Know what you're drinking. Make your own wine!
Here are some helpful hints for our first time winemakers, when making wine from juice.
- When getting juice home, wait until juice is room temperature, then open pail, and stir well.
- Close pail and remove small black plug from top of pail, maintain between 65-70 degrees. Adding yeast is optional, but not necessary (it should only speed up fermentation process).
- On your third day, sanitize your glass carboy or demijohn. After that pour your juice into your fermentation vessel, putting your clean and sanitized airlock on top. Put in spot not to be moved for 4-6 weeks. Maintain temperature between 60 and 70 degrees.
- After this period of time you will see sediment on bottom of your container. Siphon wine into another sterilized container (making sure not to pick up sediment).
- Be careful to fill your fermenting vessel to the neck. Reapply clean airlock.
- Wait 6-8 weeks then you should repeat racking process, this will be your second racking.
- Let juice age for another 8-10 weeks
- At the end of this period of time instead of racking again, your wine should be finished.
- Siphon wine into bottles, making sure bottles are filled to the neck. Your finished wine should be stored at around 55 degrees.
- When you are ready to enjoy your wine, bring to room temperature and serve.