A Fine Time For Fine Wine

Ben Ruset

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Oct 12, 2004
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The final result!

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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Congratulations Ben ! I have a new apprentice !
Your Holiday parties will take on a whole new twist. You might want to consult with an attorney. :)

In April'ish-May'ish, Gino's will have Chilean juice. If you have the ability to keep it cool after fermentation (I do not), you could be a year-round winemaker !
 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
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Pestletown, N.J.
Well, here I am again 12 years to the day after my original post. It's wine season and Gino's in Hammonton is well stocked and now operating 7 days per week until this rite of fall is over.

I am cooking up 36 gallons of Mixed Black, Barbera and Red Zinfandel this year. Awesome food-grade buckets with gasketed lids and pouring spouts are just one of the many benefits of home wine making. :)

2021 Pricing: https://ginopinto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2021-Homewinemaker-juice-pricing_1pg.pdf

Get you some !!
 

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ninemileskid

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Sep 14, 2014
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My father and grandfather used to make wine in the cellar of their home where they had a wine press up against the main beam of the building. They'd press the grapes as much as they could, take a break and have a cigarette. They'd take a couple of more turns on the press, , take a break....this went on for a while. My father tells me during one break they noticed a small shaft of light coming across the cellar. Upon investigation it turns out they were actually lifting the house off the foundation. They (rightfully) decided they were done turning the press that day.
 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
My father and grandfather used to make wine in the cellar of their home where they had a wine press up against the main beam of the building. They'd press the grapes as much as they could, take a break and have a cigarette. They'd take a couple of more turns on the press, , take a break....this went on for a while. My father tells me during one break they noticed a small shaft of light coming across the cellar. Upon investigation it turns out they were actually lifting the house off the foundation. They (rightfully) decided they were done turning the press that day.
That is great story and a monumental testimony to what real men will do to have a good time together. Smoke some cigarettes, chew some tobacco and maybe wreck a house just to make a little good homemade wine. And of course, the homemade wine leads to even more rib-splitting laughter and lifelong memories, or even arrests.
I salute you ninemileskid !!
 
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Ben Ruset

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Oct 12, 2004
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I'm making my second ever batch of wine, three gallons of Welch's finest Concord thanks to Scott's encouragement.

I started with five 96oz bottles of not-from-concentrate Welch's, added two pounds of sugar, a packet of Mangrove Jack's VR21 wine yeast. I let it ferment in a 5 gallon glass carboy from Oct 9 and then racked it into three one gallon jugs yesterday (Oct 15th). With the readings I've taken, the wine is at 13.65% alcohol and it's continuing to (slowly) ferment in the smaller jugs.

Right now most of the sweetness of the concord is gone, and you can definitely taste the alcohol. My eventual plan is to stop the fermentation before it hits 14%, kill the active yeast, and then re-sweeten the wine with some cane sugar. I've always loved the concord wine Scott has made and I hope that this is even 1/10th as good.
 

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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
I'm making my second ever batch of wine, three gallons of Welch's finest Concord thanks to Scott's encouragement.

I started with five 96oz bottles of not-from-concentrate Welch's, added two pounds of sugar, a packet of Mangrove Jack's VR21 wine yeast. I let it ferment in a 5 gallon glass carboy from Oct 9 and then racked it into three one gallon jugs yesterday (Oct 15th). With the readings I've taken, the wine is at 13.65% alcohol and it's continuing to (slowly) ferment in the smaller jugs.

Right now most of the sweetness of the concord is gone, and you can definitely taste the alcohol. My eventual plan is to stop the fermentation before it hits 14%, kill the active yeast, and then re-sweeten the wine with some cane sugar. I've always loved the concord wine Scott has made and I hope that this is even 1/10th as good.
Nice work Ben. It's great to see another successful apprentice !
The yeast must have been voracious to chew up 2lbs of sugar in 6 days. I had the same experience this year,
I am going to rack next weekend, stabilize and back sweeten as well.
 
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c1nj

Explorer
Nov 19, 2008
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Ha! I made this when I was a teenager in my bedroom.
I remember using frozen grape juice concentrate and regular baking yeast with the sugar. I used a giant glass apple cider jug with a balloon on top.
When the balloon stopped expanding it was done.
 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Knock knock!
Yep, it’s that time of year. Continuing my 13 year old thread on wine season.
36 gallons of Barbera starting to work in the garage. Surprisingly, the pricing is stable this year. Just $59 tax-free dollars per 6-gallon bucket of must.
Last year was the first year I actually did any stabilization using sulfites and it really did work well. For once I did not have to fear exploding jugs in the kitchen. Don’t ask.
:)
 

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Ben Ruset

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Oct 12, 2004
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Well, I couldn't help myself. I picked up 5 gallons of apple cider from Solebury Orchards and I'm going to try to make hard cider this year. Maybe I'll be able to drink that fast enough.
 
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