the progress of your fermentation by taking readings
throughout the fermentation.

Secondly, it can tell you what the alcohol percentage of your
finished wine is by taking a reading before fermentation and
another one after fermentation has ended and then comparing the
two.

To learn more about hydrometers, we have two articles on our web
site to help you out a little more. The first one is titled,
"Getting To Know Your Hydrometer". It covers the general use of
hydrometers and can be viewed at the following link:
"Getting To Know Your Hydrometer"

The second article is titled, "Hydrometer Scales And What They
Mean". This article gives you a simple understanding of how to
use the different scales you will find on a typical wine making
hydrometer. It can be viewed at the following link:
"Hydrometer Scales And What They Mean"

To learn more about the hydrometers we offer go to:
Hydrometers


4. Control Your Fermentation Temperature.

The number one reason for a fermentation to stop in mid-stream or
for a fermentation to not start at all is because of improper
temperature. Yeast is very sensitive to temperature. It is
important that your fermentation temperatures stay between 70 and
75 degrees for a sound fermentation.

To help put the temperature issue into better perspective, a
fermentation at 75 degrees will ferment more than twice as fast
as a fermentation at 70 degrees.

It is also important to note that a fermentation at 65 degrees
may ferment very, very slow at best, but more than likely it will
not ferment at all. A fermentation at 80 degrees will ferment
very, very fast, but the flavor of the alcohol is usually
considered inferior.

To warm of a fermentation temperature also entices unwanted
micro-organisms to multiply more readily which can eventually
result in off-flavors or in extreme cases a complete spoilage of
your wine.

If you are unsure as to what fermentation temperatures you are
encountering, you might want to invest in a thermometer that is
designed to take fermentation readings. To see the thermometers
we offer for wine making go to the following link:
Thermometers

For a list of other common factors that may hinder a fermentation
see the article, "Top Ten Reasons For Fermentation Failure"
listed on our web site at the following link:
"Top 10 Reasons For Fermentation Failure"


5. Keep Air Exposure To A Minimum.

When a wine is exposed to too much air in the coarse of its life-
time, it will show symptoms of oxidation. A white wine will turn
slightly amber, and a red wine will turn slightly orange or
brown. Also, its flavor will take on a slight caramel to raisin
character.

During fermentation air exposure is not an issue. The CO2 gases
that are produced by the fermentation protects the wine from most
oxidative forces.

But once the fermentation has finished, care should be given to
see that excessive amounts of air does not come in contact with
the wine for extended periods of time.

Also, splashing the wine when transferring it from one container
to the next should be kept to a minimum. The same goes for when
you bottle your wine. When a wine is splashed it temporarily
increases its surface area by several hundred times causing the
wine to act like a sponge, soaking up air at an extremely
accelerated pace.

This is one of the reasons why it is recommended that SO2 gases
in the form of Sodium Bisulfite or Campden Tablets be added to a
finished wine after each time it is transferred. This gas
displace the oxygen that may have been absorbed by the wine in
the siphoning or bottling process.

The recommended dosage is either 1 Campden Tablet or 1/16
teaspoon of Sodium Bisulfite for each two gallons of wine. This
dosage should only be added if the wine has stopped fermenting.
Wines that are still in the process of fermenting are still being
protected from oxygen by the fermentation's CO2 gases.

To learn more about keeping oxidation under control in your
wines, see the article on our web site titled, "Controlling
Oxidation In Your Wines". It covers in more detail the general
issues surrounding oxidation. It can be viewed at the following
link:
"Controlling Oxidation In Your Wines"

For more information about the Campden Tablets and Sodium
Bisulfite we offer go to:

Campden Tablets

Sodium Bisulfite


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WINEMAKER'S GLOSSARY

LEES:
A term used by winemakers for the layer of sediment that occurs
on the bottom of a vessel during fermentation. It is usually made
up of yeast cells, precipitated salts and some fruit particles.

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NEW WINE MAKING CATALOG IS IN THE MAIL NOW

Watch for the E. C. Kraus Catalog number 91 that's in the mail
right now. In this issue there are several new items that have
been added. Here is a list of some of them:


- New Legacy Wine Ingredient Kits

These are 16 liter blends of pure grape juice and grape juice
concentrates from Europe. A hefty 16 liters - That's over 4
gallons of pure juice and concentrate.

They make 30 bottles (6 gallons) of wine and come with very clear
directions. They also have included with them all the ingredients
that are called for - individually pre-measured and ready to go.

You have a choice of 8 different varietal grapes: Merlot, Barolo,
Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Trebbiano
and Piesporter.

Legacy Premium Blends are listed on page 3 of our newest catalog
or you can go to our web site at the following link:
Legacy Premium Blends


- New Curved Rack Tube Sizes

We have added two new lengths to our curved racking tube. We
still have our standard length Racking Tube of 21 inches which is
suitable for most containers 3 to 6 gallons in size. But we now
also have a short 12 inch Racking Tube that works great for
gallon jugs. And, a 27 inch Racking Tube that is perfect for
larger containers 6 to 15 gallons in size.

Racking Tubes are rigid pieces of clear tubing that you attach to
the end of a siphoning hose. The Racking Tube acts as a wand that
allows you to point where you are siphoning from. Very handy for
leaving sediment behind when siphoning.

They are listed on page 16 of our newest catalog or you can go to
our web site at the following link:
Racking Tubes

- New County Fair Fruit Bases

At the request of many of our customers, we have added to our
line of County Fair fruit bases Apricot and Blueberry. This
brings our total selection of fruit bases up to eleven.

Our County Fair fruit bases are cans of crushed fruit that have
had their water content reduced. All of the fruit varieties used
have been specially selected and prepared for making wine.

The County Fair Fruit Bases are listed on page 5 of our newest
catalog or you can go to our web site at the following link:
County Fair Fruit Bases


- Over 100 Wine Making Juices

We are proud to announce that we now offer over 100 different
juices for making wine. In seven different brands that offer you
everything from "A"pricot to "Z"infandel.

Including popular favorites such as Chardonnay, Chianti, Black-
berry and Cabernet Sauvignon. And hard-to-find types such as
Valpolicella, Lambrusco and Gooseberry.

And remember, when you order these wine making juices two or more
at a time, in any combination you will automatically receive a
10% discount off of them.


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*WINEMAKING QUICK TIPS*

-- Most home wine making type corkers require that the corks be
slightly softened before they are used. Corks can be easily
softened by steeping them is steaming water. This methods works
fairly well for making the cork spongy and more pliable.

It is important to note here that the corks should not be steeped
any longer than absolutely necessary to accommodate the
particular model of corker you have. When corks are steamed for
too long of a period it causes them to become brittle later on
and disintegrate more rapidly while in the wine bottle. In most
cases 5 minutes of steeping in steaming water is sufficient, but
you may be able to get by with less time depending on the ability
of the corker you have.

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-- Pre starting your yeast in a yeast starter mixture ahead of
time will allow for a healthier, faster fermentation. A yeast
starter is typically made up of two things: nutrients, such as
vitamins and proteins, and yeast foods--usually a sugar of some
type.

These items are mixed together in either water or juice. Usually
a pint mixture is adequate for 5 or 6 gallon batch. The yeast is
added to the starter and allowed to ferment for 1 to 2 days. Once
the foaming has peaked, the starter is then added to the must.
For more information about the yeast starter we offer go to:
Winemaker's Quick Starter


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*ADDITIONAL HOME WINE MAKING INFORMATION*

- If you are new to home wine making and would like more general
information about making wine at home, see the following article

listed on our web site:

 "How To Get Started Making Wine"

- For a listing of our home wine making recipes, go to our

"Home Wine Making Recipe Page"

- Also, for a general overview of the home wine making process
see the article

 "The Seven Easy Steps To Making Wine"


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*VISIT US ON-LINE*

Visit our web site at www.eckraus.com to view the complete line
of products we have to offer. All products are listed with
detailed information so you can learn as you shop. Purchase
products on-line with our completely secure shopping cart. Never
has shopping on the web been more safe.

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*NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES*

If you would like to look through previous issues of this
newsletter go to our:

"Home Wine Making Articles Page"

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* The E. C. Kraus Home Wine Making Newsletter is produced by:

E. C. Kraus
Home Wine & Beer Making Supplies
733 S. Northern Blvd.
Post Office Box 7850
Independence, MO 64054
Phone: 1-800-383-1906
Fax: 1-816-254-7051

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* Copyright(c) 2003, Kraus Sales, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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