Grape wine
Practical Action
8. After six months, siphon the clarified, settled wine off the sediment and into clean,
sanitized bottles. Cork with the hand-corker.
9. Store bottles in cool, dark place and wait at least six months before drinking.
10. Red wine is fermented with the pulp and skins. This "cap" will rise to the top, so you
need to "punch it down" frequently with a sanitized utensil
Dry White Table Wine
Ingredients (for 4.5 litres)
9kg ripe white grapes
1 campden tablet (or 0.33g of potassium metabisulphite powder)
Tartaric acid, if necessary
Table sugar, if necessary
1 packet wine yeast (like Champagne or Montrachet)
1. Harvest grapes once they have reached 19 to 22 percent sugar (19-22° Brix). Sort the
grapes, removing any mouldy clusters, insects, leaves or stems.
2. Place the grape clusters into the nylon straining bag and put into the bottom of the food-
grade plastic bucket. Using very clean hands or a sterilised tool such as a potato masher,
firmly crush up the grapes inside the nylon bag.
3. Crush the campden tablet (or measure out one teaspoon of sulphite crystals) and
sprinkle over the crushed fruit in the bag. This is to control the growth of natural yeasts
and bacteria that may be present on the skins of the grapes. Cover the bucket and bag
with cheesecloth and let sit for one hour.
4. Lift the nylon straining bag out of the bucket and wring the bag to extract as much juice
as possible. You should have about 4-5 litres of juice in the bucket.
5. Measure the temperature of the juice. It should be between 12-17°C. Adjust the
temperature as necessary. Take a sample of the juice in the bucket and use a titration
kit to measure the acid level. It should be between 6.5 and 7.5 grams per litre. If the
acidity is lower than this, add small amounts of tartaric acid to increase the acidity.
Check the acidity after each addition of tartaric acid.
6. Check the degrees Brix or specific gravity of the juice. If it isn't around 22° Brix (1.0982
SG) adjust accordingly.
7. Dissolve the packet of yeast in 500ml of warm water (27-30°C) and let it stand until
bubbly (no more than 10 minutes). When it is bubbling, pour the yeast solution directly
into the juice. Cover the bucket with cheesecloth, set in a cool place (12-18C) and
check that fermentation has begun in at least 24 hours. Monitor the temperature and
progression of fermentation at least once daily.
8. Once the must has reached dryness (at least 0.5 °Brix or 0.998 SG), rack the wine off
the sediment into a sanitized 4.5litre jug, topping up with dry white wine of a similar
style. Fit with a sterilised bung and fermentation lock. Keep the container topped up
with white wine. Ensure that the fermentation lock always has sulphite solution in it.
After 10 days, rack the wine into another sterilised 4.5litre jug. Top up with wine again.
9. After three months, siphon the clarified wine off the sediment and into clean, sterilised
bottles and cork them.
10. Store bottles in a cool, dark place and wait at least three months before drinking.
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