Learn how to make wine easily with My Winemaking’s Free Guide!

Many people think that when it comes to making wine, you neeed to be an expert, but that’s not true. What you’ll find in this guide is the easy way to make wine whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned pro. From picking out the right equipment to blending brilliant recipes all from the comfort of your home, we’ll show you how in our guide.

Since the birth of winemaking, it has been possible to create fine wines from the comfort your home. With even the most basic understanding of the craft, enthusiastic beginners can start to create delicious wine to be shared amongst friends and family.

What you will need to make wine

Here is the outline of all the equipment you’ll need before endeavoring into the world of wine making:

Here at My Winemaking we have also reviewed the range of wine making kits available for buying online.

1 Large container

Of course, to keep all the great wine you’ll be making, you will need a container, either glass of plastic, to keep the mixture in. It’s important to check there are no scratches on the inside of the container, as this could risk either contamination of your mixture, or for the container to become weakened and break.

1 bored (with a hole in) cork bung



The cork you use in this process should have a hole between 25 and 35mm wide, and the size of the cork itself will vary depending on your airlock and container size. Ensure that the cork is in good condition, relatively new with no scratches, as with your container.

1 fermentation lock (air lock)



Air locks are another very important component, because they help keep your mixture free from any harmful elements such as various bacteria, by keeping air exposure to a minimum inside your container.

1 plastic funnel



A plastic funnel is used simply to remove any unwanted solid material when you pour your mixture through into the container.

1 syphon tube



Syphons give you a quick and easy way to transfer your wine from your container over into your barrels, or your barrels.

A sterilising solution



It’s important that your sterilise every piece of kit that comes into content with your wine, and there are several options of steriliser to choose from to do this.

Campden tablets (for sterilising)



These sulphur-based tablets are used to kill any bacteria that might have found their way into your brew.

1 hydrometer



This gadget lets you know when your wine has finished the fermentation process, and helps you measure just how strong your new found recipe is!

Wine bottles (and corks)



Pick something nice to house the final product.

Let’s Get Started!

Sterilising your kit

You must make sure everything that you’re going to use in the process is sterilised properly.

You can do this either by hand, with a sterilising liquid, or simply by putting your equipment into the dishwasher at around 183 degrees with the right detergent.

The Mixture

Start by boiling a large amount of water in the biggest pan you can find. Bring the water to around 144 degrees, and maintain this temperature for 22 minutes.

The Juice

This is where you get to be creative. Pretty much any flavour juice is capable of being used when brewing wine. Make sure that whichever flavour/fruit you choose, the juice is free of any additives other than natural vitamin C (ascorbic acid), as this will ruin your brew.

Once you’ve picked the flavour for you, simply add it into your container at room temperature using the funnel.

The Sugar

Whilst the water is still bubbling in the pan, pour your sugar in, and stir until it has dissolved completely.

Activating the yeast

You can activate your yeast by dissolving around 1 teaspoon of sugar in a small cup of lukewarm water, before adding your yeast and leaving the mixture for around 8 minutes.

Adding the water to the juice

Once your water has cooled in the pan to a lukewarm temperature, you can pour it into your container (containing the juice). It is important you make sure the water is not too hot; otherwise you could damage your container, especially if you are using glass.

Adding the yeast

Carefully add your yeast mixture, which should now be visibly frothing. Once added, stir well with a clean piece of equipment.

Using your airlock

Take your airlock, and attach it to the mouth of your container, ensuring it is sealed tightly. The advantage of using the airlock is that some CO2 can escape, and you can monitor the fermentation as you can see the bubbles passing through.

Using your Hydrometer

Whilst you can monitor the fermentation process using your airlock, the most accurate way to measure the progress of your brew is with a hydrometer.

Leaving your mixture

Make sure once you have completed all the above steps, you keep your container in a space away from any direct sunlight, and at room temperature. You can tell if the process is going as it should by monitoring bubbling, and with the hydrometer as mentioned above. When the mixture goes from cloudy to clear, it’s ready!

Finishing touches

Finally, using your syphon tube or a similarly clean method, transfer your wine over into bottles or barrels, and enjoy your new creation!

Once you’ve mastered your brew, why not try one of our great wine making recipes!

Other information

Wine making at home is prevalent in societies through early primitive days. May be accidental, but natural yeast might have got mixed with grape juice placed in open for long time giving sufficient time for fermentation. The resultant mixture, when tasted must have given a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction which resulted in discovery of this most ancient industry all over the world.

With passage of time, human races in different continents learnt innovative methods to prepare the wine at home with locally available fruit juices and sugarcane juice. They developed skills in wine making with aid of art and science and refined the process by controlling it environmentally.

Nowadays, wine making has evolved to such a level, especially at home, that you can now make a variety of recipes by experimenting with the brewing process. Many exciting flavours can be created during the fermentation of wine, from blackberry wine to other even more outside-the-box ideas.

The equipments required in wine making at home are hydrometer to check sugar levels, a primary fermentation vat like lidded bucket of 4 gallons capacity, secondary fermentation containers such as three one liter glass jugs with rubber cocks to fit into its mouth, funnel to fit in glass mouth, three air locks to act as fermentation traps, bag of nylon mesh, six feet long half inch diameter plastic tube, storing bottles with sanitized corks and hand corker.

The most required ingredient is raw material i.e. grapes or any other desired fruit in sufficient quantity. Other ingredients are wine yeast, granulated sugar, filtered water and additives to control the process. The main additives are Campden tablets to prevent oxidation, enzymes, acids, tannins, yeast nutrients and others to control production of wine. Desired flavors are also added in mixture.

Step one involves cleaning and sterilizing of equipments with proper bleach powder in wine making. Crushing of healthy grapes after removing their stems and throwing away rotted grapes is done in primary fermentation container by hand or press. Add wine yeast and other additives to the crushed grapes. Check the sugar content with hydrometer and if it is less than 1.010, add sugar dissolved in filtered water.

Sugar is quite helpful in boosting up the low alcohol levels. Stir the solution, cover the mouth of container with a cloth and leave it to ferment for 10 days. Froth will be developed on top and sediments will go down.

Remove the froth and sediment and pour the fermented juice in secondary container up to top and air lock it while ensuring that no air is left in container. Ferment it for several weeks. Now transfer the fermented juice leaving besides sediments in another secondary container with plastic tube help and let it ferment for few weeks. The process will go on till clear wine is formed.

Pour clear wine into clean and sterilized bottles with space for cork and a little air. Insert cork in filled bottle and store upright for three days. Now it is time to store these bottles at 55 degree Fahrenheit for long time. White wine to drink shall be available after six months of storing and Red wine after one year of storing.

Save money by wine making at home and enjoy the flavor and taste you cherish.

Your first wine from fresh grapes

Information on winemaking from Wikipedia