Basic Red Wine Making Tips

To enhance the Tips section of our web site, we’ve started a Basic Wine Making Steps.  As the title suggests, this is a very basic set of steps to making a red wine. Should you have suggestions to improve the basic steps or be in total disagreement with one or more of these steps, please feel free to send us an email.

After the crush and before injecting yeast

  1. Determine the brix – should be around 24-25
  2. To determine potential alcohol – (brix * .575 = potential alcohol)
  3. Determine the acid level  - acid range should be .55 – .90 (.6 is good)
  4. When acid counts are high, pH counts are usually low.
  5. Adjust acid level before continuing with fermentation – add tartaric acid to bring level up; gravity range should be 1.090-1.098 for reds; add water to lower acid.
  6. By adjusting the acid, it typically adjusts the pH but potentially could promote a drop in pH.
Determine whether to add potassium metabisulfite (meta) to fermentation box

It is a good idea to add 50 ppm of metabisulfite at the crush regardless of temperature. This stuns the wild yeast and helps cold soaking without danger of fermentation. Add pectic enzyme to help break up the skins and extract color and you will get a better yield at press.

  1. Dissolve 5 crushed Camden tables in some water or must or ½ teaspoon (2.1grm) per 100 lbs of grapes
  2. Let stand for 24 hours before adding yeast
Extended Maceration: Decide on whether you are going to cold soak your must.

  • Keep must cool to approximately 50 degrees F
  • Keep a tight seal over the fermentation box. Add CO2 gas to displace air from wine surface.
  • You can keep the must cool by adding dry ice pellets directly into must or use frozen milk/juice containers
Preparing the dry yeast hydration batch

The best way of making a starter is to rehydrate the yeast, activate its life cycle, and add it to the must. The preparation is as follows:

  1. Generally use a 5 gram packet for up to 6 gallons of juice
  2. Get ½ cup of 105 degrees tap water or must (do not use distilled water)
  3. Stir gently, cover, allow to rehydrate for 20-30 minutes, attemperate to within 10 degrees F of the must.
  4. While the yeast is rehydrating, stir in pectic enzyme to the must (this helps the juice settle and conditions it to filter more easily). Use 1 ½ – 3 drops per gallon.
  5. Now ensure that the yeast is properly rehydrating, then add it to must by pouring it into one area. Don’t mix must.
  6. At this point you can also add some super food to the must.
During fermentation

During the fermentation process, a cap forms on the surface of the must.

  1. Punch down cap 2-4 times per day to prevent formation of acedic acid or vinegar
  2. Primary fermentation: first two weeks should be done in cool, dry location away from direct sunlight
  3. Longer and hotter fermentation (90 degrees) produces heavy, full-bodied dark red wine
  4. With shorter fermentation you get lighter color and body wine
  5. Once fermentation has run its course, skins will sink to bottom.
  6. Check with hydrometer – reading should be in the range of  1.000 – 1.010
  7. You can leave the juice covered in fermentation box  “on the skins” for up to 2 weeks for more color and complexity (though you run a greater risk of oxidizing the juice)
When to introduce malolactic fermentation

  • ML bacteria are temperature sensitive. Some say it is best to introduce the ML towards the end of fermentation (2-4 days before). Others wait until after the press to start ML.
  • ML can be added directly into the must or juice
Preparing for the press

  1. Remember that aeration is good during press
  2. Prepare carboys by cleaning them well
    • 1 tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water
    • 5 Camden tables or ½ teaspoon (3.1 grams) PM
    • Rinse out well
  3. Pour juice into carboys
  4. Put on the airlock
  5. Add oak chips: 2-3 tablespoons per 5 gallons if you’re not going to use barrels
Preparing for racking (rack wine 10-12 days after press)

  • Always sanitize siphon and secondary container
  • In making a sanitizing solution
    • Add 3 tablespoons of meta to one (1) liter hot water
    • Solution will last 6 months; rinse with cold water
If you add the Camden or meta to the must at the beginning, add another dose at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th rackings. If you add Camden or meta at the time of the 1st racking, add it again at the 3rd and 5th rackings and before bottling (when stabilizing the wine).

Rack every 4-6 weeks.

Preparing for Bottling

Add meta and potassium sorbate (yeast inhibitor) to stabilize the wine. Potassium sorbate will not affect the yeast without meta being present at the same time.

  • Add 1 – 1 ¼ grams per gal or 2 ½ teaspoons per 5 gal
  • Add 3 Camden tables (or ¼ teaspoon of meta) to 5 gal
Be sure the bottles are clean and have been rinsed in water before filling with wine. At bottling check SO2 concentration to be between 25 to 40ppm. This helps preserve color and stabilize wine for aging.