Making Wine
The Brewery Lane Way
At Brewery Lane we like to take the "art" out of wine making
and replace it with fun. With today's modern 4-week wine
kits anyone can make good wine. So lets relax and have some
fun making wine.
Sanitation
is very important in wine making. If not properly done your
wine is likely to spoil. First you must realize that sterilization
is impossible in the ordinary home environment, so we as
wine makers must try to sanitize our equipment to keep bacteria
to a minimum. This allows our yeast to rapidly grow and
make conditions unfavourable for bacteria growth. By far
the best way to do this is to make sure everything is physically
clean and sanitized using cold water and chlorinated cleaner/sanitizer.
Soak all equipment in a solution of 1 tablespoon of sanitizer
per gallon of cold water for 10 minutes or longer, then
rinse thoroughly with hot tap water.
Yeast
is a living organism. It turns that sweet, syrupy mixture
into wine. To do this it must have the right conditions
for growth. It needs a slightly acidic environment, nutrients,
and warmth. Your wine kit will have the proper balance of
nutrients and acid added. So it's up to you to get the yeast
off to a proper start. Do this by first making sure your
mixture in the bucket is at the proper temperature. This
should be between 25º - 30º Celsius. Do not depend
on your senses to determine this, use a thermometer.If the
temperature is above 30º C. then your yeast may be
killed or weakened resulting in a slow, incomplete or no
fermentation at all. If it is below 20º C., then fermentation
may be very slow starting (3 - 4 days or longer). Remember
if your fermenter feels warm to the touch the mixture is
too warm, your yeast will almost certainly be damaged.
Once
you get the mix at the proper temperature, add your yeast
by sprinkling it on the surface of your concentrate mixture*
(called must). Do not stir. Let stand at approximately
20º - 25º Celsius, until fermentation begins (about
24 hours). Then let ferment at 18º - 20º C. Fermenting
at these temperatures will give you a superior wine and
is more in line with commercial practices. All wine kits
have their own specific instructions and should be followed.
This is an outline of the basic procedure for making a 4-week
wine kit. Steps highlighted in bold are recommended for
all kits.
Day
1
1. Pour Syrup and any DAY 1 additive packets into your clean
and sanitized fermenter.
2. Stir to dissolve.
3. Half full the syrup bag with hot tap water**twice
to get all of the concentrate. Pour this into the fermenter.
4. Keep on filling the fermenter with cold water until you
get to about an inch from the 23 litre mark.
5. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes to aerate. The yeast needs
this for healthy growth.
6. Check the temperature with your floating thermometer.
If it is below 20º C., add hot water to make up 23
litres, if above 30º add cold water to make up 23 litres.
7. Sprinkle yeast evenly over the surface*.
Do not stir in.
8. Seal the lid and attach an air lock. Try to maintain
the temperature until fermentation begins.
9. After fermentation begins***(usually
24 - 48 hours.), move to a cooler room at 18º - 20º
C. to continue the fermentation.
Day
6
1. Siphon wine into a clean and sanitized carboy.
2. Top up to within 3 inches of the top with cold water.
3. Attach the air lock, making sure to half full it with
cold water.
Day
20
1. Check Specific Gravity, it should be between .990 and
1.000. If not let stand for 3 or 4 more days then check
again.
2. Siphon wine off sediment into the brewing bucket.
3. Add the day 20 additive packets (usually potassium sorbate,
metabisulphite and finings.)
4. Stir for 2 minutes to drive off CO2 gas. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
All young wines contain a lot of dissolved CO2 gas. If you
don't drive off this gas it will give your wine a sharp
taste and can make it hard to clear.
5. Clean the carboy and siphon the wine back into it.
6. Top up to within 3" from the top with cool pre-boiled
water.
7. Stir or shake on and off 3 or 4 times a day for the next
2 days to make sure you drive off all of the CO2 gas.
8. Place in a cool room. Raise the carboy on a table so
you won't have to disturb it for the next step.
Day
28
Your wine should be clear.**** Carefully
siphon it off the sediment into your bucket. Try not to
disturb any sediment when you do this. Crush 2 Campden tablets
and dissolve them in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add to wine
and gently stir. Rinse your carboy and siphon the wine back
into it. Let stand in a cool place for 2 days.
Taste
your wine if it is too dry you can add wine conditioner
to sweeten. You can also filter your wine if you wish. This
will give your wine a professional appearance. We have wine
filters available for rent. Bottle your wine in clean sanitized
bottles. You can use cork finished or screw tops. Ask us
for advice when you are ready to bottle. 4-week wines reach
there peak after about 6 months of aging, but can be enjoyed
right away.
*You
can also rehydrate the yeast as per instructions on the
yeast package. This will give better results, but you must
follow the instructions exactly as stated.
**Some people prefer to use distilled or filtered water.
If you decide to do this, you will be rewarded with a better
quality wine.
***You will know fermentation has begun by the bubbling
action in your air lock. If you do not see any bubbling
after 48 hours, remove the lid and check for foam or bubbles
breaking on the surface of your mixture.
****If your wine is not clear do not bottle. Wait for another
week. If it is still not clear after the extra week, ask
us for advice. To check for clarity, siphon a small amount
of wine from your carboy into a wine glass. There should
be no cloudiness or haze.
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