You have set up your wine making supply kit and are ready to go. You have all the grapes and fruit juices you need, but something is missing. You don’t have the right amount of yeast. Ah well…who cares? Do you really need yeast to make decent wine? Please, my friend. You already know the answer to that question.

Because so much emphasis is placed on the fruits needed to make wine, many overlook the value that yeast provides. Quite simply, without yeast you do not have wine…so simply have over glorified fruit juice. Yeast is essentially what creates the fermentation of alcohol and without yeast there is no alcohol. And, of course, without alcohol there is no wine. Yes, it is not impossible for the fruit’s juice to ferment without the addition of yeast, but this will only occur if airborne yeast is added to the mix. Again, without yeast you have no wine!

Also, it is important to note here that the type of yeast that you will need to use is wild yeast as this will provide the most dramatic effect on the wine making process. Yes, there have been instances where common store bought baking yeast has been used but it is an inferior additive and should be avoided. If you are going to make your own wine you want to make something superior to what is sold on store shelves and not something that is a pale imitator. So, stick with the right yeast and you can’t go wrong.

Once again, you want your homemade wine to be the best it can be and that means bringing all the necessary elements and ingredients together. If you skimp on something as important as the proper yeast the wine will suffer. Now, you don’t want that do you?

Homemade wine making supply equipment is pretty useless unless you have the right fruit in order to make the wine. Unfortunately, most people have a very narrow understanding of what type of fruit can be used for making wine. While most people will automatically think of grapes as being the main source, there are actually quite a number of other organic items that can be used as well.

Now, this is not to say that there is anything wrong with using grapes. In fact, grapes are quite excellent ingredients as they are composed of the proper amounts of sugar and acids that are needed to make quality wines. Additionally, grape yeast is critical to the success of a solid tasting wine; but grapes are not the “center of the universe” as far as wine making goes. In fact, you can pretty much use any fruit such as apples, oranges and even bananas. However, the levels of acid and sugar in these fruits may be lacking. This is really not a problem as adding such items can solve the problem.

Also, you can forgo using fruits altogether and use vegetables instead. Again, the caveat here is that vegetables are very, very low in sugar and acid. Without these elements, your vegetable wine is not going to be wine so much as it will be an over glorified health food drink! Again, the lack of sugar and acidic content should not be a problem as fruit juice may be needed to be added to the mix. On a side note, it is important to point out that beginners should stay clear of making vegetable based wine since it can contain ethanol which has been known to prove hazardous. So, leave the vegetable wine to the pros and give the other stuff a shot. In fact, why not try making banana wine? It sounds like a cool idea!

When someone browses a catalogue for home wine making supply equipment the first thing that pops into their head is “Cool! You can make wine at home!” Then, unfortunately, the second thing that pops into their head is “oh, I better not because I’ll probably get in trouble.” Now, while it is true that you can not make wine in your home and sell it outside your back door with no restrictions the truth of the matter is that making wine at home is legal and has been legal since 1978 when then President Carter signed a federal law making the production of homemade wine legal. Carter gets a ton of blame for inflation and the fall of the Shah of Iran, but no credit for legalizing homemade wine…what an oversight! Ok, in all seriousness, you can make wine in your home legally provided you follow certain baseline standards of behavior.

Basically, according to federal regulations a person living in a home by himself can legally make up to 100 gallons of wine per year. 2 or more people in the home can make up to 200 gallons per year. As long as a person stays within those guidelines then they are in compliance with federal law…it is as simple as that. However, what also needs to be pointed out here is that there may be also local and state laws that govern the production of homemade wine as well. Generally, these laws are not restrictive if the person is making the wine on a small scale. If the person attempts to mass produce tremendous quantities of wine then the authorities will usually step in.

Of course, most people only make a small amount of wine per year for personal use, gift giving or as a hobby so these laws will not effect them. As such, there is no reason to worry if you are thinking of taking part in this hobby.

“As much as I would like to purchase a homemade wine supply kit I don’t think I should because the whole wine making hobby is so foreign to me.”

This is a common attitude of people who are on the bubble in regards to purchasing the requisite homemade wine supply equipment. Part of the reason that they take this attitude is they are not entirely familiar with how the whole wine making process works. So, the following is a general overview of the common steps necessary to make homemade wine.

First, you pour the juice into the specified container. It is critical to keep the temperature below 75 degrees as anything higher may turn your wine into vinegar. The contents should then be stirred as yeast is added to the mix. Leave the mix be for a couple of days and allow it to ferment. After these two days go by, drop a hydrometer into the container to see it the alcohol level is where you want it to be. If it is below the requirements you are looking for adding a little sugar may be helpful. Place a lid over the container and fasten it. Then let the mixture continue to ferment for about a week. This should give enough time for the sedimentation to rest and the bottom and when the week is up you can start to siphon the wine from the container and into the requisite bottles and cork them.

Please note: the above is not a step by step instructional guide regarding how to make homemade wine. Instead, it is meant to provide a general overview that can help those wondering whether or not to purchase the equipment decide if this is a hobby worth pursuing. As one can see the process is not overly complicated so there is no reason to make it out as such.

If the average person was asked to create an image in their head of how wine is made they will often close their eyes and create a vision of vineyards and majestic wineries. Now, while this is hardly an inaccurate depiction of how wine is made some individuals may envision a radically different image. In fact, they may close their eyes and think of their grandparents setting up a homemade wine making supply contraction in their basement and fermenting homegrown fruit to create some uniquely tasting wine. Yes, homemade wine making is also a cultural event that has survived for many years. Although it had lost popularity in prior decades thanks to the internet making home winemaking equipment easily available to the public this tradition is starting to gain popularity once again.

If you ever watch the documentary ITALIAN-AMERICAN you will notice that homemade wine was a tradition among the immigrants who came from Southern Italy and Sicily during the early part of the 20th Century. In this environment, making wine at home was more than just a means of having a source of something to drink it was a retention of a cultural identity that would otherwise have been left in their homeland. Of course, it would be inaccurate to insinuate that the Italian culture is the only culture that embodied this trait, but it became the most well known and associated with it. This is why it is celebrated at a variety of annual Italian festivals held throughout the United States.

So, if you would ever like to see an excellent display of home wine making and its influence on maintaining a cultural identity visiting one of these Italian festival expos would be a fine experience. In fact, you may even be able to pick up a great bottle of wine while you are there!

When people mention the benefits of purchasing from a wine making supply company they often will extol a number of praises, but cost effectiveness is generally not often mentioned. Yes, they will rave about how great the wine tastes, what a wonderful hobby that homemade wine making is, or what a grand tradition it embodies but they generally will not mention that is it also an inexpensive venture. Perhaps this is an honest oversight, but it also perpetuates a myth that home wine making is expensive. Actually, when you look at the cost savings that this hobby provides it becomes clear that the cost benefits associated with it are quite vast.

When it comes to making a bottle of wine through a homemade method the ultimate cost of the bottle will run roughly $3. Now, as anyone who peruses the wine racks in the local supermarket will notice that a decent bottle of wine is $10 – $25. (Yes, there are bottles of wine that are $2, but they are hardly what would be classified as decent!) So, it goes without saying here that there is a tremendous amount of money that can be saved when making your own wine. In fact, the money that you save will eventually pay for the wine making equipment that you purchased. In that regard, the cost effectiveness of home wine making truly can not be denied.

Now, there will be those individuals who may be saying that they don’t really drink all that many bottles of wine per year. Ok, fair enough; but what about giving wine as a gift during the holidays? In addition to being a cost effective gift, such a gift would also be a unique and novel one as well. In this regard, homemade wine is a truly versatile product that literally is the gift that keeps on giving.

Purchasing home wine making supply items also comes with a certain level of responsibility and this means taking adequate care of the equipment to safeguard health. If you have ever eaten out you have surely noticed the rating that the Dept of Health provides for the restaurant. This is not a flippant or unnecessary display item and it serves a valid purpose. After all, if a restaurant or other food service venue such as a grocery store does not properly maintain itself in a sanitary manner all variety of maladies can occur.
Now, one of the biggest myths in existence is that it is better to eat at home than it is in a restaurant because at least at home you can ascertain cleanliness. Well, this is a myth because the board of health does not visit your kitchen to make sure that you are keeping it clean. In fact, it is not out of the question that many homes are very unsanitary in condition and this extends to those home wine making hobbyists who take less than adequate care of their wares.

Keep in mind it is not enough to merely clean the wine making equipment. It is critically important to sanitize the equipment so as to eliminate all the sickness inducing bacteria that may be present. This means that the equipment must be cleaned thoroughly and completely after each use. Always pay close attention to the equipment so as not to accidentally miss any spots. (This is how bacteria ‘escapes’ and grows) Then, be sure to rinse the equipment thoroughly after the cleaning. This process should never be skipped or skimmed. The cleaning/sanitation process needs to be undertaken every time the equipment is used. If not, at best you will end up with foul tasting wine and at worst you may find yourself very ill.

When it comes to making wine in the comfort of your own home, the process is a little more involved than simply stomping grapes in a tub and pouring out the resultant liquid. (Yes, this is what they do on the old cartoons, but on the old cartoons dogs can talk) In reality, when it comes to making wine at home the process is a little more involved. Keep in mind, involved is not meant to infer complicated. The process is actually quite simple provided you have an adequate wine making supply collection. Of course, this begs the question as to what such an adequate supply will consist of. Those considering taking on this hobby will be pleased to discover that most of the supplies are rather easy to acquire and utilize.
The basic supplies for home winemaking include a container in which the liquids can be fermented; an airlock container that can allow for gases to escape while not allowing any foreign elements to enter; and a siphoning hose able to separate the wine from the sediment. Of course, a straining bag may be useful but it is not always necessary as it is designed more for wine made from a variety of fruit. And, if there was one item that was often overlooked it would be a hydrometer which is a device that allows you to accurately assess the alcohol level of the wine. (You don’t want it too strong, too weak, etc)
As even a novice can see, none of the equipment that is described here is complicated or even expensive. All equipment is accessible and most can be purchased easily and cheaply via mail order. As such, anyone looking to become involved in home wine making can do so rather easily although the quality of the end result may vary depending upon the maker’s skill level.

When I say South Africa, what do you think of? Lions, tigers and zebras running around and taking a safari. If you are interested in animals, you will probably be thinking about the wildlife?if you are interested in wine, you will be thinking about their wine growing regions.

South Africa has really come into the international wine field in the past decade or so, and is a wine tourist destination as well. Recently, wine makers have been going to some of South Africa’s most famous appellations of origin to taste the magic.

South Africa is really ideal for making wine because of the climate and environment. Unlike some of the more traditional wine making countries, South Africa has a really good environment. There isn’t a whole lot of industrial pollution, so the wine is going to be really pure. The climate in South Africa is, overall, really dry and hot, which you probably know are ideal wine making conditions.

When you look at the average conditions that vintners in California, France or Italy pray for every year, and then look at what usually happens in South Africa, you will see that they are about the same.

What’s great about a while trip to South Africa is that it is going to be relatively inexpensive (once you pay for the airline). South Africa is definitely less expensive than France and Italy, so you can enjoy a longer vacation.

While there, make sure that you see the two star wine growing regions: Stellenbosch and Paarl. What is special about these two areas is that the history and culture can be seen in the wine. After taking a tour of a winery in these areas, you are going to be able to see traditional Afrikaans culture combined with modern winemaking technology.

A trip to South Africa is a place to taste a great wine and enjoy the scenery of Africa at the same time. While there, make sure to visit the vineyards along the ocean, feeling the cool breeze as it mixes with the hot air.

I don’t make wine myself, but I enjoy a few glasses of wine on a Friday or Saturday night while out with friends or enjoying a movie on the couch. Last year, I went to the Finger Lakes Wine Festival with one of my friends who likes to make wine, and he really enjoyed it.

What I liked about this festival is that it showed off some of the wines, allowing festival goers to taste last year’s vintage, learn a bit about some of the local wineries, enjoy a bit of entertainment and live music and buy some local arts and crafts. It’s a great party that even if you don’t like wine you will enjoy.

What my friend, who typically makes about three batches of wine a year, loved about this festival was the chance to talk to a lot of the vintners. The wine festival is typically held in July, so the weather is nice in New York, but it isn’t during the harvest time, so both the smaller and larger wineries from the Finger Lakes wine growing region can come out to represent their wines, answer questions or just talk about wine.

My friend also liked connecting with other home vintners who were in the hundreds. He said that networking with them was also a great opportunity, because they were able to swap emails and also talked about some of their problems that they have experienced and even boasted about their equipment.

More than 75 different wineries came last year, and the show is scheduled to be bigger and better than last year. If you are going to be in New York State this year, check it out, because it is a fun party, a nice place to taste wine and enjoy upstate New York’s summer.