How To Make Wine
How to Make Commercial Level McLaren Vale Wine
Your taste is global, your interests wide, and culturally rich. You are ready to adventure out and expand your palette and talents.
Well, look no further!
McLaren Vale Cellars will teach you how to make commercially ready wine step by step!
From white wines, red wines, the McLaren vale shiraz herself, or a specialty cabernet, Mclaren Vale Cellars collects a range of flavors and experiences in a unique online platform. Meant to indulge, simmer, and soothe yourself in the sweet aromas of new opportunities.
THE CLASSIC TAKE
Making A Complete Commercially Success Level Wine At Home
Your Essentials List
Every craftsman needs a certain amount of tools in his workshop. Below you will find a list of the Mclaren Vale Wineries' suggestions on how to get started. For seasoned pros and beginners alike.
GRAPES
Well, we hope you wouldn't forget this one. Try to get your hands on some Premium McLaren Vale Wine Grapes.
PRIMARY + SECONDARY FERMENTERS
Both signatures in the winemaking process, the length of flavor in the grape, and the foundation to any great wine. The key to great wine is discovering the proper fermenting system-sized container that will allow for the wine to aerate. You want something high quality and at least 2x of the liquid value.
For your secondary fermenter, look for something handy or nearby to keep the air from exposing your grape. Glass containers, water bottles, or old-fashioned milk jugs. Preferably looking for something on the smaller site when just starting. Both containers ideally should be able to be easily cleaned and sanitized for easy storage.
AIRTIGHT TICKET TO SUCCESS: THE AIRLOCK
Things are flying high on your one-way trip towards wine country. Soon you will be churning out bottles that will require an artisanal grade charcuterie staff ready at all times. Finding an AirLock for the secondary fermentation container. We suggest a valve that allows the natural fermentation process and encourages the carbon dioxide to rise out of the container.
HYDROMETER
The ultimate sugar tracker, diabetes chaser, and your Wine Making Club’s new best friend. It’s like a stopwatch for your Usain Bolt-level craft wine. We want to be able to see at which point in the fermentation process your wine is at depending on its alcohol levels and fermenting sugars.
CLEAR AND CLAIRVOYANT TUBING
You can find this at any craft store, kitchen supplies shop, or hardware store. Clear tubing gives you the ability to notice if any sediment is sticking or not. The longer the better. 6 to 8 feet in prime time.
POPPIN BOTTLES
Where shall you put your creation? The bottle is your wine’s home. It’s the center. It’s a never-ending peaceful sanctuary until it fills your mighty chalice. Choose wisely by either buying fresh or recycling an old favorite for nostalgic values.
STOP TALKING + CORK IT.
You have to store it somehow. Cork your bottles with your classic #9 style corks/ screw caps. Or opt for a rubber usable cork to be sexy and sustainable. If you get bored you can hit up your local wine store to see if they offer any cork deals. Oh, and we know you are strong, but please don’t forget your electric corker!!
LOT’S OF FUN-TIME (YOU NEED A FUNNEL)
Fermenter to Bottle. A noble task. One we know you can accomplish. But you’re going to need a proper funnel to cut down on, ‘oh shits’ and staining.
I’M THIRSTY! ARE YOU?
LET’S GET STARTED
THE MCLAREN VALE PAVED WAY TOWARDS HIGH-QUALITY, LUXURY, EXPERTLY CRAFTED WINE. Uncork your potential
THE WINEMAKING PROCESS
The grocery list is completed, your tool belt at the ready. You may begin.
STEP ONE: PREP YOUR POTION
You're gonna want to stomp. A lot. This step is crucial, essential, and probably the most fun. Stomping and crushing your grape leaves the most room for juices to explode, vary, and mix in together. We suggest pumping and pushing each grape with love and good energy. Our guidebook says it makes everything taste better. You can deny it. But the guide says so.
STEP TWO: LET US CLARIFY SOMETHING
This step is only necessary for white wines to de-cloud and creates the crystal clear transparency that makes summer just feel that much sweeter. Using a fining agent like bentonite will easily clear this mess up. Prepare the solution by adding the powder to 15 times its own weight, shaking vigorously. After letting stand for 24 hours, add to the wine, stirring occasionally.
STEP THREE: LET US GET CHILLY
Your grapes love to nap. Let them rest with your juice for around 24 hours in the fridge set to approx 8 degrees Celcius. This process lets all of those flavors, juice, and sugar levels stabilize before fermenting
STEP FOUR: IF YOU SKIP THIS YOU SHOULD QUIT NOW. UNLESS YOU LIKE VINEGAR.
Grab your bakery skills and prepare the yeast as if you were going to make a lovely french bread (Which we are also not against.) A little bit of love and warm water until the yeast is at the perfect consistency. It should look semi-frothy and dog food-like. Yum. Put the dog food in your grape juice and let the magic happen.
STEP FIVE: FERMENTATION STATION:
From here, your wine will naturally begin to develop its own unique and robust flavoring. Make sure to keep a keen eye on the fermentation process to track sugar levels and how sweet you would like the wine to be.
STEP SIX: RACK IT UP
Once your fermentation process is complete, flawless, and has a fantastic base, you will need to begin the racking step. Racking is when you separate the yeast cells, debris from the grape skins, and other sediments from the bottom of the container. Take a hold of your Clairvoyant Clear Tube and begin transferring it to your secondary fermentation container. A MUST for reds, but if you like your whites a little more earthy, skip this step.
STEP SEVEN: SECONDARY FERMENTATION
Optional. However, if you prefer a wine with a little less bite, this will stabilize the pH levels and make it a bit more palatable.
STEP EIGHT: FILTER OUT THE FLUFF
It’s almost bottoms up! To fully stop the fermentation process, filtering out any lasting yeast cells will keep your wine at the current flavor and avoid any accidental bottle explosions from a pent-up cork.
STEP NINE: 99 BOTTLES OF WINE ON THE WALL 99 BOTTLES OF SEXY WINE YOU JUST MADE BECAUSE YOU ARE AN EXPERT CRAFTSMAN WITH A SUCCESSFUL AT-HOME WINE BUSINESS
Voila! As fierce and as effortless as the South of France. You have created your very own homemade Mclaren Vale-approved wine! Enjoy, pair, send us your creations, and let us know how it went!