Why Did My Fermentation Fail

By admin, 18 February, 2010, No Comment

Here is a list of reasons your fermentation process may fail.

The yeast you are using has been up in the closet for a year at room temperature, and is not working. Yeast that is too old may not work, also if it is at room temperature instead of in the refrigerator, it will speed up the rate in which yeast die.
Your fermentation is about 10 degrees below boiling or 10 degrees above freezing. Just kidding, however your fermentation will fail if your temperature is too hot or if it happens to be too cold. You will need to have it at the right temperature which is usually between 70 and 75 degrees.
You have added half a bag of sugar, and that was simply too much or you failed to add sugar at all. In the case of having too much, you may find that your fermentation does not work well when there is too much sugar and even worse if there is not enough. Your fermentation will likely make your wine taste like crap.
You sealed the sulfites into your fermenter before it was ready, you will need to add sulfites approximately 18 to 24 hours before you add your yeast and before you seal the fermenter. If you do add sulfites and seal it too early the sulfite will kill off the yeast.
You forgot to add the nutrients which may cause the fermentation to stop working, when making fruit drinks always remember to add nutrients.

Wine Making Fundamentals

By admin, 15 February, 2010, No Comment

There are many people who decide they would like to start a home winery, but fail to obey the home winemaking fundamentals. Wine making can be an enjoyable process, especially if you take these few tips for your home wine making experience.

The first thing you will need to do is to be sanitary, it is necessary to keep your wine and to protect you from having a bad tasting wine. You need to keep everything clean and you will need to use some sort of cleaning supplies. You always want to keep down the spread of bacteria and some other microorganisms, the way to do that is by ensuring that all of your equipment is clean. Clean and sanitary conditions also improve the taste and the quality of your wines, therefore it is very important that you keep it clean.

The next thing you will need to do when creating your home winery is to have a good recipe. Most people when they are starting out will use a good recipe for the type of wine they drink, and when they get more comfortable with the process, they may venture out and experiment with more advanced recipes and different flavors. However in the beginning all you need is a great recipe.

One thing most people fail to do that is very important to outstanding wines is to learn how to use a hydrometer. This tool keeps track of the fermentation process by checking on the amount of alcohol/sugar you have in your wine.

If you really want great wines you will need to ensure that your fermentation is in an area where it will get the temperature that it needs to work properly. The most common temperature is about 70 to approximately 75. If you go lower, such as 65 degrees, your wine may not ferment very fast, and if you go highter you may find that your wines will ferment so fast that your wine will be terrible. You should ensure that your home winery is kept at the right temperature.

Lastly, it is very important to ensure that you do not get to much exposure to the air. If you allow too much air you may see some oxidation in your wine. You may notice discoloration and you may get bacteria in your wine if you let it come in contact with too much air. There are some SO2 gasses that will help to save your wine and to keep the air for ruining your fermentation.

Fruit Wines Versus Juice Concentrate Wines

By admin, 17 January, 2010, No Comment

When you decide to create your own home winery, you will definitely need to know the difference between using real fruit or making wine from concentrated juice. You will want to also know how they are alike when making your wine at home. Most home wineries know that when making wine, real grapes produce the very best wines imaginable, however juice concentrate also makes really good wine and it is much easier to use for those home wine makers who are still beginners.

In most cases, if you are a beginner, fruit juice concentrate comes with easy directions, has many different flavors for more variety and is pre-measured to ensure optimum wine making. Fruit juice concentrate is available in more than 190 flavors that create the delicious wines you would find in countries such as Argentina, Canada, France, Germany and the United States. The reason that fruit juice concentrate is such a big hit is that it gives you a ton of different options that you would not with real fruit juices if you do not have the experience these wines usually take.

You would end up spending a lot less money with fruit juice concentrate, in fact it costs approximately $15 for those great wines that you know and love, the ones that usually cost you $50 or more. Wine concentrat saves you money on other things as well, like the additional products you would need to purchase to ensure you have the right amount of sugar or that your grapes have the flavors that you would want. You also save times, as these fruit concentrate wines take abou 45 days to make the wine that you prefer.

When you make wine with grapes, there are a lot of differences in your needs, such as the fact that you will need close to 100 pounds of grapes just to make 6 gallons of wine, which means that this can be expensive when you are just starting out. However, this is definitely worth the expense when you have wine making experience. For some wines you may use less grapes such as in Fox, Muscadine and Scuppernongs, however for many of the wines that are favorites of most wine makers such as Cabernet, Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir use more grapes because the grapes used for these are not as sharp as it is in the wines that use less grapes.

With real fruit wines, the home winery will have more work to do that they would using fruit juice concentrate, such as the need to crush the grapes, de-stem the fruit, press the pulp and learn about variables, sugar levels, acidity and what processes you will need to bring the best and the fullest taste and body to your wines.

If you simply love the process of making wine you will definitely want to try both versions of making wine. When you first start out, you should try fruit juice concentrate, to get comfortable with the process. Then when you gain confidence in your ability, you should step up your techniques by using real fruit to make your wines.

The Gift of Wine

By admin, 18 December, 2009, No Comment

One thing about wine that most people are aware of is that it is a great gift; you can give wine for almost any occasion. From meetings to formal celebrations, wine is one of the best gifts you can give. There are even different gifts that you can give that relate to wine making that would also be a great gift to someone who is a wine enthusiast. No matter who you give wine to you are usually giving that person something that they will truly love and appreciate.

One of the most spectacular gifts you can give someone is to have a personalized wine designed for the person or to make one of your own in your home winery. The gift of wine is made extra special when you customize the design, the label and even how the wine is made to fit the person that you are giving it to. You can showcase your company, your friendship and even your gratitude with this one of a kind gift.

If you want to give a gift of wine such as this you will find that there are a wide range of customizations that you can make. You can change the text, the bottle, the container, the box, the wrapper and any other things associated with your bottle of wine. You can also engrave the opener or have the name of the person or occasion added to the label of the wine you are giving.

You may also want to include a corkscrew as a gift to someone you are giving wine to or to that friend who should have one but doesn’t, Thee are great for people who love a great bottle of wine and they will certainly appreciate your attention to detail if you buy them a bottle of wine and you know they don’t have one.

In addition, for that person who is really into having their own home winery or making wine at home you may want to buy them what is called a “pocket vineyard” this device tells people about wine, gives them a glossary, includes vintage wine charts and some may even tell you how to pair the food that you are making with the wine you are drinking. If you are looking for a gift that has to do with wine you will have many alternatives depending on your budget; however the best gift you can give is the gift of wine.

Why French Wine?

By admin, 16 December, 2009, No Comment

You will many times find as you become more familiar with the wines that you will be making, that you will want to know where wines come from and you will study how that wine is made. One of the wine favorites of wine making enthusiasts is French wine. You may hear about wines such as Burgundy or Champagne and you will want to know about the origins of these particular wines. So today we will talk about French wines and get some background information about them.

In the past, most wine was made by home wine makers such as you, mostly they were common folk or peasants and they would also be the ones who drank these wines. Wine is an old tradition in France which is why French wines happen to be some of the best wines in the world. You will find that many of the different French wines were not named for the label that made the wine, but for the location that the wine was made in. In this way you learn a lot about the area and the peoples who had a hand in creating the wine that you drink.

Many people consider French wine the very best and most wine enthusiasts who prefer other types of wines still find that they love French wine in addition to the kinds that they drink or make. There are many different types of French wines available, each uniquely different by the aroma, the taste and many times by the very texture of the wine.

Throughout France, you will find the 13 regions that produce wine, featuring thousands of vineyards all over the country in addition to the many brands that are made simply by home wine makers. France is known for the fact that it is one of the ideal places for growing the best wine making grapes in the world. The climate in this area is perfect for making growing grapes and making creating those rare variants that so many people look for when they buy wines.

It is important that you remember that French wines are the best in the world and you may find that yours will be a little different in taste than if they were actually made in France, but never fear we will definitely discuss how to get your wine to taste as good as any French wine you will get when you are making wines from home.

The Importance of a wine cellar rack

By admin, 14 December, 2009, No Comment

Many times a wine enthusiast may want to start his or her own professional wine making business in their home. For those who do they may need to buy a wine cellar rack, these racks allow them to keep anywhere from 10 to 300 bottles of their home made wines. If you are a home wine maker you may want to first decide what kind of wine cellar rack you want, by simply choosing how many bottles of wine you need to store in your home.

The very best thing about buying a wine cellar rack is that you can have it customized to fit your own needs. It can be designed to match your cellar, by the way it looks and the amount of space you have in your home, in addition to the amount of wine you want to carry. Once you have decided on a style and size all you have to do is set up your wine cellar rack which is easy to assemble by following the directions.

In order to maintain a good amount of wine, no matter what kind of bottles you have or what kind of wine you make, one of the most important things you as the home winery will need to consider is where you will store your wine. The easiest of all the ways available is to have a custom made wine cellar rack that holds your wine in a convenient location of your choice in your home.

You will find that in addition to giving you the wine storage space, wine cellar racks are also good for ensuring that your wine is maintained properly to allow you to keep more of the flavor you were hoping for in a wine. You will also find that your wine cellar rack is also very affordable and that you will not have to pay an arm and a leg to purchase the one you need. You get the size, the design and the color that will match the area that you put it in as well as the storage capacity that you need.

If you plan to start your own home winery the best way to ensure that you have the storage for your wine is to purchase a wine cellar rack and get started on your venture right away.

Home Winemaking: The Right Temperature to Store your Wine

By admin, 8 December, 2009, No Comment

When you have decided that winemaking is right for you and having the home winery is very important to you then you will definitely consider how you can regulate the temperature of the place where you store your wine. Most people when they are making wine at home will usually not have a place that is perfect for storage; however you should try your best to ensure that this area is going to be the right temperature because you wine will not be up to your expectations if the storage temperature is not enough.

One thing you will need to know about the storage temperature of your wine is that the wrong temperature will make a big difference between high quality, flavorful wine, and the stuff that tastes like shoe polish. Most kinds of wines will need to be stored for a long time, therefore keeping the room at the right temperature is the most important thing you can do when you are making wine at home.

The first thing to learn when starting the home winery is that the temperature should always be roughly between 50 and lower than 70 degrees F, however there are some wines who must be colder you will really need to achieve at least these numbers to maintain your wines. Nowadays one of the great thing about home winemaking technology was the invention of wine refrigerators, now you are able to keep your wine in a place that is always the right temperature for your wine to thrive.

The home winery enthusiast should know the science behind home winemaking. There are many different chemical reactions going on in that little bottle, but if those processes have two much heat it will cause a lot of damage to your wine. In fact, if you do put the wine in an area that is two hot, then the process will go to fast and the wine will not have the right quality and flavor. You have heard that “fine wines get better with time”, when it is hot wines do not have the required time to get better. If the wine happens to be too cold then the wine will form oxidation which will kill both the flavor and the color. Another thing that could happen is that if it is too cold the aging process may slow down considerably.

Be sure that if you decide to start your own home winery, then you certainly want to remember to keep the area for your wines the right temperature so that they will thrive. My recommendation for the right refrigerator for your wine is the WC 12 Sunpentown Wine Refrigerator, this refrigerator is stylish, and it is easy to keep just about anywhere. In addition, it is safe, have a lot of storage and it will keep your wine at the right temperature at all times.

WC-12 Sunpentown Twelve bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler

Basic Wine Making Fundamentals Part 2

By admin, 21 November, 2009, No Comment

Here at this site, we want you to have a complete understanding of home wine making; therefore you will learn the following things.

The many different pieces of equipment you will need, where to buy them, what they are used for, substitutes if you can’t use them and a number of other things that have to do with the equipment you will need for basic wine making.
Then you will learn about the basic ingredients needed to make wine, and how these ingredient changes depending on the type of wine it is. You will go through very detailed information about yeasts and the many different types that are available.
You will learn about a concept called “flavor extraction” which is simply getting the best taste out of the fruit you choose.
You will learn the difference between using actual fruit and simply using fruit juice concentrate.
You will learn everything you ever wanted to know about the fermentation process, from the best choices of yeast to how the process is actually done. You will also learn about the bacteria that could come along and render your wines undrinkable.
As a part of your information about bacteria you will also learn about sterilization and hygiene, this is very important to whether you have a great wine or a giant gross mess.
You will learn about bottling your wine and aging it, most importantly you will learn why you are doing these things and you will get valuable information about how long your wines will need to do these things.
You will learn about books who teach you about home wine making, you will get an unbiased review of the best ones to use.
You will get a thorough wine making history about how and why wines were made.
You will get information about other wine making websites that will help you to fine tune your craft.
You will learn about wine tasting and wine pairing.

You will have a complete and thorough education about wine making, which will have you making high quality wines in no time at all.

Let’s Make Wine

Basic Wine Making Fundamentals Part 1

By admin, 18 November, 2009, 1 Comment

Most people throughout the US and abroad drink wine. Most buy their wine from liquor stores, wineries, or have it with dinner at their favorite restaurant; however there are some people who would love to simply have wine that they made themselves in their own home. Some people have never thought of the process of making wine before and most have many different misconceptions about what wine is. Some think that wine is just one of the many fermented drinks that are available, this one using the fruit of the grape, however many of the different kinds of wines may use flowers, you may find some that are made with vegetables, or you may find that some are made with other fruits besides the grape.

Another thing that people learn when they make wine at home is that it is very expensive to purchase high quality wine from the store or through wineries. When buying wine, you spend a great deal of money, however when making wine, for the same price you would pay for one bottle of wine, you can make more than two dozen bottles of your own high quality homemade wine. Don’t get me wrong, I love both kinds of wine but you actually feel a pride in producing a great bottle of wine making it taste that much better. That is why learning the basic steps needed for wine making is such an important thing for those who love wine and would like to try a new hobby.

When you first start to learn about wine making, you will start out with some simple ingredients, as you become comfortable with the process you may want to experiment with the many different types of wine that are available on the market. There are some really outstanding fruits and vegetables as well as a wide range of unconventional things that will make delicious wines. As you become more comfortable with the process of wine making you will start to think up ways that you can make your wine better and more unique. The best thing about wine making is that you get the luxury of doing the kinds of wine you always wanted to try, and if you don’t like it, you did not spend hundreds of dollars finding that out.

Some people will learn basic wine making techniques from books, relatives and recipes that they find on juice containers, while other prefer to simply go online and find the best wine making websites and read up on what is expected of someone who is interested in wine making. Personally, I became interested in wine making while doing research for a winery who wanted articles on the subject. I read a lot and wanted to try it out to make sure that my research was sound. It was.

Finding information and learning about wine making can be done a number of ways, but learning through books and online are nothing if you don’t actually try to do it. You will need to practice, learn to tweak thing you have done wrong and to eventually learn to experiment using the techniques you have learned throughout the course of your study. The purpose of creating thehomewinery.com was to introduce new wine makers how to make wine from their homes, and to introduce wine making enthusiasts to new and terrific wine making principles that may make their wines better and more delicious. The most important thing is being ready to take on this new adventure.

Hello world!

By admin, 2 April, 2009, 8 Comments

Welcome to The Home Winery, we look forward to having you for a very long time to come. We have recently found that one thing most people who love wine is that they would love to be able to create their own wines in the privacy and comfort of their own home. To do this they must learn the art of making wine using this site.