There is not much to making wine. Humans have been making wine for thousands of years. People make wine and DRINK it in the Bible.
It’s not rocket science.
The earliest mention of winemaking is in some Mesopotamian texts –hieroglyphics – and they detail how to ferment the juice of grapes.
Apparently, we were making it long before written text.
It turns out that when grapes grow, there is actually yeast ON the outside of the grapes. If all you do is crush the grapes and keep the juice around 75 degrees, the juice will ferment all by itself.
Of course, the types of yeast found on the outside of grapes are many and not all of them produce a fine tasting wine. Over the years, winemakers have developed many different strains and varieties of yeasts. These yeasts are specifically designed to extract exactly what we want out of the grape juice or fruit juice.
You could use Baker’s yeast and it would work. Feel free to do so if you do not have access to a local wine or brew shop. Or, you can go to an online store and order some EC-1118 winemakers yeast.
A special note about Sugar and Fruit - - -
Grapes that are harvested at exactly the correct time are brimming with natural sugar. They are tested electronically while still on the vine to determine the exact peak time of day when the sugar content is the highest. These types of grapes never need sugar added – they already have enough.
Grapes that you get at the grocery store are harvested unripe so that they will not spoil during the delivery to your supermarket. It is difficult, at best, to make a good wine from these store bought grapes. They were not ripe when they were picked, and the sugar content was probably very low. If you use grapes from the store, you will need to check the sugar content with a hydrometer (see equipment chapter) and you will probably need to add quite a bit of sugar.
The best thing to do is always use a hydrometer and check the sugar content yourself.
If you are going to buy Fruit Juices at the store, use natural whole juices with NO PRESERVATIVES. Preservatives will KILL YEAST –that’s what they are there for.
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