Basic Wine Making Phases

Wine making can be done and produced at home using the four basic wine making phases: selection and extraction, fermentation, clarification and stabilization, and ageing.Selection and Extraction
Selecting the highest quality of grapes and harvesting them in its finest condition is part of the first phase of wine making. Home winemakers like us may have a difficult time in sourcing and selecting the finest quality of grapes because we can only buy in small quantities based on our needs.After you have found and gathered the best grapes, the extraction process begins. The extracting process can be done by pressing or with the use of extractors. You can also use boiling or soaking in order to extract the flavor of the fruit. The liquid or sludge formed by the juice, liquid, seeds and skin is known as a must.Fermentation
Fermenting the grapes is the second phase of wine making. During fermentation several factors are taken into control and managed by the winemakers such as the quantity of yeast, temperature, type of container and the skin contact time of the grapes all of which may affect the quality of the wine. Even the aroma of the sludge or must is controlled by blending certain nutrients into the mixture so that it will be less acidic and to prevent the acids from blending with the other aromas.To fully ferment the wine it will have to be left in a container for a couple of weeks and even months without moving it until the fermentation comes to a stop on its own characterized by the clearing of the wine and when no bubbles appear in the airlock.Clarification and Stabilization
After fermentation, two basic types of wine are produced: red wine and white wine. Both these wines have to be clarified and stabilized. Wine is clarified by the processes of fining, racking and filtration while stabilization is done by removing excess protein and cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) from the wine. These proteins and tartrates are removed so that they will not precipitate although some would precipitate out at as early as primary fermentation making the wine more stable.Ageing
Wine is aged in a variety of containers depending on the quantity of fermented wine. During the aging phase, the winemakers actively take part in the smelling, tasting and measuring of the wines so as to be able to put in the necessary adjustments right away. Wine has to be aged so that it will have its unique flavor and aroma. After a few weeks of ageing the wine it is transferred to bottles where the ageing process continues.After the wine has aged then it is finally ready to be served and tasted. The quality of the wine is pre-determined by the quality of the grapes used at the start. Homemade wine can be strong up to 18-20%, so be careful in drinking.

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