It is scientifically proven that wine has many benefits for your body. If you make your own wine, it tastes delicious, saves money (less than $2.50 per kilo, 5 kilos of grapes make 4 kilos of wine) and you don’t have to worry about chemicals. You’ll feel better after drinking your own wine.
Making your own wine is easy. You can adapt it to your local conditions and pay attention to hygiene. Wines made according to the method I have described are dry red wines and are usually more robust than the dry red wines you buy.
It is best not to wash the grapes after you buy them because the fermentation of indigenous winemaking depends on the fermentation of wild yeast microorganisms that attach themselves to the surface of the grapes. If you want to clean them, you can’t “clean” them by hand and with a brush, let alone detergents and disinfectants such as potassium permanganate. Maximize the survival of microorganisms.
Grapes do not need to be washed in the industry.
Many large wine companies have their own vineyards, where the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is strictly prohibited. It is true that it is difficult to guarantee that commercial grapes are free of pesticides, but I know that farmers in general are also wary of spraying pesticides directly on their grapes because it creates spots on the skins and shortens the shelf life of the grapes. (If you’re really worried, you can rinse the grapes with a whole bunch of water.)
Then, with clean hands, tear up as many grapes as possible and place them in a can with skins and seeds. In industry, it is crushed by a crusher. The traditional method in France is to employ pretty young girls to climb into the barrels of grapes and trample them with their feet. Industrially, there are also juice machines that extract the juice from the grapes and ferment only the juice.
If you are making white wine, you should quickly squeeze the white grapes out of the must to prevent the skins and seeds from soaking into the must and turning it red in color.
Make your own wine without adding ferments, preservatives or clarifiers. Domestic wines use wild yeast to break down the sugar in the grapes and convert it to alcohol, with a small amount of sugar added to increase the alcohol content. Generally, the shelf life is less than two years, so you should drink it within two years of consumption. The following is the winemaking method.
I. Brewing tools
1. Main fermentation tank. It is recommended to use alcohol-resistant and non-harmful glass jars, glass jars, glass bottles, ceramic jars, stainless steel bottles or plastic bottles and jars, regardless of size.
2. Secondary fermentation containers and wine containers. You can use empty wine bottles, beverage bottles, mineral water bottles, etc.
3. A thin plastic tube. It is used to siphon the wine out of the fermentation container after fermentation.
4. A stick or chopstick. This is used to stir the grape skins and juice during fermentation.
5. Stocking or fine gauze. Used to filter the wine juice.
II. Materials.
This is very simple. The main ingredient is ripe black grapes. Under amateur conditions, such as grands crus, rosé, etc. The auxiliary ingredient is rock sugar or sugar. The weight ratio of grapes to sugar for fermentation is 10:1.
3. Process
1. Thoroughly clean the main fermentation jar (such as glass jar) and control its dryness.
2. 15 days before ripening, take 750g of medium grape with purple skin, remove the stems, pick out the rotten grape beads and dried grape beads, soak and wash, and dry until the surface is free of water drops. Do not rub the grapes with your hands when washing, because the white cream on the grape skins (with a lot of wild yeast on it) should be used for fermentation.
3. Wash your hands, squeeze the grapes and squeeze the flesh into the main fermentation jar, then put the skins into the fermentation jar. Don’t throw away the grape skins. First of all, the skins have wild yeast on them to start the natural fermentation. Secondly, the wine needs the color of the skins.
If the fermenter is small, you can squeeze the grapes one by one. If the fermenter is large, you can grab three to five grapes at a time, stick your hand into the container and crush them, then release the crushed grapes.
4. When the grapes are filled to about 70% of the capacity of the fermentation jar, stop filling the grapes and close the lid, but do not tighten it completely. The fermentation process will produce a lot of carbon dioxide gas. If it is too full, the precious wine juice will spill out. If the cap is screwed on too tightly, the bottle may explode. In addition, the fermentation of the grapes requires a small amount of oxygen.
5. Place the fermentation jars with the grapes in a cool, ventilated place. Fermentation will begin in about 12 hours after the grapes are in the fermentation jars, which indicates more air bubbles in the must.
6. Once fermentation has begun, press the grape skins into the wine twice a day with a wooden stick or chopsticks, then cover with a lid.
7. Within one to two days after fermentation begins, add icing sugar or sugar equal to 1/20 of the weight of the fermented grapes. For example, add half a kilogram of sugar to 10 kg of grapes and soak the sugar in the must, stirring it well. The effect of sugar is to increase the alcohol content. Generally speaking, you can add 17 grams of sugar per liter of grape juice to increase one degree.
8.Three to four days after the start of fermentation, add icing sugar or white sugar equal to 1/20 of the weight of the fermented grapes, i.e. two additions of sugar totaling 1/10 of the weight of the grapes, and soak the sugar in the must, stirring well.
9. Wine fermentation usually takes 6~8 days at room temperature. For example, in Beijing, it takes about 6 days in summer and 8 days in autumn. When there are fewer bubbles in the fermentation tank, basically only colorless grape skins and seeds remain, and there is basically no sweetness in the wine when tasting, it means the alcohol fermentation is completed.
After the alcohol fermentation is completed, the wine is first siphoned into the secondary fermentation tank, and then the remaining grape skins, seeds, grains, etc. are filtered through a stocking or fine gauze, and the filtered wine is mixed into the secondary fermentation tank. Throw away the skins, seeds and wine grains. Please note that there is a 1/10th gap in the secondary fermentation tank and the lid should not be tightened. Put it in a cool place.
11. At this point the wine is cloudy and the color is not good, but it tastes like dry red wine. When the temperature is higher than 22°C, the wine will generally undergo secondary fermentation. The secondary fermentation is mainly malolactic-lactic fermentation and no longer produces alcohol.
12. The secondary fermentation produces a small amount of fine white foam. After two to three weeks, the secondary fermentation is almost complete and the wine becomes clear (but without clarifying agents, it is not as clear as the purchased wine). The wine is siphoned into other containers, filled as much as possible, and the lid is screwed shut. At this point, the wine is called wine, and it is completely dry red wine.
Throw away any remaining sediment (dead yeast sludge, etc.). If you don’t drink it right away, you can add some unadulterated high white wine (such as dibenzou) to the wine and keep it in the refrigerator. Adding white wine improves the accuracy of the wine and extends the storage time. This wine can usually be stored for up to two years. However, if the wine produced is of high quality and has a high alcohol content (up to 15°C), it can withstand aging without the addition of white wine.
4. Notes.
1. All containers must be cleaned. Grapes should not come into contact with oil, iron, copper, tin, etc. during the winemaking process, but can come into contact with clean stainless steel products.
2. During fermentation, do not block the lid of the fermentation tank to prevent explosion.
3. Don’t put too much sugar, it will affect the fermentation process and produce unwanted ingredients. If you want to drink sweet wine, you can add sugar after fermentation.
4、Although wine is delicious, it should be consumed in moderation.
Is it easy for you to make your own dry red wine? Follow my instructions and I guarantee you’ll make delicious wine!
