Making Red Wine
The basic steps involved in making red wine are listed
on the left and are linked to detailed explanations. Briefly, the
process begins with grapes or concentrated juice. Follow the
instructions for concentrate, or if using grapes, start with ripe, clean fruit. Remove the berries from the stems and crush.
Treat the crushed berries with 30 ppm SO2. You may also
add pectic enzyme, but this is optional. Adjust the sugar level to
22 to 24 °Brix and add yeast
to ferment. Ferment at room temperature and punch down the cap of
skins at the top of the fermentation vat twice daily. Press the must
after fermentation. Rack with aeration. Add malolactic bacteria if
desired and rack at the end of malolactic fermentation. Cold stabilize and
add 30 ppm SO2. Age and add oak chips if desired.
Rack 2 - 3 more times with aeration at 2 - 3 month intervals. Bottle and
serve at 65°F.
The entire process from
fruit to bottle should take about 9 to 12 months.
