I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I then
added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it sit for
24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar per
gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting. Do you
see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp) tablets
to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions or advice
for future batches? thanks much

Nick

Did they have pits? Did the pits get broken? You do need to use campden
tablets, plus some yeast nutrient. Please check out this site
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp for a recipe to follow. I would
also have some concerns about how bitter the wine may come out. My first
batch of cherry wine (using tart cherries) came out very tart, almost to
tart to drink. I used different cherries the second time around. Good-luck
and welcome.
Darlene
G'town Wisconsin
USA

"Nick R" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I then
> added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it sit
for
> 24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar per
> gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting. Do you
> see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp)
tablets
> to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions or
advice
> for future batches? thanks much
>
> Nick
>
>

They do have pits, i don't think they are broken. what exactly is yeast
nutrient? thanks

"Dar V" > wrote in message
...
> Did they have pits? Did the pits get broken? You do need to use campden
> tablets, plus some yeast nutrient. Please check out this site
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp for a recipe to follow. I
would
> also have some concerns about how bitter the wine may come out. My first
> batch of cherry wine (using tart cherries) came out very tart, almost to
> tart to drink. I used different cherries the second time around.
Good-luck
> and welcome.
> Darlene
> G'town Wisconsin
> USA
>
> "Nick R" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
> > I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I then
> > added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it sit
> for
> > 24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar per
> > gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting. Do
you
> > see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp)
> tablets
> > to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions or
> advice
> > for future batches? thanks much
> >
> > Nick
> >
> >
>
>

I believe, yeast nutrient helps provide certain nutrients to help your yeast
to ferment properly. Please check Jack's site out - any info you would need
to make wine at home is there.
Darlene

"Nick R" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> They do have pits, i don't think they are broken. what exactly is yeast
> nutrient? thanks
>
> "Dar V" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Did they have pits? Did the pits get broken? You do need to use campden
> > tablets, plus some yeast nutrient. Please check out this site
> > http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp for a recipe to follow. I
> would
> > also have some concerns about how bitter the wine may come out. My
first
> > batch of cherry wine (using tart cherries) came out very tart, almost to
> > tart to drink. I used different cherries the second time around.
> Good-luck
> > and welcome.
> > Darlene
> > G'town Wisconsin
> > USA
> >
> > "Nick R" > wrote in message
> > ink.net...
> > > I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I
then
> > > added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it
sit
> > for
> > > 24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar per
> > > gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting. Do
> you
> > > see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp)
> > tablets
> > > to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions or
> > advice
> > > for future batches? thanks much
> > >
> > > Nick
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

In article . net>, "Nick R" > wrote:
>I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I then
>added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it sit for
>24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar per
>gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting. Do you
>see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp) tablets
>to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions or advice
>for future batches? thanks much

Sour cherries have a lot of pectin in them, you might want to use some pectinase
(pectic acid). This is used to prevent clouding of the wine, which is caused
when the pectin jels somewhat.

While you *should* use camden tablets, unless you've put everything in
refrigeration and can get to a brew shop immediately, you're best with
proceeding with the yeast. Definitely use them in future batches, as this
knocks out any wild yeasts that may have been on the surface of the fruit you've
used.

Another item that you may want to consider, and I've seen others recommend, is
yeast nutrient. This is labelled as "Yeast Nutrient", and contains nutrients
that help the yeast to flourish. This is a good thing, because it helps to keep
things moving along.


Woods

thanks for the help dar v. I will read up on that site somemore.

"Dar V" > wrote in message
...
> I believe, yeast nutrient helps provide certain nutrients to help your
yeast
> to ferment properly. Please check Jack's site out - any info you would
need
> to make wine at home is there.
> Darlene
>
> "Nick R" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
> > They do have pits, i don't think they are broken. what exactly is yeast
> > nutrient? thanks
> >
> > "Dar V" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Did they have pits? Did the pits get broken? You do need to use
campden
> > > tablets, plus some yeast nutrient. Please check out this site
> > > http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp for a recipe to follow. I
> > would
> > > also have some concerns about how bitter the wine may come out. My
> first
> > > batch of cherry wine (using tart cherries) came out very tart, almost
to
> > > tart to drink. I used different cherries the second time around.
> > Good-luck
> > > and welcome.
> > > Darlene
> > > G'town Wisconsin
> > > USA
> > >
> > > "Nick R" > wrote in message
> > > ink.net...
> > > > I picked 5 gallons of bitter cherries, rinsed, and smashed them. I
> then
> > > > added a little less than 6 quarts of boiling water. I am letting it
> sit
> > > for
> > > > 24 hours. Today I will strain the juice and add 2 pounds of sugar
per
> > > > gallon of juice. Then add some yeast and let it start fermenting.
Do
> > you
> > > > see anything wrong with this setup? I didn't have any campden (sp)
> > > tablets
> > > > to put in. A buddy reccomended them. Do you have any suggestions
or
> > > advice
> > > > for future batches? thanks much
> > > >
> > > > Nick
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

"Nick R" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> They do have pits, i don't think they are broken. what exactly is yeast
> nutrient? thanks
>

You can think of yeast nutrient in one of two ways. You can think of it as
vitamins for your yeast or you can think of it as yeast fertilizer. The
ideal medium for wine yeast is grape juice. Other fruit are usually
deficient in some of the things the yeast need. Even grapes can be
deficient in some things. Hence you add nutrient. It is cheap and safe.

Good luck on the cherry wine.

Ray

>
> You can think of yeast nutrient in one of two ways. You can think
of it as
> vitamins for your yeast or you can think of it as yeast fertilizer.

seems to me it should be both.

--
billb