Free Joy of Home Wine Making by Terry A. Garey Page B

wine.
    DON’T FORGET TO WRITE DOWN THE PA!

    Water tension causes your reading to look higher than it really is. You want to look at where the water level is just to the sides of the stem. Otherwise you could be as much as one-half degree off. This is not really critical unless you are trying to decide if the fermentation is done, and then it is critical!
    T HERMOMETER
    Very useful; not totally essential. They don’t cost much. Get a cute little floating thermometer so you can tell how warm or cool your must is. This helps you make more accurate PA and SG readings (remember temperature of the must affects the reading),and it lets you know that the must has cooled down enough to add the yeast. It also helps you judge how warm the temperature is for your primary and secondary fermenting.
    As always, keep it clean! Sanitize the thermometer before putting it in any must or wine. Rinse it off immediately afterward, as well.
    S CALES
    Scales are indispensable in winemaking.
    A pound of sugar is roughly two cups. Easy to remember most of the time. However, it can get tricky when measuring out cups in practice and in your mind. The bigger the amount you are using, the more chance you will have of being off enough to create a result that is different from what you were expecting. Nothing like losing count in the middle of fifteen cups!
    Fruit is not conveniently shaped. Some fruits have more juice than others, and are thus heavier. One batch of four cups of peaches might well weigh more or less than the next. This is why I always specify the weight of the fruit to use.
    My winemaking life became much easier when I went out and bought a kitchen scale that can weigh items up to ten pounds. It cost fifteen dollars. I use it for cooking and canning, too. I highly recommend that you get one. A good hardware store or a good wine supply store will carry them. Don’t get the tiny twelve-ounce postal scale, unless you want to measure chemicals (or letters).
    M EASURING C UPS AND S POONS
    Use glass or plastic; avoid metal if you can. Try to keep your winemaking supplies separate from your cooking utensils. This is not so much out of concern about the poisonous aspects of any winemaking chemicals as about a strange roast beef or garlic flavor appearing in the wine.
    C HEMICAL J ARS and B OTTLES
    You need a pint or quart bottle with a good lid to store your sulphite solution. My friend at the lab gave me a nice official-looking brown one. Be sure to label the bottle with the wordsPOISON and DO NOT DRINK, and put a Mr. Ick face on it if you have small children around.

    Mr. Ick
    Then keep it out of sight and out of reach of any children or pets or curious adults who might wander by. Do not put it in a food cupboard.
    Keep your chemicals in plastic bags or bottles and keep them labeled and in a safe place, too. Don’t take chances.
    B OILING P OT
    If you have a nice five-gallon stainless steel pot, use it! You can use any steel or enamel pot to boil water and sugar in. If you have to do it in batches, well, that’s OK. Don’t use aluminum in winemaking: the acids in the fruits will react to it adversely.
    LOCATION, OR WHERE AM I GOING TO PUT ALL THIS STUFF?
    Bottled wine must be stored on its side to keep the cork from drying out and shrinking. You can get into all sorts of discussionsabout exactly what angle and all is right, but the most important thing is to keep it on its side. It needs to be kept cool (under 60°F is best), quiet, and away from direct sunlight and weird chemicals.
    Fermenting wine should also be kept cool and away from light. You can always wrap a cloth around it, or put a heavy paper sack over it.
    So where to put your wine, and all the other stuff that goes with it? That depends on how far you get into winemaking and how much space you have to begin with.
    It’s best to keep your equipment all in one place that is easy to get at, clean, and out of the way. I keep all my corks and small pieces (like hydrometers,