So - you have decided that you
want to try your hand at making some wine. This article will describe
the basic steps and some of the pitfalls to avoid to make sure your
first batch turns out good enough to drink.
First things first - how much do you want to make?
I
recommend at least 5 gallons. Why? Because beginning home wine makers
just cannot wait to taste what they have made. In addition, 5 gallons is
only 25 bottles. So you'll get the batch finished, and then you will
try a bottle or 2 or 3. Then you'll wait a week and try a few more
bottles. Sooner than later, it will all be gone before it has a chance
to age and get really good.
If
you just want to do something quick and simple, you could do a gallon
in a plastic milk jug. The drawback is, once you have tasted it a few
times - it's all gone and you'll have to start over.
With
5 gallons - you just might be tempted to let a few of the remaining
bottles age. Believe it or not, the biggest mistake beginning winemakers
make is not letting their wine age in the bottle. The difference in
taste is, to put it mildly, AMAZING.
The
next step is to decide which type of juice you want to ferment. Grape
juice, cranberry juice, muscadine, and cherry are all good starter
choices. The first 3 should produce a rather normal tasting wine while
cherries usually will give you a sweeter wine. Of course, you can always
add sugar to sweeten your wine after it is stabilized and has stopped
fermenting.
The next
step is to completely sterilize all of the containers and equipment you
will be using. Some people use extremely hot water, others recommend
using a sanitizer. I like the sanitizer because you do not have to scald
yourself with the hot water. The sanitizing solution should be poured
over everything and should make contact with all surfaces. Then you just
rinse everything off with hot water.
Put your juice in your 5 gallon bucket - that's the next step. BUT - it's not time to put your yeast in yet.
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| blueberry wine recipe |
We
first want to sterilize our "must" or our juice. You can do this with 4
Campden Tablets. These are sulfite tablets that will get rid of any
type of bacteria that could be present in the juice. Crush the tablets
and then dissolve them in some warm water and then pour them in your
juice or "must". Let this sit overnight while the sulfites do their
work.
24 hours later, you are ready to sprinkle in or "pitch" your yeast.
The
type of yeast you decide to use is really a question that is beyond the
scope of this article. However, I'll say that there are hundreds of
different yeast strains for literally thousands of different uses. For
our first batch, we can just use the bakers yeast that you can easily
find at the grocery store. Later, and after some research, you will
probably want to use one of the specialized strains.
Now
- wait 7 days and watch. you will want to cover your bucket with a
cloth towel or even put on a lid with an airlock in place. The wine will
be perfectly safe during the fermentation stage because it will give
off lots of Carbon Dioxide. The Co2 will protect your wine from the
oxygen in the air.
Once
the 7 days has passed, siphon off the wine from the bucket into another
bucket or into a glass "carboy". These can be found online or at your
local wineshop. When you are doing the siphoning, you will want to get
as little of the gunk on the bottom of the bucket as possible. This gunk
is called "lees" and is made up of dead yeast. Wine that sits on top of
the dead yeast sometimes can develop an "off" flavor.
Once
your wine has been transferred into what is called your "secondary
fermenter", then you will want to put an airlock in place and just let
it sit for about a month. There's a song about this part - "The Waiting
is the Hardest Part". It's true. Every budding home winemaker just
cannot wait to taste the stuff - but - don't do it. It surely won't hurt
you but during this month it is still fermenting. The wine isn't
finished yet. Be Patient.
After
the month is up, you will want to transfer it back to your bucket,
again making sure that you leave the gunk on the bottom. The process of
transferring the wine from one vessel to another is called "racking".
Why? That's something I am going to research for another article.
You
are just about there. Theres only one thing left to do and that is to
add a "stablizer" to your wine. A stabilizer inhibits yeast
reproduction. In essence, it stops yeast from doing it's thing. Part of
what happens during yeast growth and reproduction is that it releases
Co2 gas. If that is happening after you bottle the wine, you will get
popped corks or exploded bottles or both. So - put in the stabilizer,
stir the wine well, and then return it to your Secondary Carboy
fermentation vessel. Be sure and clean out the secondary and sterilize
it before you do.
Now,
all you have to do at this point is wait until the wine clears. Gravity
is your friend here. Of course, it won't hurt a bit to bottle cloudy
wine. But if you wait another month, it should be crystal clear. The
clearing process is another subject that you can find a great deal of
information on in other guides and books and I suggest you read up on
this subject when you get a chance.
Bottling
time! All you have to do is make sure your bottles are clean and
sanitized and just siphon the wine into the bottles. Corking the bottles
can be a little difficult and i highly recommend you get some king of
corker. Again, these are available online or at your local wine shop.
Now
- BE PATIENT and let the wine sit in the bottle for 6 to 9 months. The
longer the wine ages, the better it will taste - I guarantee it. Happy
winemaking!
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