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Winemaking Step by Step
from: Maxx Guide to WineFor a true wine connoisseur, the next step in appreciating fine wine is to make their own wine at home. You may think the process is too complicated, but the reality is, wine is relatively easy to make.
However, before diving in, it's necessary to understand the basic step by step process of winemaking.
To start make wine at home you'll need to decide if you're going to use either grape concentrate or grapes. If you have enough space to grow your own grapes, you may choose this option. If you choose grape concentrate, make sure you use high quality grape concentrate, which can be purchased both online and at wine and home brewing centers.
Once you've decided, you'll need to pick up yeast and brewing equipment. If it's your first batch, consider purchasing a wine kit rather than buying all of the reuired equipment separately. Once you've experimented with making wine to determine whether it's an activity you really want to pursue, you can then start to accumulate various pieces of equipment for brewing larger batches.
The winemaking process requires five to eight basic steps, depending on whether you're using grapes or concentrate. If you're using grapes, then you'll obviously need to first harvest the fruit. Once the grapes have been harvested, remove the stems from the grapes, which is an essential step since very bitter tannins are contained in the stems which can have a heavy influence on your wine.
Once the stems have been removed, the skins of the grapes need to be broken in order to release their juice. There are many ways to do this, but crushing is preferred by most winemakers. The degree to which the fruit is crushed has an impact on your resulting wine. If you'd like to create a wine with a fruity aroma, you may want to leave the berries almost completely intact.
Next, it's on to primary fermentation. During this step the yeast cells contained in the wine feeds on the sugars, creating alcohol and carbon dioxide. You may you may want to add additional yeast since this helps ensure a stable and consistent conversion, which may not happen if you rely solely on the yeast found on the fruit itself.
After primary fermentation, more juice should be extracted from the fruit. Note: the juice extracted in this step is typically not as high quality as the juice extracted during the crushing phase because the juice obtained during crushing, known as free run juice, has had less contact with the stems and skins. However, it doesn't mean press juice has no value. Even large wineries often choose to use press juice in order to increase their yield.
A secondary fermentation occurs after pressing, at the same time as the wine is aging. It's up to you as the windmaker to determine how long the wine should ferment.
Blending is an optional part of the process but one which can assist you in creating a very customized wine. Blending is used to improve two or more batches which may be a bit lacking.
The last step of the process is bottling. Your wine is poured into bottles and at times you may wish to add sulfites to help end fermentation as well as to preserve the wine. The last ste is to seal your bottles of wine with a cork.
Making wine at home is a great hobby and fun activity. As you begin to understand the process of making wine, you'll definitely gain a more complete appreciation of this beverage of the gods.
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