Content

• Resources
• Steps
• Advice

Since thousands of years ago, people have known how to make wine at home. Wine can be made from any kind of fruit but grapes are still the most popular choice. After mixing the ingredients, let the wine ferment and then brew it well before adding it to the bottle. This simple and old process will make you proud of the delicious homemade wine bottles.

Resources

• 16 cups of fruit
• 2 cups honey
• 1 pack of yeast
• Water

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Prepare Tools and Materials

1. 

   Find the necessary tools. Besides the ingredients for making wine, you also need some basic tools to ensure the wine is not invaded by insects or bacteria during the brewing process. Since this is a homemade wine, you don't need to spend too much money on special equipment. You will only need the following tools:
   • The ceramic or glass jar is about 7.6 liters. You can find it at second hand stores, but often old jugs can still have the smell of pickles or sauerkraut, damaging the wine.)
   • Small antique glass jar about 3.8 liters
   • Air stopper
   • Small plastic tube for alcohol extraction
   • Clean bottles with cork or corkscrews
   • Campden tablets (optional)

2. 

   
   
   Choose fruit. Wine can be made from any kind of fruit, but grapes and berries are common. Choose fresh, non-bruised fruit for a delicious wine. It's best to choose organic fruit with no chemicals as no one wants to drink contaminated alcohol. If you can, pick it yourself or buy it from the garden. There are a number of stores that also sell grapes specifically used to make home wine for those who live far from the vineyards.

3. 

   
   
   Wash the fruit. Cut off the stalks and leaves, and remove any remaining mud on the fruit. Wash the fruit thoroughly and put in the jar. You can peel the fruit before you crush it. However, often the good taste of the wine is due to the peel, so if the skin is peeled off, the wine will be faded.
   • Some people will not wash the fruit thoroughly before crushing it. Since there are natural yeasts on the rind, you can make yeast wine on the peel with the air. However, washing the fruit and controlling the yeast will help you get your wine batch with the right taste. Natural fermentation can also make alcohol more susceptible to rancidity. If you want to try it out, you can make two batches of wine, one using natural yeast, the other using regular yeast to see which one you prefer.

4. 

   
   
   Crush the fruit. Use a potato mill or hand to crush and squeeze fruit. Crush and squeeze continuously until the amount of water in the jar is about 4cm high. If you don't have enough fruit and juice to fill the jar, you can add more water. Then, give a Campden pill to create sulfur dioxide that kills natural yeast and bacteria. If you choose to brew with natural yeast, there is no need to do this step.
   • You can pour 2 cups of hot water into the jar instead of taking Campden pills.
   • Using tap water can affect the taste of alcohol because it contains impurities. It is best to use water or mineral water.

5. 

   Add honey. Honey is good for yeast and makes the wine taste sweet. The amount of honey you use will affect the sweetness of the wine. If you want sweeter wine, add more honey. If you don't want it to be sweet, give 2 cups of honey. In addition, you should also adjust the amount of honey depending on the type of fruit you use to make wine. For example, grapes are high in sugar, and you don't need a lot of honey. Berries or other fruits that are low in sugar will require more honey.
   • You can add sugar or brown sugar instead of honey if you want.
   • Alternatively, you can add honey after tasting it and find the wine is not sweet enough.

6. 

   Add yeast. If you are using pre-packaged yeast, simply pour it into the jar and stir well with a long handle. This mixture of sugar, honey and fruit juices is called "Must".
   • But if you choose to use natural yeast, you can skip this step.
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Part 2 of 3: Wine Fermentation

1. 

   Seal jar and leave overnight. Use a curtain that can keep insects out but still has air vents. You can use the special lid or cover the jar with a thin cloth and tie it tightly. Then put the jar in a dry place with a temperature of about 20ºC in the evening.
   • In a cool place, the yeast will not bloom. In a place that is too hot, the yeast will die. So, find a warm place in the kitchen to put the jars.

2. 

   Stir the Must mixture a few times a day. After leaving the mixture overnight, open the lid, stir well and close the lid. Keep stirring every 4 hours on the first day, then keep stirring a few times a day for the next 3 days. The alcohol mixture will bubble as the yeast starts to work. This is the fermentation process that makes the wine taste good.

3. 

   Strain the alcohol and extract it into another flask. When the mixture is no longer shiny, usually 3 days after the phenomenon of bubbles appears, filter the residue and use a plastic tube to extract the wine into a small glass bottle to keep it long. After filling the bottle with alcohol, use the air stopper to close the stopper so that the wine can escape but prevent oxygen from entering the bottle, damaging the wine.
   • If you don't have an air stopper, you can put a small balloon in the mouth of the bottle. After a few days, remove the bubbles so that the alcohol can release the air and close it again.

4. 

   Incubate for at least a month. If possible, let the wine brew for about 9 months, allow the wine to penetrate and give it a good taste. In case you add honey, you should brew the wine a little longer so that the wine is not too sweet when drinking.

5. 

   Bottled. In order to prevent the wine from becoming infected and turning into vinegar, you should insert a Campden pill as soon as you open the lid of the brewer. Then, pump the alcohol into a clean bottle, be careful not to overfill and close the cork immediately. You can enjoy the wine right away or keep it in the bottle for a little longer time.
   • Use a dark bottle to prevent the wine from fading.
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Part 3 of 3: Making Wine like a Pro

1. 

   The secret to making good wine. The ancients have been making wine for thousands of years and they have learned many secrets. Use these tips if you make your own at home:
   • Wine making equipment must be clean to prevent bacteria from spoiling the wine.
   • During the first fermentation of alcohol, the flask must be kept tightly closed, but ventilation must be ensured.
   • The second fermentation must be airtight.
   • Fill the bottle with wine to reduce the amount of oxygen in the bottle.
   • Keep the wine in a dark colored bottle so that it does not discolor the wine.
   • You can add sugar after tasting the wine, so there's no need to give up too much sugar when you start making wine.
   • Test the alcohol regularly to see how the fermentation is progressing.

2. 

   Things to avoid when making alcohol at home. Following these rules will help you to make your wine successful:
   • Do not sell alcohol that you make at home because it is illegal.
   • Do not let fruit flies get into alcohol.
   • Do not use metal containers.
   • Do not use wooden plastic utensils or containers as they can damage alcohol.
   • Do not increase the temperature to speed up the fermentation.
   • Don't filter alcohol too soon.
   • Do not store alcohol in unpasteurized jars or bottles.
   • Do not fill the bottle with alcohol before it is fully fermented.
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Advice

• Disinfect wine making utensils because bacteria can turn wine into vinegar. However, if the wine turns into real vinegar, don't throw it away immediately. You can use alcohol to marinate meat. For example, to marinate chicken along with some other herbs and spices.
• Alcohol filtration is a must. The alcohol extraction step should be done at least 2 or 3 times before bottling.
• Add a woody aroma to the wine. During the second fermentation, place a piece of oak about 1.3 cm in the bottle. For the wine to reach the top of the bottle, fill the jar with some sterilized marbles. Also adding oak will increase the aroma of the finished wine. Finally, filter the wine, then extract it into a clean bottle and close the cork.
• The amount of alcohol extracted into the bottle must ensure that when the bottle is placed on its side, the wine will just reach the cork.
• If the fruit you are eating is highly acidic and the fermentation slows down, the Must must be produced to be too acidic. So, put one chalk into the Must mixture. The calcium carbonate in the chalk will be very helpful.
• Keep the residue after filtering is complete. It is like yeast that helps your next batch to ferment faster without much need for ingredients. The winemaking process will improve with each practice.