How to Make Wine

Step 14: Finished!

At this point, chill and serve your wine. Leave a little bit of wine at the bottom of every bottle to avoid getting yeast. Enjoy it in moderation.

Otherwise, do not blame me for your hangovers and other unintended consequences, including but not limited to:
*Crazy hookups
*DUI/DWI/vehicular homicide or far worse
*Losing your money at poker
*Shunned by your friends for reenacting "Dirty Dancing","Made in Manhattan" , etc.
*Youtube video of you "Rick Rolling"
*Estrangement of loved ones

Read on if you want to learn more about what just happened.

The yeast in the container reproduced and turned the sugar + minerals+O2 in the liquid into more yeast cells + waste. This waste includes alcohol and CO2. The yeast have an alcohol "tolerance" and will not produce any further (meaning stop making CO2 and alcohol) at a certain percentage. They do not die, however.

If you added additional sugars to the wine without the potassium sorbate, the yeast will reawaken and produce CO2, carbonating the wine and adding a minor amount of alcohol before becoming dormant again.

Too much sugar followed by immediately bottling creates what is called a "Bottle Bomb" The yeast will produce CO2 that has no way of escaping. This naturally carbonates the beveage, but too much and the material the beverage is in becomes compromised, high pressure rupturing it. Yikes.

The Potassium/Sodium Metabisulfite helps keep other organisms from setting up shop in the wine, Yeast, which has some sulfite tolerance as well, will far outnumber the rouge organisms and will be able to grow in the solution. This allows you to ferment wine for many months without it spoiling or oxidizing.

You can find many resources and recipes on the web at great websites such as Jack Keller's Wine Making for more info.

If you are interested in making more wine, you'll probably want to get proper equipment to make the process smoother, so check for a local Homebrew store in your area. If there are none, you can check Austin Homebrew Supply Or Northern Brewer online.

Comments

[dead hawk]

with the balloon idea, if you poke a hole in the balloon with a needle it will let the high pressured CO2 out while keeping air out at the same time.

[co'brien3]

So I have a potentially foolish question preceded by some statements: I've never made wine or any other type of alcohol before, however in your instructable it says to check the airlock regularly. What are the chances something should go wrong with the airlock if not checked? (I plan on using a balloon), I have an apartment that is several hours away from my summer home that i will be visiting soon, and then returning to in about 5 weeks. It would be perfect if I could concoct this brew while I'm there and then just leave it to ferment whilst I'm away. Is that feasible, or am I asking for trouble?

[Green Goddess]

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-your-own-Fermentation-Lock-Not-a-ball/step2/Methods/

Just read this and thought it was very helpful for a DIY state-of-mind...
:)

[Seakip18]

I would highly suggest getting a rubber stopper and 3 piece airlock if it's going to be left alone for long periods of time without inspection. Any homebrew supply store will have this, and it's highly reliable. For the $3 plus shipping, it's well worth it to have piece of mind while you're away.



If you're set on the balloon approach, however, you can keep an eye on it for the first week, then it will probably be fine, as that's when the highest amount of CO2 is created.

[Green Goddess]

What an excellent tek!! So well explained and super helpful!

[bozzchem]

This was a good primer on the overall process of winemaking. While this will certainly make an alcoholic beverage akin to wine, you'd be far better off using a commercially available wine kit and skip using the store bought juice/dextrose combo. The dextrose will provide you with a high alcohol yield but at the cost of the flavors imparted by the fermentation of the natural fruit sugars. Fermentation can be boiled down to this: Yeast eat sugar (fructose, dextrose, glucose, etc.) piss alcohol and fart CO2. You are enjoying the waste products of the yeast. The suggestions regarding sanitation are not too be taken lightly! If in doubt, sanitize again. If anything (bacteria) takes hold before your yeast do, you are in for one hell of a shock on your first sip...assuming you can get past the smell. All in all, an excellent tutorial along with great money saving techniques. Making wine is exceptionally easy if you take the time to sanitize everything properly and, as suggested, get the proper tools.

[Scurvymcdiggle]

commercially available wine kit...pffft.

[fairemoon]

Not so much a comment, but a request for help. I am not a wine drinker, can't stand the winey taste. But an acquantance of mine made some wine without yeast, and it was delicious! Almost like a liquor? Now, he said it took two years to ferment. Can some one tell me how to do this without the yeast? We believe that this is the reason for the winey taste we all dislike so much.

[Smunsh]

The wine was still made with yeast. It is yeast that ferments the sugars and produces alcohol. Some people use wild yeast however, which is when you just leave it open to air until it starts to bubble a little. I absolutely do not recommend this method because you are unsure as to what is growing in your wine. Also different yeasts give different flavors so its some what of a roulette chance with how it will turn out. Most people when talking about the "wine" taste are talking about tannins. Tannins are found in grapes, oak and tea. This is why chardonnay and most reds (usually aged in oak barrels or with oak wood chips) have such a strong flavor. Also the longer a wine has aged the more mellow the flavor. I would guess that it is a combination of age of the wine and lack of tannins that made it to your liking but I can only guess without having more data.