Regardless of how proficient you are in the making of wine, certain things may happen which will affect your winemaking process. Things like corks may get misplaced or a bottle may not be settled right during racking. Bottles may also explode if excessive carbon dioxide is left inside them.
A common problem that may result when wine is made is when fermentation refuses to start. This may be as a result of problems with yeast or unfermented grape juice. Sometimes the yeast is actually too old and may die off instead of doing the required job of converting sugar into alcohol. This may usually result due to poor storage or if the wine is shipped in an improper manner. This may also be caused by exposure to extreme temperatures.
Some times fermentation actually starts but then it tends to stop before it usually should. This may happen because the temperature changes in a way that makes yeast stop its work or when there is a lack of nutrients to continue the process. Most times you can usually find the problem but this doesn’t happen always especially when there are a number of different reasons for no fermentation, all occurring at the same time. Adding both yeast nutrients and yeast energizers will most likely turn around the situation. You should just ensure that the temperature is placed at about 70 degrees but if it isn’t you should then increase or reduce it so that it is. This will most likely restart the process and you should allow a period of 72 hours at least before you try anything else again. If it hasn’t restarted then go right ahead and purchase the yeast known to start instant fermentation. This should get the process kicked off in a matter of hours at most.
If your wine has a flat taste then there may not be enough acid in the wine and you need to add some. You should then stir it all up after and put back the airlock. You should check in just a few hours and repeat the process until it tastes just right. If your wine smells wrong on the other hand or if it has a musty smell or taste, it may be that the wine has been left standing for too long when it should have been racked and now the sediment is causing problems. Sometimes it may be a sign that you have used the wrong sort of yeast such as substituting bakers yeast for wine yeast. However there is a solution for this little dilemma, if you simply add some activated charcoal, the problem may then be corrected somewhat easily. Despite this all its will probably take several treatments and a period of about 48 hours to solve the entire process.
If you open a bottle of wine and discover that it has the smell or rotten eggs, you need not despair because the wine may be saved. What you should do is pour wine from the receptacle you have put it in, into another one. This procedure should be repeated up to four times and each time, a few hours should be allowed to elapse. If you do this four times and there are still no changes, forget about the wine, it’s bad.
By definition only those beverages which are obtained through fermentation of grapes are called wines. Those which are produced from rice or starchy raw materials are called rice wine, sake or barley wine. Those wines which are produced from any other thing are called fruit wines.
The pros and cons of chemicals in fermentation process
Fermentation was used in ancient times to prevent food from getting spoiled. Today, it is better known for the addition of alcohol than anything else. The alcohol percentage in the wine is due to the fermentation started and supported by the sugar. In order to prevent the growth of the toxic organisms, the modern world adds sulphur dioxide to the wine. The advantages of this additive are that it is an excellent anti-oxidant which can totally stabilize the wine fermentation and prevent damage.
However, the disadvantages of this added chemical is found in the possibility of triggering acute allergies in people who consume the wine. Other symptoms are nausea, vomiting, headache and even the triggering of asthma. Since, all the above symptoms are very serious, the adding of chemicals to stabilize the fermentation process has been reduced and even banned in some places.
The pros and cons of natural fermentation
Most people all over the world will always prefer one hundred per cent natural way of fermentation of the wine. Most of the time, it is indeed that greatest gift from Gods. However, there are times when uncontrolled growth of microbes influence the process of fermentation and alter the taste, color and texture of the wine, completely ruining it.
While searching for natural ways to stop wine for spoilage researchers have found lactic acid bateria, also known as LAB as one of the most promising types of bacteria that can fight against the harmful micro-organisms quite effectively and hence, protect the wine from any further damage. Since it is natural, it is accepted happily by all the organic enthusiasts all over the world.
There is only one concern – these types of bacteria do not act on gram-negative bacteria, for example moulds and yeasts. Hence, if these are present and you consume the wine, you will fall sick. However, if you measure the odds, it will be very rare that they reach to such an extent.
The conclusion
Both the processes are useful in their own way. However, since the world is moving away from chemicals and their usage in food, it is far more preferable to use he natural way to start fermentation, and the stop it.
The main concerns in using either of the systems for fermentations and controlling the bacterial growth, is public safety. If safety is assured, then everything will be perfect. This will also assure higher quality, and will demand a higher price as well. Once the natural preservatives (in the form of friendly bacteriocins) then the Sulphur dioxide can be reduced or even eliminated from he wine production, other than using it in a very limited condition as an anti-oxidant.
In part 3, Richard talks us through ending the fermentation and clearing our wine, to ensure the end result is a beautifully clear, delicious wine. Video Rating: 5 / 5
What are concerns of using chemicals vs. natural fermentation?
By definition only those beverages which are obtained through fermentation of grapes are called wines. Those which are produced from rice or starchy raw materials are called rice wine, sake or barley wine. Those wines which are produced from any other thing are called fruit wines.
The pros and cons of chemicals in fermentation process
Fermentation was used in ancient times to prevent food from getting spoiled. Today, it is better known for the addition of alcohol than anything else. The alcohol percentage in the wine is due to the fermentation started and supported by the sugar. In order to prevent the growth of the toxic organisms, the modern world adds sulphur dioxide to the wine. The advantages of this additive are that it is an excellent anti-oxidant which can totally stabilize the wine fermentation and prevent damage.
However, the disadvantages of this added chemical is found in the possibility of triggering acute allergies in people who consume the wine. Other symptoms are nausea, vomiting, headache and even the triggering of asthma. Since, all the above symptoms are very serious, the adding of chemicals to stabilize the fermentation process has been reduced and even banned in some places.
The pros and cons of natural fermentation
Most people all over the world will always prefer one hundred per cent natural way of fermentation of the wine. Most of the time, it is indeed that greatest gift from Gods. However, there are times when uncontrolled growth of microbes influence the process of fermentation and alter the taste, color and texture of the wine, completely ruining it.
While searching for natural ways to stop wine for spoilage researchers have found lactic acid bateria, also known as LAB as one of the most promising types of bacteria that can fight against the harmful micro-organisms quite effectively and hence, protect the wine from any further damage. Since it is natural, it is accepted happily by all the organic enthusiasts all over the world.
There is only one concern – these types of bacteria do not act on gram-negative bacteria, for example moulds and yeasts. Hence, if these are present and you consume the wine, you will fall sick. However, if you measure the odds, it will be very rare that they reach to such an extent.
The conclusion
Both the processes are useful in their own way. However, since the world is moving away from chemicals and their usage in food, it is far more preferable to use he natural way to start fermentation, and the stop it.
The main concerns in using either of the systems for fermentations and controlling the bacterial growth, is public safety. If safety is assured, then everything will be perfect. This will also assure higher quality, and will demand a higher price as well. Once the natural preservatives (in the form of friendly bacteriocins) then the Sulphur dioxide can be reduced or even eliminated from he wine production, other than using it in a very limited condition as an anti-oxidant.
In this video, Richard introduces us to making wine using a wine kit, and the equipment we will need along the way. We then learn how to start the fermentation.
As soon as you decided to do a little winemaking, you decided that the first thing to do would be to do some research until you learned as much as you could about how to make wine, this included reading books, finding out about the equipment to buy, the best wine to make in your first attempt at winemaking and a whole lot more. During your research however, you likely turned up a number of unfamiliar terms because the art of winemaking has its own confusing terms. It is essential that you understand the terms that are to be used, what they mean and how they will affect the process of winemaking.
Some of these simple terms are listed and explained here.
Fermentation is a process through which yeast is used to change sugars into alcohol and which uses carbon dioxide to change grape juice to wine.
If a person says that the lees need to be removed, they are talking about the deposits at the bottom of the wine in the second stage of fermentation.
When someone says that your wine has matured, it means that the wine is ready to drink.
If a person talks about the aroma of a wine, he can easily use the terms nose or bouquet as well.
A peak is the particular point at which a wine will taste its best. However due to the fact that it is not so easy to determine, it ultimately boils down to a matter of opinion.
Vintage refers to the particular year which a wine was made in. Other wines also exist and these include wines defined as non-vintage. What this usually means is that they were created in different years and then combined to give rise to a particular taste.
Tannin can be found in wines and most especially the red wines, it tends to come from grape skins, the stems as well as the seeds. It is also a natural preservative which aids in aging the wine when it is being made.
Tartaric acid is also the main acid which can be found in the wine. Three other types of acid also exist and they can all be found in wines as well. These acids include: malic, lactic as well as citric acid. All these acids end up affecting the taste of the wine.
The term methode champenoise is a French term which depicts the method through which champagne is made.
Oxidized wine refers to wine which has been left out in the air for too long and has changed color from red to brown and no longer smells fresh. Other terms can be used in the place of oxidized and they include maderized and sherrified.
If someone says that wine has an aggressive taste, they are usually trying to say that the wine is too harsh or that it has too much acid in it and they don’t like it.
These are just a few terms but these terms give you a sound knowledge of what viniculture is all about and what this means is that you know your grapes, wine and the art of winemaking. Some simple terms can easily summarize the immense amount of work that you do in brewing wine.
Have you ever read a novel from centuries ago? It seems that all the characters in these books either drink mead, water or beer. Are you curious as to what mead is and how it was made by these people who did not have the technological advances that we enjoy today? Thankfully, mead is making a big comeback and many people are now making it at home in much the same way that it was made hundreds of years ago.
What is Mead?
Mead is a wine that is made out of honey. The taste of the finished product can be directly related to the type or flavor of the honey that is used to make the wine. This is the first choice that you need to make before starting on your own homemade mead.
Getting Started
• List of Equipment-
1. Large pot that can hold at least six quarts of liquid
2. Bucket for Fermenting
3. Gallon Jug
4. 2-4 feet of rubbing tubing
• List of Ingredients-
1. 1 quart of honey – remember the type of honey determines the taste. Experiment with different honeys to get the flavor you prefer.
2. 1 pound white raisins in a cheesecloth bag.
3. 1 Gallon Water
4. 1 Packet Yeast
Making the Mead
• Step One – Boil the water in the pot making sure to put a mark at the four quart water level. This is going to be used later in the process. Add the honey to the hot water just as it reaches a soft boil stage.
• Step Two – Take the white raisins in cheesecloth and add them to the honey water mixture. Allow them to boil until they reconstitute and become full of liquid.
• Step Three – Take out the raisins and remove the pulp from the liquid by squeezing the cheesecloth bag tightly. Make sure to get as much of the liquid out as possible and save it for the next step.
• Step Four – Put the liquid that was collected from the raisins and return it to the pot of boiling water and honey.
• Step Five – Allow the honey/water/raisin juice mixture to boil down to the four quart level you marked off in step one.
• Step Six – Let the liquid cool off completely.
• Step Seven – Pour the liquid into the bucket where it is going to sit for at least six weeks for fermentation.
• Step Eight – After the fermentation process, rack the wine into a gallon jug. Racking simply means to drain the liquid out of the bucket and into the jug by using the hose to siphon it out. This is going to allow any sediment to stay in the bottom of the bucket and out of the finished wine.
After the wine is transferred to the jug, it needs to sit for at least nine months in order to be ready to drink. It is not a good idea to attempt to drink it any sooner than the nine months or the mead is not going to be mature. The raisins can be substituted for other fruits if experimenting on taste. If this is the first time making mead, then it is suggested that this process be followed exactly before attempting any variations. The more you do it, the better you will become with your mead.
Before even considering home wine making, it is important to know the different forms of wine and how they are made. This can give you a better idea of what type of wine you would like to make and which ones are going to be the easiest methods to start off with. Once the easier wines are mastered, you can move on to the more difficult ones. This is going to discuss the five basic wine types and their difficulty for the novice wine maker.
Types of Wine
• White Wine – Anyone who has had a chardonnay or a Riesling has enjoyed a glass of white wine. This color only denotes the type of grapes that are being used to make the wine. White wines use white grapes. Making white wine can be quite complex and may take longer than other wine types. The novice wine maker should stick to simple recipes when starting with white wine to avoid any mishaps which can discourage another batch from being made.
• Red Wine – Red wines are made with red, black or a combination of these two colored grapes. The darker the berry, the more complex the wine is thought to become. Some of the more common red wines are pinot noir and Shiraz. There are some very good recipes for basic red wines on the Internet that are quite easy to make. Reds are probably easier to work with than whites and they take less time to mature.
• Rose – The rose wine is a bit of a stepchild in the wine community. While they are made with red grapes, their fermentation process is different enough to offer their own color and flavor profiles. One of the most popular rose wines is the white zinfandel which was first produced in California. Because they are similar to the red wines in the distillation process, they can be easily made at home as well.
• Sparkling Wine – The fallacy is that every wine that contains bubbles is considered champagne. This is absolutely false. Champagne is the name of a sparkling wine from that area of France. Each sparkling wine is made from white grapes and the taste is distinctive for the area the grapes are grown in. This is a process that is better left to those home wine makers who are comfortable in the white wine making process. There are more steps to follow after making the white wine and it does get a bit complicated.
• Mead – This is a honey wine that can be the easiest of all the wine types to start off with. Mead uses honey instead of sugar to get the fermentation process started and many recipes do not call for any yeast to be added at all. Simply get the brew going and put it away for nine months. Any novice should be able to make a tasty mead wine as long as they are patient.
Now that you know about the different types of wine, you are familiar with the forms of wine that can be made. This will help you choose the types of wine that you want and also to know more about the process as a whole.
Wine making has become quite the rage for many people. There is something very special when a homemade bottle of wine is decanted and shared with friends. All types of wine can be made at home and can be used for either drinking or cooking just as with the wines you would get from the grocery or liquor store. The types of fruits and sugars are going to determine the types of wines you are going to end up with. Many may want to experiment with different types of fruits and grapes to get some different flavor profiles.
Cost of Wine Making From Home
• Equipment – Most of the equipment is already on hand in the kitchen. There may be other supplies that are needed but most are not going to spend more than fifty dollars on the equipment needed for a wine making hobby.
• Supplies – As with the equipment, the supplies are not going to run an arm and a leg depending on what type of wine that is being made and the time of year. Choose seasonal fruits to save a few dollars when grapes are out of season. When making mead, the cost of the honey can be the main expense but keep in mind that you are not going to be using any sugar so this added cost can be mitigated by the lack of sugar use.
Time Required for Making Wine
• Actual Wine Brewing – This is going to be the quickest part of the wine making process. In the time it takes for water to boil, you are going to have your fruit juice ready for fermentation. Set aside an hour to disinfect all of the tools and to get all the equipment together.
• Fermentation – This time frame depends on the amount of sugar and yeast that is used when making the wine. The more yeast and sugar, the longer the fermentation process. It is vital to allow this process to complete before racking the wine for storage.
• Aging the Wine – This can take from six months to a year depending on the type of wine you are making. Some recipes do not need any aging at all to produce a drinkable table wine. In most cases though, a year is going to be the standard maturity rate and most wines are going to benefit from this time they are left to age.
The most important thing to remember when starting a wine making hobby is that you need to have patience. Wine takes time and if you do not allow for the proper amount of time for the wine to ferment and age, you are going to have either sour wine or vinegar.
Wine making can be a fun pastime for wine lovers who want to try their hand at blending their own brews. Those who are new to wine making may not be familiar with all of the terms that are used in every recipe and how to guide. This list of terms with their definitions is going to help the most novice of wine makers to know exactly what is being explained when they read a recipe to make their first wine.
• Clarification – In wine making terms, clarification is simply the process of making the wine more clear and getting rid of any components that make it cloud up. This process usually just takes some extra fermentation time.
• Decanting – Decanting is simply allowing the wine to breath before drinking or racking it. This allows any sediment that is in the bottle to settle at the bottom and then slowing pouring or pulling the wine out of one bottle and into another.
• Enology/Oenology – This is simply the scientific term for wine making.
• Fermentation – This is when the yeast eats the sugars to create the alcohol in the wine. This is the longest process in wine making and is vital to producing the alcohol content needed to change grape juice in to the wine we are familiar with.
• Filtering – This is the process of making the wine more clear or clarifying the wine.
• Mature – When making wine, you do not want to drink it before it has matured. An immature wine can be bitter. Maturing wine is the process of allowing it to sit in a warm dry place where the flavors are going to mix better and produce a better tasting wine.
• Mead – Mead is a wine that was created centuries ago where it was very popular. It is simply honey and water that has been allowed to ferment. Today, many add different flavors to their home made mead to create distinct wines.
• Must – This is the leftover parts of the grapes that do not go into the wine.
• Oxidized – This is when the wine gets too much oxygen and air and is starting to go bad. Do not be discouraged if your wine becomes oxidized, there are some good sherry recipes that oxidized wine can be turned into.
• Racking – This is the method of switching from one bottle to another during the clarification stage. A hose is used to siphon the good one from one bottle leaving behind the sediments that can turn the wine. Good wines are racked at least twice in the fermentation process and can be done more if a more clarified wine is wanted.
• Yeast – The live organism that is needed to convert sugars into alcohol.
Now that you know these basic terms for wine making, you’re ready to get started. This will ensure you know what you’re doing when you read guides and other help info.
Find out what it takes for each wine barrel to earn a little alpha symbol on its end. Jill and Scott walk you through the steps of malolactic fermentation.
Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part – but it’s necessary…
In this world where many struggle to make ends meet, enjoying life is more important than ever. The problem gets compounded when you find yourself craving for a few small pleasures that have now moved out of your reach – such as a good glass of wine occasionally.
People get frustrated when they are unable to have a little enjoyment every once in a while. And when they do, their productivity goes down; their interaction quality gets down, and so on which can catapult a person into depression. It is better to find ways of indulging yourself every now and then, to prevent the possibility of depression. Many times, just a good glass of wine with a good hot meal can do wonders.
Wine can be expensive, true. However, there are many ways in which anyone can make quite good wine right at home with ingredients that are already there on the kitchen shelf. In fact, don’t miss out on this article. This means, you can make good wine at little expense to you, no need fancy tools, etc.
The basic tools you will need to make wine at home are simple too. You will need a container where you could measure a gallon of liquid. Then, you will need a normal cup to measure sugar. You will need a container with cover where you will have to agitate the mixture to mix it well. It has to be covered or you will not be able to shake it vigorously and hence the quality of your home-made wine will suffer.
You will need a water heater, where you will warm a bit of water to dissolve the yeast (or hydrate it). This could be done in a cup also.
Next you will a few balloons – actually you will need only one, but sometimes the balloon bursts and you will need to replace it fast, so it is always good to have 2-3 extra ones on hand. Since the balloon will need to be fixed very tightly to the mount of the container, it is good if you also have some twine or a good rubber band to fix it. It so happens that the fermentation will push the balloon off the container sometimes.
Once the wine is done (you will know the process is over when the balloon that was tied at the mouth of the container deflates) you will need to filter the wine through a strainer into another container. The strainer should be extra-extra fine since anything else will allow the residue pass through, giving you a murky wine. The wine should be totally crystal clear and a great tool is a clean piece of cheese cloth.
Once the wine has been strained thoroughly and has absolutely no dregs in it, your wine is ready for consumption. Before doing so, you would need to store in appropriate containers. Hence, you will need some nice bottles (there are a lot of fancy bottles available at very competitive prices) to pour it in. These bottles should be sealed ideally with a cork. So, for each bottle you should have an appropriately sized cork to the bottle can be sealed for storage.
Storage, brings us to the next step of tool requirement. You can store wine in the fridge – this would be for immediate use – and on a specifically designed for this purpose, wine rack. A wine rack makes it possible to keep the wine bottle in a reclined position, which is the best way to store it. The longer it stays this way, the better the wine becomes. So, the quality of the wine stack should be such that it can be used for a long time.
All in all – these are some basic steps you will need to make your own wine at home.
What recent advancements allow a better home winemaking experience?
In spite of common belief, winemaking is a very simple process that can be done just about anywhere with the most ordinary ingredients. This art has come to us, the modern man, though ages and ages of wisdom and experience. In ancient times, winemaking was simple, fast and the result was exceptional. In modern days, there are a lot of ways to make wine, some simple on the lines our ancestors, and some as complicated as you would like them.
Thankfully, home made wines have become a fad the world over and with the pleasure of making wine at home, the demand for better ingredients, automation and fast maturity of the wine have grown by leaps and bounds.
The modernization has not, as expected, improved much of the process of wine making. You can still create the best wines in the traditional way at home, with ingredients that you can pick from the shelf of your kitchen. However, there has been some high tech contributions to fast forward the maturity time of the wine. This development has made it possible for people to have their wine, almost immediately after it has been bottled. Many love this development because the patience of a human being is not the same today, that had been some hundred years ago.
The second great achievement and gift of science-technology to the making of wine is that the grapes quality has become much better, and much more uniform in taste. Hence, the wine’s flavor is fast to develop and better to taste.
Modern science hasn’t made too many changes to the actual art of wine making. The basic craft remains the same.
Extract the pulp of the grapes by soaking and then crushing and pressing
Add helping ingredients, (yeast, sugar, etc) and leave for fermentation for initial period of about one week
After 7-10 days take the liquid and strain it of the grape skins and other ingredients also allow the liquid to ferment further, while being careful to maintain the temperature at 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit
Wait until the fermentation totally stops (you will know when the bubbling of the liquid ceases completely)
Strain the liquid again through very fine cheese cotton cloth and let it ferment again – this time for the secondary fermentation. You can repeat this step once or twice at intervals of one or two months
Bottle the resulting liquids and cork them tightly. The bottles will need to be left standing for about five days, after which these should be stored at an angle at 55F for 6-24 months. For white wines, aging should not exceed 12 months. Use green bottles for reds, and clear for whites.
Sample the wine; if you find it matured, enjoy it. If not, let it age for about six months to one year more.
This is the basic process and no matter what twists and turns you add to it, the process remains this much. The complications that you read in different recipes are most of the times unnecessary and avoidable. Stick to the ancient style of wine-making and you can do no wrong.
Certain wines can certainly benefit from the addition of oak chips. Just a few of these wines include Chardonays, Cabernets, Pinot Noir, Chianti, Merlots, Sauvignon Blanc, Burgundy, Pinot Blanc and Fume Blanc.
Oaking provides a way to develop a wine that is quite complex. The depth of the complexity is greatly determined by the type of oak that is used as well as the wine itself. Oak can provide a wide variety of flavors to wine including coconut, vanilla and even spices such as cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. In some cases, oak can even add a somewhat earthy tone. The type of flavor that is added to your wine is largely determined by the type of oak that is used. For example, American oak when used with white wines such as Merlot tends to add an aroma that is decidedly vanilla in nature. Generally, most of the oak that is used for flavoring in wine is either American or French. Hungarian and Yugoslavian oaks are also now being increasingly used as well; however.
In the past, wine was oaked by placing it into an oak barrel. The wine would then stay in the barrel until it reached the aroma and taste that was desired. There were few ways in which to control the process other than by choosing the type of oak as well as the size and age of the barrel. A vintner could also decide whether they wanted to use a toasted or charred barrel or not. This process typically took quite a long time. Older barrels tended to take even longer.
Today, the method of oaking wine has shifted from using just oak barrels to use oak pieces. This has made it much easier and more affordable for home vintners to oak their wines. Today, winemakers can choose to use oak chips as well as oak beans and oak powder for the purpose of oaking their wines without the concern and expense of having to use large barrels.
You will need to give some thought to which method you think will best suit your purpose; however. There are advantages as well as disadvantages to each. For example, oak chips are commonly preferred because they are easily available and can be obtained in a variety of different types. The problem with oak chips is that once you have put them into your carboy, you have to find a way to get them out. Oak powder works quite well during the fermentation process and you do not need a lot of oak powder to achieve the results that you want. The flip side to this is that if you are not careful, you can easily over oak your wine. In addition, it can be difficult to rack your wine using oak powder.
When oaking your wine you will need to decide when you wish to add the oak. Generally, the oak is added either during fermentation or after the wine has been racked and you are ready for bulk aging of your wine.
Oak powder really does work best if you decide you want to oak during the fermentation process. Over time the oak powder will absorb wine and eventually it will just sink to the bottom of the container. For a small batch of wine, you should not use any more than 20 grams of oak powder per gallon. You may wish to use less than that. If you decide to oak your wine during bulk aging, oak chips tend to work best. Plan to use somewhere between two and four ounces of chips for every six gallons of wine. Ideally, it is best to make sure that you sanitize your chips before you put them into your wine. You can use Campden Tablets for this purpose. Just soak the chips in some water, add a tablet and allow them to sit for a few minutes.
Finally, remember that as when trying anything new with your wine, it is best to start small with oaking. You can always add more, but it is virtually impossible to take it away once it is there.
Blending has become a highly respected part of the process of winemaking. Many winemakers in fact view blending as a highly evolved art form. The basic idea of blending is to mix different wines in order to create a final wine that possesses a quality that is superior to that of each of the different components singularly.
The most common type of blending involves blending at least two different grape varieties of wine. Blending has become some a popular concept that many winemakers specifically plant their vineyards for the purpose of blending by growing a variety of different grapes in order to create a blended field. Another way of achieving blending is to combine at least two different varieties of grapes that have been harvested separately but then ferment them together. This process commonly involves at least one red grape and one white grape.
Still yet, you might choose to create a blend which contains the same grape; however, different fermentation containers are used. Because the containers are different they will produce a taste that is somewhat different even though the grapes are essentially the same. You might even choose to go so far as to create a blend containing wine from a batch that has been barrel fermented and another that has been fermented in a stainless steel container.
Another way to blend wines is to blend wines that are from different vintages. If you have been making your own wine for some time, there is a good chance that you probably have a few bottles of wine in your cellar that were produced in different years.
It should be pointed out that there are some wines that do not lend themselves particularly well to blending. Chardonnays are known to not be particularly improved by blending. Red Zinfandel and Pinot Noir also rarely see many improvements from blending. There are also some wines which are too delicate for blending such as Gewürztraminer.
When properly handled, blending can help to balance the flavors as well as the levels of tannins and acids. It should be pointed out that blending can help to improve the quality of wines that already at least somewhat good on their own. Blending one good wine with a bad wine; however, will not improve the bad wine enough to create a single good blended wine. Typically, rather than the bad wine being improved, the good wine will take on the lesser qualities of the bad wine. If you have a bad wine that you wish to improve, consider mixing; a process that can take away an off flavor.
Generally, if you are new to blending it is best to start with just two wines. Many home based winemakers discover the benefits of blending when they taste a wine in order to see how it turned out and discover that it could be slightly better. Blending gives you the ability to select the best characteristics of multiple wines and then blend them together to achieve a far better flavor. While the process may seem complicated, even the most novice home winemakers can create a good blend at home.
The basic process of blending involves testing, comparing the flavors and then finding the ratio you prefer for the final blend. Remember that it is best to blend on an incremental basis, starting with small amounts and then making minor adjustments until you find a preferred blend. As you may wish to blend in the future, it is a good idea to take notes as you go along; noting how many millimeters of each wine you have used for subsequent tests.
It is also important to note that in some cases, certain blends may need some time in order for the individual components to marry and achieve a good flavor. This is commonly the case with young red wines. Tasting a blend of young reds right away can give you an inaccurate idea of what the final result will taste like. Whites; however, can usually be blended and tasted right away.
Most winemakers find that blending produces better results when it occurs as soon after fermentation as possible. Blending right after fermentation will protect the final product from oxidation and also gives the wines the opportunity to age together into a single wine rather than separately.
Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part – but it’s necessary…
Certain wines can certainly benefit from the addition of oak chips. Just a few of these wines include Chardonays, Cabernets, Pinot Noir, Chianti, Merlots, Sauvignon Blanc, Burgundy, Pinot Blanc and Fume Blanc.
Blending has become a highly respected part of the process of winemaking. Many winemakers in fact view blending as a highly evolved art form. The basic idea of blending is to mix different wines in order to create a final wine that possesses a quality that is superior to that of each of the different components singularly.
