Are you ready to make wine from scratch?
If so, a good wine making recipe is a great place to start! Just as you would use a recipe to make a meal, a recipe for making wine is essential. All of the basic steps, ingredients, and guidelines will be a part of a great recipe...
...but to make a truly exceptional wine, you will need to infuse your spirit. The recipe will give you the confidence you need to start, but pouring your heart into your wine will make the process much more enjoyable, and produce truly unique wines.
"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy." Khalil Gibran
When I made the choice to move beyond instructions, and finally learn about the chemistry and art behind making an outstanding wine, everything began to change. I had more fun. I fell in love with the process, and I started to conjure up wines that were unlike any I've had before.
I will share with you what has worked for me, but at the end of the day we each need to unleash the winemaker inside of us. A wine maker that will discover a "one of a kind" wine inside your basic ingredients.
"In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it." Michelangelo
Inside every fruit, vegetable or plant, there is a potentially great wine waiting to be discovered. Your job, as a wine artist, is to strip away your fears, and uncover the amazing wine within.
When you learn to put your heart and soul into the making of your wine, there is no limit to the beauty that you will create.
One of the most magical things in wine making, is creating a wine that is your very own. While you may use many a wine making recipe over the course of your career, you will never create the same wine as someone else.
Unleash your creativity and leave your unique mark on each wine that you make. Allow your spirit to shine brightly and come alive. Give of yourself to the wine making process, and your wine will shine.
Experiment with your ingredients, play with your wine making recipe,adjust your wines to your liking, and never be afraid to fail...
...and if you happen to make a batch that doesn't meet your standards - simply start again. There is no failure in the creative process, simply results and a lifelong process of learning and refining your craft.
In addition to a great wine making recipe infused with spirit, always start with the highest quality ingredients that you can get your hands on. The freshest fruits, vegetables, and plants will make the tastiest and most delicious wines.
Just a reminder that the cleaning and sanitizing of ALL of your equipment still applies. Great ingredients + dirty equipment = bad wine.
Anything that will touch your wine needs to be clean!
Each of the following recipes is designed to produce 1 gallon (3.785 liters) of wine, which is the equivalent of approximately 5 standard bottles.
If you craft a wine that you especially like, feel free to multiply the ingredients to match the amount you are making: To go from 1 gallon to 6 gallons, simply multiply the ingredients (except for yeast) by 6.
I like to experiment with smaller batches until I find a recipe that works. If I make something that I'm absolutely in love with, I will go ahead and make a larger batch so that I can enjoy the fruits of my labor over and over again.
Lastly, the beauty of making smaller batches is the opportunity to make more varieties at a time. There are thousands of possibilities, and I'm looking forward to trying them all!