Talk:Home winemaking

Personal Experience

Winemaking doesn't require a hydrometer. And that is a fact. All the people that think that a hydrometer is necessary have the wrong idea about wine. Making wine is an art. In my country, it is less than art: it is tradition. And traditional methods are based in centuries of experience. Wine was always made by poor people with little instruction (for example, my grandfather made great wines and he only went to school until the third grade and having the third grade in the beginning of the XXth century made him a very lucky peasant).

A summary of the way of making white Vinho Verde (it is Portuguese wine and it's name can be literally translated as "green wine" - the origin of the name is it's unique refreshing taste, combined with a little natural carbonation)

Necessary machinery: - a "ralador" (I really don't know the name in English) that is a machine (hand-cranked or electrical), similar to a pasta maker, with a pair of grooved cylinders that squish grapes (it's use is due to the small dimension of the farms in the Minho region where the large amount of people necessary to trample grapes wasn't available, although trampling can be used too) - a press. - vessels according to the amount of wine to be produced.

Steps: - thoroughly wash the buckets where the grapes are to be collected, the various vessels and machines (this is a VERY important step as mold can ruin a wine. Traditionally, no bread is allowed in a cellar as it can promptly acidify the sweet must. - the grapes are collected and crushed into a open vessel. No such thing as "wine yeast" is necessary as yeast is in the grape's peel (they are NOT to be washed and even little spiders are harmless as they won't make their way to a cask). The juice in the bottom of the vessel is to be drained to another open vessel (i'll call it vessel B). - the crushed grapes are loaded on a press (care must be taken as the volume of must coming out of the press defies common sense) wich should be well packed (don't be afraid of using your hands) and pressing begins (close surveillance is obviously a must). The dripping (and foamy) must is to be pumped or somehow drained to vessel B (fermentation vessel). If the press is hydraulic, it will probably work automatically. If it is a ageing mechanical press, tightening will be necessary day and night (while using such presses, make sure the pin that holds the lever in place will hold it properly and replace it with a strong screw if there is any doubt of it's resistance. When I was about 5 year old I flew across the cellar as the lever's pin somehow failed while I was working the lever. If it hadn't been for a piece of plastic that was in the corner I landed, I might have knocked my head against a stone in the wall.). - the must and the contents of the press will ferment and alcohol vapours (and carbon dioxide) will fill the place (it must be well vented. If it is not, you will find out why people that work in wine cellars blush, smile and laugh so much!). The must will look brown due to oxidation and will have foam (and mosquitoes (not DeHavilland Mosquitoes) will fly around it). - after about a week, the must will get cooler as fermentation slows down. Freshly squished grapes and simple sugars can be added to boost the fermentation process once again but this is done mostly with red wines and is illegal in some legislations. The must can then be placed in a vessel (like a cask) that must not have it's lid or cork on until about February. During this time, the suspended solids will settle down. After racking, the wine will become golden. The cask can then be closed and during spring wine can be bottled, although this will make it more acidic due to dissolved carbon dioxide. Contact with air after this moment will effectively turn wine into vinegar.

Notes: - It's a dirty, sticky and tiring job but very rewarding and educational (tradition has a quality of it's own). - Accidents can occur, so one must never work alone. - Practice makes perfect (and I learned that wine with no chemical treatments tastes a hell lot better this way). - Vineyards in semi-mediterranean climates do not require watering (this can ruin the wine's bouquet and alcohol content, as it will dilute the sugars). - Grapes can be nearly rotting ripe (the sweeter, the better!). - A lot of space and water is necessary for a proper cellar. - Cellars must be cool, dark and the floor should always be rammed earth, never cement, as this will make a cellar with better thermal balance and thunderstorms can ruin wine more easily in a paved cellar. - There is no waste: bad quality wine can be stored in contact with air to get vinegar and both vinegar and the contents of the press can be turned into strong spirits called aguardente vínica (that can be aged to obtain brandy) and aguardente (firewater, has a strong odor, has a great kick and burns so well that sausages can be roasted over it's flame) vinícola respectively. - According to legislation, in some places sparkling wine can be made (or bootlegged) by adding some rye seeds and sugar (about eight seeds and eight teaspoons) to a 750ml strong bottle (asti or champagne bottles) which is then filled with wine and corked. The cork must be held in place with some kind of strong fastener and the bottles should be shaken everyday for a few months to make sure that the second fermentation will be complete. This will make a cloudy wine with lots of carbon dioxide that will make it dry and slightly acidic. Care must be taken as the extra acidity will make alcohol be absorbed much faster and drunkenness will be sudden. - Alcohol abuse has obviously bad consequences. Be responsible.

Any questions to: -- email removed --

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.155.112.88 (talk) 01:33, 31 March 2007 (UTC).