Home winemaking holds a lot of mystery for some, particularly if they've never made wine. And for those who have, there are still some dark, mysterious corners with some unanswered questions.
With this in mind I've put together seven random winemaking facts that most home winemakers don't know. Pieces of info that may expand knowledge a bit.
Look them over and see how many of them you know and how many of them are shinny, new 'pearls of wisdom' for you?
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Five 750ml wine bottles equals 1 US gallons. They don't exactly equal a gallon. More like .99 gallons... just 1.2 ounces shy, but close enough for figuring out how many bottles you're going to need. If you have 10 gallons of wine, you're going to need 50 bottles.
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One pound of sugar will raise the potential alcohol of 5 gallons of wine must by 1%. This is another handy bit of information. If you are getting ready to ferment 5 gallons of wine must, and it has a potential alcohol of 9%, just add 3 pounds of sugar to get it to 12%. Again, this is not exact but very, very close.
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2 cups of cane sugar equals 1 pound. If you don't have a scale you can weigh your cane sugar by the cup. This is a little trick that came from cooking class, but is certainly helpful when making wine. It also ties in well with number 2.
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All wine contains sulfites, whether you add it or not. This is because sulfites are a minor byproduct of the fermentation. A normal wine fermentation will produce sulfites in a wine on the order of 10 to 15 PPM (parts-per-million). When we add sulfites as a home winemaker or as a winery, we are shooting for about 55 to 75 PPM
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Home winemaking was illegal until 1978. When prohibition was repealed in 1933 all was still not right in the world. It was still illegal to make your own wine or beer at home. It wasn't until 45 years later, in 1978, when California Senator, Alan Cranston introduced a bill that was passed and later signed by President Jimmy Carter, that it was legal for U.S. citizens to make there own wine or beer at home.
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About half the sugar in a wine must is turned to CO2 gas, the other half to alcohol. That is to say that if you add a pound of sugar to a wine must and it ferments completely, you will have added 1/2 pound of alcohol to the resulting wine. The other half floats away as CO2 gas. This division can vary a little depending on the wine yeast and fermenting conditions, etc. but almost always between 47% and 53%.
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Use Honey In Place Of Sugar: If you're into a little experimentation, you can try using different honeys in place of any sugar called for in a wine recipe. Once the sweetness of the honey is fermented away, you are left with its herbal qualities. For every pound of sugar called for in a wine recipe, you will want to use 1-1/4 pound of honey in its place.
Well did you know some of these wine making facts. If you didn't, well now you do. Do you have a random winemaking fact you'd like to share with us. Just leave them as a comment at the end of this blog post, and we'll see how many everyone can come up with.
You might also like to try Elderberry Blossom wine. Basic recipe is 2 inches of flowers (stripped from stems) per each gallon you plan to make. I use a 5 gallon bucket. For 1 - 2 gallons add one orange, one lemon and one lime cut in half and squeezed then just throw the rind in on top. (2 of each for larger batches) Add a pound of sugar and then pour a gallon of boiling water over it, stir and let it stand over night. Next day add yeast dissolved in water and additional water. If you are making a larger batch you will want to add additional sugar water (cooled!) When you transfer to a carboy pour through a knee high hose. Leave some head space and when it stops working take a sample and if you want a little sweeter add a bit more sugar water. Play with it, you can’t mess it up too bad unless you add too much sugar. A pound or half pound at a time is best. This wine “fines” very quickly and you can drink it by late summer but take my word for it same some for winter…it’s exceptional about January.