- Choose if you want to make
wine from juice that you would buy, or if you are going to use your own
grapes or fruit.
- It will be easier to make
wine form juice that you would purchase from a winery or other reputable
juice producers.
- DO NOT make wine from the
Welch's Grape concentrate that you buy in stores.
- Making wine form grapes or
other fruit will be much harder and take longer, you will also need more
equipment to do so.
- Once you decide which you
will do, and the recipe you wish to follow, you are ready to buy the
materials that you will need.
Making
Wine from Juice
- Put the juice into a clean
carboy, add .5 grams per gallon of Potassium Metabisulfite.
- Check your sugar level
with the hydrometer. You should be somewhere around 21 Brix or Balling.
If not, add sugar to the wine until your hydrometer reads 21 Brix.
- If you are going to change
the acid of a wine, now is the time to do this. Adding either Potassium
Bicarbonate or Calcium Carbonate is used tp drop acid in wine. Where as
Acid Blend or Citric Acid is added to raise acid in your wine. (If you
buy juice, most of this should already be adjusted for you so this stem
may be unneccessary)
- Add Pectic Enzyme to juice
according to package for amounts.
- Add Yeast Nutrient to
juice in reccomended amount.
- Take the Yeast and get
water (about 1/2 a cup per 5 gallon carboy) at about 100 degrees
Farenhiet, mix the Yeast into the water along with 1/2 the package of
Yeast Starter. Let stand for about 30 minutes to an hour then add to
your juice. Put the airlock on carboy and fill the airlock 1/2 way with
water.
- If the airlock does not
bubble in 2 days or so, mix the juice up, this will help the
fermentation process start.
- Once the airlock starts to
bubble, this means that fermentation has started, monitor it very
carfully with your hydrometer to show progress.
- If any odd smells occur,
like rotten eggs, agitate the wine in order to give some oxigen to the
Yeast, and add a little more DAP (Yeast Nutrient).
- When wine reaches between
8 and 13 Brix (Balling) add recommended dose of Fermaid or Yeast
Energizer. It will foam so be careful!
- If your wine becomes very
slow at fermentation and your Brix levels are above 0, then agitate it
to help the fermentation along.
- Once your wine reaches -1
to 0 Brix, fermantation is about over. So go ahead and add some
Potassium Metabisulfite, about 1/4 teaspoon per 5 gallons.
- Your wine should start to
settle out at this time. When a good sediment layer has formed, rack the
wine off.
- Now is the time to clarify
your wine. In red wines you can use gelitan, sparkalloid, or small
amounts of Bentonite. In whites, use both Bentonite and PVPP. In
blushes, use the same amounts as reds. After adding recommended doses,
add to wine and let stand for a few days, it should clear up even more.
Rack the wine as necessary.
- Cold Stabilization - let
your wine get to about 30 degrees Farenhiet for about 30 days, crystals
will drop out. Filter after this is done.
- Finish your wine...if you
are making a dry wine, then all you have to do is make sure that your
wine is not fermenting, your sulfite levels are up, and it is as clear
as you want it.
- If you are making a
sweeter wine...
- You must add Potassium
Sorbate, this is a preservative that will keep your wine from
refermenting in the bottle. Add at 1 gram per gallon.
- Make sure that your
sulfite levels are up.
- Add sugar to your
taste.
- You are now ready to
bottle.
Making
Wine from Grapes
- Harvest your grapes.
- If you are making white
wine...Press them off. Crush them up and let the juice drain off. Use
cheese cloth or other semi-fine strainer to separate the juice form the
grape skins and seeds. After this go back and follow the Making Wine
>From Juice starting with step 1.
- If you are making red
wine...Crush up your grapes. Get a good sample of the juice without much
pulp and skins and check your sugar, add sugar to reach about 21 Brix
(Balling). Add .5 grams per gallon Potassium Metabisulfite. Add Yeast,
Nutrients, Pectic Enzyme and other processes that you might be doing at
this time. Let the wine ferment for up to two weeks on skins in a bucket
or other open top container, mixing every day at least once. Strain off
the skins and seeds to get just the fermenting juice. Remember this
should take no longer than two weeks. Continue to step 3 in the Making
Wine from Juice section. You can exclude steps 4,5,6,7 and 8.
- If you are making wine
from grapes, odds are that you might have to play with the acid, this is
an advanced step...The following is a brief overview.
- Acid Blend will raise
the total acid by .1% by adding 3.5 grams per gallon.
- Potassium Bicarbonate
will lower total acid by .1% by adding 3.4 grams per gallon.
- Calcium Carbonate will
lower total acid by .1% by adding 2.5 grams per gallon.
You CAN NOT
change the acid by more than .3%!!!
Bottling
- Clean bottles with
Potassium Metabisulfite mixed in water, 2 tablespoons per gallon of
water.
- Clean corks with Meta
water (same as above)
- Clean anything else that
is going to be touching the wine with the Meta water, funnels, etc...
- Put wine into bottles, and
put a cork in.
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