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Home Winemaking
1999 Chianti Experience
I decided to put my digital camera to good use, to buy a set of fresh winemaking equipment and to photograph every step involved in making a wine from a kit. Hopefully this will show how easy it is to make your own wine, and to encourage people to try!
Click on any photo to get more details about the picture.
10/24 Day 1 - In the Beginning ...
OK, we have all the equipment. We have the wine kit, the empty bottles,
the corks, you name it. They all sat in a pile in the kitchen for a
while until we returned from Las Vegas and settled down. Then, Sunday
night while the Yankees battled the Braves, I decided it was time to
get started.
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First, everything used in the process must be sterilized. Not just washed,
but super-cleaned to be sure nothing is left to grow and destroy your wine.
Remember, this is a delicious meal for all sorts of germs and molds! Take
the cleaning step seriously.
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After letting the equipment dry for 5 minutes or so, you start by adding
in water. Regular hot tap water - this is for dissolving Packet 1 into.
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In goes Packet 1. Mix it up well, swirling it around to dissolve it.
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Now you're ready for the concentrate, or whatever you're using to make
the wine out of. We used a Chianti kit for this experiment, and had to use
a knife to pry off the plastic lid.
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Now use hot water to swish around in the bag and get the rest of the
concentrate out.
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Fill the rest of the container up with water, leaving space at the top
for fermentation to occur.
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Stir this all together very well, being sure to use something clean
and sanitized to stir with!
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Measure the starting Specific Gravity. This will help you determine
when to perform subsequent steps and to make sure things are going well.
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Measure the temperature. For starting fermentation, temperature has to
be warm - 70 to 80 F. Make sure you monitor this for the next few days.
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Final step on Day 1 - add the yeast! Sprinkle it on the top, do not stir.
Cap with an airlock, and let your wine sit somewhere warm.
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Day 2 of Chianti
Chianti 1999 Main Page
Winemaking Main Page
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