Today's Wine Cellars Article

Home Wine Making Secrets Revealed

The Latin word 'amateur' means 'lover' and originally referred to someone who did something out of the love of doing, rather than 'just for the money'. They were regarded as the highest experts because they honed their craft motivated by joy instead of monetary reward.

Though the professionals of wine still imbue their work with passion and skill, amateurs -- with the help of modern technology and knowledge passed down over generations -- can often approach similar results.

Fermentation biochemistry was ill-understood until the beginning of the 20th century. But even so, the process has been used for over 5,000 years. Left unmolested a wine grape would ripen until the skin ruptured and the juice fermented naturally. Today, the process is guided by art and science.

Harvested grapes are put into a press where they are turned into must -- a mixture of skin, pulp and juice. Natural (residing on the skin, near the stem) and added yeast interacts with the sugars in the juice and produces ethanol (alcohol), carbon dioxide and heat. The process continues until the sugars are all reacted or the yeast is killed by the buildup of the reaction products.

Thanks to Pasteur and others the process is now tightly controlled to produce just the desired result. For those not fortunate enough to have a vineyard handy, juice concentrates can be purchased for a modest cost.

Add sugar, acids, yeast and nutrients (to assist the yeast) to a container (a carboy or jug) and allow to sit idle for 3-10 days at 75F (24C). Specific recipes available with the concentrate give amounts and details. Strain off the liquid from the pulp and allow to ferment at 65F (18C) for several weeks until bubbling stops. Siphon off sediments (lees) and store the bottles on their sides at 55F (13C) for six months (white) to a year (red) before tasting.

Of course, it sounds simpler than it is -- but neither is it beyond the dedicated amateur's ability. The process is monitored and (sometimes) adjusted on a daily basis. Thanks to inexpensive refractometers to measure sugar concentrations, hydrometers, thermometers, temperature controlled cabinets and a host of other items the job is now much easier.

But it's less expensive than the average photography fanatic's budget, and with equally pleasurable results. Well, one hopes, anyway.

It will come as no surprise, that much can go wrong while nature is taking its -- well, natural -- course. Fermentation can fail to start, it can start and then mysteriously cease prematurely, the output can be excessively sweet or hazy or full of sediments. The wine can have too much pectin, too much bacteria, taste flat or sulphurous or even moldy. Crystals can form from storing in too much cold or secondary fermentation can result from storing too hot. Sometimes these are deliberate.

But, thanks to the Internet, there are now hundreds of websites devoted to helping the eager amateur vintner in producing wines that rival the masters. All you have to do is practice for about a hundred years.

Bonne chance!

About the Author

Are you are wine lover, are you a wine collector or just and avid wine drinker? On our website we divulge the huge difference between a Rich Wine lover and a Poor Wine lover and We will show you secret places to find the best wines. It's not what you already know, its an eye opener. Go now -> Secrets of Great Wines

Burgess is a health and fitness writer.

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The Benefits Of Wine On Your Health

How did wine come into being? Thousands of years ago, an unknown person must have accidentally let some sweet fruit juice to ferment. May be this was grape, figs or the juice of dates. This led to the fermentation of sugar present in the juice and thus wine came into existence. Wine has become a common beverage and is consumed by many cultures today. In many countries people drink wine with their food, and this is one reason perhaps why heart disease is much lower in European countries.

The idea that wine is good for health is not something new. The father of medicine, Hippocrates has written about the advantages and qualities of wine. Modern day research shows that people consuming wine daily with meals are not prone to heart diseases.

There are two benefits of wine on health. The content of alcohol in wine, irrespective of its color being red or white protects the heart and the phytochemicals from the grape skin present in the wine also protects you from heart diseases. Due to these two advantages wine is considered to be a good drink when compared to other alcoholic beverages. Whether it an alcoholic beverage or wine, controlling consumption is very essential. Too much of any drink, including wine, is not too good.

Wine is very beneficial to the heart as it contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are derived from grape skins and are phytochemicals. Red wine is made by fermenting grapes with their skins and during the process flavonoids from the skin leak into the wine. The wine gets its flavor and color by this process. Red wine has flavonoids and white wine does not because the skin of the grapes is removed while making white wine and hence the content of flavonoids in white wine is very low. Flavonoids protect the LDLs and prevent blood clots. Though in purple and red grapes flavonoids are present in large quantities, only one third of it leaks into the wine.

The Wisconsin University after a study has concluded that flavonoids present in red wine prevent the blood platelets from getting sticky and hence prevent blood clots and decrease the risk of getting a heart attack. Studies reveal that red wine is good for health provided it is consumed with meals. The amount and the time that wine is consumed are very important in how flavonoids and alcohol affect heart health. In Italy and France heart diseases are comparatively low. People start drinking wine from a very early age and drunkenness is almost nonexistent as people drink moderately. People find it pleasurable to sip wine leisurely during meals.

However, if one drinks an entire bottle of wine all at once and then divides it by seven and says that he is a ?moderate? drinker over the week he is missing a point here. There must be moderation all the time. Alcohol including red wine consumption comes with a certain amount of risk, so before you buy any be cautious.

Drinking regularly may damage mental function and also affect your memory. People who have more than four to five drinks a day become prone to hypertension, which may cause kidney failure, heart attacks and diseases that are related to the liver. You are more prone to accidents at work and road accidents if you have no control over the alcohol you consume.

Excessive drinking among women will increase the risk of breast cancer and drinking is often related to heart diseases. Women must talk to their physicians about cancer risks before they choose to consume alcohol on a daily basis, and they should remember to drink moderately.

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