Grape Wine Making Recipe

Normally, those who are into alcoholic beverages and wines, or the likes get their 'poison' from the wine shop. But imagine if you were able to get the feel of how it will be in a wine yard in California or let's say Ireland, wouldn't it be awesome? Grape wine making is all about picking those perfect grapes and the right fermentation process. But that's about it for now, because I don't want to spill the beans about the interesting grape wine recipe!

Grape Wine Recipe

Cork #1 - From the Scratch
Here is an easy grape wine recipe. If you want to start from scratch, then you would have to begin by picking grapes in the concerned season. After you pick the grapes, get rid of the leaves and trash, but leave stems on the grapes as far as possible. If at all you have to store them avoid using a metal container.

Cork #2 - Crushing Blow
Get around 6 pounds of grapes to make 2 bottles of wine. Then crush the grapes or may be you can use a juicer to take the grape juice. A very important thing to remember here is that don't throw the skin in case you are making red or rose wine. Put them in the juice. Believe it or not tanning in the skin helps ferment wine better.

Cork #3 - Strain It
After you get the juice, strain the juice and measure the sugar level using the hydro meter. The maximum sugar the juice can have is equal 1.0982 specific gravity. In addition to that, the fruit should have a natural sweet and tart taste. If the specific gravity is not up to the mark, no need to worry, you can always add the sugar. Put the crushed grapes in a plastic ice chest having a drain plug on the bottom of the ice chest while you are going about grape wine making at home.

Cork #4 - Time to Ferment
Once the juice is kept in the ice chest, close the lid on the chest and then let it ferment for 8 to 10 days. Prevent disturbing or moving the grapes. The hulls will be seen now floating on top of the juice. Once you see that, drain the juice from the ice chest in glass or plastic containers. Then put juice in a clean glass or a plastic jug having a small top. Then put it in a separate glass or plastic bowl for dissolving the sugar with 2 gallons of distilled water or grape juice. Add some yeast culture if you have some. But for doing that you would need to warm the juice to around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature can be a bit less or more but make sure it is not more than 80 degrees. As far as homemade grape wine recipe and grape wine making is concerned, this is a very crucial stage.

Cork #5 - High Spirits
After this first leg of fermentation is done, take the juice and pour it in a barrel or a carboy. Fill it in a manner that there is no space and it is air tight. Keep the wine as it is and forget about it, for a month or two. After a couple of months, you can bottle the wine. Let the bottles be clean and sterilized. Then pour the wine in the bottle and store it in a dark and cool room.

There is a possibility, that though you do all this, it might not taste like the wine you would have tasted generally. Professionals while going about grape wine making play with the temperature and yeast to get that perfect brew. Moreover, the oak barrels impart their own magic to the wine, making them a favorite amongst wine makers for a grape wine making recipe.

A lot of things eventually contribute and determine that impeccable aroma and taste in a grape wine recipe - the grapes, the soil and the climate too. It is fun though, to try it out at home if it does not turn out to be a fabulous Chardonnay or Zinfandel!

So all set to brew with high spirits?