Turning the Water (& Concentrate) into Wine

So if you've discovered anything from reading my blogs, it's that I like to keep myself occupied. I'm very much into my hobbies. And although they may change often, I'm generally very involved with them.

This summer, I thought I'd venture into an uncharted hobby... making homemade wine.

How did I get into this hobby? Well, I don't exactly have a straight answer for that. I suppose I could give a little credit to my friend Damian, the same guy who I helped propose to his wife. Last year, he began brewing his own beer.

Quite honestly, I've never really liked beer all that much. But I LOVED the concept. It sounded fun. It sounded interesting. And it sounded rewarding. So I got to thinking about which drinks I do love, and wine is near the top of the list.

I also have a fascination with wineries and vineyards. Despite having little knowledge on the subject (although I have read two wine books), I think it would be awesome own a winery.

...So you put two and two together and voilà!

In a perfect world, I would have grown my own grapes, pressed them, found the right flavor profile, and then start making the wine. But that's clearly not what happened here... Maybe someday.



The "Beginner's" Winemaking Kit

This summer, I started with a small winemaking kit and two different kinds of grape concentrate -- a Chardonnay (white) and a Zinfandel (Red). The concentrate would obviously be the main ingredient for the wine. I then added the appropriate amount of water to the grape concentrate and mixed it well.
For the Zinfandel, the kit came with a small package of oak chips, which I thought was strange yet pretty cool at the same time. So those were added to the mix to enhance the flavor.



Then came the only scientific part of the process -- activating the yeast. Once activated, I added it to the wine mixture. Then I sealed the container with an airlock and set it away for two weeks while the fermentation process occurred.



The Chardonnay in the PRIMARY carboy.

Used a fermentation bucket for the Zinfandel.
Same principal as the Chardonnay.

After the two weeks were up, it was time to transfer each mixture to a secondary carboy. It will stay there for three months. So currently, the two carboys are tucked away in the corner of our closet -- where it's relatively cool and dark. It's not ideal, but it works.



Transferring from the primary
to the secondary.

This allows for proper aging to occur without having any sediment
that was caused by the yeast.



It fills up rather quickly.

Setting it up correctly.

Keeping a close eye on the transfer.

When the three months are up, that is when the wine should be at it's correct alcohol level. If that's true, then I will bottle the wine. Each container should fill about 10 bottles.

 

The wine is certainly safe to drink at that time (and I'm sure I will test it out), however, for best results, it is recommended to wait another 3 months to drink the Chardonnay and another 6 months to drink the Zinfandel.

 

So yeah, this is a very long process. But I'm telling myself it will be that much more rewarding when I'm through in the end.

Now we just wait...