If you know wine, the next evolutionary step in your journey is to make it yourself. While you may imagine it's difficult it's actually rather easy. To start, let's learn some of the basic steps.
First, you will need grape concentrate or grapes. You can even make wine from your own "vin(back)yard" if you're lucky enough to have the land. If using grape concentrate make sure you buy the best you can afford. You can buy it online as well as in specialty home-brewing shops. Don't forget the yeast and brewing equipment itself. The beginner may consider purchasing an all-in-one wine kit instead of buying all the various pieces. This will save you money until you decide this is a lifelong hobby. As with many hobbies, the skies the limit when it comes to how much you can spend so it's best to start small until that passion takes flight.
Depending on whether you are using real grapes or concentrate there are roughly five to 8 steps. Assuming you have harvested the grapes, you need to remove the stems. This is an essential step as the bitter tannins in the stems can have a disastrous effect on the pallete.
Next, the juice must be extracted from the fruit which includes not only the pulp but the skin as well. Crushing is the obvious method and most preferred. Crushing actually has a large effect on the wine. If you like a fruitier wine then you probably want to leave the berries almost completely whole.
Next is the primary fermentation. In this step yeast feeds on the sugar producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. Depending on the fruit you may need to add additional yeast as the yeast in the fruit may not be enough. This is something you will get a feel for as you progress.
After the fermentation is complete more juice is extracted. This liquid is never as high quality as the intial crushing. This is similar to the creation of olive oil. The first pressing is what gets called "virgin" and is the most pure and flavorsome while further pressings have diminished results. With wine, the first pressing is known as "free run" and comes from the middle pulp having had less exposure to the stems and skins. This second pressing ("seconde taille" or "vin de tisane") is not useless however. Wineries often use this to plump up their yields.
The final fermentation occurs next. This is where more of the art of winemaking comes in. Depending on the current flavor and other factors the winemaker determines how long this process takes. During this process the wine ferments as well as ages taking the wine flavor in a whole new direction.
An optional step is blending. This step is used when the wine might not have lived up to it's full potential. The winemaker may mix two or more wines to make something more palatable. It may be at the end of your first winemaking experience you may wish to "blend" the wine with a sweeter vintage bought from the shop.
The essential last step is bottling. This keeps the wine fresh and preserved until that final exquisite moment of enjoyment! Some add sulfites to finish off the fermentation process however keep in mind that a minority have an allergic reaction to the substance.
Wine making can be a great experience especially if you love wine. You will certainly gain a deeper appreciation of the fine craftsmanship it takes to produce a fine drop. So get started!
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