| Homemade wine recipes are a blessing for both the | | | | grocers without rotting. Frozen fruit (10-13%) has more |
| wine making newbie and the expert vintner. All recipes | | | | sugar because it is picked and frozen closer to |
| have the same key elements including the fruit or plant, | | | | ripening. Produce picked at a farm or purchased at a |
| the sugar and the yeast. I would like you to have a | | | | farm stand is usually fresh and fully ripened (15-18%) |
| better understanding of the role of these elements and | | | | and has the highest sugar content. This is to say that |
| how they come together to produce the perfect bottle | | | | the amount of sugar called for in a recipe may need to |
| of wine. | | | | be adjusted up or down depending on the starting |
| If you think about it, wine making is chemistry and like | | | | sugar content of your chosen fruit. |
| any scientific project it sometimes takes a bit of | | | | It should be noted that the sugar you add at the |
| experimentation to obtain successful results. | | | | beginning of the fermentation process has nothing to |
| Homemade wine recipes should be looked at as | | | | do with how sweet the wine will turn out. This sugar is |
| guides. Adjustments may have to be made based on | | | | added simply for the wine yeast to turn into alcohol. If |
| the ingredients used. If anything is off you may have | | | | wish to have a sweet wine, you will add sugar (along |
| an undrinkable mess on your hands. | | | | with stabilizers) after the final fermentation. |
| At the heart of all home wine recipes is the main | | | | Yeast is the true work horse of the whole wine |
| flavor ingredient such as grapes, berries and apples or | | | | making process. Yeast partners with the sugar to |
| plants like dandelion and clover. Sugar and yeast are | | | | begin the fermentation process. Fermentation |
| vital elements, plus acid, nutrients and water. There are | | | | produces the alcohol. Isn't that what we're all here for? |
| also certain chemicals needed for wine. | | | | The right type of yeast is very important. |
| Let's take a look at the fruit, the sugar and the yeast. | | | | Make sure you have yeast that is specifically designed |
| One of my favorite blackberry wine recipes calls for 4 | | | | for wine making. No, you cannot use bread yeast. Like |
| lbs. of blackberries. If the berries are exceptionally | | | | sugar, fruit has its own naturally present yeast. Yeast |
| sweet and flavorful you may need less fruit. If the | | | | cultivated for wine making comes from the skin, seeds, |
| berries are lackluster you may need to add 1-2 lbs. of | | | | etc of the spent fruit. |
| additional fruit. Using a larger quantity of fruit will | | | | In using a homemade wine recipe you must be careful |
| produce a fruitier more flavorful wine and you may | | | | to consider these points. You will naturally find yourself |
| decide to modify the recipe even if the fruit is | | | | adjusting ingredients to fit the condition of your fruit and |
| acceptable. | | | | the number of gallons you wish to produce. There are |
| All fruit contains natural sugars and the sugar content | | | | many sources for reliable recipes, but interpreting a |
| is essentially dictated by how long the fruit remains on | | | | recipe and knowing when to make adjustments |
| the vine. The content is expressed in percentages. | | | | comes after considerable experience, experimentation |
| Typical supermarket fruit (4-8%) is picked long before | | | | and unfortunately, a few dreadful batches of wine. |
| it is vine-ripened in order to survive the trip to your | | | | |