GRAPE-WINE-MAKING IN SMALL QUANTITIES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXII, Issue 1, 20 January 1926, Page 34

GRAPE-WINE-MAKING IN SMALL QUANTITIES.

DIRECTIONS FOR NEW ZEALAND CONDITIONS

J. C. Woodfin,

Vine and Wine Instructor, Horticulture Division

For wine-making on a small scale the grapes should be quite ripe; from 13 lb. to 15 lb. are required to make 1 gallon of wine. The berries should be separated from the stalks and crushed with the hands or by rubbing them through a |-in.-mesh wire sieve. A wooden or earthenware vessel is required for fermenting the must. On no account should a metal one be used unless -it is enamelled. The fermentation vessel should be at least one-third larger than the maturing barrel, so' as to allow plenty of room for the grape-skins, which will rise to the surface and form a “ cap.” The lees from the first racking will also reduce the volume of wine. All vessels and utensils used in making wine must be absolutely clean and sweet, and free from mould and vinegar flavours. If it is intended to make a dry —that is, a wine in which all the sugar is transformed into alcohol and carbon dioxide, the escape of which into the air in the form of gas causes the boiling of the must during fermentationadd | lb. of sugar to each gallon of must. If a sweet wine is to be made, add 2| lb. to 3 lb. of sugar, according to the degree of sweetness desired. When making a dry wine the sugar should be added before fermentation sets in, and in making sweet wine when the must is being transferred from the fermenting-vessel to the storage barrel or jar. In both cases the sugar should be thoroughly dissolved by stirring. In seasons when the grapes do not ripen well the acidity may be too high to make a palatable wine. In making wine for home use this acidity can be reduced by adding water to the must at the rate of about | gallon to each gallon of juice, and in this case 2| lb. of sugar must be allowed for each gallon of added water in making the dry wine, and 4 lb. when making sweet wine. The acidity should not, however, be reduced too much, or the resulting wine will prove flat and insipid, and will not keep well. Fermentation will set in spontaneously in a day or 'two in a favourable temperature, which ranges about 65° F. If the weather is cold the must can be heated to 90°, and the vessel covered with a sack or some other suitable covering to keep the heat in, when fermentation will generally set in. The temperature .of the must when fermenting should be from 8o° to 85°. If it rises too high or sinks too low fermentation will slow down, and may stop eventually. . The “ cap ” of grape-skins should be pushed down into the must, and the whole stirred up at least twice a day while fermentation is going on. In the case of dry wine the must should remain in the. fermentingvessel until fermentation has apparently stopped and the skins commence to sink into the wine. The wine can then be siphoned off or run off through a tap into a storage cask, and placed in a cool cellar, where a slow fermentation will continue for some time. The skins should be pressed or wrung in a piece of hessian or some fairly open.

material—previously boiled to sweeten it—and the wine extracted added to the bulk.

When making sweet wine the must can be separated from the skins after three or four days’ fermentation, and, after mixing with sugar, run into a storage cask to continue its fermentation. There will be no need to store this in a cool cellar, as it will mature much quicker in a warmer temperature. . A slow fermentation will continue in the dry wine for a month or two, and in the sweet wine much longer, the exact period depending principally on the amount of added sugar. Gas will be produced as long as fermentation continues, and may cause the container to burst if it is tightly bunged. A good plan is to cover the bung-hole with a small bag of clean sand ; this will keep out the air and flies, and at the same time allow the gas to escape. When used to cover the bung-holes of the barrels of fermenting dry wines or cider, these Tags retain in the barrel some of the gas formed in the process of fermentation, and at the same time keep out the air, a condition unfavourable to the development of the dreaded vinegar bacteria. The container should be bunged tightly when the sizzling noise produced by the escaping gas-bubbles ceases. ' At this period, when the wine has become fairly clear, it should be racked or separated from the lees. This can be accomplished by inserting a wooden tap in the barrel above the lees, or by siphoning the wine out with a rubber tube tied to a piece of cane so that the end of the tube will be a few inches from the end of the cane and above the lees in the container. Dry wine is usually racked after fermentation and at the end of the winter, twice during the following twelve months, and once or twice in subsequent years. Whenever, possible cold bright weather should be chosen to perform the operation. Sweet wine is racked twice the first year and once during subsequent years, until it is quite clear and bright. During the maturing-period of dry wines the barrels must be filled up regularly from small vessels of wine kept for the purpose to replace the wine which evaporates through the wood. If an air-space is left mould will form on the surface of the wine and will probably cause the wine to turn sour. Air on the surface of sweet wines will not have the same consequence. Dry wines can be bottled after the first or second winter, but sweet wine should remain in the wood at least three years, and will improve if kept longer. The rubber tube used for racking can be used for bottling the wine. If it is too thick to enter the neck of the. bottles a smaller tube can be inserted in the end of it, or tubing | in. interior measure, such as is. used for connecting gas-rings, would be suitable both for racking (on a small scale) and bottling. The bottles when filled should be kept on their sides in a cool cellar for six months before being consumed, so as to allow the wine to recover from what is known as “ bottle sickness.”

Where it is intended to make a large quantity of wine a Baume hydrometer will be found useful for obtaining the exact density of the fruit-juice, for ascertaining the right amount of sugar to add when necessary, and for following the progress of the fermentation. Notes on the use of this instrument were published in the Journal of July last.