Baglady, Your fermenting wine question.

[Coppertop]

Quote Originally Posted by Baglady View Post

I didnt know that's how they made pepperoni and salami. I'd be interested in knowing this process too.
Cool beans Inor.

Btw Inor. Speaking of fermenting..that's one of my problems with the beer and wine making.
I don't have a single place in the house that maintains a certain temp. (!) I've tried wrapping heating pads
around the 5 gal. buckets, and keeping a light on in the closet.
But, when you burn wood to heat your house, and at night it gets cold, etc..no good options.

Above is Baglady's quote from a different thread, but I felt we were Hi Jacking Inor's thread so I am starting it over here.

Baglady.

I have made wine and beer in a basement that didn't get much light, and the temp varied from 60-75 degrees on a daily basis. The biggest thing about "cold' fermenting is that it just takes longer. It also makes a slightly sweeter wine than what you would expect. It isn't a big difference but it's noticeable. I just used more tannins when I finished it. I also found that a hydrometer was pretty necessary for checking to see if the wine was done fermenting. I have done batches in a garage that stayed about 60 all the time and again it just took a little longer, but it had indirect lighting through the day.

They make heating bands that are built for the fermenter buckets, but I really didn't see where it kept it much warmer. I think you would be fine if you used a place that was fairly consistent in temp, even if it is a little on the cooler side. If you start with a little warmer (5-10 degrees) mix to get the yeast going good, then leave it alone, it should be ok. Another thought I have about this is to wrap a blanket around the fermenters so you don't get "shock" temp changes. I never had to do that so it's just an idea.

Biggest thing is to make sure it's done fermenting before you go to the finishing stage.

Thanks