How To Make Wine

Making wine is a very fun and interesting hobby; for some people it's a career.
There are so many ways to change the flavor of wine. You can change the level
of sweetness and the level of alcohol. There's a real science to it!

Right now, let's look at the basics of wine-making.

Traditionally, wine is fermented grapes. The juice is squeezed out of grapes and
a certain amount of yeast is then added, so that there's alcohol in the grape juice.

This is how wine has been made for thousands of years. Yeast is a living organism,
that when added to fresh juice, begins to eat all of the sugar that's in it, and turns it
into alcohol.

There are different kinds of yeast, including the kind from the grocery store that is
used to make bread. But the kind you'll need is Wine Yeast, which is sold at any of
your local wine-making stores.
There are many different kinds of wine yeast, depending on how you want your
wine to turn out. A very popular brand of wine yeast is LALVIN, which can be
purchased at most local wine-making stores.

As I just mentioned, there are many different kinds for you to use.

For example: if you'd like to make a nice dry red wine, made from traditional red
grapes, then LALVIN EC-1118 is the yeast you'll want to add. It consumes every
bit of the sugar, and creates a dry red wine taste.

If you'd like to make a nice berry wine, made from strawberries or any other kind
of berry, then LALVIN Bourgovin RC 212 is the kind that you'll want to add.
It will still consume most of the sugar, but it will preserve color and the taste of the
berries that were used.

Of course, you can use any kind of wine yeast, for any kind of wine flavor, and it
will probably turn out good; but keep in mind that there are specific kinds of wine
yeast, that are harvested to make specific kinds of wine.

( To learn more about wine yeast, it can be researched on Google )

Just one small packet of wine yeast, is good for 1 – 5 gallons of wine.

You can make wine out of any kind of fruit or vegetable, just by squeezing out all
of the pure juice and then adding sugar and yeast to it.

The traditional kind of wine that's been made for centuries, is Grape Wine.
Making grape wine is considered by many to be the only true way to make wine.

If wine is made from anything other than grapes, you'll hear it referred to
as Fruit Wine or Vegetable Wine, etc.

Many winemakers like to juice their own fruits and vegetables with a juice
extractor. It's a lot of work, and a lot of produce, but it's a good way to create your
own unique flavors and ensure that there are no additives that will kill the yeast.

Two additives to watch out for, are: Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate.
These will kill your yeast, and stop your wine from being made. So make sure that
any kind of juice you use, doesn't have these additives in it.
Welch's Grape Juice can actually be fermented into wine. Even though it already
has sugar added to it, and a certain amount of additives, there's nothing in Welch's
grape juice that will kill your yeast.

Welch's grape juice can be purchased at the grocery store for a cheap price; it's a
good way for beginners to practice making their first few batches of wine.
And if made properly, it doesn't taste half bad.

Wine can be made in any amount, from 1 gallon of wine to 10 gallons of wine.
There are different sizes of carboys available for whatever amount you feel like
making. But just to start with, we'll use a couple 1 gallon carboys.

A carboy is what we call a wine-making jug. These 1 gallon glass carboys can be
purchased at any wine making store. They sell for around $10.00 - $15.00.
You'll need 2 of them to start out with. Now, before you begin doing anything –
make sure that all of your equipment is 100% sanitized. Clean it all. Use boiling
water to make sure anything that comes in contact with your juice, is clean. One of
the keys to making good wine, is cleanliness. Ask your local wine making store
about different kinds of sanitizers you can use to wash your equipment; chances
are they'll have some available for you to purchase.
 Start by putting a gallon of juice into a cooking pot, and bringing it to a boil.

While it's boiling, add 2 cups of sugar to the juice, and let it all dissolve in there.
Usually 2 cups of granulated sugar per gallon, is a good rule of thumb.

Keep in mind that Welch's Grape Juice already has sugar added to it, so you may
want to subtract that amount from the 2 cups of sugar. Otherwise, it'll just make
your wine stronger.

Remember: more sugar = more alcohol = stronger wine.

The more sugar you add, the stronger your wine will be. Every winemaker has
his/her own preference when it comes to the strength of their wine.

Also, while it's boiling, squeeze a couple citrus fruits into the juice. It doesn't
matter what kind you use; lemons, limes, oranges.... go ahead and use any of them.
Adding citric acid to your juice, helps balance out the wine's acidity, and gives it a
longer shelf life.
You may also choose to add the following powders to your juice while it boils:

Yeast Nutrient - to keep the wine yeast healthy and strong.

Grape Tannin - a natural compound that's found inside of grapes.

Acid Blend – a combination of acids that give your wine a longer shelf life.

( For more information on these 3 powders, you can research them with Google )

After your juice cools to a nice lukewarm temperature, you can pour it into
one of your 1 gallon glass carboys. What you are about to start, is known
as Primary Fermentation; this is when you're getting ready to add a packet of
yeast to your juice, and then you're going to leave it alone for about a week or two.

The yeast is going to begin eating the sugar that's in your juice; it's going to start
breeding and multiplying, so please remember to leave some head-space at the top
of your carboy.

Note: It's ok to leave head-space during primary fermentation.

Now whenever you're ready, open up a packet of wine yeast, and pour it into the
lukewarm juice, leaving a little bit of head-space. You don't even have to mix it.
Yeast is a living organism and it'll take care of itself.
After the yeast has been added, fill up an airlock with a little bit of water, and then
cork the top of your carboy with it. This will allow gases to escape, while stopping
air from getting inside.

Note: Oxygen is death to wine. It is important to keep it out of the carboy.

Your airlock should have water in it, and should be corking the top of your carboy,
just like you see in the photo above.

The nice warm juice will eventually wake the yeasts up, and regenerate them.
They'll soon be swimming around, eating all of the sugar. You'll see the airlock
begin to bubble – these are gases being released.

Keep your carboy in a nice warm room. Keep it away from too much light,
especially sunlight.

Note: Sunlight is bad for wine. Keep your carboy in a nice warm, dark room.

Your airlock will bubble for anywhere between 3 -5 days - sometimes even for a
full week, depending how much sugar you added to your juice. If there's quite a lot
of sugar added, then expect your yeast to stay alive for a while.

Every day, go in and check on your carboy, it should be bubbling away while the
yeast eats up all of the sugar and turns it into alcohol. As the yeast slowly begins to
run out of sugar, the airlock will bubble less, until finally it stops.

After your airlock stops bubbling, leave your carboy alone for about a week.
You should see all of the foam disappearing off the top of your juice.
You are now getting ready to start what is known as Secondary Fermentation.
Use a siphoning hose to siphon all of your juice into a new carboy.
Don't pour it – use the siphoning hose to transfer it. This is called “racking.”

Note: A siphoning hose keeps air from getting into the wine.

Always use a siphoning hose when transferring wine. You can buy one right at
your local wine making store. Please make sure every time you use your siphoning
hose, that it's 100% clean; run boiling water through it.

There are different types of siphoning hoses you can buy, including one that is
known as an Auto-Siphon, which comes with a pump attached to it.

With an auto-siphon you can use the pump to get the wine flowing. Also,
whenever you feel like replacing your hose, you can just disconnect it from the
pump, and attach a brand new one. Extra tubing can be purchased at your local
wine making store, or you can order it from websites, such as Amazon.
Go ahead and taste your juice, you'll see that it's turning into wine.
You should be able to taste the alcohol in it.

Make sure that you don't leave head-space, or you might end up with
Wine Oxidation, which means oxygen flattens the wine and ruins the flavor.

Topping off your wine is important during secondary fermentation. Some

winemakers like to have an extra gallon of wine being made, for the whole
purpose of topping off their carboy during secondary fermentation.

There are different ways to top off your wine. Adding water will work, but keep
in mind that you'll dilute it, and your wine may not be as flavorful.

( To learn more about topping off your wine, research it on Google )

Note: Never leave head-space during secondary fermentation.

After your wine is topped off, you can cork it again with the airlock. Make sure
that it's filled with water, to stop oxygen from getting into your wine.

Secondary Fermentation can last as long as a year; it's entirely up to the

winemaker how long they want to leave it, before bottling it.

Note: Wine must be left in secondary fermentation for at least 3 months.

For secondary fermentation, you can add raisins or dried fruit to help modify
the flavor.

Whatever you add, just make sure it's clean, with no additives that will hurt your
wine. If you're unsure about a certain additive, research it on Google. Pour hot
water over anything that you add to your wine for secondary fermentation,
to make sure the wine doesn't become infected with bacteria.

When making a white wine, it's best to use golden yellow raisins, so that you don't
ruin the color.

You can now leave your wine alone for at least 3 months before bottling it.
When you're ready for bottling, all of the necessary equipment must be bought,
including empty wine bottles, brand new corks, along with a corking device.

It is also important to filter your wine, before bottling it and storing it.
There are different ways to filter wine; one popular way is to purchase
this machine called a Buon Vino. It usually sells for around $200.

This machine will clear all of the dead yeast out of your wine, and get rid
of all the unwanted sediment, so that you can drink your wine clean and clear.

You may choose to filter your wine a cheaper way.

( To learn more about wine filtering and clearing, it can be researched on Google )

Aging wine is a whole other hobby of its own. Fresh homemade wine usually has
the taste of yeast in it. Storing it away and letting it age, will help get rid of the
yeast flavor.

The longer you age your wine, the more the flavor will change.

To create a wine with a long shelf life, all of the proper ingredients must be added.
Use the right amount of grape tannin, ( also known as wine tannin ) . . . .
Make sure there's enough acidity in your wine by adding the proper amount
of acid blend, and citric acid.
Storing your wine in the right environment is also important. The temperature has
to be just right. The wine bottle has to be stored a certain way so that the cork
doesn't dry out, and keeping the wine bottle out of the light, also plays a big role
in how well the wine ages.

Special wine-storage units are made specifically for storing your wine.
Everything is digitally controlled, so that your bottles of wine are kept at
the perfect temperature.

These units are usually called Wine Coolers. They come in all different sizes, and
they're available at different prices. You can order them from websites, such as
Amazon.

Of course, even if you just make a very basic bottle of homemade wine and store it
the old fashioned way – it will probably still have a shelf life of at least 2 years.
It all depends on how much time and effort was put into making the finished
product.
Homemade wine can be aged the same way as professionally made store wine,
and it can taste just as good! Even fruit wine can be aged the same as grape wine.

With all of the wine-making products that are available out there, there's no reason
why a person can't make a truly delicious, high-quality wine right at home.

What we covered here, was the basics of wine making. Now you know how to get
started at making your own homemade wine. For more information on making
wine at home, and other wine making topics such as: determining the alcohol level
in your homemade wine, or what temperature to store your wine at, please consult
Google.

YouTube is another great place to find out more about wine making.

There are many talented winemakers that post instructional videos.