The Basics of Making Wine

It is popular new trend that has taken America by force, making wine. All across the nation people are making wine in garages, sheds and kitchens. Is it legal? Yes. Is it difficult to begin? No, all you need to start is a wine makers kit with all the ingredients: yeast, any kind of fruit juice (grape juice recommended for starters) and other additives to ensure sterility. You will also need a carboy (a special kind of glass container for the wine), a siphoning hose, an airtight rubber stopper and an airlock device (allows oxygen to escape during fermentation but does not allow any in). You will also need corks and bottles for bottling. Any wine bottles are good for use as long as they are sterilized beforehand, all these things can be purchased at your local winery or on a internet shop. Labels can also be purchased if you want to brand your wine.

Make sure you sterilize your hands, tools and work area before working with your wine; any bacteria at all can ruin a perfectly good batch of wine. Your wine kit should come with instructions on how to go at making the wine.

The wine doesn t need much care; the yeast does most of the work. You only need to tend to it about once a month.

How does it work? For centuries people have been leaving juices in sealed up containers only to open it up to discover wine. There s no mystery to this, it s very simple if you think about it. The yeast works the same way on the juice as it works on bread except that in bread you want the C02 from the yeast and in wine you want the alcohol. The tiny yeast cells begin to break down the sugar in fermentation. After all the sugar is used up all that s left is it s waste product, alcohol and few hard fermentable sugars. Can you make a profit out of wine making? Well first you need a license also, I wouldn t suggest trying to make a profit out of home brewing. You ll have to go professional and invest time and money. What else can you make wine out of well pretty much any fruit, people have made peach wine, strawberry wine, apple wine, even orange juice wine! Can you make the juice and tools at home? Sure, you can use anything as a carboy as long as it s airtight and sterilized. All you really need for a siphon is a hose and there are many different things that can be done in your own kitchen to get the juice out of fruits.

It s a great hobby and if you enjoy wine, then it is time for you to make those precious drops yourself.