How to Crush Fruit for Wine
Homemade wine is a delicious indulgence that you'll find fairly easy to prepare. The first step to making homemade wine involves crushing grapes that will later ferment. Learn a few simple pointers to crush grapes for delicious homemade wine. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 15 pounds of red or green grapes
- Food mill or potato masher
- Dishwasher
- Large plastic bucket with lid
- Automatic dish-washing detergent
Instructions
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Crushing Grapes for Wine
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1
Sanitize the food mill or potato masher and bucket thoroughly before use by running it through the dishwasher. Clean all appliances thoroughly in order to avoid altering the flavor of the fruit and, ultimately, the wine.
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2
Place the bucket (without lid) on a clean, hard surface. If using a food mill, place the food mill on top of the open bucket. Place the food mill in a relatively stable position; a wobbly or unsteady mill will make it difficult to crush the grapes.
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3
If using a potato masher, place all of the grapes directly into the bucket. Work your way through all of the fruit, pressing the masher down onto the fruit and slightly rolling it side to side. Crush all the grapes thoroughly before sealing the bucket and starting the fermenting process.
If willing to get your hands dirty, use your fingers to crush the grapes---a more time-consuming method.
If using a food mill, place up to 3 cups of grapes into the mill at once. Crank the handle on the mill (this will crush the grapes) until you've emptied the mill. The blade within the mill's barrel will rotate as you crank the handle, crushing the fruit. As you crush the grapes, they will fall into the bucket below through the opening in the bottom of the food mill. Crush all of the grapes and ensure that you have emptied the mill before refilling it with whole grapes. Repeat this process until you have crushed all 15 pounds of grapes.
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Cover the bucket with a lid and allow the fruit to ferment.
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Tips & Warnings
This article indicates the amount of grapes needed to make 1 gallon of wine. For 5 gallons of wine---a more common amount to make at a time---use approximately 85 to 90 pounds of grapes.
