Home Winemakers Are No Longer Amateurs

In the days of the Roman Empire 'amateur' meant 'lover' and was used to refer to a person who engaged in something out of the love of doing it, instead of for any financial gain. These individuals were regarded as the highest of experts because they perfected their craft motivated by simple joy for their work.

Although professional winemakers still imbue their work with both passion and skill, amateurs, with the help of knowledge passed down over hundreds of years and modern technology, can generally now produce similar results.

The chemistry behind fermentation was poorly understood until the start of the 20th century but, nevertheless, the process of fermentation has been in use for more than 5,000 years. Left to its own devices a wine grape will ripen until the skin splits and the juice ferments naturally. Now, however, this process is guided by a combination of both art and science.

Grapes are placed in a press in which they are turned into must which is a mixture of pulp, skin and juice. Natural yeast (which is found on the skin near the stem) and added yeast interacts with the sugars in the juice to produce alcohol (ethanol), carbon dioxide and heat. This process will continue until the sugars are exhausted or the yeast is killed off by the reaction.

As a result of work undertaken by Pasteur and other scientists we are now able to control the process so that we get precisely the result we want. For people who are not fortunate enough to have a vineyard handy, wine juice concentrates can now be purchased fairly cheaply.

Merely add sugar, acids, yeast and nutrients (to feed the yeast) to a container like a carboy or other jug and allow the mixture to sit for several at approximately 75 degrees fahrenheit (24 degrees centigrade). Specific recipes are usually provided with the wine juice concentrate giving specific quantities and fermentation details.

After several days, siphon the liquid from the pulp and let it 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 for white wine and up to a year for red wine before tasting.

Of course, it sounds easier than it is but it is certainly not beyond the amateur's ability. Today, the process is monitored and sometimes adjusted daily and, thanks to cheap refractometers to measure the concentration of sugar, hydrometers, thermometers, temperature controlled cabinets and many other items the job is a lot simpler than it used to be.

It will probably come as no surprise that things can and do go wrong as nature takes its course. Fermentation might not begin, it may begin and then stop for no apparent reason, the resulting wine may be excessively sweet or hazy or full of sediments. The wine may have too much pectin, too many bacteria, taste sulphurous or flat or even moldy. Crystals might form if the temperature is not high enough or secondary fermentation might result from keeping the wine at too high a temperature.

Nevertheless, in no small measure thanks to the Internet, there are now numerous websites devoted to helping the amateur winemaker to produce a wine that can rival those produced by the masters of wine. The only thing that it takes is a bit of practice.