Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes or other fruits. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes and converts them into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine.
Wine has been consumed for its intoxicating effects throughout history and the psychoactive effects are evident at normal serving sizes. Wines made from produce besides grapes include rice wine, pomegranate wine, apple wine and elderberry wine and are generically called fruit wine.
Wine has been produced for thousands of years, with the earliest wines being drunk c. 6000 BC in Georgia. It had reached the Balkans by c. 4500 BC and was consumed and celebrated in ancient Greece and Rome. Wine has played an important role in religion. Red wine was associated with blood by the ancient Egyptians and was used by both the Greek cult of Dionysus and the Romans in their Bacchanalia, Judaism also incorporates it in the Kiddush and Christianity.
For conclusion, fermentation plays a big roll on processing grapes to wine with presence of yeast to convert the grapes into alcohol. In winemaking, the temperature and speed of fermentation are important considerations as well as the levels of oxygen present in the must at the start of the fermentation.
Types of Grapes
European Species: Vitis vinifera
• Pinot noir
• Chardonnay
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Gamay
Wine Ingredients:
• Wine Grapes
• Granulated Sugar
• Filtered Water
• Wine Yeast
Process of Making Wine
Stage 1
- Ensure your equipment is thoroughly sterilized and then rinsed clean. It's best to clean and rinse your equipment immediately before using.
- Select your grapes, tossing out rotten or peculiar-looking grapes.
- Wash your grapes thoroughly.
4)Remove the stems. - Crush the grapes to release the juice (called "must") into the primary fermentation container. Your hands will work here as well as anything. Or go old school and stomp with your feet. If you’re making a lot of wine, you might look into renting a fruit press from a wine supply store.
- Add wine yeast.
- Insert the hydrometer into the must. If it reads less than 1.010, consider adding sugar. If you're adding sugar, first dissolve granulated sugar in pure filtered water (adding sugar helps boost low alcohol levels). Stir the most thoroughly.
- Cover primary fermentation bucket with cloth; allow must to ferment for one week to 10 days. Over the course of days, fermentation will cause a froth to develop on top and sediment to fall to the bottom.
Stage 2
- Gently strain the liquid to remove the sediment and froth.
- Run the juice through a funnel into sanitized glass secondary fermentation containers. Fill to the top to reduce the amount of air reaching the wine.
- Fit the containers with airlocks.
- Allow the juice to ferment for several weeks.
- Use the plastic tube to siphon the wine into clean glass secondary fermentation containers. Again, the purpose here is to separate the wine from sediment that forms as the wine ferments.
- Continue to siphon the wine off the sediment periodically (this is called "racking") for 2 or 3 months until the wine is running clear.
Stage 3
- Run the wine into bottles (using the cleaned plastic tubing), leaving space for the cork plus about a half inch or so of extra room.
- Insert corks.
- Store the wine upright for the first three days.
- After three days, store the wine on its side at, ideally, 55 degrees F. For red wine, age for at least 1 year. White wine can be ready to drink after only 6 months.
Benefits for Wine
• Reducing Risk Of Depression
• Preventing Colon Cancer
• Anti-Aging
• Preventing Dementia
• Protecting From Severe Sunburn
• Preventing Blinding Diseases
• Damage After Stroke