My OperaDirect wines Making Your Own Wine is Easier Than You Think. It's Only Six Steps Away
Monday, August 23, 2010 3:54:03 AM
Wine making is an art form that will change the way you look at the world and the people in it. You and your talents will be fully integrated into each bottle of wine you make. Making homemade wine is a fun hobby, not to mention great tasting wines can be made for just pennies on the dollar. Many people assume wine making is a difficult process, however it's easier than most people think. Wine making is an age old tradition that people all over the world continue today. Making homemade wine can be summarized into six steps:
Step 1 - Sourcing Grapes: Wine making is simple and you can even make wine from frozen grape juice concentrate available at your grocery store. If you are more discerning, there are companies that sell juice for different grape varietals such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir to name a few.
Step 2 - Primary Fermentation: After pouring your grape juice into a glass wine making container, add campden tablets, cover with a towel and let it sit overnight. The campden tablets create sulfur gas that kills bacteria and eliminates wild yeast in the juice. Then add your yeast to the juice allowing it to ferment for five to seven days. Fermentation should start within 24 to 48 hours. Your mixture should start foaming, this is evidence active fermentation is happening and is converting sugars into alcohol and 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: During fermentation, sediments are created and settle to the bottom of your container. The sediment is made up of dead yeast cells and they need to be removed so they don't taint your wine. Racking is a process that removes this sediment. Be careful you don't over rack your wine since it can slow or halt fermentation and introduce oxygen, organisms or both that may also ruin your wine's flavor.
Step 5 - Bottling the Wine: One last racking of your wine is necessary to remove all residual sediment in your wine before its bottled. Campden tablets can be added at this point to remove any lingering yeast or bacteria from the wine. Now you're ready to bottle your wine. Most winemaker's making homemade wine will use traditional wine bottles and corks, however you do have other alternatives available.
Step 6 - Drinking Your Wine: Now comes the best part, drinking and enjoying the fruits of your hard work. You may want to maintain a wine making journal to document what you did to each batch and the resulting wine attributes to make improvements or replicate what you did in your next batch.
Making your own wine is a great hobby and can be lots of fun. Making homemade wine is a process that is perfected over time. It just takes a little patience and some trial and error before perfecting a certain taste and blend you like. There is nothing like the feeling of opening a bottle of wine knowing that you created something that equals or exceeds the quality of high-priced store bought wines.
Bob Lystra is a wine enthusiast who's been making homemade wine for many years. He has found the quintessential guide to make your own wine easily from home. Visit Bob's site at www.winefromhome.com to discover where he learned to make homemade wine.Direct Wines: WSJ Wine Club
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