Should I Filter My Home Made Wine?

Yes. It is quite common for most commercial wineries to filter their wine after the fermentation process and before bottling. Some people think that this will remove some of the flavoring components but it has been tried and tested by the wine manufacturers for decades if not hundreds of years.

The filtering process will aid in removing the extra gasses that the yeast produces and will remove the yeast itself.

If you are unsure of how to filter your own wine then you can always look fore more information about wine filtering online.

Some wine kits will come with a wine filtering equipment and everything that you will need to filter your home made wine but if your kit did not come with one then you can go to your local wine making store to purchase on or you could simply purchase one online.

What is a carboy?

A carboy is the secondary fermentation chamber in the wine making process.

It is usually made out of glass and looks a lot like a large bottle from a water cooler.
You are going to want to attach an air lock to the carboy during the secondary fermentation process because it will keep the bacteria that is present in the air from entering the container and ruining the brew.

What is an airlock?

An air lock is a piece of wine making equipment that keeps air from entering your fermentation container while letting the carbon dioxide that yeast produces to escape. Some people also refer to this device as a fermentation lock. It will keep any harmful bacteria from infecting your wine and ruining your batch.

You can make your own air lock at home. It is similar to a water bong in nature and is really cheap to make if you have the right materials lying around the house or shop.

I am planning on making a tutorial at winemaking-equipment.com if you are interested

Will removing the airlock interfere with fermentation?

No, it will not interfere with the process of fermentation at all.

If you take a sample of your wine, make sure that your wine thief is properly sterilized. That is what will mess up the fermentation process by introducing harmful bacteria into your brew.

What can I do with left over corks?

The simple answer is: Anything that you can think of.

It all depends on your own creativity. If you are not that much of a creative person and need to be inspired to do something crafty then here is a list of some neat things that you can do with your left over corks.

1. Make a cork board.

2. Place them in a large vase near your wine cabinet.

3. Make a cork gun. Like a potato gun but for corks.

4. Make a floor mat.

5. Make a floating pool chair.

6. Cat toys.

7. I'm out of ideas, but here is a link to some awesome ones with pictures.
http://www.drvino.com/2009/05/18/cork-dork-ten-cool-things-leftover-wine-corks/

What are the laws in Canada about home made wine?

The Canadian legal system is a jumbled mass of legal jargon and red tape. Luckily enough, the laws are quite simple and clear about making and distributing your home made wine.

1. You can make all the wine at home that you want. You can not make liquor though.

2. You can share your wine all that you want as long as you do not charge any thing for it.

3. You are allowed to provide home made wine for family related events like weddings as long as you are related to the host of the party.


These are pretty simple and straight forward so if you need to know more about the subject of Canadian home made wine laws then you can just ask a question on here or dig through piles of government web pages and PDF documents like I did.

Also, these laws apply to home made beer as well. Happy Brewing.

How Do I Test The Gravity Of My Wine?

Testing the gravity or specific gravity of your wine is done with a hydrometer. The hydrometer is a simple tool that tells you what the specific gravity of your wine is compared to water. You can easily make your own home made hydrometer if you don't want to go out and buy one from a store.

For the past few thousand years people have been making wine with out the aid of such tools so worrying about the gravity of your wine is not that important if you are just starting to make your own wine at home.

The best way to test the gravity of wine is to take a sample out and put your hydrometer in that. This way you are going to be able to see the measurement a lot easier that you would if you just put the meter into the main container.

How long can I keep a bottle of wine that has been opened?

Open wine will not last very long. If you are planning on keeping it at room temperature then you are going to have a few days before your bottle of wine goes south. If you keep it refrigerated, then you might have a week before it goes bad.

This is because wine is like fresh fruit. It can get easily contaminated by airborne bacteria and what ever nasties that may be floating around.

The best way to keep your open bottle of wine is to transfer it into a clean, small container that has less air in it and then seal it tightly. You then need to put it in the fridge right away. You might even want to put it in the freezer so the temperature drops quicker. Just make sure that you don't forget your wine in the freezer because a wine Popsicle is probably terrible. Maybe, I think that I am going to try that tomorrow.

What Temperature Should I Ferment My Wine At?

Room temperature should be ideal for your wine. It is best to make sure that the temperature of whatever room you put it in does not fluxuate and remains constant. 


21-26°C (69-79°F) is the best temperature for fermenting your home made wine.


Just remember that if your wine is cool while you are fermenting it, the process is going to take a lot longer.

Do I have to Stir The Yeast Daily?

Once you put your yeast into your brew you are going to want to stir it up in order to evenly distribute the yeast. After that, it is a matter of personal opinion. Some people do and others don't.

One opinion is that the yeast is going to be creating CO2 gas that is going to stir itself.

If you do choose to stir your yeast, it could not hurt it. It is a micro organism and will only be affected by chemicals and temperature. A little more oxygen will not be bad for it.

Is Home Made Wine Making Expensive?

Not at all. Most wine making kits that you purchase online are around $100 and the ingredients are about $50. This will make you about thirty bottles. Which means that you will be making bottles of wine for about $5 each.

That is just your first batch. Once you are working on your second batch and already have the wine making kit, you will just need the ingredients. This means that you will be making wine for about $1.60 per bottle. If you can grow your own grapes or harvest your own fruit the cost per bottle will drop even lower.

How do I Sanitize my Equipment?

Sanitation is one of the most important things that you are going to have to do when you are making your own wine. This is because it prevents bacteria from getting into your brew and spoiling the whole thing. If you do not do this, your wine is going to end up tasting like vinegar.

That being said, the best way to sterilize you equipment is to make a sodium or potassium metabisulfite solution to clean your equipment. You are going to have to make sure that you rinse everything afterwards because too much of this stuff is not a good thing.

Some wine makers choose to chlorinated cleaners like Diversol. While other just prefer to boil or steam clean their wine making equipment. If you do choose to use a chemical cleaner on your equipment just make sure that you do not rinse the chemicals off for at least fifteen minutes. This is going to give the chemicals enough time to do their job properly.

What ingredients do I need to make wine?

Most people think that you just smash up some grapes and let them sit for a couple of months to make wine. This is not the case if you want a wine that you can control during to wine making process.

Grapes are the most important ingredient but the list of ingredients that you are going to want is quite long so I have made this list for you to check out.

http://www.squidoo.com/wine-making-ingredients

That is absolutley everything that you are ever going to need if you want to make your own wine at home and get the flavor, color, and odors of your wine perfect.

Why Does My Wine Taste Like Yeast?

This problem is caused by the wine being left on the dead yeast at the bottom of the primary fermentation container for too long. 
If you want to prevent this, I suggest that you transfer your wine to the secondary container right after the fermenting has stopped.

Should I make my wine with grapes or juice?

Grapes vs. Juice.

The debate whether to use fresh grapes or juice form concentrate has raged for as long as people have had the option to purchase pre-smashed grapes.

Nothing is quite like getting your own grapes and making wine completely from scratch. There is a sense that you have just took raw resources and made something wonderful. Not many people can do that on their own anymore.

On the other hand, the juice that you can buy from any wine making store or website is just easier. It is the same thing as smashed and filtered grapes except that the work has already been done for you.

Now that you know a little bit more about your options you are going to have to look inside your heart and find out what kind of person are you. Grapes or juice?

You Decide.

Where can I find a cheap wine making kit?

Cheap is a relative term. Some people are going to say that Ferrari's are cheap, not me though.

You can get cheap wine making kits from pretty much any where. Your local wine making store has them and you can buy them online. You might even get lucky enough to find a used one from a local classified. If you do come across a used wine kit for sale, make sure that it has all of the pieces that you need and that you clean it better than you have ever cleaned anything in your life.

The cheapest wine making kits that you can buy are currently found online. The only cheaper option would be to improvise and make your own tools and find random containers to ferment your wine.

When you buy a cheap wine making kit you are also going to get a lot of things that you will not find around the house, like an instruction manual, corks and everything else that you need.

This kit that I have posted below is probably one of the best on the market right now. If you don't believe me then I suggest that you read the reviews section.




So that was the long answer to where you can find a cheap wine making kit, but the short answer is right here.
Happy Brewing.

What Is Ice Wine?

Ice wine is basically a wine that was discovered by accident.

The story goes that a farmer was away from his vineyard during the harvest season and when he returned, his grapes were frozen on the vine. The stubborn farmer refused to give up and pressed and fermented the grapes anyway.

Ever since the ice wine is produced intentionally and is a favored drink among many wine connoisseur.

How Do I Make a Yeast Culture?

It is quite easy to make your own yeast culture for making wine at home. I like to give it written language and maybe some music to get it started.  :)

What you are going to need is a large glass jar with a lid, some dry malt extract, a small pack of yeast, and two cups of water.

You need to first activate the yeast in the small packet and let is sit for a few days. After a few days have passed you are going to want to boil some water on the stove and add the dry malt extract and mix the two together. You then need to let the mixture to cool to about 80 degrees F and add the package of yeast.

Then you take the whole thing and pour it into your clean and sterilized glass jar and screw the lid on and shake it so it is well mixed. After that you are going to leave the lid on the jar but leave it loose so the pressure of the yeast creating carbon dioxide doesn't build up and break the glass.

Let your yeast cocktail sit for a few days and you will have one of the most important ingredients to make your own wine.

P.S. Yeast is a living organism and requires food to live. Make sure that you feed your yeast culture approximately every two weeks or it will die.

Should I Make My Own Wine?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is of course you should make your own wine. There are so many benefits that you would be kinda crazy to not make your own wine.

The first reason that you should make your own wine is for financial reasons. Most people are going out to the store to spend ten or twenty dollars or more per bottle. That is just ridiculous. When you buy some ingredients for making wine then you are spending around fifty dollars per batch and a batch usually makes around thirty to forty bottles. That is just over one dollar per bottle. So if you buy the individual bottles, thirty bottles times ten dollars per bottle is three hundred dollars. The cost of your ingredients and all of the equipment that you need are going to be paid for after your first batch.

That was only the financial reasons for making your own wine. There are also the social reasons that you are going to want to consider. If you are the host of a party your guests are going to be ecstatic when they realize that this delicious wine is never going to run out and that they can drink as much as they want. You could even make some souvenir bottles for your guests to take home with them.

Another reason to consider making your own wine from home is the fact that it is not a very hard thing to do. You don't need any special skills except for patience. Making your own wine can take up to a year so that is why patience is key.

It is easy because you just process your ingredients, add them to a container and let them sit for about a month. Then you just transfer them to another container and let them sit from anywhere from six months to a year. Voila, you have wine.

So now that you know why you should be making your own wine why not go out and try this for yourself.

What is an Oenophile?

An oenophile is simply a wine connoisseur or aficionado. Generally oenophiles are people who love and apreciate wine and sample it and collect wine as a hobby. Some people have taken their oenophilia to the next level to become wine merchants,  sommeliers, or vinters.


The words origins are greek, with philia meaning love and oinos meaning wine. 


The term was first use by a "bring your own wine" style of restaurant in the upper west side of Manhattan. This restaurant was owned and named "Oenophilia" by Shirley Copperman in 1977. 


Although Oenophilia sounds like a terrible disease, it is actually a way of life for some people.

Why do my corks keep popping out.

Your corks keep popping out because you have bottled your wine too quickly after the fermentation process. What is happening is that there is still some fermentation going on inside of your sealed bottle and the yeast is creating carbon dioxide which is expanding and pushing your corks out of the bottle.

How to prevent this is by checking your wine after you have put it inside the secondary fermentation chamber. If there is no extra pressure in there then you should be good to put your wines in the bottles.

What about plastic corks?

Plastic wine corks are good too. You can re use them as many times as you want. They are mostly use for short term storage though. You would not want to keep your wine sealed by a plastic cork for longer than six months because they dont create as tight of a seal as natural corks do.

Should I use corks or screw caps?

This debate has been raging for quite a while now. The answer is: either one is fine. It is mostly the traditionalists that don't want anyone using screw tops. As long as the method that you choose can create an air tight seal on the bottle, then you have nothing to worry about. The only thing that you should not do is put corks in bottles that are designed for screw tops. It could cause them to break and ruin not only your wine, but your floor too.

Which type of cork should I use?

There are quite  few different types of corks that are on the market and the decision of which one to use is based on what you are intending to do with your wine. If you are planning on drinking your wine soon after bottling then you can just use a cheap agglomerate cork. If you are planning on ageing your wine for a long time then you are going to want to use a high quality natural cork. The natural corks have been keeping wine properly sealed for millennia.

Can I use plastic bottles?

You can, as long as you make sure that you are using high quality PET plastic. This is the same kind that is used for soft drinks. You are also going to want to use plastic if you are storing your wine for less than a year. Oxygen will leach through your wine and alter its flavour. Some sparkling wine manufacturers use plastic bottle because of its ability to whistand pressure from carbonation.

Why Does My Wine Taste Like Vinegar Part Two

So you are here because you have made a very bad batch of wine and want to know exactly what went wrong. There is a long answer, but I’ll start with the short one. You did not properly sterilize your equipment. What that means is that there were some bacterias that were infesting your brew and destroying things that did not need to be destroyed.

There is also the chance that you kept your wine in a warm place while you were aging it. The could happen if you kept your wine near a water boiler in the basement or some place like that. Now in the off chance that you bought some cheap wine and didn't go through the whole process of making you own, the supermarket probably stored it wrong. If this is the case, as soon as you pop the cork or screw off the top, the bacteria will go into overdrive and just ruin your wine.

But wait, there's more. You could have fermented you wine too long and let some air get in the bottle. This can be caused by not sealing the bottle properly. Another thing that can cause this is by not properly choosing the right vessel for storing your wine. If you chose plastic then you are making a terrible mistake. Plastic is more porous than glass and will let air in right through the wall of the bottle if it is left for too long.

Why does my wine taste like yeast?

If you wine tastes like yeasty bread, then you probably left it on the dead yeast after the fermentation process has stopped. You can prevent this by bottling and racking your wine right after the fermentation has stopped.

Why does my wine taste sour?

The most common reason that you wine tastes sour is because the fruit that you used was not ripe enough. Also, if you did not dilute this unripened fruit with enough water, you are going to get that sour taste. Grapes usually don't have this problem but the other wine making fruits and vegetables like watermelons and flowers do.

Why does my wine taste like vinegar?

Your wine tastes like vinegar because you did not sterilize your equipment properly. Absolutely everything that comes in contact with your wine has to be properly sterilized, including your hands.

If your equipment is not sterilized, then your wine is going to get bacteria in it which will kill the yeast and destroy the final product.