Making of Wine

The history of wine goes back to 6000 BC when it was made in the area of Iran. It then migrated to Greece and Rome and was influential in their history. Wine back then was made by crushing the grapes either by barefoot ladies, some times men were used too, or by using a press. This crushing process causes the juice to be separated from the berry and at the same time destems the grape.

At this point a decision needs to be made. Do you want red wine or white wine. Myself I prefer red wine, so I would use the skins of the grape to produce my wine. The skins would be fermented with the juice and then removed. The skins, stems, seeds and the oak barrels where the wine is made in, allow tannins to be developed in the red wine.

Fermentation of wine comes in two stages, primary and secondary. The primary fermentation is first and takes about four to seven days. The secondary fermentation takes two to three weeks. The difference between the two stages is that in the first stage, the wine is open to the atmosphere to allow for increase in yeast cells. The second stage is when exposure to the atmosphere is minimized, which allows the yeast cells to make alcohol. After the second stage, the skins, seeds, and stems are removed from the wine.

Making wine at home has been legal since the repeal of prohibition. Interesting, home brewing of beer was not legalized till 1978 when Congress passed a law allowing small quantities of beer to be brewed at home.