It may begin to ferment in as little as 12 hours. It can ferment in a large open container with just a towel or a piece of thin plywood on top to keep dust and fruit flies out. Red must doesn’t need a tightly closed top or airlock during fermentation. If the fermentation speeds up and the wine foams out of your vessel, just mop it up and cool the container slightly. Remove the stopper once a day, or as needed, to stir the juice and the lees that will begin to settle to the bottom. It should begin to emit a light foam of carbon dioxide within a day or two, which signals the start of fermentation. Keep the juice at a comfortable room temperature, as advised on the yeast instructions. You can also put the skins and seeds in a cloth bag and wring out the extra juice.Īdd wine yeast, according to the instructions on the packet. Pour the bulk of the juice through a funnel into a glass carboy, then press the leftover skins and stems through a heavy-duty colander into a pot or bucket to collect the remaining juice. This will also remove some of the red berries from the stems, which is good.įor white wines, you only want to ferment the juice in the next step. You can’t hurt them, so press down hard until the bunches are smashed and the juice is released. Wash your feet thoroughly with soap and water, rinse well and step on the grape bunches. The stuff of Lucy and Ethel dreams.ĭump the grapes into any big, clean container. You can buy or rent equipment for this, but why? This is the fun part. If not, you’ll need to crush or press the grapes to get the juice flowing. If you have grape juice or pre-crushed must, you can skip to fermentation (Step 3A or 3B for white or red wine, respectively). Step 2: Crush, Press, Stomp Illustration by Eric DeFreitas Brehm sells a 5.25-gallon pail of high-quality frozen Sauvignon Blanc juice from Washington State for around $150, or about $6 per bottle. Companies like and will deliver to you. However, frozen wine grape juice or must (juice with grape skins included) are nearly as good as fresh.
A winemaking store will have sources, as will search engines, but it may be possible to buy your preferred grape variety from a vineyard near you at $1 or $2 per pound.Īvoid using grape concentrate, as it might end up tasting sweeter or with less overall structure than wines you typically enjoy. Start with the best-quality grapes you can afford. Merchants like, and offer starter kits at reasonable prices. You’ll need approximately $400 for grapes and basic supplies found on many websites or at local brewing/winemaking stores. The instructions below will make five gallons (or 25 750-ml bottles) of traditional grape wine, which should work for any beginner.
You’ll also get to put your creative juices to use and gain a better appreciation for professional winemakers. It’s no more complicated to make wine than sourdough bread, but it requires more time and a few special tools.