The Guide on How to Make Wine

If you enjoy wine, then you might love making wine just as much as drinking it. As a beginner winemaker, you do not need to get in over your head with the whole process. It can be vast, and it requires a lot of time and care.

Be careful not to commit too much when it comes to making wine from grapes as you can lose sight of the end goal, which is all about good tasting and stable homemade wine. Instead, start small and use the equipment recommended for your batch size. Start by testing out a small batch, then you can decide if you are ready for stepping it up to bigger batches.

Join a Club

It is also a nice idea to think about joining a club or organisation with other makers that can help you to understand and address potential issues. Once you have some knowledge and experience, you can begin to tackle bigger projects.

How to Make Homemade Wine

We have put together a guide on how to make your own wine. Simple and easy steps on how to make wine from grapes.

To start with, you will need to source good quality grapes, red or white depending on your preference. Avoid using grape concentrate as it could end up tasting sweeter or with less overall structure than the wine you are typically used to that is professionally made. Frozen grape juice can be just as good as fresh.

So, let’s get started with how to make wine at home. The first thing to consider is the equipment you will need. Once you have the equipment you can then source a recipe on how to make red wine or white wine. The information below will help with how to make homemade wine.

• Primary and Secondary Fermenters/Carboys - You can find these at most online stores and they are made of either glass or plastic

• An Air Lock and Rubber Stopper

• Long Stirring Spoon – This is so you can reach in and stir the wine. The stirring action allows you to mix the ingredients together and then break up any pulp. Otherwise, this may rise to the top

• A Siphon Hose and Racking Cane – These are to help you transfer the wine from one vessel to the other

• Spigot - The spigot is designed to take a small sample of wine out of the fermenter. This is so you can test for various things such as PH levels and impurities

• Wine Hydrometer

• Acid Test Kit – This will allow you to test the acidity of the wine. The acidity of the wine will alter the taste. It is best to follow some guidance on what PH to look for the desired taste outcome

• Wine Bottles and Corks – Best to use new or, if reusing, to thoroughly clean and sterilise them. Wine bottles will allow you to store your creation until you are ready to drink it. Be sure to turn your bottles every once in a while to stop any sediment forming in the bottles

• Cleaners/Sanitisers - Mould and bacteria can grow which will ultimately spoil the wine that you have spent long and hard creating. Make sure all equipment, bottles and corks are cleaned and sanitised

Don’t forget the glasses you drink your homemade wine from. The glass can be just as important as the winemaking process. Check out our options here.

Another aspect of making wine is then how to store it. Follow this link to our guide on how to store homemade wine.

While there is plenty of equipment you can still acquire that we didn’t include on the list, the above should give you a good start to making your first batch of wine.

Once you have made your bottles of wine it is then best to store them. Why not check out the storage options available on our website today?