Making It

Your First Gallon! Part IV

This is Part IV of a four part series:
Part I, Part II, Part III

Ok, you are on your way to learning the final parts of winemaking fundamentals. At this point, you really need to do a quick review and make sure you have all of the tools and ingredients needed. Additionally, I would recommend pre-reading the entire recipe thoroughly and dig into any questions you may have. Timing is an important part of the process, so get your questions out of the way.

If you are a novice winemaker, you should follow the recipe as closely as possible. You may want to make notes to yourself, whereby you can refer back to when you make your next batch.

Sanitization

The importance of sanitization in the winemaking process is critical. All of the equipment that touches any of the ingredients must be sanitized with a recognized sanitizer solution. Read and follow the sanitizer's instructions and have all equipment pre-sanitized and rinsed appropriately. Also, make sure all tools are food-grade.

Recipe & Supplies

Your voyage into making your first gallon has arrived. What follows is a basic recipe to get you started. To make it just a bit easier, it skips the process of finding, selecting, and preparing of fresh wine grapes and substitutes wine grape juice (pure or concentrate) instead.

Supplies	Ingredients
Sulfite solution	3 quarts wine grape juice
Large plastic stirring spoon	1 quart water
Three-gallon primary fermentation bucket with lid	3 cups sugar
Hydrometer	1 tsp wine yeast
Siphon/Racking tool	1 tsp acid blend
Airlock/Bung	1/4 tsp grape tannin
One gallon glass carboy	1 tsp yeast nutrient
Bottle of white wine (carboy topper)	1/2 tsp pectin enzyme
Five standard wine bottles	1 crushed campden tablet
Five synthetic corks	1/2 tsp potassium sorbate
Bottle Labels

Preparing the Must

Ok, it is time to mix the ingredients. Please do not forget to use the sanitation techniques and instructions as mentioned previously.

1. Pour your juice into the primary fermentation bucket.
2. Boil sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, and then add into bucket.
3. Mix in the tannin, acid blend, and yeast nutrient, and allowing the contents to settle back to room temperature.
4. Stir in one crushed campden tablet.
5. Cap with the lid, and leave it for 24 hours.
6. Stir in pectin enzyme.
7. Optional: Use your hydrometer kit and take a pre-fermentation original Specific Gravity reading. More on this is available in another article.
8. Stir in the wine yeast and reseal.
9. Stir the must daily for one week.
10. Optional: Seven days later take your final Specific Gravity measurement.
11. Begin racking (siphon and transfer) the wine to the secondary fermentation carboy.
12. Use the white wine to fill your carboy up to about 1½ inches from the top of the bottle.
13. Prepare the airlock/bung with water to the fill line and insert into the mouth of the carboy.
14. The wine will now ferment for many months until the Specific Gravity measures to .985 or lower.
15. Re-check the airlock periodically and replace the liquid due to any evaporation.
16. Spot check every eight weeks for lees (sediment) at the bottom, and repeat racking steps as needed.
17. When your Specific Gravity measures .985 or lower you are ready to stabilize and bottle.
18. Rack the wine into the primary fermentation bucket.
19. Cork the bottles.
20. Add your labels, with personalized information to suit.
21. Let your wine age using good aging protocol.
22. Bingo...you are there, and when aging completes you will enjoy your own creation!

Summary

Wine making is both an art and a science. As with innovative cooking, there are a number of recipes and procedures that will give acceptable results, depending upon the individual preference and experience of the winemaker. There are some obvious and not so obvious practices to be avoided. Your wine making ability should improve with practice and insight.

Contributor: WineDefintions Staff Writer

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