What Should I Concern Myself With When Making Wine? 

When making wine from grapes, whether pure juice or concentrate, there are a number of variables you must be ready to deal with. What are these variables? The first thing that will help you create great wine is a knowledge of the hydrometer which is used for controlling the beginning sugar level of the ‘must’ and is critical when making wine from grapes. This is because the beginning sugar level is what determines the final alcohol level of the wine.  Secondly, just as sugar levels can vary, so can the acidity level and if the acid level is too high the wine will end up tasting sharp or sour.  On the other hand if the acid level in not high enough then the wine will taste flat and flabby. Thirdly in wine cellar builders Chicago the amount of time the pulp is allowed to remain in the fermentation bucket or tank needs to be controlled as this can range from one to seven days with five days being the most common. Fourth, the amount of pressure applied to the pulp during pressing can significantly alter the character of the wine, for instance, when the ‘must’ is first put into a wine press you will get what is called “free run” usually with very little sediment.  Consequently there are a many things that come into play when dealing directly with grapes instead of a concentrate such as: crushing, pressing and dealing with the sheer volume of grapes.  This is where you need to decide, the hard route with fresh grapes or the easy route with a concentrate! By Wine Cellar Specialist Custom Wine Cellars