Making Organic Wine at Home

8/2/2019 Making Organic Wine at Home

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Making Organic Wine At Home

By Sheryl Gallant


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preface

So many people today are turning away from the modern foods and processing methods, movingaway from the large cities, returning to the land and more natural wholesome foods.

In addition to this, many are finding that they are unable to tolerate the chemicals used in modernfood production and processing. Sulphite in wine is one example. Many adults are allergic to thesulphite used as a preservative in most commercial wines sold today. It not only causes headaches,but rashes as well. Most folks who are allergic to sulpha medications are also allergic to sulphite andthere are a lot of those folks out there. For those of us who just want a healthier lifestyle with moretaste and variety, homemade is the way to go. Its so easy and so much fun!

Modern commercial wines are also lacking in variety. Most are only a type of grape wine, whilethere is so much more out there from which to make wondrous wines! Experiment! Making wine inyour kitchen at home is so easy; you can have a wine cellar full of a dozen different types of wine.When they are all properly aged, have a wine tasting party with your friends.

If one is meticulous about sterilization and cleanliness, the wines will keep for years. Sulphite wasnot around fifty years ago and yet our ancestors made wines that lasted for generations, evenhundreds of years. My wines don't hang around that long, but you get the drift here.

This book is an attempt to help those who are seeking a cleaner and healthier lifestyle and who wishto leave chemicals and the modern food processing behind.


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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Using The Resources Around You .

Chapter 2 - What is Wine? The Basic Process ..

Chapter 3 - Organic and Desirable Additions

Chapter 4 - Equipment You May Need .

Chapter 5 - Getting Started

Chapter 6 - In the Primary Fermentor

Chapter 7 - In the Secondary Fermentor

Chapter 8 - Clearing the Wine

Chapter 9 - Bottling

Page 4

Page 7

Page 10

Page 12

Page 15

Page 17

Page 19

Page 22

Page 24

Chapter 10 - Recipes Page 27


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Chapter 1

Using the Resources Around You

Almost any edible plant material can be used to make wine. Some will be good and some not sogood. Taste your perspective wine base as a tea before taking the time and effort to make it intowine. Any fruit or berry will make excellent wine. Many edible flower petals will make good wine.Some greens and vegetables will also make good wine.

I try to make all my wines from raw bases. I do not cook the vegetables used but I do freeze, chopand juice them. I think you get the freshest flavour from the raw material.

Be very careful when choosing an unfamiliar plant for wine making. Make certain that you know theplant well. Do not make wine from something that is not edible. If the plant is poisonous, the winewill also be poisonous.

In addition to the fruits and berries more commonly used, many flowers are edible, as are manyherbs and spices. There are also a lot of naturalized berries out there that make excellent wine, suchas elderberry and mulberry.

Below is a list of plants, flowers, vegetables and fruits that are edible and might make interestingwines. It is by no means comprehensive and most of these are native to North America. There aremany more out there, just waiting to be used! I have made wine with many from this lest. Others arejust waiting until I have the time and access to the plants.

** Flower wines are time consuming to make due to the amount of work involved in separating the

petals from the flowers. In some cases I have found that scissors make the work go faster than

fingers.

** If possible, cut off only the coloured petal, leaving the bitter white base behind.


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Flowers (petals only, no centers, seeds, greenery or fruit)

All fruit tree blossoms (apple, apricot, peach, etc)ChamomileChicoryCloverDaisyDandelionDaylilyHibiscusHoneysuckleImpatiensJasmineLavenderLilac

MilkweedMonarda (bee balm)NasturtiumPansyPassionPrickly PearPumpkin blossomsRose petalsRose of SharonSunflowerSweet WilliamThistleViolet

Leaves Use only young, tender leaves

AvocadoBurdockCilantroFennelGrapevineMaple Leaf and Maple SyrupMint (There are so many different kinds!)

OreganoOakPalmPumpkinRaspberrySageThyme

Berries

Autumn BerryBearberryBilberriesBlackberryBlueberryBoysenberryChokecherriesCranberryCurrentsDewberry

ElderberryGarden huckleberry (chichiquelite, solanum)GojiGooseberryGround CherriesHaskapHoneyberries

HuckleberryLogan berriesManchu cherriesManzanitaMulberryNanny berryOregon GrapePartridge berryRose hipsSeagrape(Coccoloba uvifera)

Sea BuckthornService berryThimbleberryRaspberryStrawberrySaskatoon berriesViburnam


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Vegetables

BeetCarrotCornCucumberParsnipPea Pods (Sugar Snap)

Pumpkin/Winter SquashRiceSweet PotatoTomatoZucchini

Fruits

AppleApple ciderApricotBananaCantaloupe

CherryGrapeGuavaKiwiLemonMango

OrangePassion (maypop)PapayaPeachPear

PineapplePlumPomegranateLycheeRaisinWatermelon

As you can see, there is a great variety of materialsout there to be made into wine. Some of them willeven produce fruit the first year. Ground cherriesare probably my favourite, as a starter. They areeasily grown as annuals, producing a large amountof fruit in the one season. They are sweet anddelicious right off the plant and are great made intowine, pie or jam!


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Chapter 2

What is Wine?

The Basic Process

Wine is the result of very specific yeast living and reproducing in the juice you have chosen to makeinto wine (called must). The yeast will feed off the sugars in the must and turns those sugars intoalcohol and carbon dioxide.

The yeast will continue to reproduce and make alcohol in the must until all the sugar is used up orthe alcohol reaches approximately 12%, then the alcohol starts to kill off the yeast.

When the yeast have either all been killed off by the alcohol in the must or they have used up all thesugar in the must, they will sink to the bottom and stop working. This is as far as they will go. If theactivity has stopped because the sugar has been used up, it will start up again with the addition of

more sugar.

It is important to keep the wine in the fermentor until the yeast has completely stopped working. Ifyou bottle your wine before the yeast has completed the job, they will continue to work in the bottleand the resulting carbon dioxide released will pop the corks or, possibly, explode the bottles.Likewise, if you want a sweeter wine and, therefore, add sugar before bottling, make certain that thealcohol content is enough to prevent the yeast from starting up again in the bottle.


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Before the use of sulphite in the wine to kill the yeast, the natural way was to let the yeast finish inthe jug and rack (siphon) the must off the yeast sediment on the bottom and into another jug. Thewine maker would then add 1/2 cup sugar to the must and see if the remaining yeast floating in themust would start working again. Every three months the wine would be racked into another jug and1/2 cup of sugar added until there was no more yeast activity. You can still do this today and itworks just as good as it did fifty years ago.

It is somewhat easier now that we have a hydrometer to use and more accurate. With a hydrometeryou know exactly how your wine is progressing, how much sugar is left and the alcohol content.

If you want much of an alcohol level in your wine, you will need to add sugar to the must. Naturaljuices will not have enough sugar to feed the yeast for very long.

Wine yeast is introduced to the must when it is at room temperature and free of contaminants. Makesure the temperature of your must is lukewarm. Wine yeast will grow well at room temperature andeven a bit cooler, although they will slow down in cooler temperatures. If your juice is too hot whenyou add the yeast, they will die. If it gets too cold they will quit working and sink to the bottom. Ifthere are chemicals, such as sulphite, in the must, these chemicals will kill the yeast. Rinsing yourequipment well after sterilizing it is very important!

When the yeast has finished working, you should have a carbuoy of wine ready to age. Before youbottle it, you will want to clarify it so the resulting product is crystal clear. Its best to let it sit forawhile until all the yeast and contaminants have slowly sunk to the bottom and your wine is clear.There are other ways to clear it, which we will discuss later in this book.

There are yeasts everywhere, all around you, especially in a kitchen where breads are baked. Vinegaris made with live but different yeast than those used to make wine. Its important to ensure that onlythe wine yeast is working in your must. If you are not extremely careful about cleanliness andsterilization, you could end up with vinegar or something entirely different, made with wild yeast.

Sulphite is used in commercial wines to kill all unwanted yeasts. You can achieve the same thing by

washing your base product well, preventing it from being exposed to too much air, sterilizingeverything that touches it and pouring boiling water over it. (Let the water cool to room temperaturebefore adding the yeast.)

Wine has been made for centuries without sulphite, even wines that last for a century and areexcellent wines. Sulphite has only been around for a few decades. Its not necessary if one is carefulabout exposing the wine must to the air and sterilizing everything. I use sulphite to sterilize myequipment. It is quick and easy to just dip the little things in it, rinsing well or swish it around in thebuckets and carbouys. If you use a chemical to sterilize you must rinse everything very well. Rinsing

The easiest way to be sure the yeast havecompleted their cycle is to use a hydrometer.It is a simple and inexpensive tube that floatsin the wine (mine cost $8). There is a markedlevel on the floating tube giving you thealcohol content and specific gravity reading of

the must.


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well is the most important thing to remember in wine making! The tiniest bit of sulphite or othersterilizing chemical in your must or on your equipment will kill your yeast!

Always remember that yeast is a living organism and can be killed inadvertently. Without the livingyeast, your wine will be dead and it will not continue to make into wine. Treat the yeast well, caterto their requirements for living and they will do a good job.


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Chapter 3

Organic and Desirable Additions

You can make good wine from fruit with just the juice of the fruit, sugar and yeast. You may get anexcellent wine without anything else going into it, however, if you want to ensure that your workpays off in a great wine, adding a few natural and organic things to it will ensure a desirable endresult.

While I do not advocate the addition of sulphite or sorbate as preservatives, I do add a few organicthings to my wine to help the yeast do their job and to ensure a perfect environment for the yeast togrow and multiply.

One of the things I add is acid. Yeast work much better in an acidic environment. There are a fewdifferent sources for acid and you can buy them all at a local wine supply store. There is malic acid,tartaric acid, citric acid. Tartaric acid is found naturally in grapes and bananas; malic acid is found inunripe fruits and citric acid comes from citrus fruit. Some wine recipes require the juice of lemonsand/or oranges. These provide the citric acid needed to make a good wine. I prefer to use the acidblend from the wine store as it is a bit more specific and just easier to use. You will still get a greatresult using the lemons and oranges required in some recipes. I use the powdered acid blend alsobecause I dont want the taste of these fruits in the wine I am making.

What I use is an "acid blend" from the wine supply store. Its a mix of the three and provides a good

balance for most wines. I use it for everything. The addition of acid will also help to preserve thewine.

I use a simple acid test kit to see if the juice needs acid and how much to add. I add a little at a time,testing after each addition. You can get an acid test kit from your wine supply store.

Another substance that I add is pectic enzyme. Most fruits, berries and vegetables contain pectin.Pectin is undesirable in wine as it makes the wine cloudy. Pectic enzyme is a naturally occurringenzyme that eats up the pectin in the must and provides you with a much cleaner wine. It is not


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necessary and you can make a perfectly acceptable wine without it but many of your wines will becloudy. I like to top up the secondary fermentor with white grape juice, instead of water,adding a bit of body to things that might need it. Because of the grape juice added to top up the jug, Iadd the pectic enzyme to everything.

These three things, white grape juice, acid blend and pectic enzyme, along with the sugar, water andyeast, are the only things I add to the organic and natural base that I am making into wine.


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Chapter 4

Equipment That You May Need

1) A clean, food grade plastic bucket with a lid toserve as a primary fermentor. For one gallon winemeasurements I use a one gallon or four litre plasticice cream bucket for this. This is where you will startthe must, make the additions and leave it for about aweek. Put the top on loosely so the carbon dioxidecan escape. If you close the lid tightly, the build upof gas will pop the lid off or explode the bucket.

2) Glass jug with narrow opening. This will be yoursecondary fermentor. This is where the wine willspend most of its time before bottling, where it willbe made into a really good wine, slowly. The glassjugs made for wine making usually come in eitherthe one gallon or the five gallon size. Both sizeshave the same sized opening at the top to fit thestandard size bung or stopper. Some wine stores, likemine, will have bungs in various sizes to fit all kindsof containers. Really, you can use just about anyglass food grade container if you can get a bung thatfits tightly and the bung is large enough for a hole inthe center in which to put the air lock.


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3) A bung for your secondary fermentor. This is astopper that fits the glass jug tightly and will not popout. It needs a hole in the center in which to put theair lock, but most bungs purchased at wine supplystores will have the hole in them.

4) Air lock. This is a small, simple and inexpensiveplastic device that fits into the bung and lets thecarbon dioxide escape in bubbles, while not allowingany air to enter the fermentor. Its a plastic cup thatholds water with a lid and has three small pieces.The gas bubbles can escape through the water whileair cannot enter. When the must is moved to thesecondary fermentor, the yeast is working moreslowly and it is possible for wild yeasts to enter andruin your wine, therefore it is necessary to keep allair out of the secondary fermentor. I pay about $4 fora set consisting of a bung and airlock at the winesupply store.

5) Hydrometer (discussed previously)

6) Long handled hard plastic spoon. Most winestores sell a spoon made for making wine. It has avery long handle with a square stirring thing at thesmall end. The small end will fit through the openingin the secondary fermentor to stir the must in the jug,when needed. The handle is long enough to stir themust in a 5 gallon fermentor. Even though the winemaking spoon is ideal for this application, any fairlylong handled plastic spoon will do the job.

7) Tube for siphoning. Long enough to reach fromthe bottom of the 5 gallon secondary fermentorsitting on a higher surface, through the top and downinto bottles on the floor.


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8) Siphon clip. This is a plastic clip that fits over thetubing, allowing you to control the run of the wineinto the bottles

9) Wine Bottles. These should have narrow necksstrong enough to take a cork. Beer bottles will workfor this, as well as second hand wine bottles. Tryyour glass recycling center or just ask all of yourfriends to save them for you. I have been fortunateenough to find cases of them at garage sales.

Use a few fancy ones for gifts.

10) Thermometer. You can buy a floating winethermometer but it is not necessary. You can use a

digital kitchen thermometer, as well. Most otherthermometers will not be specific or cool enough forwine making.

Optional. If you have a goodunderstanding of what lukewarm and

room temperature mean, then youwont need a thermometer.

11) Refractometer - allows the winemaker to figurethe percentage Brix (the relative "sugar weight" of asample compared to distilled water) of the juice offresh berries and fruit.

Optional. Allows you to monitor theprogress of ripening fruit and berriesand adjust your plans for harvest,when needed.

11) Corks made for wine bottles

12) Corker for inserting the corks into the bottles.

12) Measuring cup and other small miscellaneouspieces of equipment you might choose to use.


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Chapter 5

Getting Started

The first step is to decide what kind of wine you want to make. There is such a wide choice outthere! Sometimes it depends on what month it is and what is in season. Your favourite fruit is alwaysa good choice.

I have a list of things that I want to try. I collect them as they become available and freeze them.They accumulate in the freezer until have enough and I am able to make them into wine. The rawmaterial will keep well in the freezer for a few months and freezing the chopped material will helprelease the juices when thawed.

Of the dozens of flowers that are edible, I have made wine from many of them. For yourconvenience, I have included a list below of the flowers that I know are edible. There are many moreout there. I have a garden full of ground cherries and garden huckleberries (solanum) this yearspecifically for wine making. I have a berry garden where I collect every type of berry I can find. Icall it my wine garden.

If I am making a gallon of wine, I usually aim for about 3/4 to 1 gallon of material. I fill the onegallon bucket as full of crushed and chopped material as I can. I don't have an exact measurementhere for you. If its a strong tasting fruit, like rhubarb, you might want to use less, (unless you LOVErhubarb).

Most things can be made with the same recipe. The sugar will vary depending on the sweetness ofthe material. The sugar is measured in pounds for most recipes, not cups.

Basic Recipe

About 8 cups clean, crushed, pitted fruit, berry, veggie or leaf material1 gallon of boiling waterApprox 2 pounds white sugar1/2 package of wine yeast2 teaspoons acid blend1 teaspoon pectic enzyme


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Tips and a Few Exceptions

- Pick only the petals for flower wines,nowhite pith, center, seeds or greenery.- Use less sugar for sweet fruits with a lot of natural sugar. Add sugar slowly, using hydrometer.- You can add 2 green tea bags to the mint, and other wines, if desired, for extra tannin- Oak leaf wine use only small, baby leaves and dont crush them before soaking


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Chapter 6

In The Primary Fermentor

Rinse the fruit, berries, flowers, vegetables or leaves well and pick out any old, damaged or rottenones with bad spots. Leave the rind and peel in the mash. It adds a lot more flavour and vitamins.Remove any seeds.

While you are doing this, you can save time by putting on a gallon of water to boil.

Chop, puree, blender or juice the material you are using and put it into the STERILIZED primaryfermentor bucket. When it is ready, pour the boiling water over the material and stir well with asterilized spoon for a few minutes. Add the sugar, measuring it with a sterilized measuring cup and

stir until dissolved. Cover well and let sit overnight, stirring occasionally.

On the second day it will be time to strain the must. You can use a few layers of cheesecloth or astraining bag made for making wines and jellies. Pour the contents through the cheesecloth orstraining bag into another sterilized primary bucket or a temporary sterile container. Squeeze thestraining must well to get all the juice out, using clean and sterile hands. What you should have inthe primary bucket after the straining is just the clean sweetened juice and water.

At this point you add the yeast. Mix the yeast into a little lukewarm water in a small glass. Add asprinkling of sugar and let it sit for about 10 minutes until it is frothy and active.

While the yeast is working, put a little hot water into a sterile cup or bowl and add the pectic enzymeand acid blend according to the directions, using a sterile measuring spoon. Stir until well dissolvedwith a sterile spoon. Pour this into the primary bucket with the must and stir.

When the yeast is ready, add it to the must and stir very well.

Now you should have everything that you need in the primary fermentor, ready to make into wine.Let it sit, loosely covered, for about 3 days, stirring every day or whenever you pass by or thinkabout it. Leave enough space in the lid closure to allow the carbon dioxide to escape but to preventany dust or stray particles from entering.


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After about three days it can be siphoned into the secondary fermentor. At this point it is prudent touse the hydrometer to determine the potential alcohol of the must. You want enough sugar in themust to produce the alcohol level that you are aiming for.

To use the hydrometer, you will need the measuring tube that usually comeswith the hydrometer. If your hydrometer doesnt come with it, ask for one atthe wine supply store. Its like a tall, narrow beaker that stands on its own.

Sterilize and rinse it well. Using a sterile, rinsed cup, scoop out enough mustto fill the tube and float the hydrometer in it. There are several differentreadings on the hydrometer and they are well labelled. One is specific gravityand one is potential alcohol measured in %.

Its the sugar content of the must that affects the % of potential alcohol.Regardless of what the hydrometer says, you will rarely get more than about13% alcohol in wine. If the % reading is higher than that, you will have somesugar left over in the wine, sweetening it. Be careful not to put in too much

sugar, initially, if you want a dry wine. You can always add a bit more aftertaking a hydrometer reading. Sugar can be added at any time if your potentialalcohol reading is too low and you should be taking a hydrometer readingeach time you rack the wine into another secondary fermentor.

A low potential alcohol reading can be desirable if you want a light alcohol level in the finishedproduct, making a light wine.

Start with a minimum of sugar in the must and add a little more as you go, when you determinewhether or not you are going to need it. Its not bad wine if you have too much sugar in it. It will justbe sweet rather than dry.


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Chapter 7

In The Secondary Fermentor

Siphoning can be done by hand with just the tube. (Youknow, like kids used to do to steal gasoline in the 70s.)Put the primary fermentor on a table and the secondaryfermentor on the floor under it. Put the STERILE tubeinto the bottom of the primary bucket and suck reallyhard on the other end of the tube. As soon as the muststarts moving into the tube, take it out of your mouthand stick it very quickly into the secondary fermentor

jug on the floor. As long as you keep the top end of thetube under the liquid in the higher bucket, gravity willfeed the must into the tube and down into the secondaryfermentor on the floor.

Watch the bucket on the table carefully. Keep the end of the tubing under the liquid in the bucket asit drains. Tilt the bucket as it gets to the bottom, making sure you get every last drop. If the suctionstops, you will have to do the sucking part on the other end again. Sometimes you will get a taste ofthe must when siphoning. It will taste like wine at this point, but very green yeasty wine. Its not anunpleasant taste at all and will let you know for sure if your wine is working.

You can buy an air pump and machinery for this, but its so easy and simple to do by hand. Usingthe machinery is no faster. The wine drains through the tube at the same rate. A machine or air pumpmakes bottling more difficult, as you cannot stop the drain if you have a spill or other accident orneed to stop bottling before it is finished.

The clip on the end of the tube will give you some control over the speed of the drain and let youstop it quickly, in case of an overflow or accident. This happens more often during bottling.


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When draining the must from the primary fermentor into the secondary fermentor, you want thesediment to drain with it. I give it a good stir with a sterile spoon in the bucket before I start racking.Theres a lot of good yeast in the sediment on the bottom of the bucket!

What you will have in the glass secondary fermentor will be very cloudy. Thats as it should be. Itwill clear when the yeast have finished working and settled to the bottom, along with any otherparticles in the wine. You will be racking it again, into another secondary fermentor, before it isready for bottling.

The secondary fermentor should be topped up to about an inch below the bottom of the bung. Youcan use water or juice for this. Each time you rack the wine into another secondary fermentor, youwill be leaving some behind in the lees (sediment) on the bottom. It can be topped up with water orjuice each time. I use white grape juice for this as it adds a bit of body to the wines.

When it has all been drained into the secondary, sterilize and rinse the bung and air lock pieces. Putthe air lock together and insert it into the bung. Put a little water in the air lock, snap on the lid andinsert the bung into the mouth of the secondary fermentor. Make sure it is a tight fit so very little airwill get in but not so tight that you cannot pry it out again. The bung should fit snugly into themouth, being loose enough to sit in there tightly but not so loose that it can be pushed into the jug. Itshould be tight, but not so tight that it pops out on its own after a short time. Bungs come in differentsizes from the wine supply store. Sometimes you have to take your carbuoy into the wine supplystore with you. Especially if you are not using a standard size bought from them.

When all the racking is complete, the bung is inserted and you are happy with it, put it away in acool, dark place where it can sit and work without being shaken, for about three months. You wantthe sediment to settle to the bottom, so it is important not to shake it up while it is working. The nexttime you rack the wine will be to put it into another secondary glass jug in as clear a condition aspossible.

After about three months it should look fairly clear, the carbon dioxide bubbles should have stoppedand it will be ready to rack into another secondary fermentor.


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Because this initial secondary fermentor needs to be on a higher surface than the one you are rackinginto, its a good idea to put it up there to begin with so you are not shaking it up while lifting it, afterit has worked on clearing for three months.

When the three months are up and you have decided it is time to rack the wine again, you will needall sterilized equipment, as always, and a hydrometer reading.

After you have everything sterile, rack a little wine into the hydrometer tube and insert thehydrometer. You should get a reading lower than 1.000. You can add cup sugar into the newfermentor after racking it. The yeast will activate again and more alcohol will be made in the nextfermentor until it reaches a level that kills the yeast.

The wine should be racked about every three months, into a new secondary fermentor. Each timeyou rack the wine, you can add another sugar until you have reached the capacity of the yeast, atabout 12%. Any sugar you have in the wine after that point will go towards the taste of the wine andnot to making alcohol.

After three months, rack the wine into the next secondary fermentor, the same way you did before. If

you are adding more sugar, put it in at this point and stir/shake until fairly dissolved. Insert the bungand airlock and leave it for another three months. At the end of that three month period, test it againwith the hydrometer.

Continue racking the wine every three months into another secondary fermentor, adding cup sugareach time, until you are happy with the alcohol level and the sweetness of the wine. When you arehappy with it, rack it into the final secondary fermentor and let it sit, undisturbed, to clear for aboutthree months or until it is crystal clear.


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Chapter 8

Clearing the Wine

When you think your wine is ready, you can suction out a small amount into a wine glass and hold it

up to the light to see if it is clear enough to bottle. It will not clear in the bottle. All of the clearingmust be done in the secondary fermentor.

If you use pectic enzyme and have been careful not to disturb the wine in the secondary fermentor, itshould clear well on its own. Sometimes, even though you have done everything right, you can stillhave cloudy wine. You have left it alone for months and months and it still wont clear!

There are things you can do to fix this.

One of the surest and easiest ways to organically clear your wine is to use a wine filter. A wine filteris just a paper filter media that the wine drains through. Some filters come with an electric air pump

that pumps the wine out of the carbuoy to speed up the filtering. Both gravity fed and electric filterswork very well. Wine filters are denser than coffee filters and will filter out all the yeast andmicroscopic particles in the wine.

Another way to clear your wine is to use bentonite clay. There are many wine clarifiers that you canbuy to add to your wine but bentonite is the best of them. You cannot over clarify the wine whenusing bentonite, unlike many of the other clarifiers. Some will remove the tannins, as well. It isorganic clay that will bind with the particles in the wine and bring them to the bottom as it sinksdown.

Bentonite can be added at the beginning, in the primary fermentor or anytime afterwards. It is of

slightly more benefit if added in the primary as it has more time to move around in the wine,collecting unneeded particles while the wine makes. It will still work very well if added at the endbut you will have to give it a couple of weeks to work while vigorously stirring daily, before leavingit to clear.


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Bentonite powder must be dissolved in a cup of very hot water before adding to the wine. Slowlysprinkle it into the hot water and whisk to dissolve. Doing it this way will prevent you from endingup with a lump of mud on the bottom that you cannot dissolve. You can now buy it in a gel form,ready to add to your wine, as is.

It will disperse in the wine, making it very cloudy and brown, initially. Then it will begin to sink tothe bottom. Bentonite works so well that most wine kits come with a package of it for use in the kitwine.

When your wine is perfect clear, or as clear as you can possibly get it, having given it plenty of timeand all the additions you possibly can to clear it, it is ready to bottle.

Wine will not clear much in the bottle. Make sure that you are happy with your wine and there is nomore yeast activity before bottling!


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Chapter 9

Bottling

Finally, your wine is ready! It is clear, finished, beautiful and ready to bottle! You have worked formonths to get it to this stage!

First things first, is the yeast still working? Are there still bubbles coming through the air lock?Rack the wine off the lees (sediment) and into another sterile secondary jug and put on an airlock.Watch it for a few days to see if all activity has stopped. If the yeast is still at work in there, youcannot bottle yet. You are producing an organic, chemical free wine here, so you will have to waitfor the yeast to finish naturally, on its own.

Take a hydrometer reading. For a dry wine, it should be below 1.0 before you bottle. Remember tosterilize the tube, hydrometer and everything you use. There should be no chance that any yeast will

continue to work in the bottles.

If the yeast have not completely finished, the alcohol level is well below about 12% and there iseven the tiniest amount of sugar in the wine, the yeast will keep working in the bottle. The resultingcarbon gas produced will blow the corks out of the bottles or explode them. Popping corks make amess and ruin your wine and exploding bottles are dangerous! Make certain that the yeast havecompletely finished working before you bottle!

If you want some carbon dioxide in the bottle, to make sparkling wine, the safest way is to add thecarbon dioxide back into the wine when it is finished, just prior to bottling. You can buy apressurized tank of carbon dioxide for the purpose of making beer or sparkling wine. We are not

going to get into this procedure in this book. I am assuming that you want to make a still wine.

When you have racked your finished wine into another secondary fermentor, being careful not todisturb any of the lees on the bottom, you are ready to bottle. You will lose an inch or two of wine,leaving it in the bottom with the sediment, but after the effort you just went to clearing it, its worthit! Dont ruin all your efforts to clear the wine by shaking it or disturbing the lees just as you areready to bottle!


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The first step in bottling is to wash and sterilize all of the bottles you intend to use and a few extra,just in case. RINSE THEM WELL!

Boil the corks for a few minutes to sterilize and soften them.

While you are waiting for the corks to soften, sterilize the tubing, corker area that holds the corksand anything else that will come in contact with the wine.

If your secondary fermentor full of wine is not already on the high table, carefully lift it and put itthere without disturbing any of the lees on the bottom. Remove the air lock.

Move all of the bottles to the area directly beneath the carbuoy and set them close together. Insert thesterile tubing into the carbuoy, down to the bottom and suck hard on the other end until the wine isflowing through the tube. Quickly take the end of the tube out of your mouth and insert it into thefirst bottle. Watch closely as it fills. When it is about an inch below the bottom of where the corkwill be, lift the tube and put it into another bottle. The wine will need about an inch of air space afterthe cork is inserted. If you are quick and sure, you can do this without stopping the flow or spillingthe wine on the floor.

Use the clip to control the flow if needed. It does make things easier, even if it does slow it down abit. Its worth a little extra care to ensure you get all the wine and dont lose any on the floor.

Fill all of the bottles to about an inch below where the cork will be, leaving a little room for corkexpansion. You will be leaving an inch or two of wine in the bottom of the carbuoy, as well. You donot want to siphon off any of the lees with your clear wine, into the bottles.

When all the wine that you are using is in the bottles, you are ready to cork them. You will need acorker for this job. It is not possible to do it by hand. Corkers come in mainly two types, hand heldand floor models. Both work well and require the same amount of work.

The corks should have been soaking all of this time and be ready to use. Take one bottle at a timeand insert the cork using the corker. Put the cork into the corker, put the bottle under it and pull thehandles down, forcing the cork into the bottles. When the bottles are all corked, wipe them downwith a damp cloth.

The plastic, heat shrink cork covers are optional but they do help seal and protect the cork and,therefore the wine as it is stored. I always use them. They slip on over the cork and bottle neck.Shrink to fit by quickly running a lit flame over them. I use a cigarette lighter for this job. It takes abit of practice to make them smooth and professional looking. You can pop them off and redo it afew times. They remove easily. They make your wine bottle look finished and professional, in case

you want to use them as gifts.

When they are all sealed you can store them, as is, or label them. If you are making several varietiesof wine, you will want to label them. You can buy fancy wine bottle labels for gift bottles, at thewine supply store or just use blank labels that you write on yourself.

Store your wine bottles in a cool, dark place away from too much light and on their sides so less airseeps in through the cork.


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Most wines are better after a year of aging, although there are a few that are good after about 8months. While you can drink wine at any age, it can taste like gasoline at six months and befabulous, smooth wine at one year. Even that little bit of time can make a huge difference in thequality of the wine. Two years can make a good wine into the best wine you have ever tasted!

Dandelion wine should be aged for two years. Hibiscus can be used in about 8 months but is better,the older it gets, of course. Rose is good at a year or a bit less too.

Its a good idea to bottle some of each kind in a smaller bottle to be opened occasionally for tasting.I use beer bottles for this. They take a cork and work well. You could also use the tiny liquor bottleswith screw on caps for tasting bottles, perhaps sealing them with paraffin wax.


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Chapter 10

Recipes

Recipes for 23 litres

Basic directions for all wines, 23 litres:Cover previously frozen material and, if using, tea bags and/or raisins, with water in 2 largepots. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover tightly and let sit for 24-36 hours. Strain into primary.

In 1 cup hot water, stir in pectic enzyme and acid blend and add to primary. Stir very well. Addsugar and continue stirring until well mixed. Add enough water to make 23 litres. Follow

directions for making wine in this book.

NOTE #1: If it doesnt say how long to age it, thats because I dont know yet.

NOTE #2: For wines made with rhubarb, choke cherry, wild grape and crab apple, drain onlythe clear juice/water. Do not squeeze pulp into the primary.

Rose Petal5 gallons, 23 litres

3-4 gallons fairly tightly packed and frozen rose petals, at least half reds and purples5 teaspoons pectic enzyme2 cups white raisins

6 teaspoons acid blend

15 cups sugar1 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugarLet age 1 year

Rhubarb5 gallons, 23 litres

20 pounds chopped frozen rhubarb stalks3 teaspoons pectic enzyme1 tea bag

20 cups sugar

1 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 3/4 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugarLet age 10 months

Strawberry5 gallons, 23 litres

20-30 pounds frozen ripe strawberries

3 teaspoons pectic enzyme

1 tea bag5 teaspoons acid blend16 cups sugar

1 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugarLet age 1.5 years


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Wild Grape5 gallons, 23 litres

12-18 pounds wild grapes, frozen3 teaspoons pectic enzyme

24 cups sugar

1 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugar

Crab Apple5 gallons, 23 litres

(Much better with real crab apples! They are about 1.5 2 across.)20 pounds frozen crab apples, chopped and cored. Do not peel.3 teaspoons pectic enzyme

3 teaspoons acid blend

20 cups sugar1 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugar

Ground Cherry (Cape Gooseberry)5 gallons, 23 litres

20-25 pounds frozen ripe ground cherries (Make sure they are well ripened!)

3 teaspoons pectic enzyme3 tea bags5 teaspoons acid blend

23 cups sugar


Raspberry5 gallons, 23 litres

18-25 pounds frozen ripe strawberries3 teaspoons pectic enzyme

3 tea bags

5 teaspoons acid blend16 cups sugar


Let age 1 year


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Recipes for 1 litre

Basic directions for all wine, 1 litre:Cover previously frozen material with water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover

tightly and let sit for 24-36 hours. Strain into primary. In 1 cup hot water, stir in pectic enzymeand acid blend and add to primary. Stir very well. Add sugar and continue stirring until well

mixed. Add enough water to make 1 litres. Follow directions for making wine in this book.

Pea Pod- 1 gallonLightly flavoured

1 gallonUse only sugar snap pea pods

1 gallon washed fresh pea pods, chopped and frozen

2 teaspoons acid blend1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

4 cups sugar1 Tablespoon Welchs frozen white grape juice concentrate1/4 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugar

Let age 1 year

Most Herb and Flower Petal Wines 1 gallon

4 cups leaves and/or flower petals, frozen and tightly packed6 cups granulated sugar2 teaspoons acid blend

1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 Tablespoon Welchs frozen white grape juice concentrate

1/4 package wine yeast

Wild Grape 1 gallon

20-30 pounds frozen ripe strawberries3 teaspoons pectic enzyme

5 cups sugar1/4 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugar

Dandelion Wine 1 gallon

8-10 cups dandelion petals, frozen and tightly packed

6 cups granulated sugar2 teaspoons acid blend1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 Tablespoon Welchs frozen white grape juice concentrate1/4 package wine yeast


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Choke Cherry 1 gallon

7-8 pounds chopped frozen ripe choke cherries (about 3/4 gallon)

1 teaspoons pectic enzyme

1 teaspoons acid blend1 teaspoon pectic enzyme1 green tea bag

2.5 pounds (not cups) sugar

1/4 package E-1118 wine yeast, proofed in 1 cups of lukewarm water with a sprinkle of sugar

If you have a collecting, hoarding nature you may find it difficult to actually use the wines you haveworked so hard to make. I find that sometimes I am reluctant to drink the bottles of various winesthat I have, especially the rare ones made with hard to find or difficult to collect material.

Its a fun hobby and can save you considerable money in a short amount of time. Homemade wine isthe only way to go if you are allergic to sulpha, inclined to migraines or are just looking for more

ways to illuminate harmful chemicals from your diet.

Winemaking is additive! Once you start, its hard not to make wine from everything you see!

Have fun and enjoy your new hobby!

Date post:	05-Apr-2018
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Making Organic Wine at Home

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