E.C. Kraus Home Wine and Beer Making Supplies

There are many pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in just one post.  It’s important to understand each piece of homemade wine equipment, how it functions, and whether or not a particular piece of equipment is needed in your own home winemaking practice.  Today’s post features three more important pieces of equipment: the Three Spout Bottle Filler, the Wine Thief, and the Brew...

Today we have a guest post from beer blogger Bryan Roth, who explains why sometimes it’s nice to just sit back, relax, and let the beer brew itself. ----------------------------------------- Technically, homebrewing is a science. But you’re not defusing an atom bomb – it’s just beer. While I spent time on my early batches worrying about the intricate details of IBUs and grain bill percentages, I...

There are so many more pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in one post.  It’s important to understand each piece of homemade wine equipment, how it functions, and whether or not a particular piece of equipment is needed in your home winemaking practice.  Today, you’ll be introduced to three important pieces of equipment: the Copper Tun Heating Pad, the Transfer Pump, and the...

There are many more pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in one short post.  It is very important to understand the different types of homemade wine equipment, how they function, and whether or not a particular piece of winemaking equipment is needed in your home.  Therefore it’s important to introduce to you as many pieces of equipment as possible in as many posts as it takes!...

Making wine from grape juice is relatively straightforward, but maybe now you’ve grown more comfortable with the process, and you’re ready for the next level: making wine from grapes.  Is making wine from wine grapes really all that different from making wine with juice? Most of the process of making wine from grapes and making wine from juice is the same; however, it is in the first steps where...

I started making wine from age 10 years unfortunately faced many problems such as oxidation also in my country they leave the pulp up to 50 days in the containers (cause strengthen taste).... but now because of your valuable information of your website I enhanced the ways.......First I collect ripen fruits of both red and white grapes clean them and destemming the mix the ratio that I want of...

Hi Kraus, What kind of alcohol tester other the vinometer can I buy to measure the alcohol of my finished homemade wine? Thanks Joshua---------- Dear Joshua, Of all the wine making products that exist, the vinometer is the only one that home winemakers can practically use to test the final alcohol level of a finished wine. It is somewhat accurate when testing a dry wine, but if your wine has any...

Hello Kraus, Please explain to me what is the difference between wine grapes and eating grapes.   Thank you, Mert B.__________ Dear Mert, This is a great question and one that gets down to the basics of learning how to make your own wine. There are many significant differences between wine making grapes and table grapes --eating grapes as you called them:Table grapes are crunchy-er with a stronger...

[Editor's Note: For those of you not familiar, an ice wine is a wine made from the juice of frozen grapes. Most of the water in the grapes is frozen but the sugar is not. When a winery runs them through the grape crusher and grape presses, the result is a very, very sweet grape juice that will make a wine with high alcohol and a lot of flavor.] ----------Hi,I have some lake niagara grapes that I...

Refractometers are vital to the successful operation of any vineyard, large or small. Even the individual who may just have a few vines in his/her backyard should strongly consider getting a refractometer of their own. Their value in helping you to determine when to pick your grapes makes them essential for anyone who plans to make their own wine. Refractometers have come down in price in recent...

This is the last part of a 4 part series. Part 1 went over the importance of knowing when to harvest. Part 2 covered how to take the readings from the grapes and what they mean. Part 3 went over what kind of readings to expect. What's One To Do?Unless you have some high-dollar real estate in California wine country, it's not likely you will hit the best Brix, pH and TA readings all at the same...

This is part 3 of a 4 part series. Part 1 went over the importance of knowing when to harvest. Part 2 covered how to take the readings from the grapes and what they mean. Ideal Readings Here's a quick run-down of what would be optimum readings you would want from the grapes for producing most wines. As an amateur vintner these are the numbers you should be striving to achieve. The...

This is part 2 of a 4 part series. Part 1 went over the importance of knowing the right time to harvest your grapes. As the grapes start to become fully mature what you'll want to do is take periodic readings. First with your refractometer, then with the pH meter and then finally with the titration kit. Readings With RefractometersRefractometers will give you a reading in a scale called Brix. This...

Knowing the optimum time to pick is a crucial skill that must be mastered before any vineyard can become successful, yet the "knowing when" seems to be the one thing that eludes many amateur vintners.What's At Stake The timing of the harvest plays a serious roll in the resulting wine. Basic features such as flavor, acidity, body, color and stability are all tied to this decision. One should...

Now is the time to get ready for the next wine growing season. Vines are coming to life and it won't be long you'll need to have your act together. One of the most useful tools you can have as a wine grower is a refractometer. Refractometers can tell you the sugar level (brix) of your grapes with just a few drops of juice as a sample. By tracking this sugar level of your grapes throughout your...

When shopping for a refractometer, one of the features you should be looking for is Automatic Temperature Compensation or ATC. This is a particularly important feature especially when working in the field where you are being exposed to the elements.Refractometers can be dramatically effected by temperature. This is because as objects get colder they shrink and as they get warmer they expand. In...

Refractometers are an invaluable tool for any grape grower, large or small. Refractometers help you to know when its time to pick just by taking a few small grape samples from throughout your vineyard . For more info on refractometers, take a look at another recent blog post, Refractometers Let You Know When To Pick!  How refractometers actually work is amazing. Refractometers can tell you how...

For anyone operating a vineyard, large or small, refractometers are an invaluable tool. They help take the guesswork out of knowing when to pick by indicating when the grapes have become sufficiently sweet--a vital part of any vineyard operation.Maximizing the sugar level is important, particularly if the grapes are to be used for wine making. Refractometers measure the sugar level (or brix)...