Check out our all time favorite recipe for grape wine and learn how to make homemade wine
This is just a sample on how to do wine making. Always follow your own specific recipe and its own instructions:
1. Place bucket for juice in a room at 65 to 70F in order to bring juice up to room temperature.
2. Remove lid from bucket and give the juice a gentle stir for a minute or two.
3. Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite into 1/4 cup of warm water. Add this to juice. Allow the juice to stand for at least four hours.
4. After four hours, rehydrate wine yeast packet following the instructions on packet. Let the yeast stand for 15 minutes. Add one cup of the juice from the pail to yeast mixture and stir well. Let stand for 10 more minutes. Do not use bakers yeast for this.
5. Remove about a half gallon of the juice from the pail using a small pan. This will prevent the bucket from overflowing during the primary fermentation. Place excess juice in a clean vessel.
6. Pour the mixture of yeast and juice into the bucket of juice. Do not stir the juice at this time. Allow the yeast to grow on the surface. Yeast cells will begin to consume the sugars of the juice and convert them to alcohol. Place the lid back on the bucket loosely.
7. Twice a day, gently stir the juice for a minute or two. A good fermentation is indicated by rapid bubbling or foaming in the bucket. After 36 hours, you may add the half-gallon of juice from step 5 back to the bucket of juice. Do this slowly.
8. After seven days, the fermentation will slow down noticeably. Using a clean piece of tubing, siphon the juice into a five-gallon glass carboy. Fill to within two inches from the top.
9. Place an air lock with a rubber bung in to the top of the carboy. Fill the air lock to the line on the side with peroxide. You may also use a solution of water and potassium metabisulfite.
10. The juice that remains in the bucket can be saved in a gallon jug. An air lock should be used here, or you can use a balloon stretched over the neck to keep air from the juice as this continues to ferment. You will need this juice when you rack or siphon a second time to top off the carboy. It is normal to see sediment in the bottom of the bucket. This should be discarded. Clean and sterilize the bucket for later use.
11. After three weeks you will again transfer the juice by racking or siphoning into another container you may use the original bucket here. Do not disturb the sediment in the bottom of the carboy. After you transfer the juice to the bucket clean the sediment from the bottom of the carboy. Use your sterilizing solution after you wash the carboy. Return the juice to the carboy and top off with excess juice. Replace the air lock.
12. In five or six weeks the fermentation will be complete. Remove air lock and add 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite to juice. If you see more than 1/8 inch of sediment in the bottom of the carboy you may need to rack again. The more you rack the clearer your wine will be.
Always clean everything that comes into contact with your juice and the wine. A good tool is a spray bottle with 1/4 teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite and water. An easy way to sanitize everything after washing.
Potassium metabisulfite is our friend; however, too much will have an effect on the wine. Always make precise measurements.
Above is just basic instructions. Please adhere to your specific wine recipe or instructions in the wine kit you have.
Winemaking Process
Choose a style of wine you like. Unsure? We can assist you with finding a wine that is suited to your taste.
Bottle your wine and dress it up with our labels and shrinks.
Let your wine age.
Uncork a bottle, put up your feet, and indulge.
Wine Storage Tips
Do:
Store your wine upright for the first 3 to 5 days.
After that, store your wine on its side in order to keep the cork moist.
Store your wine in a cool, dark place.
Your wine should be stored where the temperature is CONSISTENT. Bright light, movement, and temperature fluctuations can negatively affect the quality of your wine.
Do Not:
Do not constantly turn your wine. Red wines will sometimes dust, leave residue on the inside of the bottle. This is normal. Simply decant your wine.
Do not store your wine directly on a cement floor. Put a thick piece of wood under your wine storage boxes.
Do not store your wine on heated floors.
Food and Wine Pairing
What you are looking for is harmony and balance in your pairing. Wine on its own tastes different than when it is paired with food. If it is complementary, wine can impart its flavours to a dish, thereby giving the food an added layer, or food can lend its flavours to the wine. If they clash, or if one overpowers the other, the experience will under whelm and disappoint and can sometimes lead to flavours that are not present in either, like an unpleasant metallic taste which can result from high tannin content and oily fish. With the right pairing, wine and food can combine to give your palate great pleasure!
OUR FAMOUS RECIPE FOR GRAPE WINE - TRIED AND TRUE FOR OVER 20 YEARS!!!
WINE FROM LOCAL GRAPES Makes 5 gallons
Muscadine, Scuppernong, Concord (SEE NOTE BELOW), etc.
1 / 2 bushel grapes
3 gallons water
10-12 lb. sugar (enough to obtain S.G. =1.090)
2 1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme powder
3 tsp yeast nutrient
2 T. acid blend
5 campden tablets
1 package wine yeast
Remove stems, wash & crush grapes. Put grapes in sanitized nylon bag. Dissolve sugar & other additives (except yeast) in water & add to crushed grapes in sanitized food-grade container & cover loosely. Keep in a dark place at room temperature.
After 24 hours, stir vigorously & add yeast; cover loosely.
Stir daily & after 1 week, check S.G. with hydrometer. If S.G = 1.030 or lower, siphon wine off sediment into sanitized glass carboy. (You can squeeze bag of grapes to get more juice first, then throw them out.) Attach stopper & airlock. Do NOT add campden tablets at this time.
After about 3 weeks, fermentation will be complete (S.G. = 1.000). Confirm this by taking readings 1 day apart & ensure you get the same reading both times.
When fermentation is complete, siphon off sediment into another sanitized glass carboy. Attach stopper & airlock & add 3-5 crushed campden tablets. Repeat this process whenever the layer of sediment is approx. 1/2 Inch deep.
When wine becomes clear enough to see through, bottle. (If sweetening before bottling, add wine stabilizer before sweetening.)
*if using Concord grapes, leave out acid blend.
CALL US IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE WANT YOU TO MAKE THE BEST WINE EVER!!!!
