Wine Fermenting Question...

Question

There are many ways to quick-rig a wine fermenter, which is what i am trying to do, such as put a balloon with a hole on top of the jug, air-sealing a tube and putting the other end in a glass of water, but that is not the point. I was wondering if you could just put plastic-wrap with like 5 tiny holes poked in them over the top of the jug, and it would be okay.

Answer 1

I have tried all of that and frankly, just gave up.

But I had to go to a tasting and bring 2 bottles, so, you know what I did? I mixed regular grape juice and a  little bit of 151 in it and they couldn't even tell the difference.

Showed them!.

Answer 2

No.  You need something that has great room for pressure expansion, so that highly pressurized CO2 can only leak out.  If you just use plastic wrap, there will be no pressure to prevent oxygen leaking, so it will get in and ruin your wine.

Plastic wrap will either tear, allowing too much CO2 in, or not distort properly and cause your container to explode.

Answer 3

No. However you ferment, the idea is to create an air lock i.e. Let the gasses out without letting air in. The wine, or beer, has to be allowed to 'work' in a sterile atmosphere, without letting the outside world in.

That is a simple way to think about the process, but accurate. The wine or beer needs to live in it's own world (sterile) until it is introduced to the rest of the world at dinner time.

Answer 4

It will work, after a fashion. I think that the best method is a regular airlock, followed by a blowoff valve (tube in water), followed by either the balloon or condom.