insideKENT Magazine Issue 64 - July 2017 | Page 112

FOOD+DRINK
Cheese AND Wine cont.
How to make your own wine
THIS ISN’T TIMELY ADVICE, SADLY, BECAUSE EARLY AUTUMN, WHEN GRAPES ALL OVER THE
COUNTRY ARE RIPENING IN VINEYARDS AND BACKYARD GARDENS, IS THE VERY BEST TIME
TO START MAKING YOUR OWN WINE, BUT IT IS EXCITING NONETHELESS – THE FACT THAT
WINE IS MADE FROM GRAPES MEANS THERE’S VERY LITTLE ELSE OTHER THAN A TRIP TO
THE SHOPS AND A FEW NECESSARY PIECES OF EQUIPMENT BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR
VERY OWN HOMEMADE BATCH OF PLONK.
BASIC WINEMAKING EQUIPMENT CHECK YOUR GRAPES
Head to your nearest home-brewing or home
winemaking supplier with this list – it’s the
key to your first 4.5-litre batch of wine made
from fresh grapes. Winemaking starts with good-quality grapes.
Optimum ripeness can be checked by
squishing up a big handful, straining the juice
and measuring the sugar level with a
hydrometer. The sugar density should be
around 22° Brix (one-degree Brix is 1g of
sucrose in 100g of solution) and the fruit
should taste sweet and a little tart too. The
grapes must be clean and free of vineyard
waste, so throw out any that look rotten.
Importantly, make sure you remove all stems
– if intact they will make your wine bitter.
• Large nylon straining bag
• Food-grade bucket with lid (two to four
gallons/nine to 18 litres)
• Cheesecloth
• Hydrometer
• Thermometer
• Acid titration kit
• Clear, flexible 2.5cm-diameter plastic tubing
• Two 4.5-litre glass jugs
• Fermentation lock and bung
• Five 750ml wine bottles
• Corks
• Hand corker
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CLEANLINESS IS KEY
Keep your winemaking environment spotless.
Wash all equipment thoroughly with water
that’s as hot as you can handle. It's also good
advice to buy a strong sulfite solution to rinse
any equipment that comes in contact with
your wine. To make it yourself, add 3tbsp of
sulfite powder (potassium metabisulfite) to 4.5
litres of water and mix well.
SET YOUR JUICE LEVELS
Getting the juice, known as the ‘must’ of your
wine, to the right level of acidity and sugar is
essential. And, luckily, it’s easy too. The ideal
acid level is six to seven grams per litre for dry
reds and 6.5 to 7.5 grams per litre for dry
whites; you can measure the acid content
with a simple titration kit.