Grape Wine

Grape Wine

You need …. for 4½ litres (1 gallon)

5.5  – 8.2 Kg (12 – 18lb) Grapes
1 packet of Harris Premium Wine Yeast
1 Teaspoon Yeast Nutrient
10 drops Pectinaze

Here’s How

Remove the stalks and any damaged fruit, wash and crush the grapes in a pre-sterilised white plastic bucket. Strain into a demijohn (4½ litres) or fermenter (22½ litres) through a nylon bag, press as much as possible and place the pulp to one side. It may be necessary to top-up with cooled boiled water to 4½ litres or 22½ litres. The juice can then be checked for specific gravity and if needs be, stir in sufficient sugar solution (dissolve sugar into small amount of boiling water) to obtain a reading of 1.085. Alternatively, grape concentrate can be used and this will improve the body and flavour of the wine. Home grown grapes are unlikely to need any acid, but shop purchased grapes may be very ripe and therefore in need of 5g (1 teaspoon) citric acid per 4½ litres (1 gallon).

IF MAKING WHITE WINE: Mix in the wine yeast, yeast nutrient and Super Enzyme. Fit a bung and airlock to the demijohn and leave in a warm place to continue its fermentation. Discard the pulp.

IF MAKING RED WINE: Pour the juice back into the bucket, add the pulp that was strained off previously, mix in the wine yeast, yeast nutrient and Super Enzyme. Leave to ferment on the pulp and skins for 5 days, stirring daily. After 5 days, strain into a demijohn (4½ litres) or fermenter (22½ litres) through a nylon bag, press as much as possible and discard the pulp. Fit a bung and airlock to the demijohn and leave in a warm place to continue its fermentation.

Fermentation should be complete in 2-5 weeks. It should then be checked with a hydrometer. The hydrometer will indicate the remaining sugar level and finishing levels are as follows:

DRY = 0.990 – 0.996MEDIUM = 0.996 – 1.009SWEET = 1.009 – 1.018

At the end of fermentation add 1 crushed Campden tablet and half teaspoon of potassium sorbate per gallon. Leave in a warm place for 3 days to kill off the yeast. Then the wine should be left to clear in a cool place (15C) before siphoning from the sediment.

Some wines will not clear on their own and it is often necessary to add finings. Winefine finings are very effective. When clear you can pass the wine through a Vinbrite filter to obtain a professional finish before bottling.

The wine should now be stored in bulk in a cool dark place to mature for at least 6 months. During this time any rough tastes will be smoothed out and the wine will improve in bouquet and flavour.