How to Make Home Made Brandy

Brandy is distilled wine. Do you want to turn your favorite wine into a delicious brandy? It's super easy and fun!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Your favorite wine!

1. Selecting a wine: This is the fun part. OK drinking it is the fun part but, this is good too.
   
   A brandy can come from any type of wine you like; white, red, blush; it's all what you like. But, be aware of certain characteristics. When you distill, many characteristics become magnified and some will become more subdued. A rich oaky Merlot will lose some of the richness and the oak because those flavors are heavy and will not transfer well through the still. However, an acidic Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc may become more acidic when it is distilled.
2. Distilling: You can use any food grade still for this step. If you do not have one and don't want to buy one, check out my article, "How to Make a Still out of Common Household Items."
   
   http://www.ehow.com/how_2091257_still-out-common-household-items.html
3. Aging: The wine you produced is already aged so there is no real need to age the brandy however, it is definitely something fun to play with and can bring out some new characteristics. If you want to age it, you probably don't have any new French oak barrels lying around so get some old wine bottles. Remove the labels and clean and sterilize them. Make enough brandy to fill the bottles to the top. Throw some new sterile corks in them. Store it on it's side in a cold dark closet for 3 months to 3 years.
4. Drinking: This brandy is in no way inferior to one which is professionally produced so don't treat it like one. Get yourself a good brandy snifter and a well made cigar and share it with a friend.

Tips & Warnings

• Play with it for a while before you make it in bulk. Quality wine can be expensive. Check out my article on jug wine if you want something cheap to play around with. It actually makes a pretty impressive product and is a ton of fun. http://www.ehow.com/how_2091191_make-jug-wine.html
• Like Beer? Try a Beer Brandy!
• Check your local, state and federal laws regarding alcohol production. This article in no way validates the legality of distillation in the home.
• Alcohol fumes can get you drunk! DO NOT distill when children are present and use a well ventilated area, outdoors is best.