Basic Wine Making Instructions

Most wine making instructions say that wine making is a little bit art and a little bit science. The basic concept of wine making is relatively straight forward, grapes are grown, crushed and turned into liquid, and through the process of fermentation wine is created over a period of time. Wine making is a little more difficult than that and some people spend a life time learning the craft, but basic wine making is available to anyone.

Fifty pounds of grapes are needed to produce 5 gallons of wine. After the grape harvest they are placed in large vats, for the home wine maker these plastic vats can be purchased from your local wine supply shop. The grapes then need to be crushed and the traditional method of stomping them with your feet is as good a method any...and kinda fun with a group of friends and family. For smaller batches grapes can be crushed by hand or with a potato masher. In order to prevent unwanted yeast add Campden tablets to stop the yeast for developing, then cover the vat with a towel and allow to sit for a day.

A packet of wine yeast is added to the crushed grapes after they have sat for a day. At this point the crushed grapes are known as must, and after the yeast is added comb through the must with your hands to remove the cluster of stems. Remove as many stems as possible with your hands, squeezing off any grapes that are still attached. Cover the vat with a towel and let sit.

After a day or two the must will begin to fizz, and by the 3rd day it will appear to be boilingthis is a good sign. By the end of the week the mixture will have settled down and will be time to separate the liquid from the rest of the must. Strain the liquid and pour into a either a glass or plastic Carboy, also available at your local winemaking shop, and seal the carboy. From this point on you want to prevent the wine from coming in contact with the air!

After 2 or 3 weeks the wine will be ready to rack, the process of removing the lees from the wine. Use a hose to siphon the clear liquid into a clean carboy, paying special attention not to siphon any of the lees into the new carboy. Clean out the less from the old container, and then pour the wine back into the original carboy. After another 2 or 3 months the wine will be ready for a second racking. Do the 3rd and final racking after 3 or 4 months. Age the wine in a cool, completely dark place after topping off the barrel completely. The wine is now ready to drink, but the longer the wine ages the better.