How to Make White Wine From Fresh Grapes

By eHow Food & Drink Editor

Rate: (12 Ratings)

While red wines are fermented with the skins and seeds of grapes, white wines are fermented from the clear grape juice. These guidelines are for the novice winemaker. You can buy or rent the equipment at a winemaking supply shop.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

  • Fermentation Locks
  • Glass Wine Fermentors
  • Sulphite Crystals
  • Wine Grapes
  • Wine Yeast
  • Acid-testing Kits For Wine
  • Plastic Bucket

Before Fermentation

Step1
Crush grapes and remove stems.
Step2
Press into plastic buckets, discarding the pulp and skins (pomace). You should have clear juice left.
Step3
Add sulfite crystals. Use about 0.1 gram of sulfite powder per liter or 1 campden tablet per 10 liters. Dissolve into 1 cup warm water and stir into juice using a wooden or plastic spoon.
Step4
Check Brix of juice. It should be around 22 to 24 degrees, depending on varietal.
Step5
If Brix is lower than 21 degrees, add sugar to juice. (See "How to Monitor Brix of Fermenting Wine Must.")
Step6
Check and adjust acid level of juice using an acid-testing kit supplied by winemaking shops. Acid content should be at about 6.5 to 7.5 g/liter.
Step7
Check temperature of juice and adjust if necessary. Temperature should be between 55 and 65 degrees F. Monitor temperature. It is absolutely necessary that the temperature be lower than 60 degrees F throughout entire process, including fermentation.
Step8
Transfer juice to glass fermentors and fill only 2/3 full. Attach a fermentation lock.
Step9
Let sit 24 hours.
Step10
After 24 hours, add 1 gram yeast pellets dissolved in 1 cup warm water for every 3.8 liters of juice. Let yeast solution sit for 10 minutes before adding to fermentor. Attach fermentation lock.

Fermentation

Step1
Check Brix twice daily.
Step2
Check temperature twice daily. Remember that the temperature must stay at or below 60 degrees F.
Step3
When Brix reaches 0 and the fermentation is complete, leave fermentation lock attached and let sediment settle out.
Step4
When sediment has settled, rack, or siphon off the sediment from the clear wine, into clean, glass containers. Containers should be completely filled. (See "How to Rack Wine.")
Step5
Add sulfite. Fit with a fermentation lock. Keep temperature at or below 60 degrees F.
Step6
Rack each time sediment settles out, usually at intervals of three to six week.
Step7
Add fining materials to wine. (See "How to Add Fining Materials to Wine" for instructions.)
Step8
When sediment has settled, rack and add sulfite.
Step9
Depending on varietal, let age for the appropriate amount of time.
Step10
Bottle. (See "How to Bottle Wine.")
Step11
Let wine bottle age for appropriate amount of time.

Tips & Warnings

  • Avoid carbon dioxide fumes during fermentation.
  • Be careful about the amount of sulfite you add after each racking. Too much sulfite can damage wine. Ask at a winemaking shop for necessary amounts.

Comments

| View All Comments
Imker

Imker said

Flag This Comment

on 1/6/2008 These guidelines are not for the novice winemaker.

For instance -0 What's a brix? So temperature must be lower than 60 degrees? Oh. How about 38 degrees? Not!

View All

Post a Comment

POST A COMMENT

Request a New How-To Article

Looking for more How To information? Chances are there’s an eHow member who knows how to do what you’re looking to do. Submit an article request now!

eHow Article: How to Make White Wine From Fresh Grapes

eHow Food & Drink Editor

eHow Food & Drink Editor

Category: Food & Drink

Articles: See my other articles

Related Ads

Food & Drink

Bethenny
Meet Bethenny Frankel eHow’s Food & Drink Expert.