Winemaking in 10 easy steps

“People have been making wine for eight thousand years, so it can’t be that difficult.”  That’s how I start every winemaker course. However, I immediately add that these days, we would not drink the wine they produced back then!

Antoon Balis

1. From fruit to must

Remove the stalks from the fruit and crush the fruit to produce pulp. You can either do this manually or use a Vinoferm fruit mill. 

Now come the required additions to the pulp

✔ If your fruit is not in peak condition and you suspect the presence of mould, bacteria or wild yeasts: add 0.5 gram of Campden (sulphite) per 10 kg of pulp before proceeding to the next step. Stir to combine.

✔ If your fruit is in peak condition and there are no bad fruits, you can start this step right away.

✔ Now add the correct dose of pecto-enzyme (Zymex) for your volume of pulp according to the instructions on the packet. Stir to combine.

2. Pellicular maceration

✔ For red wine
Allow the fruit to rest for 2 to 6 days at a temperature below 8 degrees (important, otherwise fermentation may already get started). A longer maceration (6 days) will give you a fuller colour and enhance your wine’s aroma.

✔ For white wine
You can also apply the above step but limit the maceration time: from 4 to a maximum of 24 hours.

3. Sample

✔ Measure the sugar content with a hydrometer
Tap 250 ml of the juice and put it in the measuring cylinder. Wait until the sample reaches a temperature of 20°C. Read on the hydrometer how many g of sugar/litre are in the juice. Look at the hydrometer table to see how much potential alcohol this corresponds to. Record the value in grams of sugar per litre.

✔ Measure the acidity using an acidometer
Take an acidity measurement using the acidometer, following the instructions. Record the value in grams of acid per litre.

4. Corrections

✔ Acidity level
You just measured the acidity level of your juice using the acidometer. For white wine, you can assume 7 g/l, for rosé 6 g, and for red wine 5 g. Deviations from this can be easily corrected by adding Mixacid or Desacid according to the instructions on the bags.

✔ Alcohol
In a hydrometer table, in the potential alcohol column, find the percentage you envisage at the end of the process and check the table to see how many grams of sugar per litre corresponds to this. From this value, subtract the value you noted in the previous step (when measuring the juice). This way, you will know the difference between the two values and how many grams of sugar you will need to add per litre to obtain the desired percentage of alcohol.

Note: You will first need to estimate how much juice you will be left with after having pressed the fruit. This yield averages 65% for white grapes and 75% for red grapes.

5. Pressing - white wines

✔ For red wine
For red wine, you first carry out step 6, fermentation.

✔ For white wine
If you are making white wine, this is when the pressing should be carried out, before starting the fermentation.

6. Fermentation

✔ Activating the yeast:

  • Choose a granular yeast that suits your wine. Hydrate it in water 10x the yeast’s volume at 30-35 degrees (this temperature is important; if your temperature is too low, the yeast will not activate and if it is too high, the yeast will die off), add this to your juice/must after 15 minutes. 
    Now add 1/3 of the recommended amount of yeast nutrient salt (Nutrisal) to your juice/must.
  • After 2 days, add another 1/3 of the dose of yeast nutrient salt to your juice/ must.
  • For red wine: immerse the surfacing ‘head’ of the juice several times each day to get better extraction of colour and aroma.

7. Pressing

✔ For red wine, carry out the pressing now, after fermentation

  • After 5 to 15 days, you can press everything (using a press bag or a Vinoferm fruit press), removing the peels and pips. The longer you wait, the more bitterness you will get in your wine. It is important to keep the pressure under control during pressing so you don’t crush the kernels, which have softened by now.
  • Note the pressing date and the number of litres of wine after pressing.
  • Now add the remaining 1/3 dose of yeast nutrient salt (Nutrisal).

8. End of fermentation and siphoning

✔ Fermentation complete

  • Check the density using a hydrometer and the acidity using an acidometer. (Fermentation will usually be complete at an SG of 995.)
    Record the result of the density measurement as well as the date.

✔ Siphoning

  • Now siphon your wine into a sanitised fermentation bucket to remove dead yeast cells and other sediment. Do so by gently allowing the wine to flow from one bucket to another using the tap. Try and avoid oxygen interference.
    Note the siphoning date and the amount of wine left over.

✔ Add sulphite

  • Add 1.5 grams of sulphite per 10 litres of wine.

9. Rest

✔ Allow to rest
The wine will now need to rest for two months, add an anti-mould tablet if your fermentation vessel is not completely full. This prevents mould and other diseases.

✔ Siphoning
Siphon again into a decontaminated fermentation bucket.

✔ Cold stabilisation

  • Put your wine away for a week at a temperature between 0 and 5 degrees.
  • If you don't have a wooden cask available but you still want to give your wine a nice aroma, you can choose to add oak chips at this point. Taste the wine regularly until you reach the desired aroma.

10. Finishing

✔ Bottling

Your wine is now ready for bottling.

Disinfect the bottles (e.g. using Chemipro OXI) and put a cork on them using a corker. Now leave the bottles upright for at least 48 hours to allow the corks to expand again, thus reducing the risk of leakage.

Lastly, you can finish your bottles with thermo-capsules or sealing wax.

Tips from Toon

✔ Make sure you always have clean equipment to hand and that your work area is clean and tidy. The vast majority of errors when making wine can be attributed to bacteria. You get only one chance each year to produce a successful wine, so don’t take any risks! Our Chemipro range can certainly help.

✔ Keep a logbook. It is advisable to record all actions, measurements and additions. Should something go wrong, your log can shed light on the possible cause of the problem. And with a successful wine, your log can be your guide to make something equally delicious next season!

✔ There is no shortage of options when it comes to vinification equipment. At Brouwland, you’ll find a complete starter kit for beginners containing all the equipment and products you’ll need. This way, you won’t have to worry about forgetting anything!

Be sure to keep an eye on our blog page for handy tips and enlightening explanations.

Good luck!