How To Make Your Own Grape Wine

HAND HELD REFRACTOMETER

You do not necessarily need one of these, but they make the job of testing grape ripeness so much easier.

A refractometer is an optical instrument that is used to determine the refractive index of a substance.

Most commonly, refractometers are used for measuring fluid concentrations such as the sugar content (Brix level, for example, in carbonated beverages, fruits, juices, honey and or vegetables, etc).


TRIPLE SCALE HYDROMETER

A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity (or relative density) of liquids; that is, the ratio of the density of the liquid to the density of water.

It is usually made of glass and consists of a cylindrical stem and a bulb weighted with mercury or lead shot to make it float upright. The liquid to be tested is poured into a tall jar, and the hydrometer is gently lowered into the liquid until it floats freely. The point at which the surface of the liquid touches the stem of the hydrometer is noted. Hydrometers usually contain a paper scale inside the stem, so that the Specific Gravity can be read directly.

This can be used for both wine and beer. It allows you to keep track of the fermentation's progress and determine the finished product's alcohol content by taking readings before and after fermentation and comparing them. Also, it allows you to verify when your batch is ready to bottle. Shows Specific Gravity scale from .990 to 1.170, Balling degrees scale from -3 to +35 and Potential Alcohol scale -2 to +22%. Comes with complete instructions.

ACID TEST KIT (TITRATION KIT)

The same method as used by professional wineries to determine the acidity level of a must before fermentation, and again at bottling time. Measured amounts of reagent is added to a measured sample of juice or wine that has been prepared with indicator solution. When the sample changes colour, the acidity is determined by measuring the amount of reagent used to obtain the colour change. The kit includes: a test tube, measuring syringe, reagent, indicator solution and complete instructions.

How to Measure Acidity Using a Titration Kit

Whether the grapes come from a local vineyard or your own backyard, you can make impressive grape wines with remarkable flavour, body and character.

There are two important factors to take in to consideration before picking your grapes:

1. The grapes must be fully ripe, and good to taste.
   We look for a good balance between the natural sugar content and the acidity level within the grape.
   
   Where there is an imbalance between sugar and acid, we may have to intervene by adding an acid ingredient. However, if the natural sugar level is found to be too low, by adding granulated sugar will only contribute to the overall total alcohol level, and not the sweetness.
   
   A refractometer is used to test the ripeness of the grapes. (see above)


2. There must be no debris or disease in the grapes.
   
   Any stalks, leaves or other part of the vine mistakenly cut off will add unwanted bitterness to the sample which we don't want. While any diseased fruit will be detrimental to the clean, youthful flavour we are looking for in the must* prior to fermentation.
   
   CLEAN GRAPES MAKE CLEAN WINE
   

*must = grape juice before fermentation

When it comes to the actual processing of the grapes, red grapes are handled differently to white grapes.

White grapes
With white grapes, the stems are left on and pressed immediately after picking. The skin and pulp does not become a part of the fermentation as with red grapes, and by leaving the stalks on they act as a good filter system during the pressing cycle.

Red Grapes
However, red grapes are destemmed several days before pressing. The reason for removing the stalks is that as the grapes are fermented on their skins, this enables the red colour to be extracted in to the juice.

THE RED COLOUR OF WINE COMES FROM SKIN CONTACT ONLY.

WHITE WINE CAN BE MADE FROM RED GRAPES.

The stalks contain tannin, and if left on would be extracted into the wine causing a very bitter taste. With red wines we are looking to make a style that will soften with age.


Crusher/Destemmer

Destemming & Crushing
How you go about destemming and crushing depends on the amount of grapes you will be dealing with. When making wine from wild grapes you may only be dealing with 20 to 40 pounds to end up with 5 gallons of wine. When making wine with European wine grapes the amount is more in the neighbourhood of 60 to 80 pounds for 5 gallons. And if you plan on doing 50 or 100 gallons you are then looking at 600 to 1600 pounds to process.

The smaller amounts can obviously be destemmed and crushed by hand, but when you get into larger amounts you may want to consider getting a crusher/destemmer combination or possibly just a crusher if you are only dealing with whites.

As stated earlier red grapes are pressed after a few days of fermentation whereas white grapes are pressed prior to fermentation. The size of press you purchase, again, is determined by the size of the job in hand.

A small table-top press is sufficient for handling 50 or 100 pounds of grapes. It can press about 15 pounds at a time. For larger jobs you will want to consider a larger press like the R-25 ratchet style.

Collection of the juice
While the grapes are being pressed, the 'must' (juice) is moved into a container as soon as possible. In commercial setups a wine pump is used. It is important to get the 'must' out of air contact immediately if no sulphites have previously been added to the grapes.

Use sulphites by direction pre-fermentation, as what we want is to kill off any wild yeasts before we add our known yeast culture. Add too much and the fermentation will be slow to start - too little and it starts too soon from the natural yeasts.

BE PRECISE WITH MEASUREMENTS AND CALCULATIONS

Once the grapes have been pressed and the acidity and sugar levels have been checked and adjusted as necessary, it is time to prepare the must for fermentation.

The must should now be in a fermentation vessel of some type - but not filled right to the top. You will then want to add to the must the following ingredients:

1. Yeast Nutrient: add at the rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon. This is not yeast, but an energy source for the yeast which will be added later.


2. Pectic Enzyme: add at the rate of 1/8 teaspoon per gallon. This is used to aid in the clarification of the wine, and in the case of red wines, to help break down the pulp so more flavor can be extracted.


3. Potassium Bisulfite: add at the rate of 1/16 teaspoon per gallon or 1/4 teaspoon for every 4 gallons. This is used to sterilize the must, to kill all the wild molds, bacteria and yeast that come with the fresh grapes. Over a 24 hour period the Potassium Bisulfite will sterilize the juice and then dissipate into the air. Only cover the fermentation vessel with a light towel during the waiting period.


4. Yeast can then be added after waiting 24 hours. If the yeast is added before the Potassium Bisulfite leaves, it will kill the yeast as well. Just sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the must at a rate of 1 package for every 5 gallons.
   
   It is important that during the 24 hour waiting period before the yeast is added that the fermentation vessel is only covered with a light towel, maybe an old t-shirt. This is to make sure that the Potassium Bisulfite which needs to escape and leave the vessel is not trapped by a lid or a heavy covering of some kind.

Once the fermentation gets under way, try to ensure that the temperature is cool and stable.

MONITOR FERMENTATION TEMPERATURE.

TOO HOT: YEAST MAY OVERHEAT, AND DIE QUICKLY.
TOO COLD: MAY END UP WITH A STUCK FERMENTATION.

Stuck Wine Fermentations and How to Restart Them
Troubleshoot a Stuck Fermentation

Once the fermentation comes to an end, - this can be after as little as a few days or as much as several weeks, - the yeast cells have done their job and form a thick residue at the bottom of the vessel (the lees). It is now time to 'rack the wine' off the lees, so that no nasty flavours are picked up.

This is where we transfer the clear wine into another vessel. Insert a clear, half-inch diameter plastic hose into the fermenting vessel and siphon the clear wine into another vessel. Then top it off and fit it with a sanitized bung and fermentation lock. This can be a delicate operation and it's important to go slowly. You don't want to stir up the sediment, but you don't want to lose your siphon suction.

The wine is filled completely to the top of the vessel (to exclude any air), and left in a cool place for some time. This allows the wine to settle out all sediments, so the colder the better.

Once the wine is completely clear, and you have verified with a hydrometer that it is finished fermenting, it is time to bottle.

You may or may not want to filter your wine before bottling. Doing so will add an additional polish to the wine's already clear appearance. Wine filters come in different sizes based on the amount of wine you are filtering and how fast you want to filter.

Bottling your wine is a fairly straight forward process. It is simply a matter of siphoning the wine into the bottles and then corking them. You will need wine bottles, corks and a corker. You may also want wine bottle labels and decorative bottle neck capsules.

For more information about this take a look at the article:
"Corking Your Wine Bottles".

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In the wine industry, bottle presentation is a very important part of the entire winemaking process. If you wish to give away some of your bottles of wine to friends, wouldn't it be great to have a stunning label and capsule (the foil on top of the cork) to show your wine off?

You can easily graphically design a label, and so long as your wine is for home consumption only, you don't have to worry about all the legal jargon that must be on all commercial wine labels. However, it is good practice to stick to the usual proper info such as:

• wine name
• vintage
• bottle size
• alcohol %
• description of the wine
• and any else you want to convey to your own consumers.

Have a look at what one of the worlds top wine estates does with its label design. Over the years Mouton Rothschild has come up with some amazingly different, artistic and colourful labels for its wines - and they certainly help to sell the bottles!

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