Homegrown Grapes for Wine Making

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Courtesy of Wikipedia

Whether you are an old pro at home wine making or just getting started, there is so much potential to create your own signature flavors and creations. Many wine-makers enjoy doing so by growing their own batch of grapes. Homegrown grapes are a growing trend in wine making, and a great way to get more involved in the flavor creation process.

Different grapes prosper in different regions, so before getting started it’s important to carefully research which grapes will grow optimally in your specific location and climate. One popular type is vitis vinifera, a grape that produces popular flavors such as Chardonnay, Merlot, White Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Vitis vinifera derives from a European grape family, and is commonly found in areas such as the Pacific Northwest, California, and Mid-Atlantic regions with milder climates. For colder or wetter climates, alternate grape options are often found. Vitis labrusca grapes are a common type of grape less vulnerable to cold, and may be successfully grown in northern regions.

Now, for the grape growing. After you have researched the best type of grapes to successfully grow in your region, get started with planting vines. The best time of the year to plant vines is early spring. Vines generally take about three years to mature and bear fruit, so be prepared with some patience. Make sure to pick a very sunny location, with good soil drainage. Nutrient poor soil is optimal for grapes, because smaller, undernourished grapes produce the most flavorful wines. After planting vines, ensure that trellises are at least six feet high. As the vine continues to grow, prune and train the vine carefully and correctly.

You will see your vine blossom and mature over several years, until it finally bears fruit. Approximately ten pounds of grapes produce a gallon of wine, meaning ten to twenty vines are needed to produce a smaller batch of wine. Growing grapes is a rewarding aspect of wine making, and allows you to create distinct, authentic flavoring. Remember, great grapes make great wine. While the harvest process is important in developing strong flavors, it is just important to carefully store grapes prior to wine making. Once you get down the basics of growing grapes, break out the wine making kits, and get started on learning how to use your wine making equipment to develop your own signature creation!

THE SYNTHETIC CORK SERIES: Part I: Why Are Synthetic Corks Becoming So Popular?

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More and more often, when you go to decant a bottle of commercially made wine, it’s going to be a synthetic cork that pops out. The numbers are hard to pin down, but best estimates guess that roughly 9% of all commercially corked bottles of wine in the world today are corked with synthetic corks, and these numbers appear to be on the rise.
Global wine sales have been on the rise as well. For several decades the wine market has seen an increased demand for its product. So much so, that the supply of natural cork has not been able to keep up. Every year more and more wine is being bottled, and every year more and more cork bottle stoppers are needed to close them.
The primary reason that the supply of cork has gotten behind the demand is because it is a natural product. It’s actually the bark of the ‘cork oak’ tree. Every so many years this freakishly thick looking bark is stripped from the trees and then processed into the shape of a cork bottle stoppers. Eventually, the bark grows back on the trees, and the process is repeated all over again—a cycle that takes about 7 years.
This process of ‘strip the bark and repeat’ is all well and good for the current demand, but when you have new demand on top of that, you have to plant more cork trees. This is where the cork market has gotten itself out of balance.
It takes on average 25 years for a cork tree to grow and to mature into an actual cork producer. This is a length of time that would be considered to be way out on the horizon in any industry.
So in effect, the cork producers are being asked to predict the future further than a generation down the road. By putting yourself in their shoes, you can begin to imagine how difficult it would be to know when and how many trees to plant. This is the equation that has allowed the cork stopper producers to be caught flat-footed.
This is part 1 of a 4 part series. In the next post (part2), we will cover how this lack of supply spawned the emergence of synthetic corks.
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Home-Made Wine Making Experience

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A friend had given me a wine-making recipe that I have used for several years. It doesn’t call for special yeast’s, but one regular pack of bread yeast. One quart of Cranberry Juice; two cans of Concentrated Grape Juice; One pound of white cane sugar. Plus one gallon glass jug, rubber cork & economy-lock.
I dissolved the yeast first, place in the jug first. Then I semi-dissolve the sugar in the juices, and place that in the jug. Fill the rest of the jug with water to an inch below the neck of the jug. The rubber cork with a hole thru it, place in the top of the jug. Fill the economy-lock half-full of water and place it in the hole of the cork.
It takes one month to brew.
During that time of brewing, I go to the bars in town, asking the bartenders for any empties of whiskey or wine bottles (especially the dark brown and green bottles). Never the clear glass bottles!! Those clear bottles turn my grape wine brown in color and taste like raisin wine.
I clean out the bottles by using the hottest water to sterile the bottles. It also makes it easy to clean the labels off the bottles.
( Of the bottles that I collect from the bars, I try to make sure that each bottle has it’s screw-on cap.)
Try these suggestions:
Change the Concentrate Grape Juice for White Apple Juice, and change the Cranberry Juice for White Grape Juice.
OR
Change the cranberry juice to raspberry juice and grape juice to cherry juice.
Jerry
Name: Jerry Schachterle
State: Michigan

Springtime Wines

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Springtime Wines with Cherries
Springtime is finally in full gear, and before we know it summer will be right around the corner. With the season warming up, we thought it was appropriate to share some of our favorite springtime wines (and food pairings!). So pull out the wine making kits, sit back, and relax as we spill our best-kept springtime secrets for wine.

Sauvignon Blanc: Sauvignon Blanc and other Sauvignon blends make the perfect springtime wine. Sauvignon blends have become exceedingly popular due to their extensive variety and unmatched quality for an unbeatable price. Sauvignon blends generally give off a hint of citrus, lime, and crisp fruits, while always providing a fresh taste. Pairs well with light springtime meals including: seafood dishes, asparagus, and goat cheese.

Prosecco: Often a summertime favorite, Prosecco is a soft wine loved by many. Similar in taste to champagne, but with less of an edge, Prosecco is a charming and sparkling alternative. Drink poolside and mix with an assortment of fresh berries and fruits!

Pinot Grigio: Quality Pinot Grigio is a must-have for summer. This minerally white wine is light but not too thin. We suggest pairing this crisp wine with an Italian meal, preferably light pastas or with tomato-based sauces.

Grüner Veltliner: This white wine has an unmatched crisp-ness that is toned down with fruit flavors such as nectarine and grapefruit. Some versions are light-bodied, while others produce a more concentrated richness. This wine matches best with foods with an Asian influence, such as noodles, salad dishes, and spring rolls.

Spring is a great time of the year to pull out the wine making equipment, and create a seasonal favorite of your own. Mix and match to find your very own perfect wine pairing. Trouble figuring out what to do for a springtime recipe? Check out our recipe page to get started. Happy wine making!

Top 10 Reasons to Make Your Own Wine

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  1. It’s easy- By simply following the instructions provided in wine making kits, you’re bound to make some tasty wine. Once you master the steps, the instructions will seem pointless- they will be stored in your expert wine making brain!  
  2. Save money- Imagine never having to buy wine again. Once you have all of the equipment for home wine making, making additional batches is inexpensive. Say goodbye to the liquor store and hello to all of the money you’ll be saving!
  3. Homemade wine has health benefits- Once you become more advanced, you can experiment with the ingredients a bit if you wish. You can choose to add less sugar or less alcohol, making your wine healthier.
  4. You can choose its flavors- When you choose your own wine recipes; you have the ability to give it its own special taste.  You can add flavors such as dried Elderflower to enhance the taste and smells of your creation.
  5. Great activity to reduce stress- Winemaking is both relaxing and enjoyable. Taking the time out of your hectic schedule for a leisure activity is a healthy way to reduce stress.
  6. Always have something to bring to an event or party- Depending on the size of your barrel or carboy, a batch of wine can produce anywhere from 25-100 bottles of wine. Anytime you go to an event or party, you’ll be sure to have the most popular contribution or gift.
  7. Gives you something to talk about- Winemaking is cool; it’s as simple as that. Everyone will want to know about your new hobby and find it fascinating your making your own wine. It is a great conversation starter for when you’re with friends or on a first date!
  8. Make new friends- Winemakers around the globe love sharing their ideas and stories with others, which is why it is a great community to be a part of. There are countless blogs and forums of winemakers, where you’ll enjoy chatting about your mutual hobby. There are also plenty of wine making events where making new friends is impossible not to do!
  9. Benefit your Health – Studies have shown that drinking red wine in moderation (approximately one or two glasses per day) can have numerous health benefits. Red wine has been shown to benefit heart health, protect against certain cancers, and lower cholesterol.
  10. Win awards – If you think you have the best skills around (and of course the best wine making equipment around); there are plenty of contests for home winemakers. These events provide for a great place to make new friends, win prizes, money, and recognition!

It's Day 8. Shouldn't My Wine Be Fermenting?

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wine in fermenterHi:
Today is day 8 and I just transferred my wine from the plastic fermenter to a glass carboy like the homemade wine instructions say to do. I do not see the wine brewing at all. Shouldn’t the wine still be fermenting? Do I have a problem?
Please help!
Robert
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Hello Robert.
I am going to assume that you are making your wine from a wine ingredient kit such as our European Select or KenRidge Classic since you mentioned “day 8” much like their directions would.
How fast your fermentation goes can vary. On average, the fermentation should almost be done, if not done completely, by day 8. But sometimes a fermentation will go faster or slower than the wine making directions anticipated. This is normally due to the environmental conditions of the fermentation, such as: the temperature of the wine must, the nutrients in the water you used, etc.
Regardless of how fast your wine must is fermenting, the important thing to know at this point is that it is either still fermenting, or it has completed the fermentation. Luckily for you this can be easily be determined by taking a reading with a wine hydrometer. Hopefully you have one. If you do not, order one today.
A wine hydrometer is very easy to uses. It’s a glass tube with a weight at one end. You simply put it into your wine must and see how high or low it floats. It has no moving parts. Nothing goes up and down inside of the wine hydrometer like a thermometer does. It just floats. Wherever the surface of the wine crosses the scale on the wine hydrometer, that’s your reading. This is why sometimes it is referred to as a gravity hydrometer.
If the wine hydrometer reads .998 or less on the S.G. scale (Specific Gravity), this means that your wine is no longer fermenting because it is done with the fermentation. If the reading is above the .998 this means that the fermentation still has a little more work to do.
If you are seeing absolutely no activity with a wine hydrometer reading above .998, it would be much to your advantage to go over the Top 10 Reasons For Fermentation Failure. This article will provide you  with wine making tips that will help you get your fermentation back on track.
If the fermentation is done, continue on with the homemade wine instructions you have. Do not speed up the timetable of the directions. Follow the original schedule.
Happy Wine Making,
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Is The Carboy Half Empty Or Half Ruined?

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Wine Making JugsHi E.C.Kraus!
I’m new to home winemaking. I made red and white wines this year and have them resting in 54 L carboys (with air-locks) after the initial fermentation is completed. The storage room does have a pretty high temperature (65degF), but it doesn’t fluctuate.
After a month, I decided to start drinking the red one. It tastes great now. So, every weekend I open the carboy and have 1.5 L of wine siphoned into a regular bottle.
I’m wondering if opening the carboy every week (as a result more air in the carboy) can quickly harm/destroy the rest of the wine or not? Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the proper answer anywhere. I hope you, as a Guru in home wine making, could possibly advise me on this matter.
Thanks in advance for your appropriate reply.
Michael
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Dear Michael,
Sorry to say, but what you are doing is just not going to work.
Your concerns are well placed. Having more air, or an increasing head-space, in any type of carboy will eventually be a bad thing for wine. In the short term–a few days or so–you’re probably okay, but over time the air will have its way with the wine.
The first thing that happens when you drain the wine from the carboy is it increases the surface contact area between the air and the wine. When the carboy is full and the wine is up into the neck, you may only have 3 square inches of contact space. When the carboy isn’t full you could have over a square foot of contact area–144 square inches or more.
What this all means for the wine is oxygen now has the ability to saturate into the wine at a much faster rate than before. Eventually the wine will begin to show signs of oxidation. The wine’s color will start turning brown, and the flavor and aroma will start to take on carmel characteristics.
The second thing having a half-full carboy can do to the wine is spoil it. Mold, bacteria and other little nasties are floating around in the air. They are everywhere. An individual cell or spore is no threat, but if it is in some of the air that is brought into the head space, it will have a place to land with plenty of nutrients available with which to grow.
Understand, that oxidation and spoilage will not happen overnight. But day by day, week by week it will slowly progress.
Having said all of this, the solution is simple. Be sure you are using sulfites on the wine such as sodium metabisulfite, and either bottle your wine or keep your carboys full. Even bottling the wine in gallon glass carboys or gallon glass jugs would be a vast improvement over your current situation.
Happy Wine Making,
Customer Service
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

The Science and Art of Home Wine & Beer

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Step in your local grocery store, stroll down to the beer and wine aisles and take a good look. Some of the words that come to mind: vast, impressive, confusing, overwhelming. Why is this bottle $59 dollars and this one is $11? What do the labels really mean? How do you know where to begin?
You don’t need a sommelier to help you navigate the world of wine. And, just because one brand of beer had a funny Superbowl commercial doesn’t mean it’s any better than the rest. If you really want to drink the best beer and wine you’ll ever have, you can brew beer and make wine at home, yourself, for pennies on what you’d spend at the store.
You Don’t Have to Grow Grapes
Home Wine Making and Beer Brewing making doesn’t mean you need a field of grapes or hops in your backyard. Like any chef preparing a quality meal, you can buy top-quality ingredients, as well as beer brewing kits and wine-making equipment. Home brewing will give you a unique experience, a one-of-a-kind perspective on the process, and a point of pride when you’re done. All you need are the right ingredients, some bottles, and the desire and time.
You Can Get Cheap Beer and Wine Anywhere
You may find other kits that let you make your own beer and wine with very little effort. Don’t forget, what you get out of it is only what you put into it. Don’t go for quick — choose quality.
It’s a Science and an Art 
Like any good recipe, wine and beer making requires you to follow a rigid set of directions to ensure success. The art lies in the subtle nuances that you create to make it your own. You need to learn the rules before you know when to break them. There are recipes for beer and wine all over the Internet. There are even websites devoted to each one. Take the time and study how the pros do it. Adventures in Homebrewing has detailed instructions that can turn you into an expert in no time.
Patience is a Virtue but Waiting is Hard
When you have created your masterpiece, you still need to let nature do its work. Complex chemical reactions turning sugar into alcohol take time. Your perseverance will be greatly rewarded.
Indulge Your Ego
Aside from the joy of drinking your homemade beverages, some say naming your brew and creating your own labels is the most fun. Since glass bottle can easily be recycled, and even washed and reused, there is no reason not to house your spirits in quality containers with a bright colorful label proclaiming yourself as the proud brew master.
Get Started
Now that you are ready to start, Adventures in Homebrewing can walk you through the steps. Adventures in Homebrewing has an extensive selection of home wine making supplies and equipment along with beer brewing kits. With more than 40 years of experience under our belts, we can answer any questions you may have. In no time at all, you’ll be making beer and wine with your own hands

How Do I Get Sulfites In My Wine Like The Wines At The Store?

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adding sulfites to homemade wineHi:
I made 5 gallons of Sauvignon Blanc this past year. I will be ready to bottle in the near future. I read on most commercial wine bottles that they contain sulfites. My understanding this is a stabilizer and to protect the wine yeast from refermentation. I am in the process of sending an order in and would like to know what to use and what amt. per gallon?
Thanks TOM
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Hello Tom,
Sulfites are added to a wine just before bottling, primarily to help eliminate spoilage and keep the wine’s color from turning through a process of oxidation. It does this by killing any traces of wild mold or bacteria that may have found its way to the wine and by driving the oxygen out of the wine.
Sulfites are not affective in squashing a refermentation, particularly if you have added an actual wine yeast to the wine as opposed to relying on wild yeast from the grapes to do the job. Domesticated wine yeast is somewhat resilient to sulfites, while wild yeast can be easily destroyed by it.
If you are concerned with the possibility of a refermentation occurring, you will also want to add potassium sorbate in addition to the sulfites, however this should only be necessary if the wine yeast did not completely ferment all the sugars in the wine must, or if sugar has been added back to the wine before bottling as a means of sweetening it.
The easiest way to add sulfites to your wine is to use sodium metabisulfite. We offer it as a granulated powder. You simply dissolve it into the wine right before you bottle. Make sure that the sodium metabisulfite gets evenly disbursed throughout the entire batch. A good way to go about this is to add the sodium metabisulfite to quart or so of the wine first, to dissolve it.  Then blend the mixture into the rest of the batch.
The dosage of sodium metabisulfite you need is very small. You use 1/16 of a teaspoon for each gallon of wine. If you don’t have a 1/16 teaspoon, then use 1/8 teaspoon for each 2 gallons of wine. This is the same way wineries go about getting sulfites in the wine.
Happy Wine Making,
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Getting Legs on Your Wine: Does it Really Happen?

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A few weeks ago I attended a dinner party hosted by my wife’s employer who happens to be a successful facial plastic surgeon in the upscale city of Annapolis, Maryland. Immersed in a room that is occupied by many, many people with careers way more distinguished than my own, I’ve decided to lay back and let my wife do her rounds of mingling.  As I’m standing next to a window overlooking the Severn River (beautiful at sunset, I do recommend the view) I found a lot of these people swirling their wine glasses around.  Now, I don’t claim to be a wine enthusiast by any stretch of the word, my wife takes that role, but I have had a few glasses here and there.  I usually just drink it and not think too much about it, though I should put more thought into what goes into the wine.  (From what I understand wine making is a very precise and intricate process). However, I’ve seen this action done by people who know their wine and I’ve always wondered what the purpose was.   Is it a technique to “jumpstart” the wine?  Does it activate something in it? Or is it just a nervous twitch that people in uncomfortable situations tend to subconsciously do.
I asked my wife and she gave me a two part answer.  First she told me that wine, being somewhat organic in nature, needs to breath and the action of swirling allows the wine to open up and release flavor.  Ok, makes sense I suppose, but her second answer sounded a little less scientific.  She told me that legs are a sign of good wine.
Come again?
Legs? 
She proceeded to say that when you swirl the glass around, the wine will leave tear like residue on the on the glass resembling “legs”, thus indicating a high quality wine.  Ok gotcha, wait a minute.. Why would that indicate good wine?  This was the extent to which she could answer; she couldn’t get into the science of it.  So my inquiring mind needed to know what about leggy wine made it superior to its counterpart.  For the record, I tend to listen to whatever my wife says but sometimes it’s fun to call her on her bluff.
After a little bit of research and investigation I came up with some tasty nuggets.  The myth that “legs” or “tears” in wine indicate high quality is just that, myth.  They are in no way an indication of high quality product.  The reality is that “legs” or “tears” in wine are a product of the level of ethanol in the wine, higher levels of ethanol, roughly 12% or higher, will result in this effect.  There are physics and science that go into this explanation, which I will spare you and just give you meat and potatoes.  As you swirl your glass of wine around, the wine goes up the side of the glass.  The two primary components of wine are alcohol (ethanol) and water. Alcohol evaporates faster than water.  As it evaporates, gravity takes over leaving the remaining water to run down the glass in tears. The residue is observable because the differences in how light is refracted by both water and alcohol.  This effect is known as the Gibbs-Marangoni effect, and is named after two scientists whom investigated this phenomenon.
There you have it, this myth has been busted.  However, there is a sliver of truth to this.  Quality of wine is in the eye of the beholder (especially if the beholders make wine at home) and if you value a wine that’s a little more potent, than “legs”, can be one of your best friends.