Wine Making
Process
The wine making process is one
which is quite complex but which can be
understood rather easily, if you are
willing.
Once you have all the equipment and a recipe
book, you can begin your venture to making the
best wine you have ever tasted. Home wine
making allows you to try different flavor
juices or fruits. You will find there are many
different types of wines that you can make with
a home wine making venture.
In cases of grape wine, this is made from pure
grape juice. But for other fruit wines,
additional water is needed to dilute the juice
prior to the winemaking procedure. This is
mainly because of the intense flavor. Secondly,
some of the fruits may be high in their acidic
property, which in turn makes the wine too
sharp in taste if used full strength. Examples
include gooseberry and blueberry juices.
Home wine making possibilities are endless when
you think about it. You can use any type of
fruit that would make a good wine. If you wan
to experiment with just about anything, you can
do this as well. You do not have to stick with
what other people do, you can make your own
blend.
Once this fermentation process is completed the
clarification process begins. Filtering and
fining are also usually done at this stage,
filtering which can be done with everything
from a course filter that catches only large
solids to a sterile filter pad that wipes wine
of all life. Fining on the other hand, occurs
when substances are added to a wine to clarify
them. Finally in the wine making process is the
stage of aging and bottling. You can either
bottle the wine immediately, or further aging
can be done in bottle, stainless steel or
ceramic tanks.
Proper amount of acidity is a crucial factor
for wine preparation. No instructions for wine
making seem to be complete without the
discussion of acidity and its significance in
wine preparation. Acidity is important mainly
because of two reasons. It is essential to
improve the character and balance of the wine
produced in general and to enhance the
fermentation process. Acidity largely varies
between different fruits. There are essentially
two ways to test acidity in a fruit juice. One
is with pH testing strips and the other one is
doing a titration. The former is not a very
accurate way to measure acidity level; however,
the later is useful to offer a better
result.
|