Michael May 23, 2003

HOW TO MAKE HOME MADE WINE

Wine, nectar of the gods. It is said to be great for your heart, and give you a long lasting sleep, along with a long lasting "great feeling". The creation of wine is a tradition in its own. Starting from the buying of it, to the preparation, all the way to the first glass poured. Homemade wine is a tedious, fun and memorable event for any family.

People think of wine as the grapes that were stepped on by people’s feet. Sounds funny but making it, kind of deals with the same concept. Making wine isn’t as easy as it sounds. Before you can start, you have to have the right materials as well as the correct grapes. Materials are a huge step in making homemade wine. In my family we deal with the basic tools and necessities, for making the wine. The following tools are needed to make wine; 50 gallon wine press, 500 gallon drum, A grape crusher, two buckets, and of course grapes.

Before any one starts, you have to decide on what type of wine you want to make. Red grapes, make red wine, green grapes make white mine (or clear). With my family, we use a combination of both red and green grapes, which gives the end result a nice light red color. After the grapes are chosen, time of year is a crucial. Temperature is the main ingredient in the process of grape juic3 to wine. The chemical effect is called fermenting. It’s when the alcohol in the grapes thickens and the taste, color and texture of the wine all change. The taste becomes more pungent and the feeling of it is thicker. The juice needs heat to undergo this chemical reaction.

The grapes are imported from Italy on huge ships. They aren’t your most commonly bought grapes that you would find in King Kullen or any shopping center for that matter. These grapes don’t have any added chemicals or pasteurizes. The one main difference is the grapes have seeds in them. The seeds of the grape and the vine of it are what gives the wine most or its flavor.

Ok, so you have you grapes, the timing is right and the temperature is perfect. Its time for the dirty part. The grapes come in crates, and are weighed. Most crates are thirty or fifty pounds each. Take you grape crusher and place it over the 500-gallon drum that you have. Then carefully put the grapes in the crusher and turn he handle. In doing this it brakes the seal around the grape releasing the juice. After all the grapes are crushed and are i nth barrel, let it sit for about two weeks. The grapes start the fermenting process and begin to get so hot, that in the center of the barrel, it’s a little below boiling temperature. The grapes seem to rise about three to five inches due to the fermentation.

After the two weeks are threw, the pressing stage comes. The grape press is essential to the wine making process. It stands about 5 feet high and weighs about 200 pounds. Its is made out of solid steel and cherry wood. At the top of the press is a huge screw like pole, in which the head of the press screws on to it. The press has two semi- circle pieces of wood that get places around the press. Fill the barrel with the grapes. Then as the juice seeps out from the grapes it falls into a track and out into a bucket. Once the barrel is full wit the grapes, take the two semi-circle pieces and place them on top of the grapes. Then take the head of the press and screw it down until it is firmly snug to the wood. Take a poll and slowly crank the screw down pressing the grapes, and squishing the juice out of them.

This is a long process that could take a couple of hours. But when the grapes are completely press and have no more juice left, you throw them out. The juice is then put in the big barrels; it sits there for about a month.

Ok… your wine is sitting and going threw the chemical process of fermentation. In about two months you wine will be ready for drinking and serving. Remember drink responsibly.