It’s fall and it’s grape season. It’s harvest time for those who grow grapes at home, but what if there are so many grapes that they can’t eat them all? As we all know, wine is made from grapes. It not only tastes delicious, but also has great nutritional value. It can also be effective in preventing some diseases, which is good for the body. Therefore, many people choose to make wine at home, especially those who have grapes at home. This time of the year has become the most enjoyable time for them because it means they can start a new round of winemaking.
However, if you are not careful in the winemaking process, something can happen. This time last year, Uncle Ngiam’s wife was trying to make all kinds of delicious food. Instead of looking at so many fresh grapes, she was making wine as usual. Unexpectedly, the wine, which had just been made for five days, exploded as soon as it touched the bottle. Fortunately, it was only a small cut, which was no big deal. So what should we be aware of in the winemaking process to avoid unnecessary trouble?
What are some of the things to keep in mind when making wine? Grape Selection, Cleaning, and Winemaking Tools
1.
Grape Selection
When selecting grapes, try not to choose grapes that are damaged, moldy, spoiled, or under-ripe. Either way, they can harbor bacteria during the winemaking process.
2.
Washing the grapes
When purchased, grapes have a white layer of frost on the outside of the skin. This white frost is called fruit powder and is not harmful to humans. If we wash off this white frost, we will lose the yeast. Yeast plays an important role in the fermentation of wine. Inadequate yeast can lead to poor fermentation. In the case of high sugar content, regular consumption can affect our health.
Therefore, when washing grapes, we can rinse the grapes with tap water, soak them in water for about 20 minutes, and then rinse them again several times, so that we can keep the yeast on the outside of the grapes and not worry about cleaning the grapes.
3.
Production Pitfalls
Do not use plastic, iron or aluminum utensils as these may produce toxic substances.
3. The use of food additives in industrial wines is reasonable, and there are strict requirements for methanol, which produces neurotoxins in the fermentation process, and for bactericide. However, there is no guarantee that domestic wine will not be mixed with bacteria and that the methanol content of the neurotoxin will not be exceeded. Therefore, we must take care to store it in an ideal storage environment and drink it within a year to avoid long-term spoilage.
Finally, I would like to remind you that the alcohol content of domestic wines is also very high, so you should not drink too much. We should drink in moderation and never let too much alcohol damage our health.
