How to make homemade wine
The actual process of winemaking is fairly straightforward. Traditional grape wines can be easily created, as well as those from fruits and even vegetables and grains. It is important to note that winemaking is not a hobby for those who are impatient. Homemade wines require months and sometimes years to reach their full drinking potential.
Making wine at home can be a deliciously fun hobby! With some inexpensive equipment and a myriad of recipes and ingredients, the amateur wine maker can follow simple steps to create a satisfying home brewed product. Wine making supplies are readily available through local stores that cater to wine hobbyists or online outlets that offer catalogs of items for sale. Homemade wine can be a delicious and unique addition to your entertaining menu and will allow you to express your own creativity and unique tastes.
Things you’ll need: 1 qt. of fruit, any kind, 1 package of active yeast, 2 cups of sugar, 1 gallon of water (separated as 1 cup hot water, 2 cups warm water and 13 cups), Colander or cheese cloth, Container with tight-fitting lid.Mash and crush the fruit with a spoon or masher and transfer it to the clean, 1-gallon container or jug. Mix the 2 cups of sugar in 1 cup of hot water. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Let this mixture cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, add the sugar mixture to the fruit and stir. Dissolve the package of active yeast in 2 cups of warm water. As you mix this, the yeast may foam. Combine the yeast mixture with the fruit and sugar. Pour the remaining 13 cups of water into the container and stir the complete mixture. Place the lid on the container and store it in a dark, cool place for 2 to 3 weeks to enable the mixture to ferment. Strain the fermented mixture through a cheese cloth or colander to get a smooth consistency, and pour the finished product into a container for use.
Sterilization is mandatory for all utensils, bottles and corks, especially corks. One should use commercially available plastic corks until you know how to properly
sterilize natural corks.
Your Fermentation temperature may be too hot or too cold. The yeast in your liquid is better suited for its job if the temperature is between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with approximately 72 degrees being the ideal temperature. If the fermentation is too cool it may become sluggish and ferment very slowly or it may not ferment at all. Fermentations that are too warm may allow microorganisms to grow in your wine causing it to have a bad flavor or may even cause the wine to be spoiled.
The procedure of racking the wine is essential to winemaking. Racking is the process of siphoning the wine off the sediments into a clean secondary fermentation container. This can be done with a flexible plastic tube. Racking is usually done on a regular basis over several months until the wine is clear and ready to be placed in bottles.
