The Full Guide on How to Make Wine
The Full Guide on How to Make Wine
Theoretically saying winemaking is an easy process but practically it needs patience, persistence, care, and proper management. Wine production is based on a natural process known as fermentation that happens when grape juice and yeast interact in the feasible environments. At first, wine was not produced by the conscious efforts of human beings, but it was discovered accidentally when natural yeast was settled on a bunch of grapes by the action of blowing wind. Fortunately, there was a bowl of rock below that grape bunch and that liquid was naturally pooling in that bowl. It was noticed by a passerby who stopped to taste the liquid and liked what was discovered.
Nowadays, the process of winemaking is significantly refined and offers a good mix of winemaking techniques between modern, and stone aged science and art. Winemaking process needs less expensive equipment, patience, following right management practices, and cleanliness. So, delicious, and tasty wine can be produced at home by following right management practices, and measures.
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- One plastic bucket of food-grade quality and a clean lid to favor the fermentation process
- Three glass jugs of one-gallon capacity to be used as secondary containers for fermentation
- Funnel that can exactly fit to the mouth of glass bottles
- Three fermentation traps (Airlocks)
- A bung or rubber cork that can ideally fit to the secondary container for fermentation
- Large nylon mesh bag for straining
- A clear plastic tubing (six feet and half inches)
- Bottles for wine collection
- Pre sanitized 9 number corks
- Hand corker (Can be obtained from any wine store)
- Hydrometer for the measurement of sugar levels
- Wine grapes
- Wine yeast
- Acid tester
- Chemicals and additives
- Raw materials
- Filtered water
- Granulated sugar
Wine Making Process
The equipment should be well sterilized and cleaned before starting the wine production process. The special sterilization agents such as cleaners and bleaches can be obtained from any nearby wine store. Just washing with the sterilizing agents is not enough, instead it should be properly rinsed with clean or deionized water after sterilization.
The selected grapes for winemaking should be at peculiar-looking or tossing out rotten stage. These grapes must be thoroughly washed before use, as otherwise they may cause contamination and can destroy wine taste. Selection of organic grapes is an excellent approach to protect wine from the negative effects of synthetic chemicals. Moreover, winemakers can also select grapes from the farmer’s market. Some farmers are especially growing grapes for winemaking, so winemakers can directly contact the farmers or retailers to get high-quality grapes for winemaking.
The stems should be properly removed to allow uniform and even wine texture. Grapes must be properly cleaned before crushing to avoid the entry of contaminants to wine. Grapes are naturally provided with the yeast on their skin, so the yeast from the air, and fruit skin can also be used for winemaking. However, washing of grapes, and the addition of other yeast is the best approach to ensure uniformity, and good flavour. Winemakers can also make two different batches of wine to check the results for both natural yeast on grapefruit, and another type of added yeast.
Grapes must be properly crushed to release all the juice into fermentation container. This crushing can be done by using a machine, and hands. Use of potato mesh is also a good way to crush and squeeze the grapes. However, hand crushing is the best approach to get maximum juice from grapes. Fruit press can also be purchased from any wine store to make many litres of wine. Sometimes filtered water is also added to fill the container to the top. Addition of Campden tablet releases sulfur dioxide to the produced mixture and helps to kill bacteria, and wild yeast. However, if winemakers want to make wild yeast wine, then the addition of Campden tablet is not recommended. The addition of Sulphur dioxide in a pre-calculated amount is an excellent approach to preserve wine and to protect it from degradation. Although, some people may not be interested to use chemicals, but it is an essential approach for preservation.
Winemakers can also add Campden tablets to prevent the oxidation reactions of acids, tannins, enzymes, yeast nutrients, and other ingredients. The addition of this tablets allows better control over the making process and helps to yield high-quality produce. If Campden tablet is not available, winemakers can also pour two to three cups of boiling water to the grapes. Use of tap water is not recommended as it contains different additives and adversely affects the taste of wine.
Sometimes honey can also be added to the mixture as it acts as a food source for the yeast and helps to improve the sweetness of wine. The amount of honey being used for winemaking is directly proportional to the wine sweetness. While, if the winemaker is not intended to make sweet wine the amount of honey should be reduced to one or half cup only. The amount of honey to be added is also dependent on the type of grapes. If winemakers are using wine grapes, then the requirements for honey addition are significantly minimized.
Winemakers can also add berries and other fruits for winemaking but the addition of more honey is recommended for this approach. If honey is not available, then brewers can also use brown sugar, or table sugar. If resulted wine is not sweet as desired then brewers can also add honey in the later steps.
After obtaining the grape juice the next step is to add wine yeast to the juice. At this point, hydrometer must be inserted to check sugar levels. Sugar can be added in a pure granulated form to the filtered water. Great care is required at this step, as any mismanagement may cause serious consequences. Addition of sugar is essentially helpful to boost up the alcohol levels. While the mixture should be gently stirred to ensure evenness.
Primary fermentation bucket must be properly covered with the clean, and good quality cloth and the mixture should be allowed to ferment for 1-10 days. Fermentation will cause the formation of froth on the top layer in a few days, whereas, sediments will be settled down properly. White wine formation requires proper removal of sediments and liquids, so great care must be taken to remove all the sediments.
The mixture should be properly stirred during fermentation for every four hours on the first day and for few times a day for the next three to four days. Bubble formation can be observed by the action of moving yeast and lead to the production of delicious wine.
The resulting liquid should be gently strained to remove froth, and liquid and the juice should be properly moved through the funnel to a sanitized fermentation container (secondary). This container must be properly filled to the top level to reduce the interaction of air with wine. Moreover, these containers must be fitted with the airlocks to restrict the entry of air to wine. Fermentation of this juice must be allowed for various weeks to get good taste.
Addition of pectin enzymes is also a good approach to get improved taste, and texture. Different kind of enzymes are available in the wine stores and can be used according to personal preferences and general situations.
The resulted wine can be shifted to the properly washed fermentation containers by using the contaminants free plastic tubes. At this point, the wine must be separated from the sediments, and usually resulting wine is periodically passed through the siphon until a clear wine is obtained.
The resultant wine can be shifted to the clean wine bottles but these bottles should never be filled to the top. Leaving some space for cork is strongly recommended to create airtight conditions. Corks must be inserted with great care as they must be free from contaminants.
The wine bottles must be stored in the upright direction for the first three to five days. After this time, wine can be ideally stored at any optimally cool place. Although, this wine is ready but it should not be consumed before six months. Potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate are important chemicals for bottling the sweet wines. Sorbate alone should never be used without using metabisulphite. The use of some other chemicals has also been reported for wine bottling but the addition of potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulphite offers good results.
Moreover, wine should never be added in the smaller bottles as it may cause deterioration. Typically the ideal size for wine bottles includes 1.5 liter to 4-litre gallon jugs, and 187 ml, 375 ml, 500 ml, and 750 ml containers.
The wine must be allowed to age for at least one month to get improved and delicious taste. If extra honey is added to the wine, it should be allowed to age for more time. The resulting wine must be tasted in different intervals to know that the process is going right. Winemaking is a great hobby and helps to enjoy great and delicious taste. However, winemakers must take proper care to use clean equipment and must follow the right recipes, management practices, to avoid any mishap or taste degradation.