How to Make Homemade Wine

Izvor: KiWi

There are three basic components of every wine and they are water, sugar, and yeast. It may seem a simple recipe to combine these three elements and make wine, and in reality, it is.

Not all forms of water are created the same. Water can contain different minerals that give it a certain taste or mouth feel. That is why certain wines can only be produced in certain places in the world. The grapes from these places could be transported, but the transportation of massive amounts of water is another matter. Water can alter a wine's final taste and acidity. Sometimes wine makers have to adjust the acidity by adding special ingredients in order to make the finished wine more drinkable. The proper acidity is also necessary to encourage a healthy, vigorous fermentation. When making wine at home you should consider using spring water for taste and balance.

You may have noticed that sugar was the second component rather than grapes. Most any fermentable sugar can be made into wine. Many fruits and just about every vegetable have the potential to be made into a wine or liquor of some sort. Grapes are the most common fruit used to make wine with literally hundreds of different grape varieties to choose from and each variety brings its own flavor and character to a wine. There are hundreds of different wine kits available now that give you a choice of the type of wine you want to try to create in your own home.

Grapes must be harvested at the right time. The exact harvesting time may depend on the climate and variety of grape being grown. The first grapes that are harvested are used to make wine in lesser quantities and are often termed 'reserve wines'. The grapes that are harvested later in the season often make less delicate and less complex wine. To a home wine maker the type of grape can greatly affect the cost of a wine kit.

The last component needed to make an excellent wine is yeast. This is not the baker's yeast you make bread or pastries with. This is a special kind of wine yeast. Yeast is everywhere - it is in the air, in what we eat and what we drink. Some of these yeasts have a special fondness for grapes and can be found on the skins of grapes. A wine maker may crush the grapes after harvesting and allow this wine yeast to begin their fermentation process. They may also decide to add some cultured yeast in a dry or liquid form. Sulphites are usually added to kill off undesirable wild yeasts as these may ruin your wine.

There are special wine making supplies that most wine makers use. One of these must have pieces of equipment is the crusher/destemmer. This machine removes the seeds and stems, and then crushes the grapes to extract the juice. The juice is then pumped into large fermentation vessels. For the home wine maker the juice is sent before it has begun fermentation by being placed into sterile containers.


There are two main categories of grapes - white and red. There is a different process for making each type of wine. The process of making a white wine discards the grape skins after the juice is extracted. In red wine, the grapes skins are added back for a day or two to the fermenting wine or 'must' as it is commonly called. This addition of the skins creates the beautiful red color to wine. This process has already been done for you in a wine kit.

The wine is then fermented for a month or two in the fermentation vessels. Yeast produces two byproducts during their digestive process. These byproducts are alcohol and carbon dioxide. Carbon Dioxide gas is released at the top of the vessel through a fermentation lock.

Once the fermentation process has ended there are a couple of different things that a wine maker may do. As a home wine maker you may decide to bottle the wine and allow it to age there, or you may decide to place the wine into large oak barrels to age. These barrels have been charred on the inside to add the wonderful, buttery oak accents to wines such as Chardonnay.

Once the aging in the barrels is completed, the wines are bottled and aged further until they are ready to drink. In the case of Champagne, the fermentation is restarted in the bottle. The vintner expels the dead yeast and then wires the lids down so that the gas does not dislodge the cap. The carbon dioxide from this refermentation is essentially trapped in the Champagne. The process is a simple one, but it can a very rewarding process to the home wine maker. Remember drink what you like, life is too short to drink bad wine!