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Fall Bright, The Winemakers Shoppe, 10110 Hyatt Hill, Dundee, NY 14837
HOURS: We are open all year round! We have always been closed on Mondays.
November to May 31: Tues-Fri: 10-5 Eastern Time Weekends (Saturday or Sunday) by appointment 607-292-3995
June to harvest Tues-Fri : 10-5 Saturday 10-4 Eastern Time
Harvest (Sept-Oct): Tuesday to Sunday 10-5 Eastern Time
Free catalog, mail order of supplies but not grapes and juices.
Making wine at Fall Bright, YOU are the winemaker! We basically provide the amateur winemaker with the grapes or grape juices and winemaking supplies and know-how to make his own wine. Check out our website, www.fallbright.com for information and online shopping
Do you need to make a yeast starter for your fermentation?
Do you want to make your wine from grapes and not juice?
Yeast starters allow expansion of a single pack of yeast for larger batches.
Mitchell's short cut starter: Sprinkle the yeast onto warm (40-45oC or 104-115oF) distilled or sterile non-chlorinated water. Leave for 5-15 minutes (NOT LONGER). Go-Ferm, which is a micronutrient for yeast at rehydration may be used at this point. Follow procedure on label. After rehydration, add an equal volume of sterile grape juice to the yeast. Shake to aerate. It will take up to two days to become active. Make up however much you want. (A 5-gram pack of yeast is rated for 5-7 gallons). Making a starter of a total volume of 1/2 of a gallon will inoculate 60 gallons!
Starter recipe in Frishman's Enjoy Home Winemaking: 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon nutrient, 1/4 teaspoon citric acid, yeast NOTE: Any recipe recommending 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrient in a small volume of water (4 oz to 2 cups) will be too hot for the yeast, REDUCE the nutrient to a pinch. The dose for nutrient is 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of juice. Put it in the juice--and yet a starter will require some nutrient so use a pinch or Go-Ferm instead and put the nutrient in the juice, or use Tom Mitchell's starter method.
Wine from red grapes for heavier red wines
1. Destem and crush the grapes. If you buy our grapes, you may use our machine free or pay a small fee for its use with your grapes. You will need 12-13 pounds of red grapes per gallon of wine desired, plus some extra for tipping.
2. Add "meta" at the rate of 1/8 teaspoon per 30 pounds of fresh grapes.
(White grapes are not fermented on the skins. They oxidize too easily and can-not accommodate all the issues of skin fermentation. You may soak crushed white grapes on the skins for up to 8 hours to intensify flavors but cover them with a clear plastic to minimize oxidation. Use meta and pectic enzyme during this soak. Press immediately and proceed with basic winemaking.)
3. Dose the must with DAP (diammonium phosphate) at the recommended rates. Do not overdose excessively. You would probably be ok with a double dose, but.... This is a nutrient (fertilizer) and can be overdosed. Follow label recommendations. Yeast nutrient cuts down of fermentation problems such as the rotten egg smell, the production of sulfur hydroxide.
4. Rehydrate the yeast and add to the room temperature must. Ferment 1-2 weeks.
5. During this initial fermentation, which is done in a bucket with a lid that you can outfit with an airlock, you will open it twice a day to push the "cap" or the skins down that tend to float to the top. This blends the skins with the juice and resulting alcohol, which extracts the color and flavors from the skins into the wine. When this time is up, allow the cap to stay on the top so you can sneak a racking wand down into the wine.
6. Siphon off the young wine into a clean carboy. Press the fermented must. Add the pressed wine to that in the carboy. Adjust the sulfite level. Top up the carboy as much as whatever fermenting activity will allow (within 1 inch of the bung). The primary fermentation has finished, so there probably won't be much activity. Ferment from step 6 above. Wines fermented with Cotes des Blanc and Lalvin yeast can be topped up more and earlier due to low foaming fermenting characteristics.
Ferment 1 to 2 months more. Rack when bubbling has ceased or has become very slow and a definite line of sediment (lees) shows. Top up the new vessel with wine to within 1 inch of the stopper. "Topping up" is an important issue to avoid oxidation. Do NOT top up with water as it will upset the acid structure of the wine and may result in spoilage (vinegar).
NOTE: Check your water level in the airlock frequently. They can go dry. Some winemakers use colored water to help visibility. Some use a meta-solution for airlocks.
Rack, sulfite, and fine as necessary. (For fining, see page 14 of our free catalog.)
Wine should be brilliant, having fallen bright. Now what?
