As more and more grapes ripen and become available, many people are choosing to make their own red wine. So, do you know what you need to do to prepare your own red wine? How do you make your own wine?
What tools should you have for self-crafting?
First of all, you should prepare a series of tools: grape cleaning tools (such as vegetable baskets and leaking water containers like leaking spoons), utensil sterilization tools (edible alcohol and highly concentrated white wine), grape juice fermentation tools (fermentation jars can be made of glass, plastic, stainless steel, ceramic and other materials, such as medical jars, glass jars, ceramic pots, etc.), common domestic red wine supplements (dry yeast powder, potassium metabisulfite, pectin enzyme), etc. Pectin enzyme), etc.
Next, prepare grapes as raw materials. Usually, winemaking grapes are the most suitable for making wine.
What are the steps to make homemade red wine?
1 Wash and dry
After purchasing raw materials, first remove diseased, wilted, moldy, green and rotten fruit. The need for cleaning varies from person to person. Cleaning grapes can remove or reduce dust, mold, insects, pesticides, etc. on the surface of the grapes, but it will also reduce the absorption of water and sugar. These risks can be avoided if the grapes are not cleaned. Note that if you want to clean it, you must dry it. Do not expose them to the sunlight of red wine.
2. Clogging and crushing
After cleaning and drying, blocking and crushing can be done. From now on, all containers and hands that come into contact with grapes or grape juice should be clean. The containers should be free of water and oil, and hands should be washed. Crush the grapes by hand and remove the stems. Containers should be plastic or stainless steel, iron containers are not allowed.
3 Canning
After crushing the grapes, you can add additional canning accessories. Of course, you can also crush them in the main fermentation jar if possible. The tanks should be kept in a cool, dry place. Please note that the crushed grape solution will not fill the container, preferably 2/3 of the way up the container, as a lot of gas will be produced during the subsequent fermentation process and if it is full, overflow will occur.
5 Main fermentation
Generally speaking, the fermentation phase will begin 24 to 48 hours after canning. After fermentation, a lot of air bubbles will rise. Do not seal it, but leave the ventilation hole. During the main fermentation, the barrel temperature should preferably be kept between 15-30 degrees. The main fermentation usually lasts 7-10 days, depending on the grape variety and fermentation temperature. After the main fermentation, the wine needs to be filtered and separated. The best way to separate the wine is to use a siphon tube to prevent turbidity and excessive air exposure, which can lead to oxidation or acetic acid bacterial infection and spoilage.
6 Secondary fermentation
The secondary fermentation lasts 1-3 days and the temperature conditions are the same as the main fermentation, but the secondary fermentation requires filling the container, wrapping the bottle with plastic wrap and piercing the plastic wrap with a needle. The second fermentation is a step to improve the quality of the red wine and to further sink the pomace to the bottom. It can be omitted if not available.
7 Split Aging
The clarified red wine is close to the finished product and tastes good. But if you want it to become better and fuller, you need to age it. It is advisable to use small containers for aging, such as Coke bottles or old red wine bottles. The best time to age is after the winter. When aging, the bottle should be filled, sealed, kept at a low temperature (preferably 8-10 degrees), and protected from light. It can be covered with a black plastic bag to protect it from light.
It is important to note that many bacteria are inevitably produced during the homebrewing process. If it is brewed by a large corporation, it will be sanitized in full seal, but homemade does not solve this problem. Home-brewed red wine generally does not meet hygiene standards and often exceeds the standard for E. coli. Therefore, we must pay special attention to hygiene.
