|
Wine making is an art and it is important to make a good drop does take a
certain amount of time and effort. I think we are all well aware that grapes are crushed and
then that it has to ferment before it becomes wine. The process for easy wine making is
fairly simple if you have the right tools at hand.
Discover 56 Great Wine Recipes Click
Here
The quantity of grapes to make a gallon of wine is around 10 pounds, and that
should make you a good quality wine, however if you are going to make wine you might consider
making larger quantities , in which case just do the sums.
You are going to need a plastic bin in order to make five gallons of wine that
is about the normal; however I believe you can get them in gallon size drums as
well.
If you are growing your own grapes, then once you have gathered them the next
step is to compress them into liquid, the old fashioned method was to stamp on them, however
times have moved on to tools that can achieve this for example; a potato masher works
well.
The plastic container should only be around half full when you have completed
crushing all the grapes. At this point you then need to add the Camp den tablets; this is
measured amounts of potassium metabisulfite, and the reason being this will kill any surplus
yeast growth.
The surplus yeast can cause untimely fermentation, and then cover the plastic
bucket with a cloth or a towel and then leave it for 1 day.
On the second day is the point when you add a packet of wine yeast. There are
two types of yeast one is bread and the other wine be careful not to mix the packets they
don’t mix together very well.
The most common yeasts are montrachet and prix de mousse that are used to
produce wine.
At this stage in the plastic bucket the grapes that are compressed are
acknowledged as must you can stir in the yeast by hand, search through the must and get rid
of any bunches of stems, compress any of the fruit they may be attached to them.
Then you need to cover the plastic container with the towel, in the next couple
of days the must will start to bubble On the third day it could give the impression that it
is coming to the boil.
After a week it is the point to divide the wine from the left over seeds,
grape skins, and pulp.
The contents should then be dispensed into mesh bags and squashed, strained into
a rigid container often referred to as a carboy.
From this point in time the wine should be sealed air tight you will need an
airlock what this does it permits the gas to escape but stops the air from entering the
plastic bucket.
It then will take around 14 to 21 days for the bubbling to
stop.
The next step is to rack the wine; this eliminates the wine from the remains
which is used up grape particles and yeast that have sunk to the foundation of the
bucket.
The general process now is to make use of a siphon to make the wine clear into
the rigid container, and clean out the remains from the old container.
The work is almost completed at least for two to three months and then it is
time to rack the wine for the second time and a final racking is required after four
months.
When storing the wine keep in a dark room if possible
There is so
much to learn with regard to how to make home made wine, it would be difficult to cover everything on this
page. However, one of the most important stages is stabilizing the wine, many people when they
are starting out often get this wrong, and wonder why the bottles explode.
Stabilizing
the wine comes in the later stages when the primary, and secondary stages are
complete.
You’re
looking at your wine and it is starting to clear, great now we can start bottling right?
Absolutely no, don’t even think about it unless you want to create an
explosion.
When a wine
is fermenting its still alive, and there is a microbiological
process still happening however, this is not visual but, don’t let this fool you the wine is
still fermenting.
If you were to
bottle the wine at this point the carbon dioxide can cause an explosion, and your wine could end
up on the ceiling. By stabilizing the wine we can avoid this common mistake.
The final stage
is to bottle the wine, this is where the fun starts. If money is short then you can get bottles
from almost anywhere.
Most
people today rather than recycle them are pleased to give them away. However, there is still a
lot of work to be done.
Cleaning
and sterilizing is essential, don’t be in a rush to get the wine into bottles, or you could end
destroying all the hard work you have put in so far.
You are going
to need corks, don’t make the mistake of using used corks. It is possible to do this however, if
you are considering this well sterilize, and clean them thoroughly.
When you are
in the learning stages of how to make home made wine, every step of the way is important. Remember cleanliness is a
key factor.
These are just
a few tips to how to get started with your wine making, in order to become successful practice
makes perfect and the learning experience is ongoing and you will have lots of fun.
Discover 56 Great
Wine Recipes
Click Here
|
