In spite of the common belief, winemaking is a very simple process that can be done anywhere with the most ordinary ingredients. This art has come to us, the modern man, though ages and ages of wisdom and experience. In ancient times, winemaking was simple, fast and the result was exceptional. In modern days, there are a lot of ways to make wine, some simple on the lines our ancestors, and some as complicated as you would like them.

Thankfully, home made wines have become a fad the world over and with the pleasure of making wine at home, the demand for better ingredients, automation and fast maturity of the wine have grown by leaps and bounds.

The modernization has not, as expected, improved in any way the process of wine making. You can still the best wines in the traditional way at home, with the ingredients that you can pick from the shelf of your kitchen. However, the hi-tech's contribution has been to fast forward the maturity time of the wine. This development has made it possible for people to have their wine, almost immediately after it has been bottled and dispatched to the market. Many love this development because the patience of a human being is not the same today, that had been some hundred years ago.

The second great achievement and gift of science-technology to the making of wine is that the grapes quality has become much better, and much more uniform in taste. Hence, the wine's flavor is fast to develop and better to taste.

What the modern could not do, was to improve in any way the art of wine making. The basic wine making art remains the same.

Extract the pulp of the grapes by soaking and then crushing and pressing
Add your helping ingredients, i.e. yeast, sugar, etc and leave for fermentation for an initial period of about one week
After 7-10 days take the liquid and strain it of the grape skins and other ingredients also allow the liquid to ferment further, while being careful to maintain the temperature at 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wait till the fermentation totally stops (you will know when the bubbling of the liquid ceases completely)
Strain the liquid again through very fine cheese cotton cloth and let it ferment again - this time for the secondary fermentation. You can repeat this step once or twice at intervals of one or two months
Bottle the resulting liquid and cork them tightly. The bottles will need to be left standing for about five days, after which these should be stored at an angle at 55F for 6-24 months. For white wines, aging should not exceed 12 months.
Sample the wine; if you find it matured, enjoy it. If not, let it age for about six months to one year more.
This is the basic process and no matter what twists and turns you add to it, the process remains this much. The complications that you read in different recipes are most of the times unnecessary and avoidable. Stick to the ancient style of wine-making and you can do no wrong.

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home winemaking is a fun and rewarding hobby. It is enjoyable to get together with friends when a batch of wine is ready and allow them to share the rewards of your efforts.

Homemade wine can be made from liquid fruit concentrates you can purchase from wine supply stores. These can be a little expensive, but I've used them many times. You can depend on them for a consistently delicious finished wine, and they are very easy and convenient to use.

If you have access to fresh fruit, that is definitely an option you should consider. Wine can be made from apples, grapes, crabapples, muscadines, scuppernongs, elderberries, blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, gooseberries, and the list goes on.

Most wine supply stores also sell dried fruits. These are usually soaked in water overnight to rehydrate the fruit and then used to create a wine must. Tinned fruit can also be used, such as peaches. If you use tinned fruit, get the kind that is packed in syrup if possible. If unavailable, it is acceptable to get it packed in juice.

Other options for home winemaking include vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, peapods, potatoes, sugar beets, and mangold. Grain wines are made with wheat, barley, rye, or rice. Herb or "leaf shoot" wines include bramble tips, nettle tops, mint, and parsley.

Wine kits are also a popular choice among beginner winemakers. Once you have your own equipment and are well into the craft, having several "working" batches at one time, you'll surely want to experiment and try new recipes. In order to do this, you'll have to invest in additional equipment as you progress.

I have never had a "federal man" come around to inquire as to how much wine I made in any given year. As long as the wine is for your own consumption, you have nothing to fear. Don't get a wild idea to start selling wines you make, however, or you are asking for trouble with the law.

The law does not limit the restrictions just to selling it. You cannot hold a raffle with wine as the prize, nor can you charge an admission to a cheese and wine party using your homemade wines. If you decide to sell wine, it requires a very specific process including the payment of duty taxes.

You don't have to go to a great deal of expense when you first begin home winemaking. Start out with the essential equipment necessary to make a batch or two. You can add more supplies and equipment as you progress more into the hobby.

Beginner wine supply kits are an option and can be found at most all wine supply stores. For around $100, you can get a beginner kit that includes the following:

* Two Winemaking Recipe and Instructions Books

* 6 gallon fermenter including fermentation airlock

* Fermentation bag

* Triple scale hydrometer

* Siphoning hose

* Yeast, pectic enzyme, acid blend, yeast, yeast nutrient and energizer, wine tannin, campden tables, wine bottle labels, and bottle corks

A six-gallon fermenter can make about 5 gallons of wine. If you do not already have a fermenting jug, you'll save money with a kit as opposed to buying everything individually. Once you get started in home winemaking with a kit, you'll only need to reorder chemicals and supplies as needed.

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So, you have all of your shiny new winemaking supplies, and you've gathered all of the ingredients that you think will make a tasty batch of wine. Now what? The actual process of winemaking is not difficult, though it can be a bit daunting for the beginner. The most difficult piece to the puzzle is patience. It can take many weeks to bring a batch of wine to completion. So, without further adieu, let us begin.

You have many options when making wine when it comes to preparing your must, especially when it comes to your sanitation method. I do not like sulfites in my wine, so the method you will see here, and in most of what I write, will not include the use of Campden tablets. Campden tablets are a very popular method of killing off any microbes that may be present in your wine, and can be very useful. This is where many of the sulfites in commercially available wine come from. The methods you are about to read involve the application of heat and careful sanitation of your supplies.

Step 1: Preparation

The day before you brew, you should place 3 gallons of your distilled water in the fridge. Reserve one gallon at room temperature. The three chilled gallons are what we will use to bring the must's temperature down before we pitch the yeast.

Before you get started, be sure to sanitize anything and everything that might come into contact with your must. I prefer Iodophor, as it only requires you to air dry your equipment after a quick soak. Using bleach, you'll have to be sure to rinse everything very thoroughly, which reintroduces the chance of contamination...

When you are ready to brew, you should start off by getting your yeast ready to be pitched. To do this, you should mix, in a jar, your yeast with about one and half cups of warm water, mixed with a generous helping of sugar or honey. I've also read many recipes where, instead of water and sugar, that starter was made with warm fruit juice. Either way, you'll want to add one teaspoon each of yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Keep this in a warm place and let it rest for one to three hours. Once that is done, you are ready for Step 2.

Step 2: Sanitize Your Must

To get started, place your gallon of water at room temperature into a large stock pot. Bring this water to a rolling, vigorous boil. Once that is achieved, remove it from the heat and add your base fermentable (grape juice, honey, cider), and any other ingredients such as fruits, spices, flowers, etc. You'll also want to add any additives such as yeast nutrient, energizer, pectic enzyme and acid blend at this point. Then you'll want to take a temperature reading. Your goal is to have the whole mixture at a temp of at least 160F. If it is between 140 and 160 degrees, you are still okay. Let it rest for at least twenty minutes if above 160 degrees, and about thirty minutes if it is at 140 or above. Once it has rested; congratulations! You've successfully sanitized your must without the use of sulfites.

Step 3: Pitching Your Yeast

Now it is time to get that yeast into what will soon be your wine. In order to do its thing, yeast needs to be at temperatures that it likes. For most yeasts, this temperature is between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. To begin, carefully transfer your freshly sanitized must from your stock pot into your primary fermenter.

To the must, add enough of your chilled distilled water to equal five gallons. Then you'll need to take another temperature reading. You want the temperature to come down to at least 90 degrees. Above 100 hundred degrees will kill your yeast, so be sure to get an accurate reading. Then shake your jar with your starter vigorously, and poor it on in! You have successfully pitched your yeast!

Now you want to aerate the must. The yeast needs oxygen to thrive, and you achieve this by ensuring that plenty of air gets mixed into the must. Stir your must vigorously, being sure to get as much air into as possible. I usually use a whisk.

Step 4: The Fermentation

Once you have your yeast pitched, and have mixed plenty of air into the must, place the lid on your fermenter and attach an air lock. Place this container in an area that will stay at roughly 70 degrees. You should start to see signs of fermentation within a day or two. Then, you'll need the hardest piece of the puzzle... patience.

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