Starting my First Batch - Apple Wine

After standing by watching my family do this for years, I've decided to jump in and try my hand at making homemade wine. Dad helped me get started with some basic books to learn about making wine, and I picked up a starter equipment kit from Midwest Supplies.

I've been reading through The Joy of Home Winemaking and learning a lot about making wine from fruit. As a beginner, the book explains the process well, and gave me a good enough understanding to get started. I can tell though that there will always be lots to learn, which should make this a fun hobby. I get to learn stuff, make some good, unique wines, and share them with friends & family. Not a bad deal.

For my first batch, I followed the advice of the book, and started with apple juice from frozen concentrate. Cub had frozen apple juice concentrate (100% juice) on sale, so I picked up enough juice, sugar, and water for a 6 gallon batch. On another trip to Midwest I got some good tips and advice from one of their experts, and a small shopping bag of more ingredients... tannin, pectic enzyme, yeast, yeast nutrient, and some other necessities. Overall, it was a pretty easy process... clean and sanitize the fermentation bucket and equipment, and dump everything in. The most effort was spent heating up water so I could dissolve in the sugar.

After letting the mixture (aka the "must") cool down to room temperature for a day, I added the yeast last night. I stirred it this morning, and with any luck, I should see some fermentation soon as it begins to bubble.

Now I just have to be patient, and find something else to fill my time while the wine does it's job.