Being a tightwad at heart, I wondered just how folks used to make wine without all that fancy equipment. Could I replicate the process in my own home?
I headed over to my local library to research an old English and Celtic form of wine called mead. What I found out was that not only were wines once made from a greater variety of fruits, but herbs were added as well to give unique flavors, scents, and healing properties. I have been hooked on winemaking ever since.
Making wine relies on the slow process of fermentation for preservation. Fermentation happens naturally as plants are left exposed to air and rot. While they do so, airborne yeasts and bacteria break down sugar and starch. Alcohol is excreted in the process.
The yeast and bacteria keep producing alcohol, until eventually the environment becomes toxic to them and they die. This is what forms the sediment in your bottles of homemade wine and vinegar. The trick is to control this process to yield a desirable product.
It usually takes about 2 months to make a batch of wine from start to finish, but I actually put in only about 2 to 3 hours’ effort in all. Fermentation can be smelled by every wild animal living in your county—they also consider wine a delicacy—so find a critter-safe area for your fermenting brew.
When starting out, you will probably want to produce several small experimental batches. Once you have your recipe down, you’ll find it more economical to make larger batches. With experience, you’re also likely to want to give the finished wine more time to age and mellow. Following are the proportions for both large and small batches. Note that the proportions are slightly different for the larger batch.