Imagine yourself unwinding after a long day with a glass of wine… that you made yourself.
That’s right: homemade wine.
If you’re looking to impress your friends at your next dinner party, pulling out your very own vintage to share is guaranteed to get the conversation going.
Contrary to what you may think, wine making is not a difficult skill to learn. And don’t worry, you don’t need to own your own vineyard to be able to make quality wine you’ll enjoy drinking.
In fact, it doesn’t even take many ingredients to make that sip of goodness:
- Wine grapes
- Sugar
- Yeast
- Filtered water
On the other hand, you’ll need a selection of supplies (including Campden tablets for sterilization purposes) as you begin. After your initial investment in these supplies, you can then re-use them for future wine batches. You can find wine making kits online to order and get started (find resources for these below).
You will need a healthy dose of patience to go along with your wine making endeavors. The art of wine making requires a period of waiting for the yeast to do what yeast does best: ferment.
And fermentation can’t be rushed.
So while you may not immediately be able to break out the wine glasses to enjoy your creation, you’ll be glad you waited when you finally get to take that first long-awaited sip.
We asked long-time wine making expert Beth Moran, who will be leading our wine making class on February 29 with her husband Joe Moran, a few questions about the process of wine making.
1. How did you first get into wine making?
We first got into wine making after we had planted some grapes and started harvesting them. We had experience with some other fermentation products like kombucha, vinegar and sour kraut and wanted to try making our own wine.
While we were developing our vineyard, Joe took an online wine making class at UC Davis over the course of two years which provided needed information to get us started.
2. What are the common misconceptions people have about making homemade wine?
Wine can be made out of most anything that will produce alcohol, but great wine must be made from a source of high quality fruit. So the misconception is that you can make great wine out of anything but there must be a high quality fruit to make great wine.
Since grapes are a fruit with one of the highest sources of naturally-occurring sugar, they are often the fruit of choice for wine making.
Another misconception is that you must add sugar to your juice. However, if your juice has a high enough Brixx reading, there is no need to add sugar.
Also, people may not realize that cleanliness and sanitation are crucial to the process.
3. If someone wants to begin making their own homemade wine, do you have any resources you’d recommend to them to help them get started?
Learning:
- Wine making classes (like the one taking place at Stoney Creek Farm on February 29)
- Search for wine making videos on Youtube
Supplies:
- All Seasons Gardening & Brewing Supply (local to Nashville)
- Midwest Supplies — Wine Making & Home Brew Supplies
- Amazon.com is great for supplies, too
Learn to make your own homemade wine at our class on February 29!
If you’re local to the Nashville, TN area, I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, February 29 from 10am – 12pm to learn how to make your own wine!
Led by wine making experts Beth and Joe Moran, you’ll the step-by-step method to produce delicious wine without having to buy expensive wine and ingredient kits.
During the class, you’ll be able to sample some of their homemade wine and learn about the 11 acres of varietal grapes they grow at their family farm.
As part of your class ticket, you’ll also receive a few items to get started with your own wine making endeavor:
- New corks
- Yeast
- PH strips
- Tablets for sanitizing and fermenting
This is a skill you’ll be able to practice for years to come!
