E.C. Kraus Home Wine and Beer Making Supplies

I'm interested in the pectic enzyme part. Is this something I can add at the end of the fermentation to clarify the wine?Name: Paul DunnState: Idaho Hello Paul, Thanks for the great question. I'd like to share the answer with everyone. Hope you don't mind. What Is Pectic Enzyme? The first thing that needs to be understood is that pectic enzyme is not a fining agent. It does not clean...

So, your homemade wine is just about ready and you’re preparing to bottle!  All the hard work creating your masterpiece is nearly complete and transitions into a more passive process of waiting for the wine to be ready to be shared and enjoyed! You must be careful at this point to not get too lax about things, as the bottling process is just as important as every step up until now.  That being...

Hello Kraus, I started a batch of blueberry wine. When I added my yeast it did not get foamy but you could hear it working and see it bubbling. I'm wondering what could cause this or if you think there might be a problem with it. Thanks Rick, Holly Springs, MS ----- Hello Rick, The lack of foam could be an indication that your fermentation has an issue. It never hurts to look over our...

One of the most important aspects of making your own wine is keeping things sanitary. It's important because wine is a like a living thing. It needs to be protected from wild molds, bacteria, etc. Without proper care your wine can become overtaken by these foreign organisms and eventually spoiled. Yet, sanitizing is overlooked or treated lightly by many home wine makers and understandably so. It...

Hello Kraus: Is there a wine making kit for dummies that is both easy and cheaper than buying at the store (dry wine)? Thanks ---------- Hello Anthony,   Yes, we have just that! Our SunCal Wine Making Kit is a beginner wine making kit that was designed to allow you to make wine less expensively than what you can buy it at the store. It includes all the wine making materials and ingredients you...

Hello-   I've never made wine; but, I'm slowly acquiring the wine making materials. I would like to make fruit wines mostly plum and perhaps strawberry and peach.   From what I've been reading it seems that either one starts with juice and does the whole fermentation process that way or that one ferments the chopped up raw fruit contained in a bag for a week or so and then continues the...

There are many misconceptions and misguided assumptions about making wine at home. Most all of them are perpetuated by individuals who never even tasted or made homemade wine. Others are simply born out of the mystique surrounding the commercial wine industry.How can something so sophisticated be made in one's kitchen?Here are the ones that we run into the most. The ones that flat-out drive us...

Hello, Is there a wine product that you sell that sweetens the wine in the end and also stops the fermentation process.  I thought it was the wine conditioner, but I don't see where it says it stops the fermentation process. Thanks, Jen ---------- Hello Jen,  One of the most difficult things a home winemaker can try to do is stop an active fermentation. It's not practical, nor can it be done with...

[This is the conclusion of a two part blog post. See the previous entry for the beginning of this post.]The Alcohol Level Needs To Kept In Balance. In general, the fuller the flavor of a wine, the higher the alcohol level must be to keep it in balance. Wines that do not have enough alcohol as compared to their flavor intensity, will taste harsher. The astringent characters of the wine will...

One subject that gets asked about a lot by beginners is how to make white wines. They usually ask about it in a way that leads me to believe that they think it is a completely different process than making red wines, one that just skirts the fringes of main-steam wine making. The fact of the matter is, there are more similarities than differences between making the two. You use the same wine...

Dear Winemaster Kraus,   Do I need to sanitize the new out of the box wine bottles? I got two cases from you folk last week. Thanks Kevin ---------- Hello Kevin, The quick and painful answer to your question is, Yes. Just like any other homemade wine equipment and supplies, you need to treat them with a Sodium Metabisulfite and water solution before filling them with wine--1 teaspoon per gallon of...

  Hello Can I bottle my wine in beer bottles and use bottle caps or do I have to use cork bottle stoppers because it is wine? I have the stuff to bottle beer but I do not have wine making materials for bottling. If I have to buy corks for beer bottles what ones should i get?  I am planning to make mostly fruit wines. Right now I have a blackberry wine working that I made from frozen blackberries....

  Doing the 7 easy steps from your website - did before - did everything the way it said.  With the must, put campden tablets in, etc...  day 6 discarded the pulp, put in secondary fermentor, put airlock on, wine brewing very slow, airlock hardly bubbling.  Took a test with hydrometer, almost no alcohol. The alcohol scale says about 1% content, not really bubbling the way it should, what should I...

  Hi This is Greg again with another question.  I have been making wine with your concentrated homemade wine kits for several years and have had a lot of fun for sure.  I would like to make apple wine...  saw the apple recipe you have on your website.  It looks a lot like making wine from concentrate.  The only thing I do not understand is the pectic enzyme. What is that used for? Greg__________...

Hi...   Just wondering if your liqueur flavorings could be added to a fruit wine... for a little stronger flavor... Our peach, this year, is not real "peachy".... and wondered if this would give it a flavor boost...   Thank you,  Sandy M. __________ Dear Sandy, To answer your question, yes, you can use these liqueur flavorings as flavor enhancers for your wines. It is recommended that you do not...

Hello Kraus, I would like to know if wine can be made from 100% all natural grape juice in a can that you buy at your local grocery store if you use yeast and go through the process of wine making? Will the grape juice ferment? Curtis ---------- Dear Curtis, As a beginning winemaker, using Welch's grape juice is a great way to learn how to make your own wine. The resulting wine will not...

  Hello, I was looking at your homemade wine kits and was wondering about using the SunCal concentrates to make a Chianti. I saw in the directions that for all the SunCal kits call for 6.5 pounds of sugar. Does this mean that these wine recipes are going to make a sweet wine? I have made wines in the past from buckets of juice and other wine making materials from a local supplier and never had to...

Hello: I have almost 4 gallons of Scuppernong grape juice that I've gotten with my steam juicer this year. I would like to know how to make white wine with it. I was needing to know how much water to add to it. I would like to know what other wine making materials/ingredients I will need. I already have equipment. Can you help me with this. Thanks Fred ---------- Dear Fred,With actual wine grapes...

Dear E. C. Kraus I just cooked down apples for apple wine and they are so sweet.  I  know sugar is needed for fermentation, I don't know what to do can you help me out on this at all. Thanks, Midge ---------- Dear Midge, The information that you need can be found at the following links to our website:Apple Wine Recipe: This link has a bunch of wine recipes lists, including one for apple wine than...

Kraus, I purchased a California Connoisseur Merlot concentrate kit. Does this concentrate consist of tannins?  If it does, would it hurt to add a little more tannin to help it's staying qualities? Should I have an acid testing kit?  If so, does the tannin have to be added during/before fermentation or can I put it in at any time? Are there any other adjustments that need to be made to this...