There’s a lot of discussion around open fermentations. Beginners especially wonder why some recipes call for open fermentations and kit instructions call for an airlock to be placed on the fermenter as soon as you’ve pitched the yeast.
The truth is, you can do it either way.
When you’re first getting into winemaking I do not recommend fermenting your wine in an open container. There’s a bit more risk involved if you don’t have a good feel for when to put the lid on your wine. Continue reading “Fermenting Wine in Open Containers”
In this episode Chris and Matt discuss how the first steps in the kit winemaking process went. Then they discuss racking from the primary fermenter to the carboy. Throughout the interview Matt answers many great questions from Chris regarding racking, auto siphons, and bulk aging. Click play on the media player above to listen now! 
As you can imagine it is a bit different working with juice pails and fresh grapes as much more of the chemistry is left up to you, the winemaker. Craig explains what these differences are, what we need to be thinking about as well as testing for.