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The days of home winemakers as amateurs are a thing of the past
In the days of Ancient Rome 'amateur' meant 'lover' and was used to refer to
somebody who did something from a love of doing it, rather than for any
financial gain. Such people were thought of as the finest of experts because
they honed their craft motivated by mere joy for their work.
Despite the
fact that wine professionals continue to imbue their work with passion and skill, amateurs, assisted by modern technology and knowledge passed down over
generations, can generally now produce similar results.
The chemistry of
the fermentation process was poorly understood until the start of the last
century but, even so, the process of fermentation has been used for more than
5,000 years. Left unattended a wine grape will ripen until its skin splits and
the juice naturally ferments by itself. Now, however, this process is controlled
with a mixture of science and art.
Grapes are placed in a press where
they are turned into must which is a mixture of juice, pulp and skin. Natural
yeast (found on the skin near the stem) and added yeast reacts with the sugars
in the juice to produce alcohol (ethanol), carbon dioxide and heat. This process
will continue until the sugars are depleted or the yeast is killed by the
reaction.
Because of work carried out by Pasteur and others we are now
able to tightly control the process to produce exactly the result we wish for.
For those people who are not fortunate enough to have a vineyard close to hand,
wine juice concentrates can now be purchased reasonably cheaply.
Simply
add acids, yeats, sugars and nutrients (to feed the yeast) to a suitable
container such as a carboy or other jug and allow the mixture to sit for several
at around 75 degrees fahrenheit (24 degrees centigrade). Specific recipes are
normally provided with the concentrated wine juice which give specific
quantities and details of how to ferment the wine.
After several days,
siphon the liquid from the pulp and permit it to ferment at about 65 degrees
fahrenheit (18 degrees centigrade) for several weeks until gas production
(bubbling) ceases. Then, siphon the wine off the sediments (lees) and store the
bottles on their sides at 55 degrees fahrenheit (13 degrees centigrade) for six
months in the case of white wine and up to twelve months for red wine before
tasting.
Of course, it sounds simpler than it is but it is most certainly
not beyond the dedicated amateur's ability. Today, the process is closely
monitored and sometimes adjusted on a daily basis and, thanks to cheap
refractometers to measure the concentration of sugar, thermometers, hydrometers,
temperature controlled cabinets and various other items the job is a lot easier
than it used to be.
Of course things can and do go wrong as nature takes
its course. Fermentation may not begin, it may begin and then stop prematurely,
the resulting wine may be excessively sweet or hazy or full of sediments. The
wine may have excess pectin, too many bacteria, taste sulphurous or flat or even
moldy. Crystals can form if the temperature is not high enough or secondary
fermentation can result from storing the wine too hot.
Nevertheless,
thanks in no small measure to the Internet, there are now several websites
devoted to assisting the amateur winemaker to produce wines that can rival those
made by the wine masters. The only thing that it needs is a bit of practice.
Summary
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