Grill and Barrel

This is the second post following the progress of my winemaking adventure from fermenter to glass. Please check out the other posts in the series.

First off you need to gather your equipment and sanitize everything that will come in contact with the wine (I use Star San). The only equipment you will need to kick off fermentation will be a primary fermenter that holds at least 8 US gallons, long handled spoon or paddle, airlock, wine thief (turkey baster works fine) to take a sample to measure specific gravity and a hydrometer or refractometer.

I have removed most all plastic from my home brewery, but I find that an 8-10 gallon food grade bucket, (non food grade plastic can leech harmful toxins) is still the best primary fermenter for wine. While I prefer glass for wine for secondary fermentation, primary fermentation is just too violent due to the high gravity of wine and carboys easily channel that energy into a high pressure fountain! Unless you don't mind repainting your walls and ceiling, a nice big plastic bucket will do nicely.

Next, carefully open up your bag of juice.  The box should have a punch out that supports the neck of the spout to make pouring easier.  A bottle opener comes in handy for removing the lid. Its a lot of sticky liquid so pour carefully.  Next, poor a gallon of hot filtered water into the juice bag to rinse out any remaining juice.  I use the electric tea kettle again to heat up filtered water.  There's a lot of nasty stuff in your water heater's tank, so please resist the temptation to use hot tap water.  It won't kill you (unless its been stagnant for months), but it won't do your wine much good.

 Top off your fermenter to the 6 gallon mark (or the total volume your instructions call for) with filtered water and stir the heck out of it for at least a full minute.  This is an important step because it aerates the must dissolving oxygen into it.  This is very important to giving the yeast a healthy start.  Now is a good time to take a sample and measure gravity (I used my handy refractometer, so I only needed a drop).  Your specific gravity should measure between 1.080 and 1.100 depending on style.  If it is lower you have added too much water, higher and you probably didn't add enough (see your kits instructions for details).

If there are packets of oak chips or elderflowers, add them now and stir them below the surface.  Check your temperature to make sure your must is between 65 and 75°F.  (Temperatures outside this range are not healthy for the yeast).  Temps higher than 80°F will likely kill them (that's a bad thing).

Sprinkle the yeast over the must and put the lid and airlock on the fermenter.  You should begin to notice bubbles in the airlock within a few hours or the next day at the latest.  Now just let it sit for about a week and the the yeast do its magic...

In part 3 we'll check the gravity to monitor progress of fermentation and, if ready, rack to a secondary fermenter.

Cheers,

-D

other posts in the series

I made my first attempt at winemaking last year on SuperBowl Sunday and decided this year to make it a tradition. It also provides a memorable reference point as the wine ages. This will be the first of a series of posts following this batch of wine from fermentation to the glass.

To me, wine is a more complex topic than beer due to the wide variety of fruits and varietals used.  However, I find the process of making wine to be much simpler than brewing.  Most of the variables that influence the end result are up to mother nature herself rather than in the brewer or malt house or recipe combination.  The primary influences on any wine is the quality and attributes of the fruit it is based on.  The basic concepts of wine and beer making are the same. The most striking difference is that the sugars are extracted from fruit much more easily than grain.   Carbohydrates and starches in grain are broken down using heat to stimulate enzymes which break them down into simple sugars.  Most sugars found in fruit are naturally ready for fermentation.  Introducing heat would modify their structure in a way that would make them more difficult to ferment, so there is no "cooking" when making wine. Bottom line: making wine is far less time consuming but the raw ingredients are more expensive!

The process is quite simple:

1. Sanitize your equipment (fermenter/lid, spoon, hydrometer)
2. Fill fermenter with fruit juice, here forward called "must"
3. Add yeast to kick off fermentation
4. Rack to secondary fermenter (after 1 week)
5. Allow fermentation to complete (another 2-4 weeks)
6. Stabilize (stop fermentation)
7. Degass (remove CO2 from fermentation)
8. Clarify and Filter
9. Bulk age (optional)
10. Bottle

The wine I am starting today is a Chilean Pinot Noir using a Wine Expert’s Selection International kit from my local homebrew shop.  The varietals in this kit come from Chile from the same vinyards as the award winning wines in that region.  I splurged a bit on this kit but my homebrew shop has been recommending it to me since I first showed an interest.  Most wine kits range from $60-$170 and produce up to 30 bottles.  The more expensive kits often include award winning veritals which may require special order months in advance of production.

Next post, we'll open up the kit an complete steps 1-3 (day 1) for making wine at home...

Be sure to check out the other posts in the series

Cheers,

-D