How to Make Wine From Berries

The term "wine" refers specifically to fermented grape juice when used without a qualifier. All other fermented fruit juice should generally be called "country wine" or "fruit wine." When the particular fruit is known, the name of that fruit is used. For example, fermented blackberry juice may be called properly "blackberry wine." Learn how to make fruit wine.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bottle of grape juice, no preservatives
• Baker's yeast
• Matching bottle top with hole

1. Learn the basics of fermentation. Yeast uses sugar and oxygen to produce chemical energy, alcohol and carbon dioxide. It uses the energy for its own needs, with the alcohol and carbon dioxide being waste products (at least as far as the yeast is concerned.)

2. Create the conditions necessary for fermentation. If the yeast has enough sugar and oxygen with other conditions being sufficiently hospitable, it will continue to produce alcohol until the excess kills it. A solution with a specific gravity of at least 1.088 will produce the maximum figure, usually around 12.5 percent depending on the variety of yeast.

3. Make fruit wine from most fruits by adding enough sugar to bring the specific gravity up to 1.088. Citrus fruits generally have too much acid for yeast to grow readily and some other fruits have natural preservatives as well.

4. Follow this recipe as the simplest possible example of homemade wine. Buy a bottle of 100 percent pure grape juice. Make sure it does not have any preservatives. Open the bottle and add a pinch of baker's yeast. Replace the top with one that has a small hole in it and let the juice sit undisturbed at room temperature.

5. Wait for the fermentation to complete in about a week, screw the new top back on and place the bottle in the refrigerator to age. Unscrew the top periodically to release the carbon dioxide as the wine may still be fermenting. Decant the wine into another container before drinking. You can try this wine after a month but it will be markedly better if you wait at least a year.

Resources

• Find out more about basic winemaking.

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[Chaddy]

on 11/23/2007 My - I like all of the chemistry involved and you explain it exquisitely! Thank you so much! Wine may be a gift that I give down the road!!! Thank you!