Making White Wine

As we have seen, red wine is fermented "on the skins" in order to extract the coloring matter and other ingredients lodged in the skins. In making white wine, the grapes are crushed and the fresh juice immediately separated by pressing so that it may ferment apart from the skins.

This fresh juice is checked for its sugar content and acidity, as in preparing to ferment red wine, and the proper corrections are made immediately after pressing. Likewise, a yeast "starter" is added.

The fermentation takes place in the same 5-gallon glass containers that are later used for storage. But as fermenters they are filled only two-thirds full as a precaution against any overflow or unmanageable formation of bubbles.

When the primary fermentation has run its course, the several partly-filled bottles are simply consolidated filled full and equipped with bubblers. Subsequent siphoning from sediment, chilling, and dosing with meta are carried out as with red wine.

If fining is necessary, it differs in one respect: before mixing in the gelatin, mix in an equal amount of dissolved tannic acid to remove the impurities. Tannic acid is obtainable at drug stores or winemakers' shops. as a powder. This provides better settling out of suspended matter.

Dry table wine is a food beverage, to be used with meals. Sweet wines are more like cordials.

The making of sweet wines takes advantage of a characteristic of the yeast organism, namely, that its activity dies down and it usually ceases to ferment sugar into alcohol after a fermenting liquid reaches an alcoholic content of around 13%. The secret, then, is to add an excess of sugar when correcting the juice of crushed grapes before fermentation. When fermentation ceases, there is still some residual sugar in the juice. From then on the still-sweet new wine is treated much as other wine.

The three important differences are: (1) the wine is siphoned from its sediment immediately after fermentation, without the waiting period at 60 F; (2) the chilling begins as soon as possible; and (3) the dose of meta added then and at each subsequent siphoning is doubled (1/2 teaspoon per 5 gallons instead of 1/4 teaspoon) to guard against spoilage and against any accidental resumption of fermentation.

1 To maintain proper sugar level when the acidity is reduced by adding water, it is easier to make up a sugar solution by dissolving 3 pounds of sugar in enough water to fill a 1-gallon jug.

2 Addition of some acid (citric or tartaric) may help. This can be done "to taste" after the active fermentation is over.

Dry table wines made from other fruits are rarely successful, but agreeable sweet wines may be made from them. The point to remember is that most fruits are lower in sugar than grapes and higher in acid. Corrections for both are almost always necessary, plus sufficient excess sugar to leave residual sweetness after fermentation.

These fruits, with the exception of apple juice, are fermented in a crushed mass in order to obtain a maximum extraction of characteristic odors and flavors. Once fermentation is concluded, they are treated like sweet grape wine. The table will serve as a rough guide to their relative sugar content and total acidity.

Vinegar

If a cork happens to pop out unnoticed and air reaches the wine for several weeks, there is a good chance that bacterial action will begin to convert the alcohol in the wine into acetic acid. Once the presence of acetic acid can be detected (a vinegar-like odor) the wine will lose its appeal as wine. A usable vinegar can be retrieved by encouraging the process to go to completion.

Vinegar produced from an undiluted wine will be overly strong, so an equal volume of water should be added. The container should be less than three-quarters full and closed with a loose cotton plug or covered with a piece of light cloth to keep out fruit flies.

If wine vinegar is your desired goal and no wine has started to sour, use a vinegar starter. A selected strain of vinegar starter can be purchased from some winemakers' shops, or a wild starter may be used. Frequently the water in an air-bubbler will have a vinegar-like smell. This can be used to start a batch of vinegar. The wine is diluted with an equal volume of water and the container partly filled and covered as above.

A warm, but not hot, location will speed the process. In a month or two the vinegar should be ready. The clear portion of the vinegar can be poured or siphoned off for use. If another batch is wanted, more of the wine-water mixture can be added to the old culture.