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Easy Wine Making At Home
One day while surfing the web I saw an ad for wine making courses that said, “Easy Wine Making At Home”. Now that sounded interesting! Everyone always loves to come to my house to dine on awesome cuisine and enjoy a glass or two of the fruit of the vine.
Needless to say, I entertain a LOT. With all this fun going on my friends and I go through many bottles of wine each month.
I decided to give it a try and see how it might work out. I wanted to see just how easy a simple wine making course might be.
I could see myself barefoot stomping on a batch of grapes in some giant vat. If you are old enough, you might remember Lucille Ball’s famous TV skit from “I Love Lucy.” I would astound my friends with my own fruit of the vine creation!
Guess What!
I went to the website, printed out the recipe and started my “easy wine making at home” adventure. Confident that soon I would amaze my friends with a batch of my own delightfully tasting wine.
My first anchoring to reality was the realization that it would take some time before I could serve my homemade wine to all my friends. But, that didn’t stop me. I trudged on.
Finally, finally the wine was ready and I couldn’t wait to amaze my friends with my new found skill. It was all bottled and I had pasted some very attractive wine labels on the bottles. I was bursting with anticipation.
There was a surprise alright, but not what I had anticipated! We opened that first bottle, poured the wine into our sparkling crystal goblets. Before it reached the back of our throats we were all gagging and spitting, grabbing our throats and covering our mouths!
It was sour. Yuck, it tasted like alcoholic vinegar!
Luckily, we were all in the patio and my white rug was spared the red and purple stains. We got through it. After all the laughing and joking (about my wine!), we settled down with a bottle of wine from one of the local wineries.
Well we certainly had a great laugh. That was my first experience with home made wine. Nevertheless, we had a great time.
We did decide, however, that it would be a great idea to learn the art of wine making. So, we decided to search for wine making courses that we could really depend on.
A Toast
A couple of years have gone by and now we are all enjoying our own home made delicious tasting wine. Yes, we did learn how to make our own wine. We found an easy step-by-step guide and a coach that guided us through the art and the science of homemade wine making.
I can tell you this, you will not find a better tasting hobby than wine making at home. Here’s to you! Enjoy the fruit of the vine!
Instructions For Wine Making
Making home-made wine is a wonderful and easy way to profit from your home grown grapes and all the work you put into growing them. The basic steps for wine making are:
Picking the grapes
Crushing the grapes
Fermenting the juices
Clarifying and bottling the liquid
Aging the wine
For white wine you use white grapes and for red wine you use red or black grapes. However, you can make white wine from red grapes if you first remove the skin. You might also need to remove the seeds and stems. Each component of the grape, including the stems and the skins, contribute to the aroma and flavor of the finished wine.
Materials:
To make one standard bottle of wine (75cl) you will want about two pounds of grapes. Ten pounds of grapes will yield a gallon of wine. In addition to the grapes you will need a few accessories for making your wine. Visit your local wine-making supply store to find the items or look on the Internet for suppliers. Here is a list of the essential items.
Grapes
Large vat for crushing grapes
Hand masher (or use your hands)
Bottles, corks
Campden tablets
Wine Yeast
Barrel fitted with an airlock
Syphon and carboy (clean and sterilized)
Hydrometer (To measure the specific gravity)
A wine-making kit is the easiest way to get started, and as you progress you might enjoy upgrading your tools as you gain experience in using them. You don’t have to crush the grapes by treading on them. This is a good way to do large productions, but for small productions, mashing them by using a hand-masher (or your hands) will do just as well. Don’t fill the vat too full because the grapes will foam and froth as they ferment. When the grapes are mashed, leave them for a day or two before beginning the fermentation. Campden tablets are used to prevent wild yeast from growing during this stage.
Proper wine yeast should be used, not bread yeast, because the flavor is quite different. Stir in the yeast by hand, cover the vat and leave the wine to ferment for about a week. At the end of the week you can strain the wine. The bubbling and boiling effect should have subsided before you strain the wine and throw away the pulp. Pour the liquid into a barrel with an airlock so that carbon dioxide, which forms as the wine ferments, can escape. The wine should be protected from exposure to the air at this stage or it will oxidize and won’t be good for drinking.
Over the next two to three years, sediment will fall to the bottom of the barrel and the liquid will turn clear. After about three weeks the wine is ready to “rack” or siphon into the carboy to remove the clear wine from the sediment. The carboy should be sterilized to prohibit the growth of bacteria. Siphon the wine every couple of months as the wine ages. When you notice there is no fresh sediment, and the liquid is perfectly clear, the wine is ready for bottling. Another test is to check the specific gravity with a hydrometer. It should be below 1.000.
As you can see winemaking is quite easy. Making truly fine wine, however, is an art as well as a science. Aging your wine a few more months in the bottle will improve the flavor, but once it is bottled, you can basically begin drinking it.
Homemade Wine Making Equipment
If you’re thinking about making your own homemade wine, here are some things you should know about the equipment required to get you started.
First and foremost, we need to talk about cost. You could visit online merchants here, there and everywhere to shop around for the best prices on individual items you’ll need to start making your own wine, but most sites that sell equipment offer some sort of beginning equipment kit that will have all the items you need to get your wine making career started. This is absolutely the best way to go in my opinion. Kits will run anywhere from $ 80-$ 150. That’s a lot of money, but this equipment can be used over and ever and thus will eventually pay for itself.
So what’s included in a kit, anyway? For starters you’ll get a plastic primary fermentation bucket, usually around 8 gallons. After primary fermentation you’ll need something to transfer your wine into for secondary fermentation. This is usually a 5 or 6 gallon glass bottle, called a carboy, although in some kits the secondary is plastic.
Also included will be some rubber stoppers that fit the fermenting vessels, and an airlock, which is a device used to let carbon dioxide out when your wine is fermenting while not allowing air and bacteria in. You should also get a couple of brushes, one for cleaning the bottles and another so you can clean the carboy.
Some sort of cleaning agent and also a sanitizer will be included. Cleaning and sanitizing is a crucial step when making wine. A length of plastic tubing will be supplied, and a sometimes a device called a racking tube which aids in transferring your wine from one vessel to the other. Some kits also include a little device to slip onto the plastic tube that allows you to shut off the flow of wine when you’re bottling.
Most kits include a hydrometer. This is a device that measures the specific gravity of the wine during various stages of development. You can also use it to measure the potential alcohol of your wine. Corks are also in most equipment kits, as is some sort of corker to insert the corks.
This is the minimum list of items, and you’ll find some kits that include much more. What is generally NOT included is an ingredient kit, although some sellers will allow you to add one to your package for a reduced price and if you can afford it, this is a good way to go. Bottles are usually not included either, but are easy to collect from friends and family.
Consider getting started making your own homemade wine today. It’s a fun and fascinating hobby that you can explore endlessly.
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History of Wine Making
The history of wine can be classified into four periods: the Ancient Times, the Dark Ages, the New World and the Modern Days.
Ancient Times
Mesopotamia. Evidence of grape cultivation and wine production were found dating as far back as 6000BC.
Egypt. Egyptians made first records of grape harvest and wine making. Wine was regarded a measurement of one’s social status and is used for religious rituals.
Greece. Wine played an important part in the religion of ancient Greece particularly attributed to the god Dionysus. It was also regarded as a social drink for the privileged upper class.
Rome. Wine making technology was considerably improved and wine became available even to the common people.
China. The Chinese initially used wild grapes for their wine, cultivation of grapes didn’t start until after Zhang Qian’s exploration to Western Kingdoms where he acquired vines. Wine from grapes was therefore considered exotic and were reserved only for the Emperor’s consumption.
Dark Ages
Following the decline of Rome, the Christian Church became a staunch supporter of wine necessary for celebration of the Catholic Mass while Muslim chemists pioneered the distillation of wine for medicinal purposes.
Middle East. Alcoholic drinks were prohibited, but alcohol production particularly wine, have thrived. Egyptian Jews leased vineyards from the Fatimid and Mamluk governments and produced wine for sacramental and medicinal use. Christian monasteries in Levant and Iraq cultivated grapes and distributed their vintages to taverns located inside monastery grounds. Zoroastrians in Persia and Central Asia also engaged in wine production, though not much is known regarding their wine trade. However, they are known for their taverns.
Medieval Europe. Benedictine monks were one of the largest producers of wine in France and Germany, followed closely by the Cistercians. The Templar, and Carmelite orders were also notable wine producers.
New World
New World wines came to a rise and challenged Old World wines in the 19th century.
The Americas. Grapes were brought to what is now known as Latin America by Spanish conquistadores. Succeeding waves of immigrants imported grapes from France, Italy and Germany.
American wine was generally looked upon as inferior to European product until the latter half of the 20th century; New World wine began to gain respect after a surprising showing at the 1976Paris Wine tasting.
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Until late in the 20th century, Australia exported mostly to the United Kingdom while New Zealand kept most of its wine internally and South Africa was closed off to much of the world market due to apartheid.
Modern Days
Wine making developed greatly in terms of scientific background therefore allowing a lot of things that were once impossible to be accomplished. Wine makers of this day are now able to gain total control of every stage in wine making. The challenge now for wine makers is to produce wine for a much larger market without losing the character and distinct flavor of their wines. More and more countries are now producing more varieties of wine and advances in technology will ensure that such trend will continue.
Homemade Wine Making Facts
Wine is more popular than ever in the United States. There are almost 3000 vineyards in the US, with at least one winery in every state. Most US wine production occurs in the west, with the states of California, Washington and Oregon leading the way.
Here’s something you may not know. More and more people are discovering the fascinating hobby of making their own homemade wine. If you’ve ever thought about making your own wine at home, there’s no better time to start than right now. Let’s take a look at what’s involved to get started making your own wine.
First of all, you really don’t need a lot of space to get begin. All the wine I’ve made, a couple thousand bottles, has been produced in my 10 X 15 foot kitchen. And all the equipment you’ll need can be hidden away in a hall closet when it’s not in use. So for most folks space is not an issue.
Time is a factor for most people these days. Homemade wine making need not be labor intensive. When using wine making kits, the absolute easiest way to get started, the total time you’ll spend from starting a batch to carefully putting the last drop into the bottle will be approximately 4-5 hours, spread over a one month period.
Money is another factor for most folks these days. A basic wine making equipment kit will cost approximately $ 100 to $ 140 depending upon where you’re shopping. This equipment can be used over and over again, so the initial investment will eventually pay for itself.
Ingredient kits can cost $ 60 to $ 150, putting your cost per bottle in the $ 2 to $ 5 range. This is a bargain for the high quality, delicious wines that are being produced by homemade winemakers.
Wine making is a fun and fascinating hobby. You can begin with the basics and stay there, producing high-quality wines that you and your friends and family will enjoy. If you have a creative side and love to explore new things, you can take your wine making hobby as far as your creative desires will lead you.
Wine making is fun, economical, and easier to do than you think. Begin your wine making journey today!