Master The Art Of Homemade Winemaking From Scratch... What The Masters Of Winemaking Don't Want You To Know

2009-04-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

As you start making your very own homemade wine, you may
consider a new batch of fruits to make your own wine with
which you have never made wine before. For this with certain
fruit, if you don't have a recipe then, you would be very
tempted to create and produce your own recipe.

If you've already been making your own wines then creating your own recipe for your very own homemade wines then this should not be a problem as you would know that you will need to add just some extra sugar and yeast based on your fruit you are using. But there are certain precautions for you to take so that everything turns out well!

When you are making your homemade wine the first thing you need to consider is the amount of produce you will need. If
you have ever made wine before with grapes, it's important
to understand that you can't use the same amount of berries
you would with grapes because depending on the kind of
berries you actually use will depend on the how much the
fruits will secrete their produce or juice. Also, keep in
mind that the strength of the produce or juice secreted by
each different fruit can be different

Your goal should be to produce a home made wine which is
very balanced. If you're choosing a fruit which extracts high
produce or a fruit which has high acidic contents then you
must be sure to dilute it with a good amount of water. For
example, if you're choosing elderberries as your fruit and if
you prepare the wine in the same way as you prepare it with
grapes then you'll end up with a batch that is practically
undrinkable!

So if you decide to create a 5 gallon barrel of your
homemade wine you need to make sure you balance it out with
the correct amount of water. So for example, if your making
5 gallons of wine you should be adding 5 gallons of water.
No keep in mind however, if you are using grapes to make
your wine instead of other fruit then use should not require
any water because water should not be added to grapes for
wine making. But if you are using lets say... ginger root..
well ginger root has a very strong flavor compared to grapes
or other fruits do you would need to add water to balance
out the taste and make it drinkable.

So now that we have added the water, it is also required to
choose the correct amount of sugar you will be adding to
your homemade wine. The reason being, sugar is what helps
the fermentation process. Too much sugar will spoil the
fermentation, too little will not help he fermentation.
Another required reason for adding the correct amount of
sugar in your wine is because the alcohol in your wine is
produced by the sugar as well. So again, very little sugar,
little to no alcohol. Choosing or figuring out the correct
amount of sugar you should be putting into your wine is not
very difficult. And keep in mind different fruits, produce
different amounts of sugar.

To measure the levels of sugar and alcohol in your wine you
need to use a hydrometer. A hydrometer is very simple to
use and does not require any technical knowledge what so
ever. A hydrometer helps you in understanding the right
amount of sugar you will need to create your required
percentage of alcohol in your homemade wine.

It is always important to ensure that your own homemade
wine does not contain more than 13% of alcohol, because more
alcohol in your wine would disturb the stability and
originality of your home made wine.

And these types of wine tools are available in kits which
make it easier for the new home wine maker. Most of these
kits also include great recipes to get you started as well.

So as you can see, making your own homemade wine is not a
hard process, but it does take a little patience. Depending
on what kind of wine you decide to make, be sure you follow
the directions correctly and this will make sure your wine
comes out delicious.

So if you are an avid wine lover or enthusiast I will
assume you drink maybe 2-3 glasses of the best wine a day
which is the average. Now let's take a look at this... a
bottle of wine could cost anywhere from $10-$1000's of
dollars depending on the kind and quality of the wine. So
if you spend an average of $50 per bottle and you buy a
bottle a week, you are spending $200 a month and $2,400 a
year just on wine! And again that's only if you spend $50 a
bottle, what if you were spending more than that?

Now think of all the money you could be saving (and using
for a family vacation) just by making your own wine at home.
Yes, it's easier to just be lazy and go to your favorite
wine and spirits shop buy your favorite bottle, but just
think of the accomplishment and enjoyment you will feel when
you take that first sip of your own homemade wine. And why
not make it a family tradition, something the whole family
can share and pass along to their kids as well.

More Sites and Resources Talking About Growing Grapes & Making Wine at Home

How to Build Your First Grape Trellis

Grape Planting for Beginners

Why Pruning Grapes is Necessary

Wine Making Instructions

What Wine Makers Won't Tell you About Wine Making Yeast

2009-03-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Wine Makers Need Wine Making Yeast

One of the most critical steps in winemaking is fermentation with wine making yeast. Wine cannot be made without fermentation. Sometimes, you may have problems in the process of fermentation. It may be either the fermentation does not occur or it takes time. The reason for this is mainly the temperature. It may be either too hot or too cold. Remember that yeast is live and it can be only between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It is safe to maintain 72 degrees during fermentation. The fermentation process does not occur at all if the temperature becomes too cool. And the yeast performs slowly and there is a possibility of damage at warm temperature.

So while winemaking at home, it is very important to maintain a stable temperature in the room where fermentation is done. Any variation in temperature leads to problems. The best places that can be considered for fermentation are basements, but make sure it does not become too cold during winter. Some preventive measures can be taken to avoid this.

If the temperature becomes cool, a heat source can be used to prevent it. The container in which fermentation is done can be preserved from temperature variations by keeping it separate and away from the floor. You can place a thermometer in the wine and check the temperature every now and then, so that if there are variations in temperature, the necessary measures can be taken. One more thing that has to be taken care during winemaking at home is the starting of yeast.

When you buy a yeast packet, it has to be either rehydrated or moistened with some warm water before using. The temperature of the water that is used should be between 90 and 95 degrees. If the temperature goes up or down beyond this limit, even if to a small extent, the yeast gets damaged and it cannot be used for fermentation. Hence , while winemaking Also, problems arise due to adding too much sugar.

To produce alcohol it is necessary to add sugar to yeast. But too much sugar is also not good and at the same time the sugar should not be too low. So it is always good to check the amount of sugar that is already present in the yeast before adding additional sugar to the wine.

The amount of sugar varies from fruit to fruit. If you add additional fruits to the fruit already present, and that fruit has a lot of sugar, then that leads to problems in winemaking. So there should be a check on the sugar content. This can be checked using a hydrometer. Its always good to use a hydrometer and get used to using one frequently so that many problems in your winemaking can be avoided.

A hydrometer helps in the winemaking process to assess the exact weight of a liquid in comparison to that of plain water. In actual terms it is used to measure the specific gravity. Based on the observed readings, the wine maker will be able to monitor the fermentation process and also will enable him to adjust the liquids as necessary.

More Sites and Resources Talking About Growing Grapes & Making Wine at Home

How to Build Your First Grape Trellis

Grape Planting for Beginners

Why Pruning Grapes is Necessary

Wine Making Instructions

Wine Making Recipe