Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
it. any advice will be welcomed.
Al

Hi Al,
I think sanitation is WAY more important with beer than it is with wine. I'm
not saying don't clean anything but it's not as critical. I usually wash
everything with hot water and a bit of soap, super rinse and then rinse
everything again with a sulphite solution. It's worked for me so far and
I've never had weird off tastes.
I figure if wineries dump their grapes with all the spiders, bugs and bird
poop into fermenters without worrying.....
Louise)

--


"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

(Al Davis) wrote in message . com>...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

I think one of the most important things is actually convinceing
people to use metabisulfite -- either sodium, potassium, or campden
tablets -- to kill wild yeasts and bacteria in their musts before they
pitch in wine yeast. Most of my relatives wouldn't agree with that
for example, the "natural way" was the way they've always done it, and
they won't change. They feel the occasional bad batch is just part of
life.

It depends also one wether you're working in the kitchen that you just
perpared dinner in, or in the basement/garage swept once 6 months ago.

These guys have a funny little perspective on home wine making:
http://www.glaurung.demon.co.uk/wine/phily.htm

(Al Davis) wrote in message . com>...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

I think one of the most important things is actually convinceing
people to use metabisulfite -- either sodium, potassium, or campden
tablets -- to kill wild yeasts and bacteria in their musts before they
pitch in wine yeast. Most of my relatives wouldn't agree with that
for example, the "natural way" was the way they've always done it, and
they won't change. They feel the occasional bad batch is just part of
life.

It depends also one wether you're working in the kitchen that you just
perpared dinner in, or in the basement/garage swept once 6 months ago.

These guys have a funny little perspective on home wine making:
http://www.glaurung.demon.co.uk/wine/phily.htm

Al,
I've also heard that sanitation is more important in making beer than wine.
I do clean my carboys and glass fermentation container with a bit of bleach
& hot water between batches. Then, I rinse the containers in hot, soapy
water, followed by allowing them to air dry completely. I generally use
campden tablets as a rinse in a new carboy before racking to it. I wouldn't
say I'm obsessive about it, but I did have one batch which seemed to have a
something growing in it that wasn't right. Ever since then, I've used the
bleach and have not had any problems since then.
Darlene

"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

Wow.

What is it about some of these web sites that they feel the need to put such
a nasty background image on? It makes me feel like I have already drunk a
couple of bottles...

"Ralconte" > wrote in message
om...
> (Al Davis) wrote in message
> . com>...
>> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
>> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
>> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
>> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
>> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
>> it. any advice will be welcomed.
>> Al
>
> I think one of the most important things is actually convinceing
> people to use metabisulfite -- either sodium, potassium, or campden
> tablets -- to kill wild yeasts and bacteria in their musts before they
> pitch in wine yeast. Most of my relatives wouldn't agree with that
> for example, the "natural way" was the way they've always done it, and
> they won't change. They feel the occasional bad batch is just part of
> life.
>
> It depends also one wether you're working in the kitchen that you just
> perpared dinner in, or in the basement/garage swept once 6 months ago.
>
> These guys have a funny little perspective on home wine making:
> http://www.glaurung.demon.co.uk/wine/phily.htm

Wow.

What is it about some of these web sites that they feel the need to put such
a nasty background image on? It makes me feel like I have already drunk a
couple of bottles...

"Ralconte" > wrote in message
om...
> (Al Davis) wrote in message
> . com>...
>> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
>> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
>> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
>> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
>> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
>> it. any advice will be welcomed.
>> Al
>
> I think one of the most important things is actually convinceing
> people to use metabisulfite -- either sodium, potassium, or campden
> tablets -- to kill wild yeasts and bacteria in their musts before they
> pitch in wine yeast. Most of my relatives wouldn't agree with that
> for example, the "natural way" was the way they've always done it, and
> they won't change. They feel the occasional bad batch is just part of
> life.
>
> It depends also one wether you're working in the kitchen that you just
> perpared dinner in, or in the basement/garage swept once 6 months ago.
>
> These guys have a funny little perspective on home wine making:
> http://www.glaurung.demon.co.uk/wine/phily.htm

Al -
I think a lot of folks go overboard with trying to "sterilize"
everything that comes in contact with the wine. Certainly, stuff
should be clean. But my theory is, within 7 to 10 days, you are
dealing with a liquid containing 10% to 12% or more alcohol.
According to everything I've read, there are no known human pathogens
that can grow in liquids with alcohol levels that high ( or higher).
This is why, for example, opened bottles of distilled spirits
(whiskey, etc.) don't spoil. If you don't keep air (oxygen) away from
the wine, you can get bacteria that convert the alcohol into vinegar,
but (a) this is pretty obvious when it happens, and (b) is easily
prevented by using an airlock with a carboy or other sealable
container.

My rule of thumb is, things should be clean enough that you would
be comfortable eating off them. Anything more than that is (IMHO) a
waste of time. I believe that standards do need to be higher for
beer-making, again because beer contains much less than 10-12%
alcohol, so it is more subject to spoilage. But for wine-making, I
pretty much go with the standards of sanitation and cleanliness that I
apply to food. I think a lot more people get in trouble by not
keeping their wine topped up in the carboy, or by not making sure that
the airlock still has a reasonable level of water (or metabisulfite
solution) in it, than by bad sanitation.

That's my two cents. Happy fermenting --

Doug

"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

If you ever visit a winery you will be amazed. Fruit flies everywhere and
EVERYTHING goes into the hopper. Wasp nests, bird nests, etc.

Just be clean. Store things dry. Avoid mold.

Winemaking is a very forgiving hobby. Wine itself is an excellent sanitizer
and there are no known pathogens that will live in wine.

The biggest cause of wine going bad is not lack of cleanliness nor fruit, it
is oxidation. After the fermentation slows down, after a week or so, you
must protect it from contact with air. That is what ruins wine.

Don't obsess over anything in wine making, just enjoy.

Ray

"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

If you ever visit a winery you will be amazed. Fruit flies everywhere and
EVERYTHING goes into the hopper. Wasp nests, bird nests, etc.

Just be clean. Store things dry. Avoid mold.

Winemaking is a very forgiving hobby. Wine itself is an excellent sanitizer
and there are no known pathogens that will live in wine.

The biggest cause of wine going bad is not lack of cleanliness nor fruit, it
is oxidation. After the fermentation slows down, after a week or so, you
must protect it from contact with air. That is what ruins wine.

Don't obsess over anything in wine making, just enjoy.

Ray

"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

If you ever visit a winery you will be amazed. Fruit flies everywhere and
EVERYTHING goes into the hopper. Wasp nests, bird nests, etc.

Just be clean. Store things dry. Avoid mold.

Winemaking is a very forgiving hobby. Wine itself is an excellent sanitizer
and there are no known pathogens that will live in wine.

The biggest cause of wine going bad is not lack of cleanliness nor fruit, it
is oxidation. After the fermentation slows down, after a week or so, you
must protect it from contact with air. That is what ruins wine.

Don't obsess over anything in wine making, just enjoy.

Ray

"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

You need to be =thorough= without being nuts. I wash my bottles prior to
storage, and then sterilize immediately prior to bottling. I sterilize the
siphon tubing, filler tube and airlocks =after= they are used and store them
loose in my bucket with all my other supplies. The carboys are cleaned out
and sterilized as soon as they are empty. I then plug them with a folded
napkin until the next use, which can be a year. So you can see, I =do= clean
everything, just not all at once or obsessively. I have not, in 25 years,
had anything go bad except for two batches of =whole= fruit that were not
cleaned or extracted properly, over 18 years ago.
Bob<><

"Al Davis" > wrote in message
om...
> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> it. any advice will be welcomed.
> Al

You need to be =thorough= without being nuts. I wash my bottles prior to
storage, and then sterilize immediately prior to bottling. I sterilize the
siphon tubing, filler tube and airlocks =after= they are used and store them
loose in my bucket with all my other supplies. The carboys are cleaned out
and sterilized as soon as they are empty. I then plug them with a folded
napkin until the next use, which can be a year. So you can see, I =do= clean
everything, just not all at once or obsessively. I have not, in 25 years,
had anything go bad except for two batches of =whole= fruit that were not
cleaned or extracted properly, over 18 years ago.
Bob<><

"Weez" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Al,
> I think sanitation is WAY more important with beer than it is with wine.
I'm
> not saying don't clean anything but it's not as critical. I usually wash
> everything with hot water and a bit of soap, super rinse and then rinse
> everything again with a sulphite solution. It's worked for me so far and
> I've never had weird off tastes.
> I figure if wineries dump their grapes with all the spiders, bugs and bird
> poop into fermenters without worrying.....
> Louise)

LOL!!! I recall thinking a batch of wine that went bad on me in 1986
should have been called "Chateau Murre et Punaise" (spelling????) meaning
"bugs and worms"!!!
>
> --
>
>
> "Al Davis" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
> > Al
>
>

"Ralconte" > wrote in message
om...
> (Al Davis) wrote in message
. com>...
> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
> > Al
>
> I think one of the most important things is actually convinceing
> people to use metabisulfite -- either sodium, potassium, or campden
> tablets -- to kill wild yeasts and bacteria in their musts before they
> pitch in wine yeast. Most of my relatives wouldn't agree with that
> for example, the "natural way" was the way they've always done it, and
> they won't change. They feel the occasional bad batch is just part of
> life.

I =never= use these chemicals for sterilization; I use a mild solution
of water and ordinary chlorine bleach. No wacky flavors, no trouble finding
it or running out, and no bad batches. It works like a charm for me.
>
> It depends also one wether you're working in the kitchen that you just
> perpared dinner in, or in the basement/garage swept once 6 months ago.
>
> These guys have a funny little perspective on home wine making:
> http://www.glaurung.demon.co.uk/wine/phily.htm

"Ralconte" > wrote in message
om...
> (Al Davis) wrote in message
. com>...
> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
> > Al
>
> I think one of the most important things is actually convinceing
> people to use metabisulfite -- either sodium, potassium, or campden
> tablets -- to kill wild yeasts and bacteria in their musts before they
> pitch in wine yeast. Most of my relatives wouldn't agree with that
> for example, the "natural way" was the way they've always done it, and
> they won't change. They feel the occasional bad batch is just part of
> life.

I =never= use these chemicals for sterilization; I use a mild solution
of water and ordinary chlorine bleach. No wacky flavors, no trouble finding
it or running out, and no bad batches. It works like a charm for me.
>
> It depends also one wether you're working in the kitchen that you just
> perpared dinner in, or in the basement/garage swept once 6 months ago.
>
> These guys have a funny little perspective on home wine making:
> http://www.glaurung.demon.co.uk/wine/phily.htm

"Dar V" > wrote in message
...
> Al,
> I've also heard that sanitation is more important in making beer than
wine.
> I do clean my carboys and glass fermentation container with a bit of
bleach
> & hot water between batches. Then, I rinse the containers in hot, soapy
> water, followed by allowing them to air dry completely. I generally use
> campden tablets as a rinse in a new carboy before racking to it. I
wouldn't
> say I'm obsessive about it, but I did have one batch which seemed to have
a
> something growing in it that wasn't right. Ever since then, I've used the
> bleach and have not had any problems since then.

At last! A fellow bleacher!!! LOL!!!!

> Darlene
>
> "Al Davis" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
> > Al
>
>

"Dar V" > wrote in message
...
> Al,
> I've also heard that sanitation is more important in making beer than
wine.
> I do clean my carboys and glass fermentation container with a bit of
bleach
> & hot water between batches. Then, I rinse the containers in hot, soapy
> water, followed by allowing them to air dry completely. I generally use
> campden tablets as a rinse in a new carboy before racking to it. I
wouldn't
> say I'm obsessive about it, but I did have one batch which seemed to have
a
> something growing in it that wasn't right. Ever since then, I've used the
> bleach and have not had any problems since then.

At last! A fellow bleacher!!! LOL!!!!

> Darlene
>
> "Al Davis" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
> > Al
>
>

Yes, yes, a fellow bleacher. I didn't throw the batch out, I just used it
for cooking. Never suffered anything from using the batch, but I just don't
want anything to happen to another batch. This hobby is surprising, so you
never know.
Darlene

"Bob" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Dar V" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Al,
>> I've also heard that sanitation is more important in making beer than
> wine.
>> I do clean my carboys and glass fermentation container with a bit of
> bleach
>> & hot water between batches. Then, I rinse the containers in hot, soapy
>> water, followed by allowing them to air dry completely. I generally use
>> campden tablets as a rinse in a new carboy before racking to it. I
> wouldn't
>> say I'm obsessive about it, but I did have one batch which seemed to have
> a
>> something growing in it that wasn't right. Ever since then, I've used
>> the
>> bleach and have not had any problems since then.
>
> At last! A fellow bleacher!!! LOL!!!!
>
>> Darlene
>>
>> "Al Davis" > wrote in message
>> om...
>> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
>> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
>> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
>> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
>> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
>> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
>> > Al
>>
>>
>
>

"Dar V" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, yes, a fellow bleacher. I didn't throw the batch out, I just used it
> for cooking. Never suffered anything from using the batch, but I just
don't
> want anything to happen to another batch. This hobby is surprising, so
you
> never know.

I hate surprizes. Unless a brilliant, gorgeous blonde proposes to me....
;-)

> Darlene
>
> "Bob" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Dar V" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Al,
> >> I've also heard that sanitation is more important in making beer than
> > wine.
> >> I do clean my carboys and glass fermentation container with a bit of
> > bleach
> >> & hot water between batches. Then, I rinse the containers in hot,
soapy
> >> water, followed by allowing them to air dry completely. I generally
use
> >> campden tablets as a rinse in a new carboy before racking to it. I
> > wouldn't
> >> say I'm obsessive about it, but I did have one batch which seemed to
have
> > a
> >> something growing in it that wasn't right. Ever since then, I've used
> >> the
> >> bleach and have not had any problems since then.
> >
> > At last! A fellow bleacher!!! LOL!!!!
> >
> >> Darlene
> >>
> >> "Al Davis" > wrote in message
> >> om...
> >> > Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
> >> > to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
> >> > causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
> >> > sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
> >> > sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
> >> > it. any advice will be welcomed.
> >> > Al
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

I agree with this just be clean. I use bleach for the most part but have
used iodine both work well but bleach is easier and cheaper. Remember to
rinse until there is no scent

pwrgek

"Bob" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Al Davis" > wrote in message
> om...
>> Hey everyone I hope yall are all doing great this evening. I am new
>> to wine making and i have heard from many people that one of the main
>> causes of wine going bad is due to people not being more careful with
>> sanitation and from a new person view how true is this and how
>> sanitary do i need to be without becomeing completely obsessive about
>> it. any advice will be welcomed.
>> Al
>
> You need to be =thorough= without being nuts. I wash my bottles prior
> to
> storage, and then sterilize immediately prior to bottling. I sterilize the
> siphon tubing, filler tube and airlocks =after= they are used and store
> them
> loose in my bucket with all my other supplies. The carboys are cleaned out
> and sterilized as soon as they are empty. I then plug them with a folded
> napkin until the next use, which can be a year. So you can see, I =do=
> clean
> everything, just not all at once or obsessively. I have not, in 25 years,
> had anything go bad except for two batches of =whole= fruit that were not
> cleaned or extracted properly, over 18 years ago.
> Bob<><
>
>