Introduction to Winemaking

"Make no wine before its time."

C.J.J. Berry's classic First Steps in Winemaking presented 130 winemaking recipes in a unique fashion, listing the recipes under the calendar month in which the ingredients are usually plentiful and the corresponding wines are usually made in Great Britain. While that organization probably served the home gardener well in the 1950s and 60s in Great Britain, elsewhere, especially in these days of readily available produce from produce and supermarkets, such an organization makes less sense. It is difficult to utilize such a presentation without constant reference to the index. An alphabetical organization is far more utilitarian and will be used in my recipe section, with the primary ingredient listed first. I'll leave the timing of your winemaking to you.

While I love grape wines, I also love the varied tastes of "country wines," those wines made from fruits, vegetables, seeds, grain, leaves, flowers, bark, roots, and other non-grape ingredients. In particular, I like making these various wines. So, while you will find grape-wine recipes here, you will find that the bulk of this web site is devoted to non-grape wines.

I am also more than a little partial to making wines from wild, edible plants. Maybe it's the Boy Scout in me or maybe it's the idea of using what God has placed before us to be used, or maybe it's the activity of hunting for and gathering the ingredients in the few remaining wild parcels of land surrounding us, but I suspect it's a bit of all three. Thus, I am fond of using wild grapes for my grape wines and wild edibles for my non-grape wines. So you will find sections of this web site devoted specifically to the native grapes of North America and making wines from wild edible plants. In most cases, the recipes for a wild ingredient's wine is the same, or almost the same, as for the domesticated variety of the same ingredient if there is a cultivated variety. When this is the case, the ingredient's wine recipe(s) will be found in the main recipe section. But when there are special considerations for the wild variety, the recipe(s) will be listed under the section on making wines from wild edible plants. Wine recipes for wild grapes will be found, naturally enough, under the section on native grapes. The point is, if you don't find a recipe under the main recipe section, look under the edible plants section just to be sure. And, in a very few cases, you will find different recipes for the same ingredient under both sections. Again, look in both sections just to be sure.

Finally, I have to warn you that portions of this web site are, as they say, "under construction." That simply means there is more to say on the subject. No, you won't find any "under construction" signs, but you might notice that the page or section is obviously unfinished. Where this occurs, I apologize in advance. The material I aim to present is simply vast, and I only have limited time to devote to web-building. So I ask you to bear with me, bookmark the site, and check back often. The truth is that I have hundreds of wine recipes to post and intend to do so, but it does take time. If you can't wait, send me an email request for a particular recipe and I'll write you back and post the reply under the requested recipes section (another good place to check, by the way).

My best to each of you, and may your wines always meet your expectations.

The essential steps in winemaking can be summarized as follows:

1. Extract the flavor and aroma from the base ingredients by chopping, crushing, pressing, boiling or soaking them.
2. Add sugar, acid, nutrients, and yeast to the fermentation media or liquor to achieve the proper ratio and ferment, covered, for 3 to 10 days in a primary fermentation vessel (crock, jar or polyethylene pail) at 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Strain off the liquid from the pulp, put it (the liquid) into a secondary fermentation vessel (a carboy or jug), fit a fermentation trap (airlock) on the mouth of the bottle, and allow fermentation to proceed at 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit until all bubbling ceases (after several weeks).
4. Siphon the wine off the sediments (lees) into another clean secondary fermentation vessel. Reattach the fermentation trap. Repeat after another one or two months and again before bottling.
5. When wine is clear and all fermentation has stopped, siphon into wine bottles and cork the bottles securely. Leave bottles upright for 3-5 days and then store them on their side at 55 degrees Fahrenheit for six months (white wine) to a year (red wine) before sampling. If not up to expectations, allow to age another year or more.

You can make this process as complicated and exacting as you please, but in fact it need not be. Recipes have been developed over the centuries which pretty much make this a simple process of measuring, squeezing and siphoning. Sure, there are ports and sherries and Madeiras which require a few extra steps and exactitude, but even these methods were developed hundreds of years ago by people far less sophisticated than you, so I'm wagering that you can master even those techniques if you decide to do so. Further, there are recipes and there are dissertations on organic chemistry. While some authors seem to try their dardest to make the whole process seem tedious, exacting and highly technical, others try to get you from fruit to wine as simply as possible. I'd like to think I fall into the latter category, despite the fact that I absorb as much of the technical details as I can.

It certainly doesn't hurt to know about the finer, more exacting points of winemaking. Indeed, these do help in making better wine. But in fact, you don't really need to know them to make pretty good vino. But to assist the viewer who wants to know them, I've put together a section I call "Advanced Winemaking Basics." It's supplemented by a section devoted entirely to "The Miracle of Yeast," a subject so large as to demand it's own section. You can view these at your leisure or ignore them altogether and go straight to the recipes, because the wine is in the recipes.

I have received email insisting that wine can only be made from grapes, and that "those other beverages" featured on this site are merely "fermented juices." Well excuse me for brutalizing wasted brain cells with the truth, but the email protesters (there have been three thus far) are snobs and plain wrong. Every single dictionary I've consulted (16, to date) has defined the drink we call wine as (1) the fermented juice of any of various kinds of grapes, usually containing from 10 to 15 per cent alcohol by volume, and (2) the fermented juice of any of various other fruits or plants.

The truth is that you can make consumable wine from almost any non-toxic fruits, vegetables, leaves, bark, wood, roots, flowers, grains, seeds, pods, and leaf or flower buds. I have also heard of wine made from sap, nectare, moss, lichen, fungus, algae, seaweed, cornsilk, coconut milk, germinated seeds, animal blood, and animal urine. I question whether these last two are technically "wine," but the word was used in describing the drinks (you'll not, however, find their recipes at this web site).

The reason I bring up the issue of what is wine is to impress upon the reader that there are almost endless possibilities for making wine. You'll find the largest collection of winemaking recipes on the world wide web right here at this web site, but you won't find every conceivable recipe. I've tried to give you enough information to allow you to experiment on your own and make an acceptable wine. All you need is a thorough grounding in the basics -- what I call "advanced basics" -- and some established recipes to use as guides

Conceptually, winemaking is quite simple. You combine a flavored juice with sugar, acid, tannin, and yeast, remove any pectin present, and allow the yeast to do what it naturally does with as little exposure to air and contaminates as possible. When the yeast is done, the result is wine. Conceptually, that's all there is to it. In reality, it's a bit more involved. There are subtleties to consider -- like proportions, for example, and dead yeast cells, pectin haze, suspended particulants, and a host of other things. Still, it's a simple concept.

We say that a wine's base is that from which the primary flavor of the wine is derived. Usually, that base is a fruit. In nature, there is only one fruit which provides all the required ingredients for making wine, and that's the grape. The grape has (or can have) the right amount of natural sugar, the right amount of natural acids, it's own flavor and tannin, and it hasn't got any pesty pectin. Best of all, it even comes with its own yeast. That powdery coating covering grapes is wild yeast, and it is sufficient to start and finish fermentation. Not all grapes, however, are created equal. Some will have an abundance of natural sugar and some will be deficient. Some wild yeasts will carry fermentation to 10% alcohol before the alcohol kills them off, but some will only get to 6%. Some have lots of tannin -- too much, really -- and some will fall short. Still -- and we are still speaking conceptually -- the grape is the perfect winemaking base. All others fall short in one aspect or several. In essence, then, the "art" of making wine is to optimize the various aspects in order to make great wine.

The various aspects to be optimized depend on what kind of wine one is making and the quality of the various ingredients. The remainder of this page will examine some of them.

Extracting the Flavor

In fruit, flavor is normally in the juices. With fruits rich in natural juices, flavor extraction is usually rather simple. The fruit is placed in a mechanical press and brute force mashes it and forces the juice out. Grapes, apples, some pears, and most melons submit well to pressing. Pitted fruit such as plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots only press well after being pitted (destoned). Most citrus fruit press well, but driving the juice through the pith (the white pulp between the skin and the juicy sections) can ruin the taste, so a citrus juicer is preferred. Pressing and juicing will yield most of the juice, flavor and natural sugar. Additional flavor and sugar are locked in the remaining fruit pulp and can be obtained by seeping the pulp in the extracted juices and letting the yeast work on the pulp. If one wishes, one can forego extraction altogether and simply buy juice concentrates. Be advised, however, that only concentrates packaged (canned) for winemaking are guaranteed to be free of yeast-inhibiting preservatives. However, it is possible to find organic juices -- usually not concentrated -- which are preservative-free. Indeed, organic apple juice is available in most health food stores. Even concentrated juices, however, invariably lack enough natural sugar, acid and/or tannin and must be supplemented.

Pressing, however, will not work for some apples, most pears, and most other fruit, berries or vegetables. More accurately, pressing will work, but not as well as other means. Hot or boiling water and the action of yeast are usually required. Bruising, dicing, slicing, mashing, and straining are also often specified. The fruit are prepared (cut up, diced, sliced, or buised) and introduced to hot or boiling water. The heat breaks down the pulp enough for extraction of flavor through seeping. Deficient constituents and nutrients are added and then the yeast is introduced. A primary fermentation begins on the pulp and continues until most of the sugar, flavors and color are extracted from the base ingredients by the yeast. The remaining pulp, dead yeast cells and other particulants (called lees) are discarded to prevent production of unwanted flavors. The remaining liquid (called liquor) is then fermented until the yeast die off or fermentation is chemically stopped. At this point the liquor is wine and is bottled but the flavor is not fixed. The flavor changes (and usually improves considerably) as the wine ages.

For herbs, flowers, leaves, bark, roots, and wood chips, the basic method of flavor (and armoma) extraction is seeping in water. Either hot or cold water may be called for, but more ofter than not cold water is specified to preserve a color or aromatic characteristic. This is called infusion. Boiling may be required, and on rare occasions a pressure cooker is called for.

Proven recipes will tell you which method to use, but for some bases there is a choice. For example, the accepted method of preparing prickly pear cactus fruit for winemaking is to peel, chop and ferment in cold water. But you can also peel, chop and press the fruit, or peel, chop and boil, and press the fruit, or even chop the fruit without peeling and strain well to remove the fine, hair-like stickers. I prefer to boil this fruit so as to set the deep, rich, burgundy color.

It is sometimes difficult for the novice to appreciate how flavors affect a wine. If three pounds of fruit are good, they reason, then four pounds ought to be better. This may or may not be true, and the difference is not easily explained.

The idea is not to make alcoholic fruit juice, but to make wine. Flavor in wine should be more subtle than in the juice or nectar of the base ingredient. A prime example is the raspberry. The fresh, ripe raspberry is filled with an abundance of flavor that is almost overwhelming. Raspberry juice carries forward that abundance. But raspberry flavored waters, which are now marketed by many companies, impart a subtler flavor--distinctly raspberry but not overwhelmingly so.

Raspberry wine, on the other hand, tastes like neither the fruit, the juice, nor the flavored water. It is mellower, subtler, and unlike any other raspberry product. It has distinct edges that fall off the sides of the tongue and change ever so slightly as the liquid is swallowed, leaving a delicate finish that dwells for some moments on the floor and palate of the mouth--distinctly raspberry, yes, but filled with nuances I've yet learned how to describe.

All of this is achieved with a wine made from three pounds of very ripe raspberries. Four pounds of these berries might just prove to be too much, ruining the delicacy of the finish. If the berries were less flavorful, I wouldn't hesitate to use four pounds, but surely not five. If you want to experiment with amounts of base ingredients, by all means do so, but take notes and refer to them one or two years down the road so you know what you are drinking and how it was made.

Another example of flavor differential is mead. Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water. I do not think of it as wine, although some people do. Certainly it ages like wine, mellowing out for a year or two and then gathering charm and character for two to three years. A friend of mine has 110 recipes for mead and rarely drinks anything but. So what's the big deal? After all, it's only honey and water....

It has been said that no two honeys taste exactly the same. I'm not sure I beieve this, but I'll accept it for the sake of argument. Honey is made by bees and a few other insects from the nectar of flowers. You really don't want to know how bees accomplish this feat of transmutation, but you should know why all honeys taste differently.

All nectars have distinct flavor and aroma. Honey is made from nectar. The predominate nectar used to make any given honey imparts the predominate flavor to it. This may be clover, heather, orange blossoms, or wildflowers. I seriously doubt that a single type of nectar ever was exclusively used to make a honey, but certainly many honeys have and associated predominate nectar in their production. All white clover honeys may taste pretty much the same, but each will have some percentage of other nectars associated with their procuction and will therefore taste slightly different from the other white clover honeys. One may also expect that soil and cimate differences among the various white clover fields of the world might ever-so-slightly affect the flavor of the nectar--and therefore the honey--from each.

The taste of any given meade is affected to some degree by the flavor of the honey from which it is made. But it is more complicated than that, really, because one recipe may call for three pounds of honey and another for three and one-quarter pounds. This difference, however slight, is nonetheless a difference. And, of course, the source of acid (acid blend, lemon, lime, orange, etc.) may also affect the taste.

I mention all this simply to stir your thinking. Flavors can be slight but nonetheless influential. Your wines will taste the way you cause them to taste, which may not be the way you intended. Whenever you make wine, take notes. You may be glad later that you did.

This modest glossary of winemaking terms has been compiled from experience and various sources, none of which are attributed. My apologies to any source's author who might feel slighted, but I took inadequate notes during my research and omitted attributions.

Acetification:

The formation of vinegar, usually caused contamination of the must, liquor or finished product with vinegar-producing bacteria and the presence of air. Fermentation bottles should be filled as high as the froth caused by fermentation will allow. Stored wine should have no more than one inch of air under the cork in the standing bottle (1/2 inch is preferred). Adding one Campden tablet per gallon may halt acetification in its early stages, when the wine emits a slight smell of vinegar and an acid taste.

Acid Blend:

A blend of acids important to wines, usually citric, malic and tartaric acids. The recipes on this site calling for acid blend assume a blend of 50% tartaric, 30% malic and 20% citric. If your acid blend uses a different ratio, you may want to use slightly more or less depending on your blend.

Acidity:

The amount of acid in the must, liquor, or finished wine. Insufficient acidity in the must will result in a poor fermentation, a slightly medicinal and flat taste. Too much acid will give the wine an unpleasant bite. Acid is necessary for fermentation, and one-fourth of the initial acid content will be consumed by the yeast during fermentation. Low-acid musts are usually corrected by adding citric acid, the juice of citric fruit, or acid blend. An acid testing kit is indispensable in measuring initial acidity.

Aerobic Fermentation:

A fermentation conducted in the presence of fresh air, as in a crock, vat or polyethylene pail.

Anaerobic Fermentation:

A fermentation conducted in the absence of fresh air, as in a fermentation bottle, jug or carboy fitted with a fermentation trap.

Air Lock:

A glass or plastic device designed to use water as an insulator to protect the fermentation media from contamination and exposure to fresh air, while at the same time allowing carbon dioxide produced by the yeast to escape the fermentation vessel. Also called a fermentation trap, bubbler or airlock.

Base:

The significant fermentable ingredients from which wine is made and its flavor or aroma derived. Apple wine, for example, is made from a crushed apple base. The base is also known as the fermentation media.

B-Brite:

A powerful sterilizing compound excellent for equipment, but should never be added to the must. One tablespoon to 1 gallon of water provides sufficient potency. Unlike potassium metabisulfite and sodium metabisulfite, B-Brite in solution may not be stored for future use, but must be made up fresh each time it is needed.

Bubbler:

A glass or plastic device designed to use water as an insulator to protect the fermentation media from contamination and exposure to fresh air, while at the same time allowing carbon dioxide produced by the yeast to escape the fermentation vessel. Also called an air lock, fermentation trap or airlock.

Campden Tablets:

Tablets used in winemaking to sterilize equipment and fermentation media. When disolved, they provide sulphur dioxide in a convenient form. Tablets must be crushed to use, but this ensures the proper dosage. Campden powder can be purchased bulk from most winemaker suppliers under its chemical names, either potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite. For sterilizing bottles, crocks, jars, funnels and other equipment, two crushed tablets dissolved in 1 gallon of water will suffice. Do not rinse equipment after sterilizing. For adding to must, use one crushed tablet per gallon of must and wait 24 hours before adding yeast. Also see Potassium Metabisulfite and Sodium Metabisulfite.

Carbon Dioxide:

The colorless, ordorless gas emitted by yeast during fermentation. The purpose of an air lock is to allow the carbon dioxide to escape without allowing oxygen into the fermentation vessel.

Carboy:

A large glass or plastic bottle of 2-1/2 gallon capacity or more, with or without handles, and sometimes fitted with a spigot or plastic tubing at the bottom for drainage.

Citric Acid:

A colorless acid found in all citrus fruit, pineapples, and in lesser amounts in several other fruit.

Crock:

A large-mouthed, cylindrical, earthenware vessel, glazed to contain liquid. The best sizes for winemaking are 1-1/2 gallon, 3 gallons, and 6 gallons; these adequately handle the ingredients for any 1 gallon-, 2 gallon-, or 5 gallon-batch recipe.

Fermentation:

The process of yeast acting upon sugar to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Fermentation Bottle:

Sometimes called the secondary fermentation vessel, a fermentation bottle is a shouldered, small-mouthed glass jug or carboy in which the liquor is placed to complete fermentation under a fermentation trap.

Fermentation Media:

The pulp or other solid material from which wine will be made. Fermentation media differs from must in that the must is the media, the water, the yeast, and all other ingredients mixed together, while the fermentation media more narrowly refers to the crushed grapes, chopped raisins, pulped peaches, cracked wheat, or other material used either for flavoring, natural sugar content, or both. It is also called the base ingredient or wine base.

Fermentation Trap:

A glass or plastic device designed to use water as an insulator to protect the fermentation media from contamination and exposure to fresh air, while at the same time allowing carbon dioxide produced by the yeast to escape the fermentation vessel. Also called an air lock, bubbler or airlock.

Fining:

Removing suspended solids from a cloudy wine by temperature adjustment, blending with an already cleared wine of the same variety, filtering, or adding a fining material such as egg white, milk, gelatine, casein, or bentonite.

Grain-Bag:

A long bag of finely woven net-like material (mesh) used for suspending grain or other fermentation media in liquid during fermentation to ease the removal of the solids later. Grain-bags come in various mesh and sizes and can be used in lieu of a jelly-bag for straining the solid fermentaion media from the wine.

Hydrometer:

An instrument for measuring the specific gravity (abbreviated as s.g.), relative to sugar content, of a liquid. The importance of s.g. rests in it's indication of proofing potential. In other words, s.g. indicates how much dissolved sugar is present for conversion to alcohol by yeast, what that proof will be, and how much sugar to add to raise the finished proof to a specific level. A hydrometer which indicates the proof of the present alcoholic content is called a "proofing hydrometer."

Hydrometer Chimney:

A tall, narrow, cylindrical vessel used to float a hydrometer in the liquid to be measured. Using this vessel requires a smaller liquid sample than using, for example, a one gallon open-mouthed jar, as hydrometers tend to be rather long and must be floated in a deep vessel.

Jar:

A cylindrical glass or earthenware container with a large mouth and capable of holding liquids, usually without handles.

Jelly-Bag:

A bag used to strain the solid fermentation media from the wine. They are similar to grain-bags, but shorter and usually fitted with a draw-string so they can be closed and hung while the liquid drips from the pulp.

Lees:

Deposits of yeast and other solids formed during fermentaion.

Liquor:

While I don't particularly like this term, associating it as I do with Scotch and other distilled spirits, it does, in fact, also properly refer to the unfermented, sugar-bearing liquid from which wine is made.

Malic Acid:

A naturally occurring acid found in apples, grapes grown in less sunny regions, and certain other fruit. It is the presence of malic acid, along with Bacillus gracile, which sometimes produces malo-lactic fermentation.

Malo-Lactic Fermentation:

A third fermentation which might occur after the wine has been bottled and set to age for a year or more, whereby the bacterium Bacillus gracile converts malic acid into lactic acid. Lactic acid is much less acid than malic acid, which improves the wine, but the wine also is endowed with a cleaner, fresher taste.

Mincer:

A powered or manual device for chopping fruit, grain vegetables, or meats into very small pieces. The size of the pieces can usually be regulated by changing chopping blades. This device is very useful for chopping large quanties of fruit, especially dried fruit and raisins.

Must:

The combination of basic ingredients, both solid and liquid, from which wine is made.

Nutrient:

Food for the yeast, containing nitrogenous matter, yeast-tolerant acid, vitimins, and certain minerals. While sugar is the main food of the yeast, nutrients are the "growth hormones," so to speak.

Pectin:

A heavy, colloidal substance found in most ripe fruit which promotes the formation of gelatinous solutions and hazes in the finished wine. Fermenting fruit pulps with high pectin content, such as apples, should be treated with pectic enzyme, especially if the pulp is boiled to extract the fruit flavor (boiling releases the pectin, while pectic enzymes destroy it).

Potassium Metabisulfite:

One of two sterilizing compounds which may be contained in Campden tablets, the other being sodium metabisulfite. Its action, in water, inhibits harmful bacteria through the release of sulfur dioxide, a powerful antiseptic. It can be used for sterilizing equipment and the must from which wine is to be made. Being twice as strong as sodium metabisulfite, it is mixed at half the strength of the other. For equipment, a 1/2% solution (1/2 oz. disolved in 1 gallon of water) is sufficient after washing. After rinsing with the solution, the equipment should not again be rinsed. For sterilizing the must, a 5% solution is made (2 oz. dissolved in 1 quart of water) and from this 1 tsp. is added to the must. Wait 24 hours after sterilizing the must before adding the yeast. Both bottles of solution (1/2% and 5%) should be clearly labled as to strength and active compound to prevent disasterous mistakes, and both may be stored in a cool place for up to one year without effecting potency. Also see Campden Tablet and Sodium Metabisulfite.

Potassium Sorbate:

Also known as "Sorbistat K" and affectionately as "wine stabilizer," potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine racked the final time after clearing, 1/2 tsp. added to 1 gallon of wine will prevent future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation. It should always be used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines and sparlking wines, but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining. Also see Sodium Benzoate and Wine Stabilizer.

Primary:

A crock, bowl, bucket, pail, or other food-safe vessel in which the first, or primary fermentation takes place. Also known as the primary fermentation vessel.

Primary Fermentation Vessel:

A crock, bowl, bucket, pail, or other food-safe vessel in which the first, or primary fermentation takes place. Also known as the primary.

Proof:

A numeric notation representing the alcoholic content of the spirit. Two degrees proof equals one percent alcohol, so a "36 proof" wine contains 18 percent alcohol. Strictly speaking, "true" proof spirit contains 57.1% alcohol at 60 degrees fahrenheit, the amount of alcohol required, when combined with water, to allow combustion.

Racking:

The process of siphoning the wine off the lees to stabilize it and allow clarification.

Secondary:

A jug, jar, bottle, demi-john, or carboy in which the second or secondary fermentation takes place. This vessel typically has a wide body and tapered neck leading up to a small opening which can be sealed with an air lock. Also known as the secondary fermentation vessel.

Secondary Fermentation Vessel:

A jug, jar, bottle, demi-john, or carboy in which the second or secondary fermentation takes place. This vessel typically has a wide body and tapered neck leading up to a small opening which can be sealed with an air lock. Also known as the secondary.

Sodium Benzoate:

Sold as "Stabilizing Tablets," sodium benzoate is used, one crushed tablet per gallon of wine, to stop future fermentation. It is used when active fermentation has ceased and the wine racked the final time after clearing. It is generally used with sweet wines and sparlking wines, but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining. For sweet wines, the final sugar syrup and crushed tablet may be added at the same time. Also see Potassium Sorbate and Wine Stabilizer.

Sodium Metabisulfite:

One of two sterilizing compounds which may be contained in Campden tablets, the other being potassium metabisulfite. Its action, in water, inhibits harmful bacteria through the release of sulfur dioxide, a powerful antiseptic. It can be used for sterilizing equipment and the must from which wine is to be made. Being half as strong as potassium metabisulfite, it is mixed at twice the strength of the other. For equipment, a 1% solution (1 oz. disolved in 1 gallon of water) is sufficient after washing. After rinsing with the solution, the equipment should not again be rinsed. For sterilizing the must, a 10% solution is made (4 oz. dissolved in 1 quart of water) and from this 1 tsp. is added to the must. Wait 24 hours after sterilizing the must before adding the yeast. Both bottles of solution (1% and 10%) should be clearly labled as to strength and active compound to prevent disasterous mistakes, and both may be stored in a cool place for up to one year without effecting potency.

Stable:

A state attained by wine when all fermentation has ceased at 60 degrees fahrenheit. See Wine Stabilizer, Potassium Sorbate, and Sodium Benzoate.

Tannin:

Tannic acid, essential for good "keeping" or aging qualities. Tannin gives most wines their "zest" or "bite," and naturally is found in the skins of most red and dark fruit such as grapes, elderberries, sloes, apples, and plums, but also in pear skins, oak leaves, and dark tea leaves. Most grains, roots and flowers used in winemaking lack any or sufficient tannin, so must be supplemented with grape tannin or tannin from another source. Wines containing too much tannin can be ameliorated by adding a little sugar or glycerine, fined with gelatine, or blended with another, softer wine.

Tartaric Acid:

A reddish acid found in grapes and several other fruit.

Vinegar:

"Sour wine," caused by vinegar bacteria. These bacteria are principally airborne, but are also carried by the vinegar fly.

Wine Stabilizer:

Potassium sorbate, also known as "Sorbistat K," which produces sorbic acid when added to wine. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine racked the final time after clearing, 1/2 tsp. added to 1 gallon of wine will prevent future fermentation. Sodium benzoate, sold as "Stabilizing Tablets," is a second type of fermentation inhibitor and is used by adding one crushed tablet to a gallon of wine. These are primarily used with sweet wines and sparlking wines, but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining. For sweet wines, the final sugar syrup and stabilizer may be added at the same time. Also see Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate.

Wine Yeast:

Yeast cultured especially for winemaking, with such desirable attributes a as high alcohol tolerance, firmer sediment formation, and less flavor fluctuation. Wine yeasts are usually obtained from a winemaking/brewing specialty shop or by mail order. See entry for Yeast on starting a culture before adding to must.

Yeast:

A unicellular bacteria, principally of the genus Saccharomyces, capable of fermenting carbohydrates. Before adding yeast to a liquor or must to initiate active fermentation, it should be "started." After mixing the primary ingredients, but before adding crushed Campden tablet or other sterilizing compound to the must, set aside one cup of the liquor or juice into which the yeast nutrient (or energizer) is dissolved. Add 1/2 to one tsp. yeast, stir gently, and allow to sit, covered with a clean towel or cloth, in a warm place. Allow the culture to "bloom" (grow) a total of 24 hours since adding Campden to the must. Then add this cup of yeast culture to the must, stir and cover, and allow the yeast to "do its thing."

Yeast Energizer:

An extraordinary nutrient, energizer is useful when making wines of high alcoholic content (over 14%) and to restart fermentation when the secondary fermentation seems "stuck." Yeast energizer contains many ingredients not found in normal nutrient, such as Riboflavin and Thiamine. The energizer is best used by dissolving 1/2 tsp. in 1/2 to 1 cup of the liquor before adding. If the fermentation is truly "stuck" and not simply run out, the energizer may be dissolved in 1/4 cup liquor and 1/2 cup warm (75 degrees F.) water and a pinch of fresh wine yeast added and allowed to bloom under cover over a 12-hour period. An additional 1/4 cup of liquor is then added and the yeast given another 12 hours to multiply before the enriched solution is adding to the fermentation bottle.

Zest:

While "zest" is a quality a good, fresh wine might possess, when mentioned as an ingredient in the recipes on this site, zest refers to the grated rind of lemon, orange, grapefruit, or lime. Only the colored portion of the rind is used, as the white pith is bitter and will spoil the batch. When a recipe calls for 2 lemons, both the zest and the extracted juice are intended unless otherwise stipulated.