Dec 10 2009
What’s Keeping You From Making the Best Homemade Wine Ever? Learn Right Now in Six Easy Steps
Making wine is a real art form that can change how you see the world and the people in it. You and your creativity will be contained in every bottle of wine you produce. Making wine from home is a fun hobby, not to mention delicious wines can be produced for just pennies on the dollar. Most people believe wine making is complex, but it’s not as hard as you may think. Wine making dates back centuries and people all over the world still engage in it today. Wine making can be summed up in six steps:
Step 1 - Sourcing Grapes: Making your own wine can be just as uncomplicated as you like, you can even make it from frozen grape juice concentrate. You can also buy grape juice from companies selling famous names like merlot, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir to name just a few.
Step 2 - Primary Fermentation: After pouring your grape juice into a winemaking container, add a few campden tablets, cover and allow to sit overnight. Campden tablets create sulfur gas that eliminates bacteria and wild yeasts in the juice. Add your yeast to the mixture and allow it to ferment for five to seven days. Fermentation should start within 48 hours. Foaming and bubbling is evidence of active fermentation whereby yeast is converting sugar into ethanol alcohol and releasing carbon dioxide gas.
Step 3 - Secondary Fermentation: After five to seven days, siphon the wine into a secondary fermenter being careful to leave any sediments behind. Cap the container with an airlock to prevent oxidation of the wine. Allow the wine to ferment another five to seven weeks until the wine becomes completely clear. Fermentation will be pretty active at first evidenced by the continuous stream of bubbles in the airlock. Don’t be tempted to open it prematurely risking contamination. Patience is the name of the game.
Step 4 - Racking the Wine: In the fermentation process, sediments (aka lees) are manufactured and settle to the bottom of the container. The sediment consists mainly of dead yeast cells and need to be removed so not to spoil your wine. The process for removing the lees is called “racking”. Be careful not to over rack your wine because it can either slow down or stop fermentation altogether. Also, unwelcome elements such as oxygen and bacteria may be introduced to your wine and can ruin it.
Step 5 - Bottling the Wine: Before readying your wine for bottling, one last racking is necessary to remove all trace sediments from the wine. Adding campden tablets will ensure any existing yeast and bacteria are eliminated. Now you’re ready for the last step, bottling your wine. Keep in mind most traditional wine maker’s prefer bottling their wine in traditional wine bottles and sealing them with corks, however one should note there are other alternatives out there.
Step 6 - Drinking Your Wine: Saving the best step for last, now we’re ready to taste the fruits of your labor. Professional wine maker’s keep a detailed journal noting what they did on each batch and the distinguishing characteristics that resulted to replicate or improve the next batch.
Making homemade wine is a fun and rewarding hobby. Making your own wine is a craft that improves with time. It just takes a bit of patience on your part and a bit of trial and error to develop the flavor and blend you like. There is absolutely nothing like the thrill of opening a bottle of your own wine knowing you crafted something that equals or is better than the quality of higher priced wines in the store.
Bob Lystra is a wine connoisseur who’s been making his own wine at home for years. He has found a practical guide to make your own wine easily from home. Visit Bob’s site at www.winefromhome.com to discover where he learned how to make homemade wine.
