How to Choose Grapes and Concentrates for Home Wine Making

Grapes are grown in most states and can be purchased fresh from a wine grape vendor. However, you will most likely have to go pick them up yourself. Grapes can be shipped frozen as juice or precrushed as must, but not many vendors supply grapes this way. Wine can also be made from grape juice concentrate and from fresh fruits such as apricots, blackberries and peaches.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Winemaking Equipment
• Juice Concentrates
• Wine Grapes

1. Use cabernet sauvignon if you want to produce a hearty, pleasant and bold red wine. Its peak flavor is attained after one to three years of aging in the cask and four years in the bottle.

2. Use pinot noir blended with petite sirah to attain a rich and complex red wine. Allow it to age for three to six years.

3. Use chenin blanc to make a fruity and sweet white wine. It does not age well, so drink it within one or two years.

4. Choose among cabernet sauvignon, gamay beaujolais, merlot, pinot noir, petite sirah and zinfandel to produce a fine red wine of rich quality.

5. Choose among chardonnay, pinot blanc, sauvignon blanc, semillon and white riesling to produce a fine white wine of high quality.

6. When buying red grape juice concentrate, be sure it is blue-red in color. If it's brown, don't purchase it.

7. When buying white grape juice concentrate, be sure it is very pale gold in color.

Tips & Warnings

• For instructions on making wine, see the Related eHows.
• Be certain you are buying the current vintage of concentrates rather than a batch from last year's harvest.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.

[Imker]

on 1/6/2008 You really ought to mention that wine & beer making shops have grape juice concentrate with instructions to make 30 bottles of wine in a month, not years.