Easy Wine Making for Beginners
The procedure for easy wine making is somewhat obvious to most people but a miracle either way.
- - Squish grapes
- - Ferment grapes
- - Bottle wine
The actual process that a person goes through to make the wine requires dedication. Making wine is an art, reserved for those who are have a little patience, and a little effort.No wussies in this game easy wine making or not.
If you have decided on producing a white wine concoction you will need 65 pounds of ripe grapes to make 5 gallons of excellent wine. If you were considering on concocting some red wine, you will only need 50 pounds of ripe grapes to make 5 gallons of wine. You will need a large vat to hold your grapes. You can purchase large vats at your a local wine supply shop. Now that you have collected your grapes. You got them off of the vine and you put them in a vat of course. You will need to put them into a large vat and squish and squash them. Although using human feet has been the popular trend thought history you will probably not need to do squish them with your feet. If your not up for that, a small vat will suffice. This way you will only need to use your hands or maybe a potato smasher to squash the grapes.
Watch out for yeast in these early phases. We don’t want any premature fermentation. Not to worry, all you will need is the correct amount of Campeden tabs which is made up of potassium metabisulfite. This stuff will help the grapes stop the early yeast growth. After the squish squash step, you will need to cover the vat and let it sit for 24 hours..
The next day you will need to add a yeast packet to your grape brew. Make sure to use yeast that is intended for wine. This is easy wine making easy bread making, dont get that kind of yeast. So this funky mixture we have here actually has a name. It is called the must, which is nothing more than grape juice before or during fermentation.
Next step, jam the yeast and the fermenting grapes together with your hands. While your in there get all of the stem clusters out of the mixture. If there are any berries on those stems, give them a good squeeze and put them back in the tub. Cover your must mixture with a towel and put it aside.
In a couple days the brew will start to fuzz. On the third day the must will fuzz and fester and fizzle. In 7 or so days the feverishness and boiling will begin to mellow out. You will now need to awaken the detail oriented part of yourself. Its time to extract all of the stems, seeds, skins and pulp from the blend. Take pride in your work. Now put the fusion into a cheesecloth or mesh bag. Smash and strain the mixture into a glass carboy or an empty wine barrel. A glass carboy can also be purchased at a local wine store. Ok, the next trick in the game is to not let the wine come into contact with the air. Both a barrel and a carboy can be airlocked. An airlock is a special device that prevents air from getting into the container but allows fumes to get out.
After about 3 weeks the excitement will die down. After that you will need to bottle and rack the wine. You will now need to get the wine out of the spent yeast and other grape leftovers and tidbits. Pour the vino back into the original container. Allow for another 2 or 3 months to pass before the wine is ready for a second racking. Thats right, racking number 2. 3 to four 4 after that racking you will do it a third and final rack time. You will then need to age the vino in a completely dark place. Make sure to top off the barrel. This can be done by using a similar vino. The wine is now to the point of tasting. The longer the wine ages…. the better. I hope you enjoyed this easy wine making article.
