E. C. Kraus
HOME WINE MAKING NEWSLETTER

Issue Number 32

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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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*GET STARTED NOW!*

To get a jump-start into the world of winemaking, take a look at
the following information listed on our web site:

"How To Get Started"

This article will quickly get you the essential information you
need to become a successful home winemaker. Whether you want to
make wine from your own fresh fruits or from packaged grape
juices we offer from around the world, this is the place to
start.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

* Get More Out Of Your Wine Making!
* Where To Start: A Guide For The Overwhelmed Beginner
    - Putting Things In Perspective
    - Other Resources For The Beginner
* Winemaker's Glossary: Yeast Nutrient
* Letter: Have Crushed Grapes! Now What?
* Just For Grins
* Top Ten Reasons For Fermentation Failure
* Wine Making Quick Tip
* Additional Home Winemaking Information

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*GET MORE OUT OF YOUR WINE MAKING!*

Looking for ways to improve your winemaking efforts? We have the
solutions. At E. C. Kraus we are dedicated to making your wine
making experiences successful and enjoyable ones.

Our web site features recipes, articles and valuable bits of
information that will make your home wine making adventures a fun
and fascinating experience.

You can also place your orders on-line. It's safe, secure and
simple. Each item is listed, in detail with pictures and in-depth
information, so you can learn while you shop.

So, take a look! See what it's all about! Visit our web site and
experience all that E. C. Kraus has to offer. Our web address is:

http://www.ECKraus.com

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*WHERE TO START!*
*A Clear Guide For The Overwhelmed Beginner*

I received an email not too long ago that rather disturbed me. It
was from an individual who had been pondering about whether or
not they wanted to start making their own wine. They had just
been to our web site, looking through the endless selection of
supplies, equipment, ingredients, recipes and such.

The email stated that they had been thinking about making wine
off and on for several months, but after finding our site and
looking through it they now felt very "intimidated" by the whole
idea. "So many different kinds of ingredients, yeasts,
containers, testers.... I just feel overwhelmed." But, the part
of the email that really got me is when they said, "I don't think
this is something I really want to do".

As you might imagine my heart just sank with those words. It has
always been our intentions to promote home wine making, not be a
reason for someone to shy away.

But, after I thought about it I was able to see how the
first-time visitor might be "intimidated". Without a doubt there
are a lot of different products, a lot of little pieces to what
seems to be--for the beginning winemaker, anyway--a very big
puzzle.

If the email mentioned above seems like something you could have
written--in other words, you're thinking about making wine but
feel a little overwhelmed--then this article's for you.


-- Putting Things In Perspective

- The Ingredients:
Here's something to start out with that will eliminate a lot of
the confusion right from the start. A lot of the products we
offer are seldom needed to make wine. This statement may seem a
little counterproductive for someone trying to sell wine making
supplies, but it's true.

For example, the following items: Calcium Carbonate, Acid
Reducing Crystals, Lactose, Magnesium Sulfate, Instant Anti-Foam,
Ascorbic Acid, and many others, are ingredients that are used in
unique situations, not all the time. And, they are certainly not
items that you need to concern yourself with as a beginner.

There are just a hand-full of ingredients that are used on a
regular basis when making wine. They are: Acid Blend, Yeast
Nutrient, Yeast Energizer, Tannin, Pectic Enzyme, Campden Tablets
and Yeast. These seven simple ingredients will allow you to make
95 percent of the wines you could ever imagine making.

Secondly, we do offer what would be considered *ingredient kits.*
These are packages that contain all of the ingredients needed to
produce 6 gallons of wine. They come with the juice, the yeast,
nutrients... the same type of ingredients as mentioned above--all
pre-measured in separate little packets.

Just follow the directions that comes with the ingredient kit and
put in the individual packets as they are called for. It's that
simple. They come with directions that are clear, complete and
concise. They assume you know absolutely nothing about what you
are doing and that it's the first time you have ever made wine.

While these ingredient kits are designed in such a way to be easy
and simple to use, their quality is superior enough to keep even
the old pros coming back to them. The wines they produce are
simply remarkable and provide quite a surprise for the
unsuspecting, first-time winemaker.

Currently, we offer 63 different ingredient kits across four
different brands. So, selection is not an issue. Everything from
a hearty Cabernet Sauvignon to a crisp Peach Chardonnay is
available. The four brands are as follows:

California Connoisseur:
These ingredient kits include packaged juices from grapes grown
in California such as: Zinfandel, Beaujolais, Merlot and so on.

European Select:
These ingredient kits include packaged juices from grapes grown
throughout various regions in Europe. They include such types as:
Cabernet, Pinot Grigio, Chianti and so on.

Legacy:
These ingredient kits are similar to the European Select kits in
the sense that the grapes are grown throughout Europe. But, the
Legacy kits come in a much larger package that consist of a blend
of pure juice and concentrate.

Niagara Mist:
This is a wonderful line of ingredient kits that produce grape
and fruit blends. Some examples are, Strawberry-Zinfandel or
Cranberry-Shiraz.


- The Equipment:
When it comes to the equipment you will need, we have:
containers, hydrometers, jugs, hoses, brushes... it goes on and
on. And, again the issue for the beginning winemaker is the same,
"What do I need if I'm just starting out?"

A simple way to answer this question is to look at our starter
kits. They include not only the ingredients but the equipment as
well. We call them "Necessities Boxes". This is because we don't
try to sell you everything under the sun, but rather the
essentials that you will need--the necessities.

We have three different Necessities Boxes to choose from,
depending on what you want to accomplish. They are as follows:

California Connoisseur Necessities Box:
This is a collection of equipment that would be appropriate for
making wine with any of our boxed ingredient kits mentioned
earlier. We call it the "California Connoisseur" Necessities Box
because it includes your choice of ingredient kit from that
particular brand. But, it will also work just as well later on
for any of the other ingredient kits mentioned earlier in this
article.

SunCal Necessities Box:
This kit has all the the items necessary to make wine using our
SunCal juices. These juices are not ingredient kits, but rather,
cans of concentrate juice on its own. The SunCal Necessities Box
provides the additional ingredient and equipment necessary to
make wine using these juices.

Your Fruit! Necessities Box:
If packaged juices is not how you are looking to make wine, then
we have the "Your Fruit! Necessities Box". It contains all the
equipment and ingredients you will need for making wine using
your own fruit. It has a recipe book with over 100 different wine
recipes: apricot, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, elderberry,
gooseberry, strawberry, to name a few.

Price Savings: What also makes these kits so attractive is that
all three are offered at a special, introductory price. This
represents a saving to you of 15% to 25% off the individual
prices.


-- Other Resources For The Beginner

Here is some other helpful information for the beginning
winemaker that will help to get you on the right track. You don't
necessarily need to read them all, but you might look at one or
two that seem interesting to you.

"Getting Started In Home Wine Making"

"The Hottest Selling Wine Making Juices Of 2003"

"Home Wine Making With Fruits"

"Five Fundamentals To Keeping Your Wine Making On Track"


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*WINEMAKER'S GLOSSARY*

YEAST NUTRIENT:
Also know as: Di-Ammonium Phosphate, DAP or Ammonium Salts. Added
to a must at the beginning of fermentation to provide additional
nutrition to the yeast. This helps to support a vigorous, healthy
fermentation which will lead to a wine that has a cleaner, more
distinct flavor and a bouquet that will have a more fruity
character.

As a general rule, the more water called for in a recipe, the
more the yeast benefits from the addition of Yeast Nutrient. The
reason behind this is because the nutritive resources of the
fruit in such a recipe are being diluted to deficient levels. The
more water added the less nutrition being provided naturally per
gallon of must.

But having said this, even wines made from wine grapes--where no
water is added to the recipe--are often treated with yeast
nutrient just the same. The logic behind this is that there is no
down-side, only potential benefits with such a practice.

-- For more information about the Yeast Nutrient we offer go to
the following link on our web site:

Yeast Nutrient

To read an article about wine making nutrients go to:

"A Few Words About Yeast Nutrient"

-- To see other winemaking glossary words, go to the following
link on our web site:

"Winemaker's Glossary"


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*LETTER: Have Crushed Grapes! Now What?*


Dear E. C. Kraus,

Someone went to Oregon and got a bunch of Pinot Noir grapes. (He
does this every year and sells to local people for making wine at
home.) I picked out 3 bins, totaling 180 lbs , of fresh clusters
of grapes. We ran them all through his crushing machine and put
them in the 2, 20 gallon containers I brought with me. That's
where it stands now.

T. Walsh
Washington State

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Dear Mr. Walsh,

First, you will want to check the juice with a hydrometer to see
if any additional sugar is needed. It is the sugars that turn
into alcohol during the fermentation. So, by controlling the
total sugars available to the yeast you are controlling the
ending alcohol level, whether they come from sugar you've added
or naturally from the grapes.

The potential alcohol scale on the hydrometer will tell you how
much alcohol can be made with the sugars that are currently in
the juice. With Pinot Noir you would like to see a potential
alcohol between 11 and 13 percent. Shooting for anything beyond
13 percent can only get you into trouble by way of stuck
fermentation and wouldn't be true to the style.

My guess is that no sugar will be needed with the Pinot Noir
grape and that you will have a reasonable reading without making
any adjustments. But, if sugar is needed, a general rule-of-thumb
is for every pound of sugar you add to 5 gallons, you will
increase the potential alcohol by 1 percent. Use this rule to
calculate how much sugar you need to add to the must to get from
point A to Point B on the potential alcohol scale of your
hydrometer.

For more information about using a hydrometer and understanding
its scales, see the two following articles listed on our web
site:

"Getting To Know Your Hydrometer"

"Hydrometer Scales And What They Mean"
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Next, you will want to check the acidity level of the juice. This
is done with an the aid of an *acid titration test kit* such as
the one at the following link:

Acid Test Kit

You will want to shoot for a reading of .60 to .65 percent
tartaric. This will all be explained in detail with the
directions that are provided with the acid test kit.

If the acidity is to low, you will want to add Acid Blend to
bring it up. The enclosed directions will also tell you how much
Acid Blend to add per gallon to get from point A to Point B on
the tartaric scale. If the acidity is to high, you will want to
dilute the juice with a sugar/water mixture. This mixture is
prepared by thoroughly dissolving 2-1/4 cups of sugar to every
gallon of water.

For more information about controlling acidity, see the following
article listed on our web site:

"Getting A Handle On Acidity"
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Once the above has been accomplished you will then want to add
Potassium Bisulfite or Campden Tablets--the tablet version of
Potassium Bisulfite. Use the dose as recommended on the
containers either comes in.

Let the juice stand for 24 hours. During this time the juice is
being sterilized by SO2 gas. All the wild molds, yeast, bacteria
and such are being destroyed.

During this waiting period you only want the juice to be covered
with no more than a light towel. This is to allow the SO2 gases
to dissipate into the air. If the container is sealed up
air-tight or with an air-lock this gas will remain in the juice,
killing the yeast you plan to add later.
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After the 24 hour waiting period:

Add Yeast Nutrient also known as DAP to the juice at the rate of
1 teaspoon per gallon of must.

Add wine yeast at the rate of 1 packet to every 5 gallons. The
yeast we recommend for this particular grape is Lalvin's RC-212.
You can find it at the following link:

Lalvin Yeast, Type RC-212
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Add pectic enzyme at the rate of 1 teaspoon for every 8 gallons.
Pectic enzyme helps in the break-down of the pulp and fiber of
the grape during the fermentation, so that more flavor and color
can be extracted from the grapes.
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Allow your primary fermentation to ferment for 4 to 7 days. Do
not use an air-lock during this time. Just simply cover the
opening of the primary fermenter with a light towel or similar.

It is important that the fermentation be able to breath during
this period of active fermentation. So, the primary fermenter
should have a large opening such as a bucket or similar.
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After 4 to 7 days you should have a Specific Gravity reading on
the hydrometer somewhere between 1.010 and 1.040. This is when
you will want to press the grapes and transfer them into a
secondary fermenter. The secondary fermenter should be sealed up
and equipped with an air-lock to allow the gases to escape.

We recommend our Tuff-Tanks because they can serve as both a
primary and secondary fermenter. They come with the air-lock and
also have a faucet located just off the bottom so you can
transfer your wine with little difficulty. You can find them
listed on our web site at the following link:

Tuff-Tanks

If you do not have a wine press just strain the must through a
straining cloth or a fermentation bag. With smaller amounts of
grapes you can get away with this, but when you get to where you
are making 40 or 50 gallons at a time, you will probably want to
invest in a wine press of some type.
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As A Side Note: With red grapes such as Pinot Noir, you will want
to press the grapes after the primary fermentation--unless a
*blush* wine is desired. But, if you were making wine from white
grapes you would normal want to press the same day you crush the
grapes.
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Once you have gotten the must into the secondary fermenter there
is not much for you to do except wait. The fermentation will need
to complete which could take anywhere from 1 day to 1
month--depending on how well the primary fermentation went. Then
the wine will need time to clear, which could take another few
days.

You will want to draw or siphon the wine off of the sediment
(racking) when the fermentation has completed and again when the
wine has completely cleared. This process is no different than if
you had made wine from packaged juices or any other fruit.

--Here are some other sources of information that may be of
interest to you:

"Fermentation 101"

"Top 10 Reasons For Fermentation Failure"

I hope this helps you out.

Best Wishes,
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus


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*JUST FOR GRINS*

A minister was completing a vigilant sermon on temperance. With
great expression he said, ''If I had all the beer in the world,
I'd take it and pour it into the river.'' With even greater
emphasis he said, ''And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd
take it and pour it into the river.'' And then finally, he said,
''And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour
it into the river.'' With the sermon complete, he then sat down.
The song leader stood and announced, ''For our closing song, let
us sing Hymn #432: 'Shall We Gather at the River.'''


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*TOP 10 REASONS FOR FERMENTATION FAILURE*

Reason #3
Improper Yeast Starting Method:

Many packets of yeast instruct the user to re-hydrate the yeast
in warm water for a few minutes before using it. Re-hydration is
just a fancy word for moistening the yeast.

When following these directions perfectly there are no problems,
but quite often we run into situations where the winemaker's
water temperature that was used for re-hydration was just a
little too warm or the yeast was left in the water for too long.

The recommended temperature on the packets of yeast we have seen
is 95 to 105 degrees F. for about 15 minutes. Believe me when I
say these directions give little room for error. For every minute
the yeast stays a 105 degrees a small portion of the yeast cells
are being destroyed. If the water is just a little hotter, say
115 degrees, then the yeast cells are being destroyed at an
alarming rate.

So what this means to the home winemaker is that if they
re-hydrate their yeast at too warm of a temperature, or if they
keep the yeast in the warm water for a longer period of time then
recommended, the cell count may become too low to support a
proper fermentation.

When preparing the water for re-hydration we recommend always
verifying the water's temperature with a thermometer before
adding the yeast, as well as tracking the amount of time the
yeast is to be in the water.

Secondly, we also recommend that you shoot for a temperature no
higher than 90 degrees And keeping the yeast in this water for no
longer than 10 minutes. The 90 degree temperature for 10 minutes
is plenty to complete the re-hydration process and will result in
the destruction of less yeast cells.

To be more frank, if the re-hydration process was skipped
entirely it would not be of great detriment to the wine. The
yeast would simply take a little longer to start fermenting.
Basically this means instead of seeing the first signs of
activity in 2 to 4 hour, without re-hydration it might take 4 to
8 hours.

-- To read about the other "Top 10 Reasons For Fermentation
Failure," go to the following link on our web site:

"Top Ten Reasons For Fermentation Failure"


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*WINE MAKING QUICK TIP*

-- It is possible to temporarily cut back the amount of water
called for in a wine recipe in order to accommodate a
fermentation vessel that's not quite large enough.

For example, if you have a wine kit or a recipe that makes 6
gallons, but your primary fermenter will only hold 6 gallons to
the brim, you can cut back on the water called for by 1/2 gallon
to allow for the foaming until it is time to transfer it to a
secondary fermenter. At that time the shorted water can be added
to the batch after it has been boiled and then cool down to room
temperature.

The maximum amount we recommend shorting the water in a given
batch is 1 gallon to every 5 or 6 gallons. This is assuming that
the shortage will be promptly made up when the wine is
transferred to the secondary fermenter.

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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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please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address
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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) 2004, Kraus Sales, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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