Wine Making at Home

There are many homes around the world where it is custom to walk down to the cellar and bring back a bottle of red wine to the dinner table.  A glass of home made wine is a sign of hospitality which is appreciated both by family and friends.

Wine making at home is a simple process. For some, it is a lucrative hobby.  While wine can be made from fruit concentrates, it is wine made from fresh fruits, i.e., grapes, apple, plums or any fruit you choose, which makes it a delightful experience. The best fruit to choose would be the fruit of the season, as it is likely to be available at competitive prices and also in large quantities.

The equipment required for making wine at home is:

A large plastic or stainless steel vessel with lid

1. A juicer
2. A glass fermentation jug with airlock.
3. Siphon
4. Yeast
5. Sugar

All the above equipment needs to be sterilized in boiling water.

Now are you ready to try wine making at home?

If yes, then squeeze the fruit using your hands or a juicer into the container. For hard fruits, a juicer is necessary, but for grapes, the traditional method of trampling can also be used.

If you wish your wine to be sweet, add sugar at this stage. A good ratio would be 2 pounds of sugar to one gallon of fruit juice.  The drier the wine, the lesser the sugar content.  Stir the sugar until it dissolves.

Transfer the sugared fruit juice into a vessel and add powdered yeast which has been dissolved in warm water.  After a few minutes, the vessel needs to be shut tight or air locked. Fermentation begins and your made at home wine will start frothing.  You can actually see bubbles in the air lock and know that your experiment has been successful!

Keep your made at home wine in a warm place and leave it for a long period of time – at least a year! You can even drink it after a month, but it may not taste all that great. 

Some time during the fermentation process, a white layer may form in the vessel. The wine then needs to be siphoned into a new container.  This process can be repeated monthly to prevent a yeasty taste tarnishing the wine’s flavor.

Well, at this stage your home made wine is almost ready, and you will know this when you notice that the air bubbles have stopped coming out.  This really means that fermentation is over and the wine can now be transferred into clean, dry bottles. 

Remember to label the wine as you may get batches mixed up, especially if your wine has left you with a heady mixed up feeling!

Wine making at home is thus a great hobby and can be turned into a business plan.  Keep at it! There is nothing like drinking wine at home and enjoying the fact that your wine making at home experiment has been successful.

Grape Trellis

One enjoyed factor about growing grapes is the fact that they can grow on a trellis and they do not require a tremendous amount of space to grow. This allows numerous individuals the joy of growing grapes right in their backyards if they want to, on a small amount of land as little as a couple hundred acres. You can figure that each vine will need a space to grow that is approximately an eight-foot by eight-foot.

It does not matter if you choose a grape trellis that is decorative in its appearance or if it is one that is only meant for its functional use. The only important fact is that you have one for your grapes to be able to have enough support to grow properly. A trellis can conveniently be found in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, making it an easy accomplishment to find the one to suit your individual needs. They are also available in several different materials such as pre-treated wood, iron, stainless steel, aluminum and PVC pipe. You can either purchase an already made trellis or you will be able to construct one very easily by yourself.

For areas that have a short growing season it is best to use a shorter trellis that includes posts that are approximately three feet high. This is because they are able to withstand the long cold winter months much easier and the shorter ones are also much more convenient to prepare the vine for the winter season. A taller grape trellis works the best in areas that have a warmer climate and they require posts that are approximately eight feet in height.

Before beginning to dig the holes for the placement of the grape trellis, you should first consider where you would like to place it. Using the shorter trellis, you will want to plant the posts approximately two feet into the ground, and for more durability it is best to pour cement around the posts. Since this is a process that can take many years, the trellis will be in place for a long time to come. Other ways to anchor a trellis would be to use wiring that is anchored into the ground or you can simply place a shorter post next to the main post you have already placed. As you are putting each post into the ground for the trellis, be sure to place them about eight feet apart and you will want to use two rows of galvanized steel running between each post. You should place the first row towards the bottom of the post, approximately three inches above the ground. The second row should be placed towards the top of the posts. A staple gun works quite well to hold the wires into place.

There are several different varieties of unique styles, shapes and sizes in a grape trellis that you can purchase, or you can simply choose to build your own. Either way you must always be sure to incorporate planning that is done well and take notes of the proper measurements for the size you will need.

You will be able to coax the vine to grow around the main two trellis wires as it begins to start growing. It can also be very useful to use either cloth or some string to secure the vines carefully to the wires of the grape trellis being very careful not to cause any damage to the shoot itself.

Pruning Grapes

Making wine using grapes that have been grown has been an enjoyed tradition for a very long time and all through the years of our history. With a large amount of dedication and hard work, numerous vineyards and backyard gardens alike have proved to be excellent places for planting, growing, pruning grapes, harvesting, fermenting, bottling and aging them. These vines will continuously need to be weeded, treated for pests, and pruned to ensure that you are able to benefit from a great harvest, which can ultimately take as long as three years for the production of the grapes that you will need. This is a time that you will need to pay special attention and devote time to the proper maintenance of pruning grapes. This simply involves cutting the necessary amount of growth that will help encourage more growth of the vine. It is possible to train the vines to maintain a specific size, productivity level and shape but it can take several years for this to be achieved.

As the vines begin to grow, you will want to allow the growth to form out of one strong shoot that will need to be tied to the trellis vertically, and the rest that begin to grow out of the roots will need to be cut away in the process that is called pruning grapes. As the next dormant time begins you will want to begin developing the arms of the grapevine. Taking two shoots on each end that are to be tied horizontally onto the trellis can achieve this and it will then serve as the arms or a base where the fruit can grow.

Once you have achieved the basic shape you will want to continue the process of pruning. This is the important process that can be done during the dormant period. Making sure to continue doing this important task during the dormant periods and all throughout the entire life of the grapevine is a very critical aspect to achieving successful grape production. 

Pruning grapes will greatly depend on the specific type of grapes that are growing on the vine. Many of the hybrid varieties are much hardier plants and they are much more capable of resisting disease. They also with generally produce a lot less foliage than the European varieties in grapevines. Pruning annually will help a great deal in removing the spurs or fruiting canes from the previous years growing. New canes that are healthy will have to be produced each year because the fruit will only produce on the shoots that grow from the one year old canes. You will find that you can easily manipulate the crop production by varying with the specific amounts you prune back. Creating too much foliage can end up disastrous, as it will provide a canopy like shade area for the fruits and this is not a very good environment for them to ripen in. Your main goal during the pruning process is to make sure that you do not damage the plant with the tools that you will be using such as hand pruners, loppers, or handsaws. These types of equipment can cause damage very easily.

The extra amount of time that you spend in becoming educated on the proper process of pruning grapes can end up resulting in a plentiful and healthy crop that you will be able to enjoy for a long time to come.

Wine Making Yeast

Wine is just grape juice until the sugar in it comes in touch with yeast and then the magic called fermentation happens; this simple personality lacking juice becomes an alcoholic drink which can bring a touch of color to your cheeks and warm your insides gloriously.

So what exactly is wine making yeast?

While most living creatures live on oxygen, the yeast stands apart due to its amazing ability to live without oxygen. So the yeast, a tiny organism which is merely 8/25,000ths of an inch long, can double its number every two hours when dropped in fermenting juice.  So if a single drop contains five million yeast cells and this number keeps doubling every two hours, emanating carbon dioxide, a microscopic x-ray peep into a wine jar will probably show a lot of buzzing activity. The noise this produces can actually be disquieting.

The wine yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae is good yeast and is used in the making of wine.  In fact, one does not need to go hunting for this yeast, as it almost naturally inhabits crushed fruit, which is why some rotten fruits give off a tangy, wine like smell.

Today, one does not need to search natures hideouts for the simple yeast.  The world of medical science has brought the yeast to the chemist shop, and scientists have made it easy for home winemakers to select the yeast of their choice without too much trouble.  Depending on the country and its climatic conditions, one can choose different kinds of yeasts. Thus, one can choose yeasts which tolerate high and low temperatures, those which foam and don’t foam, and even control the flavor of the wine by choosing the appropriate yeast.

Most cultured yeasts are available in varying quantities but the highly recommended one, especially for home wine making processes, is the Active Dry Yeast (ADY) form, which is dehydrated, dormant, and yet very much alive.  A five gram packet can produce five gallons of wine, and that’s the power of these creatures.

To make good wine, adding a yeast starter is a good step.  This would entail that the yeast is introduced to a liquid medium a day before it is added to the wine.  This ensures that fermentation is not delayed and starts off almost immediately.  This method is highly preferred as the fermentation process, because if delayed, it can result in the fruit juice losing its original taste and flavor. Ideally, fermentation should begin immediately and this process enables the same.

A simple and smart approach to producing great wine is to keep the containers sanitized and fresh. This way, the only strain which gets to work when the yeast is introduced is the one which helps to make wine.  Not following the process can result in other bacteria creeping in and corrupting the fermentation process.  Caution is therefore required. Let the wine making yeast do its work without interruptions or competition.

Wine Making Recipe

What’s your fruit?  From banana to black currant, peach to persimmon, cranberry to crowberry, hibiscus to dandelion and potato to parsnip, there seem to be unlimited boundaries for turning your favorite fruit, vegetable or flower into your sparkling wine.

Most people associate wine with grapes and this is not at all a bad association, seeing that grapes lend their glossy, rich red color to wines making it shimmer with secret depths when poured into a glass.

Wine making recipes abound the Internet and any amateur wine maker can siphon a recipe and turn it into a bottle or two of wine.  To sparkle up the process and add a bit of jest to the age old process, let us look at a unique fruit’s wine making recipe.

For a lark, let us look at Quince wine.

Ingredients required for this wine making recipe are:

Quinces – 25

Lemons – 2

Quarter kilo raisins

3 pounds of sugar

Water – nearly a gallon

Yeast nutrient and Wine yeast.

Grind the quinces, leaving out its interiors and then boil it for some time.  Suggested boil time is approximately 15 minutes or till the quinces are cooked.  Strain the boiled quinces and pour the juice into a fermentation bucket. Add the sugar and stir till it is dissolved.  At this stage add the raisins and the lemon juice.  Let the mixture cool.

Once it is cool, add the yeast nutrient and wine yeast.

Cover the jar with an airtight lid and keep it in a moderately warm place for a period of two weeks. 

After two weeks, run the wine through a sieve to remove debris and then move it back into a air sealed jar.

The bubbles forming on the jar lid indicate fermentation.  Once the bubbles have stopped, the wine can be transferred to bottles, labeled and stored.

For white wine, the skin and stems are removed as they add a tannic flavor. 

Sweet wine does not attain its sweetness from the sugar added at the beginning. The added sugar or the sugar content in the fruit when mixed with wine yeast turns the fruit juice into alcohol.

To sweeten your wine, after the wine ferments, sugar can be added and this sugar will solely provide sweetening to the wine. Similarly, in the beginning, if you add more sugar than necessary for fermentation, then the remaining sugar contributes to the wine’s sweetness.

Cane sugar is a good choice as a sweetener, but corn sugar, while not quite as sweet as cane sugar, gives wine a clean flavor and is a good option especially for white wines.  Adding honey gives its own unique flavor to wine and similarly juice concentrates enhance the flavor while adding to the sweetness quotient.

Thus sweet or dry, wine making is an art which needs to be acquired, cultivate and honed to produce the best.  That does not mean it is out of the reach of the amateur.  Everyone can be a wine maker and experiment with different wine making recipes. and over time we can become pros in wine making and may be even add our own comments and suggestions to improvise a tried and tested process.

White Wine Making

“Drink to me with thine eyes, and I will pledge with mine; or leave a kiss but in the cup and I will not look for wine” is a line from a famous poem.  However, for the wine connoisseur, the kiss needs to be really powerful to give up the wine and the competition for the kiss becomes even more challenging if the wine happens to be white wine.

White wine is associated with words like harmony and balance which itself set the mind swimming with desire and that’s the power of a sip of the golden yellow colored liquid with less than 1% sugar content.  Life doesn’t get better than this, does it?!

White Wine making is centuries old and over the years white wine making has grown into a lucrative business model. The good news is that wine making is a simple and easy process, which is probably why a lot of people make wine at home regularly.

White wine making requires you to use white grapes instead of red ones.  White grapes, like white wine, are not really white in color; they can be shades of light yellow or pale greenish yellow, and when fermented, these grapes produce white wine.

Some white wines are called `dry’ wines and what this really means is that there is an absence of sugar in the wine.  In fact, the secret behind white wine is the process of fermentation which occurs by yeast blending with the sugar in the fruit and not by adding extra sugar.  .

White Wine Making Process:

The first step involves identifying white grapes and tracking their harvest times. Once the grapes are ready for harvest, they need to be manually plucked.

These grapes are then crushed using a gadget called a Stemmer.  As the name indicates, the Stemmer separates the stems from the crushed fruit, ensuring minimal residue.

The crushed grapes are then transferred into large urns or containers and kept in cool storage places.  Basements and cellars of building are ideal as they have limited sunlight and remain cool.  Yeast is added to hasten the fermenting process. The yeast heats up the sugar in the grapes converting it into wine.

Pumping the floating skin and other objects and pushing them to the bottom will ensure that clear wine rises to the top.

At some time during the aging process, transferring or racking the wine from one container to another will ensure that residual matter is distilled out and the wine becomes cleaner.

Fining and filtering are the last few steps to ensure wine purity and soon after this the wine is ready to be bottled.  Wine at this stage will be a golden yellow in color and is ready to be sipped and twirled around your tongue.

Making white wine is a simple process. White wine can produce white wines which are as good as Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc over time.  All that is needed is a love for wine!

Basic Wine Making Instructions

Today, there are thousands of wine making instructions on the Internet, and making wine is now simpler than baking a cake.  But just like you need to follow certain steps to bake a cake, there are certain wine making instructions which need to be followed.

Wine making instruction No.1 – ensure sanitation and sterilization.  While breweries are equipped with equipment, maintaining a sterilized atmosphere at home is not all that easy.  The best way is to soak all equipment in boiling water or in cold water with added sanitizer for a minimum period of 10 minutes.

Wine making instruction No.2 – Yeast converts the sugar in the fruit into wine and yeast works best in a temperature of between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.  Sometimes, if the temperature is too high, yeast can be killed or its power weakened.  Similarly if the temperature is too cold, it can deter and slow down the fermentation process.

Once the above rules have been followed and, of course, the fruit is ready, you are set to begin your wine and given below are the wine making instructions. The following wine making instructions are to produce around 10 gallons of wine using 100 pounds of grapes.

Place your crushed grapes in plastic air tight containers along with a fermenter and stir till it dissolves.  Add cold water till you are about an inch below the `full’ mark on the jug.  Sprinkle yeast (do not mix it) on the surface and then shut it airtight and keep it in a temperature of between 25 to 30 degrees Celsius.  The fermentation process begins with 24 to 48 hours

On the sixth day, siphon the wine into a clean, dry carboy and top it again with cold water.

Three weeks later, or 20 days to be precise, check the gravity level. If it is between .990 and 1.000 it is ready for the next step, which is siphoning the wine into a brewing bucket.  40 additive packets need to be stirred in for a few minutes and then the wine can be replaced in its container. Repeating this process every two days will drive out the CO2 which lessens the wine’s taste and clarity.

Typically by now the wine should be ready, but you can continue to let it ferment until the bubbles near the lid disappear. Once the bubbles stop, the wine is ready to be poured into your glass.

Some tips to remember:

Yeast needs to be rehydrated and the instructions are normally available on the yeast package.  Adhering to instructions will ensure that the wine is clearer and tastier.

• While you can use tap water, distilled water ensures that the fermenting process goes smoothly without interruption from the bacteria in water which can deter the process.
• Checking for bubbles will let you know if your wine is fermenting properly.  If you don’t notice bubbles within 48 hours, open and check to see if the bubbles are gathering below the lid.  If you continue to not notice bubbles, it is time to talk to a wine making expert in the neighborhood who can give you proper wine making instructions.
•  Siphoning wine periodically will ensure clarity.  Who can resist a glass of ruby red wine or crystal clear white wine?

Pest Control of Vineyard Grapes

There are many different harmful insects and diseases that can ultimately threaten to totally destroy all of the hard work and extra amount of time that has been devoted to thriving crops of vineyard grapes. A few of these would include various birds, deer and numerous types of insects. Some of the most common diseases that can interfere with the grapevine that you are growing would include phomopsis cane and leaf spot, mildew, black rot and fungus. When one of these attacks your growing efforts you will easily be able to see the damage they can cause.

If one of the vines that you are growing happens to end up with one of these diseases, you will be able to notice it rather easily. Generally what will happen is the leaves on the vines will become discolored, the berries that are growing may become decayed, the leaves may be covered with lesions, and they may also be covered with a film. When these problems arise it is best for the grower to do at least a small amount of research so they will know which fungicide will be the best to use under their specific growing conditions.

Birds can end up causing a large amount of damage. You may have noticed that entire flocks are much easier to scare away than a few birds here and there. One type of repellent that you may want to consider is known as artificial visual repellents. These would include items such as artificial owls, snakes, and hawks. Another option would be cannons that feature a timer for specific times you want the loud blasting noise to go off. If your crop is on the property where you live it can be an irritating option for you and your neighbors. An effective choice is a type of netting that forms a physical barrier over the vineyard grapes that can last for as long as 30 months and the installation required is very easy and convenient. They must be removed however during the winter months so that any ice that might form on the net will not be able to damage your crops.

Early spring is a time when you should watch out for deer. There are a variety of odor repellents and scents that will help control this problem such as the scent of coyotes, soap, dog hair and even human hair.

After all of the hard work you have put into your vineyard grapes, the last thing you want to worry about is in having problems with insects. Unfortunately there are several different types of bugs that can end up making homage in your prized crops. Grape leafhoppers can be found feeding on the bottom of the leaves. They are not able to cause damage in small numbers, but when they are large in number they can cause considerable damage. The grape berry moth is an insect that will lay their eggs right onto the grapes surface. Once the larva has hatched, it will then bore into the flesh of the berries. This will cause holes in the berries and noticeable webbing that forms between them. Rose chafers are large in size and they enjoy feeding on grape clusters. Japanese beetles are a type of insect that is spreading its way into the US and they are known for being able to cause havoc on crops of vineyard grapes.

Planning, hard work and patience is the key to growing vineyard grapes that you can be proud of.

Growing Grapes

Growing grapes is something that has been enjoyed for many years, and it is certainly a satisfying task that will continue to be rewarding for many years to come. It was, is, and it will continue to be an effort that will always be worth the amount it takes to grow fine grapes used for winemaking.

Before your lips can savor the first sips of wine you have made, you will first need to know how to grow grapes properly. The first step that you will want to do is consider which variety in grapes you will want to plant, between the hybrid varieties and the European grape varieties, and you will also want to decide whether you would like to accomplish making red or white wine. Areas such as California are great for growing varieties of European grapes, however other areas where the season for growing is shorter, is limited to the choice of hybrid varieties. This is because the various hybrid varieties have been bred to be able to withstand longer winters and they are also able to resist disease more easily.

When you are learning how to grow grapes you will soon realize that it takes a tremendous amount of patience. Because of the fact that grapes are a perennial type of plant, you can expect to be able to harvest your first crop in approximately three years from the initial planting process. Before planting the vines you will need to choose an area that will provide them with an adequate amount of sunlight and an area of soil that is not high in nutrients. Soil that does not contain many nutrients is exactly what numerous winemakers have come to depend on. This is because soil that is dry and lacking in nutrients will cause the vine to become stressed, thus producing grapes that are small. Skin that covers these small grapes is where the flavor and color can be found used in making wine. The larger size grapes are better for eating because they contain more juice and less skin.

A very important part in learning how to grow grapes is the harvesting process. When the harvest season is drawing near, you will want to make sure the grapes are completely ripe and contain no diseases. When you are growing hybrid varieties, it may be necessary to purchase a particular chemical that can be found in your local winemaking store that is specifically designed to bring the high acidity levels of the grapes down to a more appropriate level. When it comes time to ferment the grapes you have picked, the yeast will need to be added. There is a variety of yeasts available on the market, and each adding its own characteristics and subtle flavoring to the wine. The fermentation process will take approximately one week and then you can begin the important aging process that can sometimes take up to a couple of years to complete. You can begin bottling the wine when it begins turning sparkling clear, and then it will need to sit for a few more months.

One important factor to remember is you will be able to enjoy a much better taste the longer a bottle of wine is allowed to age. It can certainly be a slow crawling effort, but it will be one that proves to be well worth the patience.

When you decide the time is right to put your lessons to the test on how to grow grapes, you will be able to find an ample amount of bottles and corks at almost any wine stores.

Food And Wine Pairing Guide

If you are looking for tasty quality wines to accompany your delish meals, you have to know first about wine and food pairing. Do not ruin a meal course just because you have placed an inappropriate wine to go with your food. The taste of the food and wine may not be balanced and may result from bitterness, sweetness, and other undesirable flavors. In fact, there are good matches when it comes to food and wine pairings. Wine and food pairing should coexist harmoniously and should heighten the quality zest in each another. This way, both wine and food would taste better.

There are fail-safe ways to pair your wine and food in proper form. First of all, note that when you pair wine and food, they should have the same characteristics. Never combine food and wine that have different characteristics from each other. For instance, it has been proven that sweet wine and red steak does not bode well together. Although wine and food pairing can be a tedious task since you will have to experiment with good and bad combinations, the end result would be a fruitful experience.

Experimenting can make you trust your own instincts before matching wines and foods. Determine what you want to eat and drink and prepare the food with a sip of some wine you think goes well with the dish. Then take a nibble of the food and find out if is well-suited for your taste buds. Indeed, proper wine and food pairing presents you a pleasurable and enjoyable familiarity in your dining experience. Following specific rules for matching food and wine prior to preparing your dishes can simply bring out an outcome seeping with high quality flavor.

When it comes to wines with high alcohol content, you can simply whip up scrumptious barbecued dishes to go with them. Pairing light flavored dishes with a high alcohol wine will just subdue the taste of the food. It will just feel like you have not eaten anything and just imbibed on wine for the rest of the meal course.

Good matches include a butter-laced chicken in garlic sauce and paired with a citrus-flavored wine. Another great combo is pairing salted meats with wines that incorporate high-tannin content. As a result, the tannin’s high astringency pierces all the way through the fat’s thickness. Moreover, enjoy your favorite desert with a sweet wine. Just see to it that your desert dish does not have high sugar content.

While attempting to do your own experiments in wine and food pairing, do not go for dishes that you have not tried yet and pairing them with wines you do not like as well. They will just result in unsavory matches. 

The best match of food and wine pairing comes from multiple experiments, experience, and research. Learning about wines, the different types of food that should be paired with them, and how to properly combine them can result in a blissful meal which will leave you feeling contented and satisfied.