Tips & Tricks
These are just a few things I wish I would have known when I got started. As I think of more things, I will add them, so check back!
If you have any helpful tips you would like to share, please submit your tip using the form at the bottom of this page and I will gladly share!
Be sure all of your equipment is clean and sterilized before you start. Any type of bacterial of chemical contamination can ruin an entire batch of wine. I use potassium metabisulfate and have had a lot of success, although there are other products on the market.
Follow the recipe. Wine making is science. While it may seem like a good idea to add more sugar than the recipe calls for to try to make your wine sweeter, the yeast is using the sugar for food and producing alcohol in the process. Instead of your wine getting sweeter, you're increasing your alcohol level and not getting any sweeter a flavor.
I use distilled water. My tap water is full of chlorine and minerals which would ruin the color and flavor of the wine. If you have a water softener that uses salt you will need to use bottled water as well. Again, I use distilled, but some people prefer reverse osmosis water.
I boil the corks (in distilled water) for several minutes before I cork my bottles. Even with the floor corker, I find the boiled corks easier to get in the bottles and they seem to seal better.
Once I cork the bottles, I let them sit upright, on old towels, for a week just in case a bottle pops. It happens sometimes and this way it keeps down the mess. The first year making wine I didn't do this and when I went to the basement I had a HUGE mess where the bottles had shot the corks and wine across the whole basement. Lesson learned.
I get used bottles from a local winery. They are the empties from the wine tastings and tours that go through. They do not reuse their own bottles.They clean and sterilize the bottles and sell them for $4/case of 12, versus a case of 12 new bottles that would cost me $13.00 from my supplier. Check with your local winery or maybe even a local bar and see if they sell (or better yet, give) their empty bottles.
Keep a bottle of simple syrup in your refrigerator. I make it using 1 part water to 1 part sugar. Heat the water to just before it boils and dissolve the sugar in it. You can store this in your refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 weeks. If you have a wine that is a bit to dry for your liking, add a little simple syrup. It's also great in mojitos!
