Racking your homemade wine is vital to producing a high quality product. Don’t be put off by the term, though. When winemakers rack their wine, they are simply transferring it from one vessel to another. A typical batch of homemade wine will be racked at least 2 times, and can sometimes need to be racked up to 4 times.

The most important aspect of racking wine is to leave the sediment behind. This will help the wine clarify and can also prevent the wine from picking up unwanted flavors and odors that can come from sitting too long on the sediment.

When to rack your wine is an important consideration. When you start a batch of wine, the initial fermentation will be very vigorous as the yeast consume the sugar in your must and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide. This is called primary fermentation and usually takes 5-7 days. Approximately 70 percent of the wine’s fermentation will take place during this stage.

After primary fermentation slows down, your wine can no longer protect itself from contamination and needs to be protected by an airlock. This is the first racking, and a simple siphon method through a flexible food grade plastic tube will accomplish it. Gravity does all the work, so carefully place your primary fermenter a couple feet off the ground and start the siphon process.

There are items available to assist with racking. One is called a racking cane. This is a rigid piece of plastic about 2 feet long. One end is specially made to sit on the bottom of the vessel while not drawing excess sediment into the tube. You can get by without one, but it’s a great tool to have in your wine making toolbox.

For the first racking, try to leave as much sediment behind as possible. If a little is transferred into your secondary fermenter, don’t panic. It’s not as important on the first racking, so get as much liquid as you can.

The second racking should take place after your fermentation is complete. This can be a week or two or even 6 or 8 weeks, depending on how your fermentation progresses. This time you can be a little more careful about leaving sediment behind, even if it means losing a little liquid. Again, the same procedure as above applies. Start a suction and let gravity do the work for you. Don’t forget to put the airlock right back on the wine, as exposure to air will oxidize your wine.

The third racking should take place after your wine has completely cleared. Remember, it will not clear in the bottles so be patient with this step and don’t rack until you’re sure it’s as clear as it can be. Leave every bit of sediment behind during this racking. This is also the time you can add Sodium Bisulfite to the wine. This will drive off any excess oxygen that was created during racking.

Racking is an important step in homemade wine making. The better you understand and perform this vital step, the better your finished product will be.

How to Make Homemade Wine | Discover How to Make Your Own Unique Wine

If you want to learn how to make homemade wine, there is no reason for not doing it. You don’t need a license, a cellar, and the utensils you need are probably in your home to begin with. It doesn’t take a lot of work either to learn How to Make Homemade Wine.

The first issue you need to learn is the do’s and don’ts of winemaking.

Do

– Rack at least once, and twice if possible.

– Use new corks and boil the old ones.

– Keep your first ferment covered.

– Keep the secondary fermentation air-free.

– Keep your equipment clean.

– Keep all bottles filled.

– Add sugar by stages and keep records with high level of detail.

– Keep red wines in dark bottles so they don’t lose their color.

– Use trustworthy yeast nutrient frequently.

– Make wines too dry rather than too sweet: add sugar later.

– Use fermentation traps.

– Taste the wine at intervals to make sure the process is going well.

Don’t

– Sell your wine. It is illegal. Don’t try to distil your own wine either.

– Let vinegar flies come in contact with your wine.

– Use metal containers.

– Use tools or containers made out of resinous wood.

– Forget to stir a must twice a day.

– Use too much sugar.

– Try to speed up fermentation by increasing the temperature.

– Be impatient.

– Let dead yeast or sediment anywhere close to your wine.

– Filter for no reasonor too soon.

– Store your wine in unsterilized jars or bottles.

– Bottle your wine before it’s done fermenting.

– Employ screw-stopper bottles.

Now that you have a good sense of what you should do and what you shouldn’t, I will share with you one of my favorite wine recipes and in no time you can learn How to Make Homemade Wine.

Either black, green or amber grapes can be used for this recipe and the resulting wine will suit almost every taste.

2 bags (4 lb.) of grapes – 2 bags (3½ lb.) of sugar – 1 oz. yeast

1 gallon water.

Separate the grapes from the stalks and then crush them by hand. Pour the boiling water over them and leave to soak for forty-eight hours. Strain and put the juice through a jelly-bag. Allow to drain and then pour into the fermenting vessel and add the sugar.

Mix until the sugar is dissolved -this will take a lot of time with cold grape-juice. When all the sugar is mixed well sprinkle the yeast on top and stir in. Seal, and ferment for fourteen days; after which proceed with bottling. It’s so much bliss to learn How to Make Homemade Wine.

If you want to get over 145 step-by-step recipes and learn all the secrets to making your own wine, visit my website: www.SecretsOfWinemaking.com – How to Make Homemade Wine

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