How to Crush Grapes for Wine
Perhaps the most important factor in wine making is grape selection. The most commonly used grape variety for wine making is Vitis vinifera. The best place to look for this particular variety of grape is your local vineyard or vintner. If there are none in your area, ordering them online is a second possibility. But if they are just too difficult to obtain, try to find a variety of Vitis labrusca like concord grapes which are much easier to find in local grocery stores. Once you have the right variety of grapes in hand, you are ready to crush. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Pull the grapes from their stems. Discard any that are mushy, insect eaten, moldy or otherwise unhealthy looking. Then rinse them thoroughly in a colander.
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Check to make sure that your grapes are ripe. Taste a few grapes; they should be sweet, firm and just a little bit tart. Squeeze two handfuls of the grapes into a bowl. Then pour the mash through a wire mesh strainer to clarify it. Place a hydrometer (available online or at any wine making shop) in the juice to measure the sugar level (measured by the hydrometer in Brix). Ideal grapes for wine making will produce a sugar density of 22 degrees Brix. If your readings are significantly off the mark, you can still make wine, but you will have to include more additives after they are crushed, which may alter the flavor of the wine.
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Wash a large non-metal bowl and rinse it with boiling hot water to disinfect it. Then add the grapes to the bowl.
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Crush the grapes. The method is wholly up to you. Use your hands or any non-metallic instrument. Squeeze or smash the grapes until they are well pulverized. When every grape is squashed, you are left with a liquid slurry.
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Place the grape slurry into the refrigerator until you are ready to adjust the acid content and sugar level of your grapes. Otherwise, they will begin to ferment too soon.
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References
- Photo Credit wine grapes image by enens from Fotolia.com
