Here is an article I decided to quote a part of that talks about making wine at home.  As you know, my biggest hobby is making my own wine in my own home and I will continue to do so for years to come.  I thought that some of you here would like to read a couple of tips if you are new to the entire process.  It can be quite a daunting task at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find a hard time stopping yourself!

Benefits of Making Homemade Wine

By  Mark Whalen

Many people enjoy a glass of wine. Either you have one with your dinner, or before you go to bed – it’s a great way to relax. Here you will learn how to make wine. There are many advantages to making your own wine. Here are six:

Fewer Preservatives. When you make wine – it contains less than 1/5th the preservatives of commercially produced wines. Large wine producers tend to over preserve wine to reduce spoilage. We all know – too many preservatives are not good for your health. Plus, many people are allergic to preservatives.

Better for the environment. When you make wine, you sterilize and re-use your bottles over and over. This means less landfill or energy used to recycle your used bottles. Over your lifetime think of how many wine bottles you have generated only to toss them in your recycle bin. Reduce, Re use, Re drink!

In Toronto Wine Making is popular because people save money. Come visit The Wine Butler, owned and operated by Mark Whalen.

Feel like discussing this article about homemade wine benefits? I am always up for a good discussion! Let me know what you all think about it and if you like that I’m bringing other content onto my site now.

Wine Tasting Is Important

As a wine maker, I have learned through my tests and trials that wine tasting is, in itself, an art.  It is something that will heighten your enjoyment for wine and make it that much more special.  It is a science as well as you must be able to tell early on whether your latest creation is going to be one that will make it past the fermentation process.

If you are thinking about getting started in the amazing hobby that is wine making, then keep these tips in the back of your mind when you are taste testing your creation (which you should do at least once every other day):

Appearance – The appearance of your end product should be one that is not cloudy in nature (unless you are making unfiltered wine).  You can use a piece of paper held up behind the wine glass to check the color, and to see if there are sediments in your wine.

Smell – Definitely one of the most critical components.  You always want to smell your wine before you taste it.  Swirl the wine around in your glass and sniff in the aromas above the rim.  Concentrate.  You will get good at this over time.  You will be able to pick up the aromas of grape, wood, leather, and anything else you may have added to the mix.

Taste - Now the best part!  Taste your creation.  Take a sip and fill maybe half of your mouth.  Move it back over your tongue.  You can even “chew” it as to get a better taste.  Ask yourself what your first impressions are.  Is it sweet?  Acidic?  Bitter?  Does the red wine make your mouth dry?  Silky and smooth or almost watery?  Drink it down or spit it out.  How does it taste in your mouth after wards?  The longer the finish in your mouth, the better the wine.

You will notice that when you create your own wine, the taste is of the highest quality.  It isn’t uncommon for me to bottle a batch of wine that is better tasting than the $200 bottles you find aging at restaurants.  Wine tasting is one of the most enjoyable parts of making wine.  As you make more and more batches, you will become better and better at testing.  Your enjoyment for wine will skyrocket as you’ll be able to taste the quality in all wines from every walk of life.

Good luck on your home wine making journey.

Jeff

I know that you’re a wine lover and possibly making your own wine, but have you taken the next step and designed your own wine bottle rack? If you’re like me, you don’t just cherish wine. You cherish all things wine. You should see my wine rack. I built it myself because I am a hardcore wine lover. I also make my own wine, but that is not what I’m writing to talk to you about. The purpose of this article is to give you some knowledge on wine racks and why you should make yours a great one.

As we know, wine racks are meant to store our wine bottles.  A lot of people place their wine racks in closets or basements.  This always baffles me because having a wine rack in your house as both a place to store the wine and a decorative piece is a great thing!  My wine rack is easily the center of attention in my house when I have people over.  People love looking at the types of wine that that I have made.  So, if you’re one of those types of people that think the closest is the best place to store your wine, it’s time to get creative.

One important rule that you must keep in mind is that wine should not be stored in an area where the cork may dry out.  If you live in a dry climate, make sure you have a humidifier in the room that has the wine rack.  If the corks dry out, your wine will become oxidized, therefore spoiling the flavor and hard work that went into making it.  However, if you use synthetic corks (which I do) you will not have this problem.

You will want your wine to be stored at a moderate room temperature.  Do not store the wine rack where your wine will be exposed to heat and sun light.  This is also bad for the wine and will, again, spoil the festivities quicker than you can say, “more wine?”  Yes, I am funny.

I spoke earlier about making your own wine rack.  This is definitely something that I think you should think about doing.  For all the wine makers out there, we know how fulfilling making and bottling your own wine is.  Take this the next step of the way and build your own wine rack to store the bottles on.  I don’t know much about woodcraft.  I learned how to build the rack from a couple of guides out there.  But my wine rack is awesome.  It is made from maple wood.  I then painted it red and applied ‘damage’ to give it an old look.  Like I said, when I have people over, they cannot stop staring at it.  My wine rack get’s more attention than me which makes me sad.  I find myself in the corner during parties jealous of the wine rack that all of the ladies attach themselves to.

Your next step is to make your own wine because that, my friends, will impress all of your friends and family.