The Art of a Wine Making Recipe

The first thing you need to remember about a wine making recipe is that it is an art form.  The artist is you.  The key ingredient is patience.  You grew your grapes, plucked them from the vine and now you feel an urgency to taste them.  But slow down and enjoy the process.  Wine making is an exciting hobby and whether you are just starting out or have been doing it for years; you know that there is a lot of information out there and even more wine making recipes at your fingertips.

The information differences depend on the style of the artist that is making it and though the basics of it are the same, the style of it sets each apart.  Even following the same wine making recipe can have slight differences in the finished product, this is because grapes are different and styles are different.  The key is to give your own style and create something unique.

You have probably seen somewhere that people make wine and it is drinkable in one month.  Again I would advice patience as yes indeed you can make a one month wine, but it will not come close to what you can create if you have patience.  The earliest a wine comes into its own age is six months and that might be pushing it.  A country wine, one made with fruit, or a white wine will not blend and come to the peak of its goodness for at least a year.  Red wines can take up to 2 years.

A winemaker by the name of Jack B. Keller Jr. created this wonderful wine making recipe.  The wine is called a Blanc du Bois White Wine and this recipe will make you 5 gallons of delicious wine.

Wine Making Recipe of ingredients

about 65-70 lbs Blanc du Bois grapes

1/2 tsp Pectic enzyme (it can't hurt)

Sugar to 1.090 (21.6° Brix)

1/4 tsp potassium metabisulfite (required 2-3 times)

2 1/2 tsp crushed potassium sorbate

2 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient

Lalvin EC-1118 (Prise de Mousse) wine yeast

• Wash, destem, crush, and press grapes all in one operation as soon after harvesting as possible
• Stir potassium metabisulfite into juice and move, covered, into a 34°F refrigerator immediately
• After 24 hours add Pectic enzyme
• Keep in refrigerator another 48 hours
• Carefully remove to countertop or table without disturbing sediment
• Carefully rack into 6-gallon secondary, leaving behind the dark, precipitated pigment
• Stir in yeast nutrient and chaptalize to 1.095 if desired
• Draw off one liter of juice for yeast starter solution
• Cover carboy with paper towel secured by rubber band. If yeast was stored in same refrigerator as juice was chilled in, sprinkle yeast on starter surface and then cover with plastic wrap
• Wait 12-14 hours and stir yeast nutrient into juice
• Wait 48 hours and attach airlock
• When vigorous fermentation subsides, stir well, transfer into sanitized 5-gallon carboy and stir in a Bentonite slurry according to manufacturer's instructions
• Attach airlock and ferment to dryness, but at least 45 days
• Rack, top up and reattach airlock
• Wait 30 days and rack again, adding dissolved potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite
• Sweeten if desired
• Top up
• Reattach airlock
• Wait 30 days and bottle
• Drinkable in 3 months, better in 6

Now you have made your wine making recipe and with some patience it will soon be time to enjoy it.