If you are a wine lover, you would have thought of brewing homemade wine at some point, especially during the lockdown. Even though it takes time and patience, making your own wine is actually quite easy. All you need is the right equipment and ingredients, and you are all set. Follow these steps exactly, and you might never go back to the store to get wine. Here’s how to make wine at home:
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Equipment Required:
1 glass jar (7.6 litres)
An airlock
1 carboy (3.8 litres)
2-3 clean wine bottles with a cork or lid
A thin plastic tube for siphoning
Ingredients:
2 kg grapes (purple or green, or any other fruit of your choice)
1 packet wine yeast, or normal yeast if you can’t find wine yeast
1 kg sugar (brown or white, per your preference)
Filtered water
Method:
Start by sterilising and cleaning all your equipment because even the smallest amount of bacteria can spoil the whole process.
The next step is cleaning the grapes by removing the stems and leaves and washing them thoroughly. Make sure you get organic grapes so there are no chemicals on them. Also, they should be ripe and fresh, throw away the rotten ones.
Put the clean grapes in the glass jar and crush them. You can use your hands or a grinder, whichever you like. Crush them till 3/4th of the pot is filled with the juice. Now add 2 cups of boiling water to it to kill any bacteria. Fill the pot to the top with filtered water. Boil the water first and keep it aside to cool.
Next, take the sugar and pour it in. You can also use honey if you like. This sweetens your wine and acts as food for the yeast. Now, add the yeast into the mixture, and using a clean long spoon, stir well so everything combines.
Cover the jar with a lid or a cloth (tie a rubber band after placing the cloth) and place it in your cupboard. The temperature shouldn’t be too warm or too cold, so find a good spot. Leave it there for a whole day.
Now, on the next day, uncover and stir the mixture every 3-4 hours for the next 4 days and cover and keep it back in its place. The mixture will start bubbling as the yeast gets activated and ferments the mixture into wine.
After 4 days, when the bubbling slows down or stops, it’s time to strain the contents into a carboy. For this, you can use a plastic tube and siphon the mixture. You can also use a clean sieve, strain it into a bowl, and put it all back into a carboy. Once this is done, put an airlock on the carboy. The airlock will allow the release of carbon dioxide but prevent any oxygen from entering.
Now, keep this aside and let it age for about a month at least. If you want a more improved taste and smoother texture, let it age for about nine to 10 months. Once you open the airlock, pour the wine into clean, sterilised wine bottles and cover them with a cork or lid.
You can consume your wine immediately or store it in the refrigerator for as long as you want. Easy, isn’t it? Do let us know how your homemade wine turned out.
