EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO MAKE ONE GALLON (6 BOTTLES) OF RED OR WHITE GRAPE WINE:
1 Gallon/5 Litre Fermentation bin with lid
Standard coarse nylon straining bag
1 gallon demijohn or 5 Litre PET plastic demijohn
Holed Bung & Airlock
Steriliser
Yeast
Campden Tablets
Hydrometer/Jar
Syphon
RED AND WHITE GRAPE WINE RECIPE
Approximately between 14/16lbs (7/8 kilos) of Grapes per Gallon of Wine
Firstly, make sure the grapes are ripe to ensure a high natural sugar content. Rinse the grapes in a campden tablet solution (2 campden tablets to one pint of water) this will sterilise the must.
For white wine, squeeze, strain or press the grapes immediately to get the pure juice. The juice can be syphoned into an enclosed vessel and left under cork and airlock.
For red grape wine, crush the grapes and leave in a covered bin, this will ensure a good depth of colour. (For every one gallon of juice pressed, this will make approximately one gallon of wine.) If using a hydrometer test the juice to determine how much extra sugar has to be added if any. A good starting specific gravity for a white wine is 1.080 and for red 1.095. Do not worry if your reading is much lower, this will be corrected by adding white granulated sugar.
Depending on the variety of grape and the weather, the natural sugar content of your juice will vary from year to year. At a guess if you do not use a hydrometer but it is strongly advised you do, the addition of approximately 450 grams (1lb) of granulated sugar to each gallon of white juice and 670 grams (1 1/4lb) of sugar to each gallon of red juice is required.
Once in the demijohn/fermenter for white wine or covered bin for red wine, add a good quality yeast and leave in a warm place (75of). After 7 days, strain the red juice off the skins/pulp and put the juice into an enclosed vessel under cork and airlock. The white wine can be racked off any heavy sediment
Depending on temperatures your wine should finish fermenting within approximately 4/6 weeks. Rack off any sediment, the wine is finished fermenting when the hydrometer reads in between 1.000 to 0.996. Add one campden tablet to each gallon on red wine and two campden tablets to each gallon of white wine - this is in all commercial wines and preserves and reduces oxidation. Make sure the finished wine is kept in an enclosed container which is topped up to the neck preventing the wine spoiling.
Maturing time varies. White Wines can be drinkable within 3/6 months, red wines 6/12 months.
