Wine storage,Hello.
I love wine. When I was 13, i used to find these purple berries and I would crush them and put them in bottles in hopes that they would turn into wine. The berries were probably poisonous. But anyways, I never got to see if it was wine because it froze when I had them in the garage. Also, another bottle exploded all over my room because the cork shot off of it one day.
So, you know how they have all those wine cellars (such as this http://wine-storage.biz/wine_storage/images/wine-cellar-database.jpg) where all the bottles are put on the racks?? Are these bottles fermenting?? Or do they never let them ferment in the glass bottle?
Can someone give me tips on how I can make my own wine in a traditional style without getting too much into the mass production and bucket using methods (that are like cheating) that people use when they buy like a kit or something?
Great Lakes Libations // Sep 15, 2010 at 10:27 am
You need something to convert the sugars into alcohol (namely yeast) which is why simply putting grape juice in a bottle will likely not turn into wine. Probably best to avoid fermenting directly in the bottles….I brew my own beer and it’s always done in a separate fermenting container – never directly in the bottles.
oikos // Sep 15, 2010 at 10:27 am
Generally, the wine ferments first in a primary container, then in a secondary. The only fermentation that goes on in the bottle is for champagne or other carbonated wines. If you would like to learn the basics there are several books on the subject. I recommend the one by C.J.J. Berry. Alternatively, you could just google "Country Wine". I’d read Berry first, though.