Basic Elements of Winemaking

Wine making is a storied tradition, and it’s something you can start doing whenever you would like. While there are high-tech solutions and sophisticated ingredients available, there is something about taking wine making back to the basics.

You should begin with the highest quality grapes you can find in the variety you want. You may also consider frozen wine grape juice (not concentrate) or must if you want to avoid the crushing step. Beginning with high-quality ingredients yields a high-quality wine, so do not be afraid to shop around.

After removing any imperfect grapes and all the stems, it’s time to crush them. You can do this step in the wine making process using your hands, feet, or a fruit press. Remember to sanitize your equipment and chosen crushing implement!

Once the grapes have released their juice, it’s time to pour the juice into a sterilized container that has space for the wine to bubble. Then you can add the wine yeast to begin the fermentation process. You can use a hydrometer to measure the action and determine if you need to add more sugar to support the fermentation process.

After a week to ten days (depending on the wine) of active fermentation, you should strain the wine into sanitized, sealable containers. The wine will need to be sealed in these for several weeks. Then, depending on the variety, you will need to periodically siphon the wine into a new, clean container to remove the sediment.

This process can take months, though the length of time depends on the variety of wine.

Assuming you have managed to keep the wine sealed, eventually, it will look clear. Then you can siphon and carefully seal it in actual wine bottles. At this point, the wine is drinkable, but it is better if it’s allowed to mature a little longer.

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