Homemade wine

[mimi]

I am interested in making some homemade wine. Does anyone here make wine and if so would you share your recipes?

[sassenach]

this one works really well and its really inexpensive.

do you have any 1 gallon narrow necked glass wine jugs/bottles?

do you have some large kids balloons? sugar and frozen grape juice concentrate ( Welch's)?

 

 

Sterilize 1 gallon bottle and cap by boiling after washing and rinsing). And the funnel and anything that will go inside the jug , like something you would stir with if you don't just shake it up some.

 

Thaw and pour in one large grape concentrate ( white grape concentrate is nice. Cranberry juice concentrate really makes a dry, very strong alcoholic wine, but nice to sip slowly compared to regular grape wines) Use a funnel if needed.

 

add 3 cups of sugar, add clean filtered water 2/3 up the jug, cap and shake it up so it dissolves. Use a little warm water to mix up 1 to 2 Tablespoons of yeast although you can use as little as 2 teaspoons to a gallon size container. Add to jug, shake it up some so it gets distributed, take cap off and put a balloon on the top, this acts as an airlock but may need to be replaced. Top off water to bottom of narrow neck, This leaves some room for the purple fizzy stuff to go up usually without damaging the balloon too fast.

 

Ferment in a non drafty room. Sometimes the balloon will burst so have replacements and a good plastic shield to protect the area /walls, surroundings might be helpful in case it bursts because purple ick will spray outward. check on it every day to ensure the balloon is still holding in the pressure and keeping out the dust in the room.

 

 

Ferment a minimum of 21 to 28 days. 21 days minimally needed. Wipe down. there will be an accumilation of silty purple stuff on the bottom of the jug but its not inedible. It is up to you if you want to filter it into another clean sterile jug or just put in refrigerator or cool basement/cellar and enjoy. Make sure nothing will disturb the jug or balloon during the fermentation period. Leave a note handy to put the date on.

 

room temperature will affect the flavors I believe , even by a few degrees, but anything between 68 and 73 degrees should make a drinkable wine.

 

I want to try blueberry juice next, maybe mixed with pomegranate. It may be stronger like cranberry considering natural sugar content, like cranberry is.

 

( If ocean spray brand has a 100% juice, two big jugs of it should work per gallon, estimated amt needed per gallon)

 

I had no good luck with apple juice concentrate but the fault may have been mine. It turned out like sandpaper so its maybe good for external alcohol washes only, lol.

 

I learned the original grape balloon wine technique from a Masson in college many years ago. It works and its the cheapest way I can think of to make a gallon of wine! Yeast experiment, yep, thats what it was.

 

You don't really need to go to all the fancy extent that winemakers try to sell you. but that is up to you. This is the easiest method and cheapest materials.

 

One could ziploc bag and tape the cap to the bottle for use when fermenting is done.

 

You can rebottle into regular sized wine bottles with caps if you have them sterilized before you do the rebottling of course. I do this with the cranberry wine because it doesn't take much to get a real buzz or more going with it. Other people I have shared it with really liked it too and the grape based wines can vary , turning out anywhere from pinot noir, various rose's , to dark reds and burgundy flavors and fullness. The white grape concentrate makes a lighter type of red.

 

I have not been able to have a cooler room to ferment in but most of this

works at regular room temperatures ( around 70F.)

 

 

Making wine and beer is really a a very simple process. You can keep it very simple. You will know right away if something is really off about it, like I did with the apple wine, but I have had plenty of luck with the red wines through the years. Bread yeast works fine for this although you may want to go to the expense of buying wine yeasts. Whether you get into fancy equipment is up to you as well.

 

I would consider the typical wine making containers and airlocks, but I like the gallon size narrow necked wine jugs for easier storage, but other than that, all you need is sterile stuff, balloons, clean water, juice and sugar and some yeast.

[mimi]

Thanks for all of the information!!!! I will print it out. Most wines that I have tasted that people make are syrup sweet and that ruins it for me. Only tastes good for a couple of swallows and then it is like drinking pancake syrup. LOL

[sassenach]

well it depends on temp and time during fermentation. I noticed differences when comparing both separately over times that I did it more frequently. I will add that the cranberry was a dry, sweet, tart wine but light in texture, smooth.

I wish I had a control box or space for one so I could build a brew box that was temp controlled here but I have no room. Its likely you can ferment at much lower temps than 70F.

 

I liked the white grape juice because it probably wasn't as heavy on sweetness I cannot compare exactly to something Sauvignons or light roses or others that may be similar with and much lighter in color, any precision though. I really am out of the wine loop nowadays. I grew up with it though. I guess one of my second brother's step daughters married into one of the California wine families ( big surprise, we thought they were all headed to trouble when they were growing up). Met some of the Christian Brother's winery family members when I was 16 and vacationing with some well to do friends. Their ten yr old was already learning how to make wine there. Maybe thats when I realized it was so simple really? Many years ago. that was fun , great memory of that trip.

 

You could add any juices you wanted I would think, generally speaking. From what I saw on instructables.com with someone with alot of experience is he has gone as low as 2 and 3/4cups of sugar in a gallon size wine brewing.

 

I have also added 2 yeast instead of just one at times.

 

The 28 day fermentation on the regular grape juice content tends to make it a fuller flavored wine. But I think the temps have alot to do with how it turns out too. If they fluctuate or are a bit warmer for most of the time and such things.... because its affected mine when all else was exactly the same.

 

I have had wonderful homemade wild grape wine too. Wild grapes are very tart but they make a great white wine.

 

LOL and I finally found some more of the larger or mixed size balloons at the store this month. I snatched up a pkg! Right now my avg temp is actually about 65F and should stay about that or not more than 69F in the kitchen during the next few weeks.... and now that it is somewhat better set up along the one wall......maybe I will make a new jug.

[mimi]

I like a nice riesling like maybe Starling Castle from Germany. There are also several from Wa state that are good. Most homemade wine that I have tasted is wayyyyyyy too sweet for me. It has no flavor as they use too much sugar or else maybe their yeast dies too soon and doesn't make alot of alcohol. Don't much care for red wines except maybe a cab. sauvigon with my smoked cheese.

I can hardly wait to get started!!!!! You make it sound like fun and like it tastes good too!!!!

[sassenach]

well if you get white grape juice or cranberry juice you might like those instead of the standard dark grape juices to make wine with. The cranberry reminded me of reislings although its a very light transparent pink when done. It has alot of alcohol compared to the red wines I have made with grape juice. Its a very light taste but not sour at all.

[sassenach]

ok one of my 28 day ferments was something like a cabernet sauvignon. I am not real detailed in the particulars but it definitely wasn't just a rose type. but it was reminiscent of them.

I think you just have to try and something you may not like you could use for barter with someone else who might like it fine. Everyone is different in what wines they prefer. Or give it away to other adults who like wine.

Just make them return the wine bottle for you to re-use, after they consume it and wash it out.

 

There is a little alcohol tester that is worth ordering or buying that will give you the percentage of any alcohol you produce so that is worth getting. I cannot recall the name they have for them but you explain you are looking for one or look at a wine supply website and you will recognize it or they will. Its pretty standard and they don't cost much. Very useful.

 

It would certainly be nice to have your own grapes, which you could just buy them and process for the juice as well if you can get organic grapes then you could mix them for what kind of wine you like til you figure out your particulars. Growing your own grape vines would be cool but they take time to establish.

[sassenach]

aging may mellow it some too, 6 months max, 2 mos. min to see what the difference may be in flavor. but once its done fermenting it is wine.

The thing about making your own is to experiment until you find some combination that works well for your tastes.

[Jeepers]

Thanks for not only the recipe but how to go about making it! That could be a very valuable product and skill. Especially for a barter item!

[mimi]

I have a grape arbor and the grapes died off from a brutal winter. This spring I planted two kiwi vines on it instead. We will see how that works. I was given a bottle of rhubarb wine and that got me to thinking that I should really make my own. I have rhubarb, dandelions (we all have those) and acres of red clover.

 

Guess, it depends whether a person wants a wine to just sip or one to have with food. I don't like sweet wine with food unless it is dessert but then I don't like those dry wines for sipping either. Think we need some of each. A good cabarnet is delicious with my smoked cheese and sweet wine makes the cheese and the wine both taste horrible.

 

Now to find some jugs. Wonder what still comes in glass gallon jugs. Seems they have all gone to plastic. Dang it!!!

[sassenach]

MIMI it sounds like replanting white / green grape varieties of grape vines would be a great idea so they would grow again and mature

into good production once again and suit your wine needs.

 

green grapes rather, lol. just not all red varieties. Green grapes for wine making are going to produce a less sweet taste, but you would need to go study a seed catalog.

There are some that are good for eating and for wine making as well as more typical varieties.

 

oh and once the balloon looses air for good as of 21 days fermenting minimum , to 28 days maximum, its done fermenting.

I have never had that happen before 21 days so far.

 

Even if one doesn't like the flavor if you didn't keep it for barter its a good wound wash because of the alcohol and in fact the sugar is also antibacterial.

 

It does make a good barter item. You may not like a certain level of sweetness but others may not be so particular. You keep your favorites and barter with the rest in times when that is necessary or helpful to you is how I would look at it.

 

I started making it because it doesn't have to contain the nitrate preservative that goes into commercially produced wines and I couldn't afford the stuff at the natural food store and not all of that is clear of the nitrates anyhow.

I get monstrous migraines from nitrates and can break out in allergic hives all over if under alot of stress and eating things like sandwich meats with it also or bacon daily. I do not eat much in the way of sandwich meats that are packages but can get deli meats at a meat counter in a store. But I only eat commercial bacon rarely in my own home.

 

This was in a home care situation I was in for several months with a woman who insisted I eat it daily and created massive stress. She also saved the bacon grease and fried sliced yams in it and made me eat those. LOL. This is not the half of it, but needless to say, that is not good for me with my lupus. I broke out in very raised hives from my neck and shoulders down to my ankles.

 

Maybe its sodium nitrate that is the ingredient. It has been so long since I bought any thing like that I cannot just go look at a label to see.

 

Home cured bacon would be like making your own wine. That stuff is not required or something you would normally put in it. Not used historically, anyhow. Cellars are usually cool enough and springhouses also would be to maintain a few jugs of wine.

 

It is a commonly used commercial preservative however. Oscar Meyer meats, wines, bacon that is commercially made usually has it unless its organic brands and even those frequently also use it.

 

Other than doing it on common household items and foods we already usually have on the cheap, it is just very simple to produce basic wines. One can use berries and such fruits as they like as well. Add Lemon and orange juices and you would get a sangria type. Berries will produce other flavors and such.

 

I will try and find a good blueberry juice and make some wine with it pretty soon. I am curious about the flavors it would have in a wine.

 

Blueberries have a lot of good healthy benefits so I am really into blueberry stuff this year since the berries are also available to a certain extent here. If I can get to Rulfs orchards I can get a whole bunch if its a planned trip sometime.

 

Preserves and dried or making fruit wraps with their raw honey would be awesome too. I would like to make some pemmican and freeze it for emergency BOB usage with dried blueberries this summer. They sell at half the price in the stores and I know they are wonderful in quality.

[sassenach]

Gee, I thought kiwis grew on trees??? Not vines or do they have both?

[Momo]

DH makes his own. One of his hints is to freeze your grapes first so the peels come off easier, and the cells in the fruit break down easier.

[mimi]

I live in Minnesota so not many grapes will grow here. I think southern MN is warm enough for wine grapes but I am zone 3. Basically I lost the grapes because the hardiest ones I could find were only good to zone 4. If I replant they will just freeze out the first time we have another bad winter. Kiwis grow on vines. I got the artic kiwi that is good to zone 3. They are only the size of big grapes, sweeter than other kiwis and not fuzzy so the skins are edible.

 

I don't eat alot of meats with nitrates--didn't know they put the stuff in wine. I can't stand all of the salt. Have never been a salt eater and everything smoke cured is so blasted salty. I was craving some smoked flavor for stuff that I cook so I smoked my own cheese, dried parmesan and also some paprika and cumin. Now I can have smoked flavor without buying ham etc. This fall and coming winter I want to do jalapenos and other stuff to use smoked for flavoring. I can't stomach liquid smoke. Reminds me of dirty woodstove pipes! LOL