tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80682851671632320772024-02-19T09:13:51.142-08:00Wine Making - How to Make WineTrials and Tribulations of Making Wine at home, How to make homemade wine, making homemade wineUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-50756781903323535772010-11-14T08:41:00.000-08:002010-11-14T08:47:58.911-08:00Wine Making at Home - Sugar Inversion<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5Ggv1PT0EgfYLOPsScX4JIEGJBjy5OWIF_RM3PbJ0cSc2cv_lJq_cip-yoYAlqXysrHasr97Es8frVmXhZyvnozOpRVFg_xccdua6F-Pz7MNvIm6xwiiZzpBZhU4b7-XUKau95Xsr0Mf/s1600/lemon.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539447946361937170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 296px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 299px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5Ggv1PT0EgfYLOPsScX4JIEGJBjy5OWIF_RM3PbJ0cSc2cv_lJq_cip-yoYAlqXysrHasr97Es8frVmXhZyvnozOpRVFg_xccdua6F-Pz7MNvIm6xwiiZzpBZhU4b7-XUKau95Xsr0Mf/s320/lemon.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>If you want to learn how to <strong>make wine</strong>, one of the essential things you have to do is invert your sugar before you add it to your juice.<br /><br />What is sugar inversion?<br /><br />Before I get to that, let's start with what yeast has to do to begin fermenting your juice, or more accurately, the sugar in your juice.<br /><br />Yeast has to first break up household table sugar into two parts: glucose and sucrose. Once the yeast has used some energy doing the breakdown, then and only then can it start actually consuming the sugar and turning it into alcohol.<br /><br />Inverting your sugar means that you are going to give your yeast a "head start" by breaking down the sugar in advance. This is an important step in learning how to make wine.<br /><br />How do you do this?<br /><br />Use about a cup of water and dissolve as much sugar as you can in a saucepan on the stove. Turn on the heat and get the solution close to boiling and add sugar until you can't add any more - in other words, no more sugar will dissolve.<br /><br />Now add the juice of 1 lemon. The acid in the lemon will "crack" the sugar molecules and break it down into sucrose and glucose, exactly what our yeast would have to do. Let your sugar mixture cook for about 15 minutes close to boiling (watch it carefully or it could boil over).<br /><br />Now let it cool to room temperature and use this mixture to add sugar to your juice. You want to add enough to get the specific gravity up to about 1.1 before you put your yeast in.<br /><br />If you want to learn how to make wine, first learn to invert your sugar. You will be surprised at the difference in flavor!<br /><br />Inverting your sugar is just one of the "secret steps" in <a href="http://www.freewinemakingbook.com/">wine making</a> at home. Get all of the secrets at How to Make Wine. FREE 24 page book on making your own wine and it's an instant download. Go to <strong><a href="http://www.freewinemakingbook.com/">How to Make Wine</a></strong> and get started making your own wine today! </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-26868172477362598842010-07-28T05:13:00.000-07:002010-07-28T05:15:34.075-07:00How to Make WineJust found this great site on winemaking and <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/winemaking/">how to make wine</a>.<br /><br />It covers the dos and don'ts in winemaking, the biggest winemaking mistakes, and even gives you a winemaker's formula recipe video!<br /><br />Check it out at <strong><a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/winemaking/">HOW TO MAKE WINE</a></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-32237738398665157792009-09-05T04:27:00.000-07:002009-09-05T04:29:53.184-07:00Making Homemade Wine<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BSyap0lQgA8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BSyap0lQgA8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-91143359632704401542009-01-17T11:04:00.000-08:002009-01-17T11:05:27.828-08:00How to Make Wine - New BlogJust discovered a great new blog on how to make wine. You can check it out at <a href="http://www.letsmakewine.info/">www.LetsMakeWine.info</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-74209272668205857672008-11-14T06:05:00.001-08:002008-11-14T06:05:53.503-08:00Check out Home Winemaking<p>Hi,</p><p>There's a great new winemaking video posted here: <a href="http://tellafriend.socialtwist.com:80/web/redirect.jsp?137481072273531964411" title="Home Winemaking">Home Winemaking</a> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-33001029304620900122008-11-13T04:42:00.000-08:002008-11-13T04:54:18.525-08:00Why Your Homemade Wine Doesn't Taste GoodIt's true - the first few times I <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html">made my own wine </a>- it tasted... uhhh... Bad.<br /><br />I drank it anyway.<br /><br />I wasn't a <a href="http://how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html">wine lover </a>or connessuer or anything like that. I had just read that it was pretty easy to do and you didn't need much equipment and it was cheap.<br /><br />Well - all of that is true.<br /><br />The problem is that I wanted it to taste good. Actually - I wanted it to taste great.<br /><br />But - it didn't.<br /><br />So I did a little research and found out 2 "secrets", if you will, that increased that quality of the flavor almost instantly.<br /><br />The next batch I made, even my wife drank some and said it was "OK". Now I was getting somewhere.<br /><br />A few more batches and a few more little tweaks and changes and guess what? She didn't know it was mine! She thought I bought it. Pretty cool huh?<br /><br />Now - believe me - this didn't happen over a few weeks or months. It actually took 3 and a half years. BUT - I did it.<br /><br />I knew how to take store bought ingredients and turn them into a wine that tasted as good as or better than what you buy at the store or the wine shop.<br /><br />So - what are those 2 secrets and what are the few tweaks? I'll get to that in my next post so stay tuned. In the mean time - you can get my basic "<a href="http://how-to-make-wine.net/">How to make Your Own Wine</a>" book free at this link: <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html">http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-54118288342910166302008-11-05T15:45:00.000-08:002008-11-13T04:34:06.331-08:00How to Make Homemade Wine<a href="http://how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html">Homemade wine making</a> is fast becoming very popular across the world.<br /><br />There are several reasons for this.The biggest one is that the cost to transport that yummy nectar from where they grow, harvest, and ferment it is going up right along with the cost of fuel. There's no two ways around it - we are about to see bottles of wine at the grocery store and wine shops double.<br /><br />In the last year, there has been a flurry of "How To" guides crop up around the internet. All of the guides are helpful and at least can get a beginner started.<br /><br />The truth is, you can <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">make high quality wine</a>, award winning wine, at home, in a 5 gallon food bucket.Some preparation and materials are required. You have to at least have a hydrometer.<br /><br />You need at least the 5 gallon bucket. AND - you need some kind of near air tight secondary fermentation vessel. In the industry we call this a "carbouy".The secondary fermenter is where the wine will sit for weeks or months finishing it's fermentation. For this reason, the carboy must be sealed so that air cannot get to the wine.<br /><br />However, there has to be a way for the CO2 to escape.So - an airlock is used.There are very inexpensive airlocks and more expensive airlocks. They all do the same thing - keep the air out.<br /><br />Then to round out the equipment, there are various racking canes, bottling tubes, and plastic tubing.<br /><br />Some chemicals may be required as well.Yeast is an obvious first one (not really a chemical but a dormant microbe). Citric acid, potassium sorbate, metabisulfate, campden tablets, pectin enzyme and a few others are pretty common.<br /><br />The biggest secret in <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">home wine making </a>is: get the good stuff to start with. There is no reason to use frozen grape juice from the grocery store.There are actually vineyards that will sell small quantities of grapes or even crushed grapes and juices, fresh from the vineyard. Although these are hard to locate, they do exist.<br /><br />I have found at least one <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">wine making guide </a>that lists these sources.Aside from the money savings (you can make wine for about 25 cents a bottle), there is the actual enjoyment of making something that you can drink!<br /><br />If your batch comes out really good, you will be calling all your neighbors and friends to come and give it a try.Cheers and happy <a href="http://how-to-make-wine.net/">wine making</a>!<br /><br />By: <a href="http://www.articledashboard.com/profile/Mike-Carraway/78262">Mike Carraway</a><br />Mike Carraway has been making homemade wine for the last 20 years. Get a FREE COPY of his latest book, "How to Make Wine" at <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html"><a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html" target="_blank">www.how-to-make-wine.net/free_book.html</a></a> and you can be making wine tonight!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-83547670061643922722008-09-01T10:41:00.000-07:002008-09-03T03:21:53.393-07:00My Homemade Wine StoryWhen I first started thinking about trying to make my own wine, I knew I had to have at least a little start-up information.<br /><br />I mean, I had made wine before - in high school. Me and a buddy of mine got some Welch's frozen concentrate, put some water and sugar in it, then threw in some yeast. Then we had to wait like 2 weeks.<br /><br />The 2 week wait was almost unbearable.<br /><br />But when we drank it, it gave us a rosy glow and we sat there and giggled for about an hour.<br /><br />That was 20 years ago.<br /><br />Now, when I decided to start making wine - REAL wine - I knew I needed some advice. The internet is full of it. Good advice, bad advice, and just ugly advice. Most of it is crap.<br /><br />What I wanted was something that would spell it out - in plain english. A step-by-step guide. Nothing technical or full of scientific mumbo jumbo.<br /><br />I had read a couple of books on winemaking (yawn). Too much techno-speak. Too much pH and acid level and titration.<br /><br />Then, I found this one: <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">The Complete Illustrated Guide to Homemade Wine</a><br /><br />You can click on the link and check it out. Believe me, it is written so that anyone can start from scratch and start making their own excellent wine within a half an hour.<br /><br />The best part is that it comes with a complete winemaking library, so, if you want to get technical - you can. The information is all there.<br /><br />There's even a video or two. Basically, the whole package is probably worth $100. I only had to pay $34 and it was worth every penny.<br /><br />Last time I checked, there was a special running on the site so you can now get the whole package for only $27. Probably better to take advantage of it sooner rather than later.<br /><br />If you want to try your hand at making your own wine, I recommend <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">The Complete Illustrated Guide to Homemade Wine</a> and the extra stuff that comes with it.<br /><br />I did find a couple of other great books but both of them were like $47 or more. This one had everything and then some but it cost less by about $14.<br /><br />Let me know what you thought by posting a comment.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-13856324931671047262007-12-16T19:55:00.000-08:002007-12-18T08:09:49.589-08:00About that Crappy Wine....I figured out what was wrong with it!<br /><br />It is too ACIDIC. I drained all of the bottles back into a <a href="http://www.weichert.com/">primary fermentor</a>, added a bit of baking soda, and then added some fortifier and then filtered it.<br /><br />Guess what?<br /><br />It tastes pretty darn good now.<br /><br />The problem is that I passed out several bottles of the crappy stuff and now I have to trade it out. That'll be fun :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-79147921440753447052007-12-16T19:36:00.000-08:002008-07-11T05:24:17.215-07:00Make FINE WINE from homeAnyone can make frozen concentrate grape wine from home. It's easy. Take some Welch's grape concentrate, add some water and sugar, add some yeast, wait a week - and you have wine. You won't drink it and neither will your friends.<br /><br />If you want to <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">make terrific wine from home</a>, you need to do a little more research and planning. The first thing you need is the BEST grape juice. Where do you get it? Where can you find it? How much does it cost?<br /><br />You would be amazed...<br /><br />You can easily have the very best <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">juices and grapes</a> shipped to your front door. All you need is a list of places to order them from. The best part? You can make the finest of fine wines for as little as $2 to $4 a bottle. The process is simple and easy. All you need is the step-by-step guide to do it.<br /><br />Thank goodness there is a book you can buy by Alex London that has simple, step-by-step instructions. He also has a bonus that tells you exactly where to get the very best grapes and juices. This is the key to <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">making wine from home</a>. Get the GOOD STUFF!<br /><br />You can buy Merlot, Pinot Noir, Red Zinfandel, Cabernet and other grapes direct from the vineyards and have it shipped directly to you. The price is extremely reasonable.<br /><br />The best wines start with the best grapes - believe me - I know. I have tried making wine from a lot of fruits and fruit juices. The BEST wines come from the BEST grapes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-57478939274298562002007-12-15T16:23:00.000-08:002007-12-15T16:29:14.171-08:00What to do with your CRAPPY wineI just finished 5 gallons of highly acidic grape wine made from concentrate. The alcohol is in the 14% range and it has a HUGE bite. Pretty much terribly acidic. What am I going to do with all of this?<br /><br />Simple. Give it away!<br /><br />I bottled it all in 2 liter magnum bottles and I affixed a label with a skull and crossbones on it that clearly says "drink at your own risk"!<br /><br />I am passing it out as "bonus" Christmas presents and telling the recipients that it needs to be aged at least 3 months before they drink it. It will still taste acidic but not quite as bad as it does now.<br /><br />I figure that if you keep anything for 3 months, and you wait for it to age - you will drink it. Only time will tell...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-26888443592274785852007-12-15T06:59:00.000-08:002007-12-15T07:02:30.577-08:00Apple/Grape WineMy first 3 gallon batch of apple grape wine is in it's 7th week now. I have just added some potassium sorbate to stabilize it. It was STILL fermenting at 7 weeks - unbelieveable. Now it has settled down.<br /><br />My hydrometer reads right at 1.00 but it started a little above 1.1 so the alcohol content should be about right. I sampled it yesterday and it is quite sour. It will probably need to be sweetened. I plan on using a little more apple frozen concentrate.<br /><br />I put finings in last night and it is beginning to clear. This stuff appears to be very cloudy, however, with a pretty good amount of finings, it should clear in about a week. I will keep you posted!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-22952363618851044752007-12-14T13:38:00.000-08:002008-07-11T05:25:30.795-07:00Sparkling Wine and ChampagneAhhh the Tiny Bubbles!<br /><br />Sparkling wines and champagnes typical make their appearance during the holiday season every year. We make champagne cocktails many time and other times we just mix the bubbly with orange juice (a mimosa).<br /><br />You can have a virtually unlimited supply of the bubbly if you decide to make your own. Here is a site that details how to do it: <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">http://www.how-to-make-wine.net</a>. While this is not the focus of the site, the book on how to make sparkling wines and champagnes is an added bonus.<br /><br />It is highly recommended. It also deatils <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">how to make your own wine</a>. If you are just a budding <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">winemaker</a>, or an old pro, these books are an excellent resource.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068285167163232077.post-76569091137620944632007-12-13T15:52:00.000-08:002008-07-11T05:27:41.062-07:00Homemade Wine BookA new book has just been released that details how to make fine, delicious <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">homemade wine.</a> Not rotgut, jug wine, but excellent, full bodied wines that can win contests.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">The Complete Illustrated Guide to Homemade Wine</a> has just been made availabe and not only does it describe the intracacies of fine <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">wine making </a>from home, but also comes with 7 valuable bonuses. The book details the 7 deadly sins of <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">winemaking</a> and how to stop them dead in their tracks. It also details additives that will make your wine taste better.<br /><br />The bonuses include a couple of hard to find wine recipes and one in particular that I like, <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">"Fresh Grapes for Fine Wines"</a>. This nice little bonus selection contains sources for the "real thing" grapes and juices - like Pinot Noir grapes, Zinfandel grapes and juices, and Merlot grapes. As the author states, the best wine comes from the best grapes.<br /><br />All in all, this collection is a must have if you are going to brew your own <a href="http://www.how-to-make-wine.net/">wine at home</a>. The highlight is that anyone, with the right techniques and ingredients, can make fine, full bodied wines for as little as a dollar a bottle. It's a MUST read.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0