Procedure for making Red Wine

1. Purchase a wine juice suitable to ones taste.
2. Treating the juice: test the acidity of the juice. Usually the ideal acidity is .7%. Check the sugar content. Juice is usually standard at 21 brix. The higher the brix the sweeter the wine. To do these tests you will need a wine hydrometer.
3. Sterilize the juice: Dissolve one campden tablet (bisulfate) per gallon of juice. Add this at least 24 hours before adding your yeast.
4. Begin Fermentation process:  Dissolve 1 package of the active dry wine yeast in 5 gallons of juice.
5. Close your carboy with a fermentation lock filled with water to its midpoint. (You may wish to use a plastic hose in place of the air lock during the initial start of fermentation due to excessive foaming. To do this run the hose into a bucket with water in the bottom.)
6. Set your carboy in a room with temperatures between 60 – 70 degrees. Fermentation will usually begin within 24 hours.
7. Fermentation will take place for 3 to 6 weeks (longer with cooler temperatures). When all bubbling ceases in the airlock the wine is done fermenting.
8. Racking: This is when you draw the wine off from the bottom deposit by using a siphon tube. This will clear the wine from cloudiness. You may need to do this procedure several times, leaving time in between to allow settling.
9. If you wish you may sweeten your wine at this time. Use a maximum of 2 ounces of dextrose (corn sugar) per gallon of wine.
10. Bottling: Clean bottles well. Then rinse with a solution of 4 campden tablets in a cup of water. This sterilizes the bottles. Put corks in boiling water for 10 minutes. This sterilizes them and makes them easier to use. Fill the bottles leaving 1 inch of space at the top. Using a corker, cork the bottles.
11. Store bottles upside down for at least 3 months. Remember a fine wine is an old wine!

Procedures for making White Wine

1. Follow steps #1 through #7 for making red wine.

8. Racking: Add ½ campden tablet per gallon of wine to preserve it. Put his in the bottom of the bucket you will use to rack into. Rack your juice onto the tablets.

9. White wine may need to be racked several times. Use a fining agent (sparkoloid) after second time you rack, this will help pull out the fine particles floating in your wine.

10. Follow the same directions as red wine starting with step # 9 through #11.

Equipment needed:

• Fermentation vessel (5 to 6 gallon carboy)                

• Fermentation lock

• Rubber stopper                                                                   

• Hydrometer

• Yeast                                                                               

• Campden Tablets

• Syphon Tube                                                                      

• Bottles

• Corks                                                                                

• Corker

• Labels