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This
article is just a simple overview of the wine making process using
grapes. You should pick up some helpful tips to make wine making
more fun and hopefully better tasting the more experience you
have. Each time you use a wine making recipe try something just a
little different with the recipes and ingredients. Keep
experimenting until you find the perfect recipe for your wine,
then show it off to your friends and family. The basic grape wine
is the perfect wine to start with.
The information in this article is mostly geared towards the
beginning wine maker. We have tried to make the steps as easy and
clear as possible for this wine making recipe. As long as you
learn something every time you make wine your time will never be
wasted. Just be sure to keep notes during every batch so you can
remember what you did different that created the most recent batch
of wine.
The ingredients used in wine making recipes are really no big
secret. You should be able to find them at a local store, or maybe
one in a larger city near where you live. Picking them up from a
local supplier will let you get a look at the other items in the
store and a chance to talk to someone else who makes wine. This
will also save you shipping charges. There is also always the
handy internet which you can use to find probably any type of wine
making equipment and ingredients that you will ever need.
A few of the ingredients you may already have around the house or
they can be found on the next trip to the supermarket. Sugar and
grapes will be the easiest to find. Campden tablets, pectin
enzyme, and white wine yeast might be a little harder to find, but
with all the resources available to you, you shouldn't have a
problem. You will also need to have a plastic bucket, wine bottles
and other simple kitchen equipment handy.
Removing the grapes from their vines and stalks is always the
first step. After removing them you will need to place them in the
plastic bucket. Since you will probably be making a small batch of
wine to get started you should be able to crush the grapes by hand
or with another kitchen item. Since you are preparing food, almost
like using a cutting board, be sure treat everything you use is
clean.
The pectic enzyme and campden tablet go into the
bucket next. The contents of the bucket are then mixed completely
and then left in the bucket for 24 hours with a plate or other
item covering the bucket. This will allow the chemicals and the
grape juice time to react with each other. After 24 hours you will
need to strain the mixture through a nylon straining bag to
extract all the juice.
You will need to measure the specific gravity
of the liquid to test the sugar content. You will need to raise
the specific gravity to a reading of 1.08 by adding a simple sugar
syrup. The yeast starter will then be added and the entire mixture
will be stored in a demijohn. Plug the demijohn with cotton wool
and replace with an airlock when the fermentation starts.
After a 2 week fermentation, rack the wine into a jar and store in
a cool place. Repeat after 2 days, adding campden tablets this
time. You should then let the mixture set for 12 months before you
bottle it.
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