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Steps for Wine-Making

March 11, 2011 By

You will be surprised at the quality of the wine that you can produce yourself by ensuring the following steps are adhered to:

Ensure that all equipment is thoroughly sterilized before starting inclusive of your 4.5 litre, or 1 gallon jar.
Add the grape juice concentrate
Add approximately 3 litres of cold water to the jar.  Tap water is adequate.
If not included in your home-making kit,  dissolve the sugar in warm water
If not included in the home-making kit, add the sugar solution to the concentrate
Top-up the jar with water to 1 gallon,  4.5 litres
Add the yeast contained in the packet
The airlock needs to be half-filled with water before inserting into the bung to seal the jar
Store in a warm place, approximately between 21-24 C,  70-75 F.  Heating pads or belts can be purchased.
Hydrometer readings at various stages will enable to check on the sugar level; For dry wine:  0.99 – 0.996.  Medium:  0.996 – 1.009.  Sweet:  1.009 – 1.018.
Add two crushed Campden tablets with potassium sorbate at the end of fermentation then refit the bung and airlock.
Leave the wine in a cool place,  15 C, 60 F,  to clear.  In a few days, transfer the wine from the sediment.
Occasionally the wine will not clear independently and you may need to purchase “finings”.  All instructions will be included with your purchase.
Once clear, pass the wine through a filter to achieve brilliance.  Once professional brilliance is achieved, transfer the wine into sterilized wine bottles.
Using a corking tool, fit the corks, attach labels, and finally shrink caps.

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Wine Making

March 9, 2011 By

Wine-making is a surprisingly simple yet highly enjoyable past-time, though it may be worth noting that legally within the UK,  you can produce as much wine as you wish, however,  you must not attempt to sell your produce to anyone.

 With a total production cost of approximately 50p per bottle,  you can produce various types of wine with an alcohol content within the range of 7-18%.

 An initial financial outlay is required for equipment, but once invested, you can constantly make wine for a fraction of the retail prices available within the supermarket or the continent.

 Wine-Making Process:

 Home wine-making kits are widely available but for a quick checklist, please ensure that you have the following equipment included:

 Primary Fermenter

 Primary fermentation requires a container that has a volume of at least 20 – 30% than the must to ensure that during fermentation the container allows for the foaming.  A large plastic bucket can be used as long it has a lid.   During fermentation, the carbon dioxide must have an air-hole to escape through.   Once the air-hole has been made it is recommended that you insert an air-lock to keep vinegar flies out of the must.

 Carboy

 A glass container that come in sizes of 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and half gallons inbetween such as 6.5.  5 gallons is the standard size.  The large containers of 7 and 7.5 can become extremely heavy when full and can become excessively heavy to lift or maintain.  With a narrow neck and opening, the Carboy or Carbouy allows for the use of the air lock and stop.

 Plastic Buckets

 You can never have too many pails or buckets for wine-making!

 Buckets can be utilised for carrying must,  mixing ingredients,  racking etc.  Again, with a range of sizes buckets are extremely useful.

 AirLocks

 U-shaped devices that are simply valves that allow the carbon dioxide to escape from the wine as it ferments while stopping oxygen and bacteria from reaching the liquid.  A sodium metabisulfite solution is placed in the U of the airlock to enable the escape of gas and killing any harmful bacteria that could contaminate the wine, and eliminating any fruit flies.

 Cork

 With a choice of different corks available,  the cork keeps the wine and seals the bottle with natural expansion.  A quick guide is use natural cork for bottles that you wish to keep for more than one year,  agglomerated cork (or processed corks) should only be used for quicker consumption.

 Corker

 Used to insert the cork into the bottle

 Carboy and Bottle Brushes

 Carbouy brushes are L-shaped to enable the glass to be cleaned along the U-bend, very similar in appearance to a bottle brush.  It is recommended that all brushes are rinsed in an sodium metabisulfate solution before and after use.

 Hydrometer

 A cylindrical glass rod,  the hydrometer is used to measure the sugar content of the must or wine.  Floated within a test-tube filled with the must,  the buoyancy of the hydrometer will indicate how much sugar is present.  The higher the hydrometer the higher content of sugar is present.  The hydrometer has  measurements along the side to enable ease of use.

 Siphoning Tubes

 Used to transfer the must from container to another during the bottling and racking process.  Ensure that the tubes are long enough to reach the bottom of the container that is due to be siphoned and the bottom of the container that the fluid is being siphoned into.  When racking, ensure that the juice does not splash into the new container as could cause too much oxygen to be present in the wine.

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Tips On How To Make Wine At Home

January 27, 2011 By

As long as you are not planning on selling the wine you make British law actually states you can make as much wine as you like, so get cracking and use the following tips to help you make your own home brew!

First of all you need to decide what you want to make your wine out of. The traditional fruit of choice would be grapes but do not be fooled into thinking this is the only fruit or even vegetable you can make wine out of.
Wine can be made from potatoes through to elderflowers and berries which can all be foridged from your own garden or local countryside/parks or can be bought from a local supermarket.

You then need a few basic pieces of equipment -

A fruit press to extract the juice from your chosen fruit (you could go traditional and squash your grapes by foot in a big plastic container.

A clear or white plastic bucket (not coloured plastic as it has been found these release toxins). You can purchase various sizes of buckets for wine making depending on how much wine you want to make.

A glass or plastic wine fermenter/demijohn which after starting your fermenting process in your bucket, you would then transfer your wine into.

A heat pad, putting your wine fermenter onto a heat pad will ensure your wine is kept at the correct temperature for the fermentation stage.

A hydrometer, this device measures the sugar levels in your wine which will give you an indication on the strength of alcohol.

A wine Filter, a must for removing bacteria and it also improves your wines appearance as it makes it clearer and also taste better.

Bottles and corks to store your finished wine in.Many companies sell home wine making kits and it couldnt be easier, if you like wine why not give it a try!

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