Saturday, December 21, 2002

The A, B, C’s of beer and wine making - Part three

(a) General. Any adult may, without payment of tax, produce wine for personal or family use and not for sale.

(b) Quantity. The aggregate amount of wine that may be produced exempt from tax with respect to any household may not exceed:

(1) 200 gallons per calendar year for a household in which two or more adults reside, or

(2) 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only one adult residing in the household.

(c) Definition of an adult. For the purposes of this section, an adult is any individual who is 18 years of age or older. However, if the locality in which the household is located has established by law a greater minimum age at which wine may be sold to individuals, the term "adult" will mean an individual who has attained that age.

(d) Proprietors of bonded wine premises. Any adult, defined in § 24.75(c), who operates a bonded wine premises as an individual owner or in partnership with others, may produce wine and remove it from the bonded wine premises free of tax for personal or family use, subject to the limitations in § 24.75(b).

(e) Limitation. This exemption should not in any manner be construed as authorizing the production of wine in violation of applicable State or local law. Except as provided in § 24.75(d), this exemption does not otherwise apply to partnerships, corporations, or associations.

(f) Removal. Wine produced under this section may be removed from the premises where made for personal or family use including use at organized affairs, exhibitions or competitions, such as home winemaker's contests, tastings or judgings, but may not under any circumstances be sold or offered for sale. The proprietor of a bonded wine premises shall pay the tax on any wine removed for personal or family use in excess of the limitations provided in this section and shall also enter all quantities removed for personal or family use on ATF F 5120.17, Report of Bonded Wine Premises Operations. (Sec. 201, Pub. L. 85-859, 72 Stat. 1331, as amended (26 U.S.C. 5042))

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1512-0216)

Sort of dry stuff, right?  Of course it is, but most information like this is. 

By now, some of us are ready to start making wine.  Where do we get the stuff to do it with?  One can truly make wine from any thing from pea pods to grapes, to dandelions to any kind of berries or fruit or flowers.  The best thing to make wine from is anything you can get for free.

What are we going to make our wine from?  Local apples? This makes fantastic wine believe it or not.  We used to have a place where an orchard had grown over and gone into neglect. Yet it yielded tons of apples each year.  So down we would go with our 5 children and pick bushels of apples.

We had located an old fellow who had a big press and he agreed to press  the apples on shares.  We got half the juice and he got half the juice and all the left over stuff to feed to his pigs.  Good deal for all around.  We made a day of it. Every year for 14 years until it finally was considered a family tradition.

We would drag many 5 gallon glass carboys back filled with this wonderful apple juice.  We would set aside some to drink during the fall and make wine with the rest.

But here is a smaller recipe for starters.  One can make wine for about 55 to 60 cents a bottle.  Below you will also find definitions of the basic equipment you will need.

Apple Wine  ( This recipe can be used to make pear wine also.  Use pears that are just starting to ripen)

Place fruit in primary fermentor. Pour boiling water over it. Let sit overnight.

24 hours later, add balance of ingredients. Stir to dissolve sugar. Stir daily for 5 to 6 days or until frothing ceases. Strain out fruit and squeeze as much juice out of it as you can. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.

For a dry wine, rack in three weeks, and every three months for one year. Bottle.

For a sweet wine, rack at three weeks. Add 1/2 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup wine. Stir gently, and place back into secondary fermentor. Repeat process every six weeks until fermentation does not restart with the addition of sugar. Rack every three months until one year old. Bottle.

If wine is not clear, or still has quite a bit of sediment forming between rackings, Fine the wine as follows.

Use wine finings or plain gelatin. Gelatin: use 1 teaspoon per 6 gallons of wine. Finings: 1/2 teaspoon per 5 gallons or as per package directions. Soak in 1/2 cup cold water for 1/2 hour. Bring to a boil to dissolve. Cool. Stir into wine. Let sit 10 to 14 days. Rack. If not clear enough yet, repeat process. DO NOT increase amount of gelatin or finings. The mixture will stay suspended in the wine, preventing it from ever clearing. Bottle once wine is clear.

The wine is best if you can refrain from drinking it for one full year from the date it was started.

Basic equipment with estimated prices.

1 gallon jug -- $2.99

air lock -- $2.79

siphon tube -- $2.99

2 gallon or larger food grade bucket. You can usually get these free at many restaurants or ice cream parlors.

Additional equipment with estimated prices.

hydrometer -- $9.99

acid test kit -- $12.00

5 gallon secondary fermentor -- $15.99 and up

8 gallon food grade bucket -- $12.00 and up

corker -- $21.99 and up

bottles -- free to $11.99 per dozen

Supplies with estimated prices.

yeast -- $0.75 - $1.19

tannin -- $2.19

acid blend -- $7.29

pectic enzyme -- $2.99

campden tablets -- $1.99

yeast nutrients -- $2.99

Finings -- $1.99

bottle cleaner (Saniton) -- $2.99

corks -- $3.99

The supplies will last through many batches of wine and are available in varying sized packages at varying prices. Except for the yeast as one package of yeast is needed for up to 5 gallons of wine .  That is why I did everything in a minimum of 5 gallons at a time.  My primary fermentor was a very large plastic garbage pail. Usually 30 gallons and I started 25 gallons at a time.

My secondary fermentors were the large glass or plastic carboys. The kind that are used on the water coolers.

To cut costs when you are just getting started, only buy the supplies you need for the recipe you have chosen.   I also had 1 gallon jug and one ½  gallon jug. These were useful if there is any extra that won't fit in the 5 gallon. I could then use it to top up the 5 gallon after racking the wine.

After awhile I graduated, on some wines, to barrels.  But this was about in my 3^rd or 4^th year of serious wine making.

If you are making your first batch of wine, you don't need to get bottles, corks and a corker. The wine may be stored in one gallon jugs with the airlocks on them. Just be sure to keep the airlock filled with water or the wine may spoil. Or, you can purchase screw-on lids for $0.12 to $0.40 each. Either way, once you start drinking the wine, you will have to finish that jug within a few weeks to prevent it oxidizing from the large airspace.

Don’t let all this scare you off.  The equipment is pretty easy to get nowadays and is really inexpensive and lasts a long time.

Years ago in the mid 60’s the two closets big cities for us was Cornwall, CA about 28 miles away or Albany, NY about 250 miles south of us. So we would drive into Canada to get our stuff.  At the border they could never figure out what to classify the wine making supplies as, since it was not in their manual. But scientific equipment was.. yes, you guessed it.  We were scientists!

Siphoning from the primary fermentor

                                       To the secondary fermentor.

Now it is easy to buy this stuff off the net or if you have a supply place nearby.  We, at one time, opened our own wine and beer making supply store and craft shop.  Ran it for a year and decided it was not one of our greatest ideas and closed it up.  It was called the “Crafty Bunch”. 

Here is what some of this stuff looks like.

You will need a long a long handled bottle brush.  I kept my primary fermentors in the kitchen because they needed a different temperature than the cooler temperature of our wine cellar.  Depending on the wine I was making, the secondary fermentor or carboys usually were kept in the cooler wine cellar and of course all the bottles after the bottling was done.  Bottling parties were really fun. Everyone came and we had quite a production set up.  Of course we all got to sample the year old stuff.

Here are some “C” terminology.

C

Cabernet Franc (Cab-air-nay Frahn) - French red wine grape used in a Bordeaux blend.  The Cabernet Franc that is grown in California and the Loire Valley produces a spicy wine with medium body. Increasingly trendy as a varietal, in which blueberry aromas are characteristic.

Cabernet Savignon (Cab-air-nay So-vee-n'yawn) - One of the noblest of the red wine grape varieties, used in Bordeaux, and successfully grown in many countries.  Cabernet Sauvignon is often referred to as the king of red wines.

Cahors (Cah-ORE) - Wine region in Southwestern France, close to Bordeaux and well known for inky-dark red wines made from the Malbec grape.

Candylike - In wines made for early consumption this term is used to describe the perfumed fresh fruit aromas and flavors of the grape.

Capsule - Refers to the metal or sometimes plastic protective sheath over the cork and neck of a wine bottle.  A capsule protects the cork from drying out and letting air into the bottle.

Caramel - Refers to a burnt-sugar smell and taste in oak-aged Chardonnay from a hotter than usual growing season.

Carbonic maceration - Fermentation for light red wines, especially Beaujolais, that takes place inside the skins of whole, uncrushed grapes in the absence of air, in a carbon dioxide atmosphere.

Carignan (Cah-reen-yawN) - Increasing popular red grape from Southern France with a sometimes peppery character like Syrah.

Cava - Spanish sparkling wine produced by the traditional French méthode champenoise, of bottle fermenting champagne. The word cava originated in Catalonia and means 'cellar'.

Cedar/Cedary - Refers to an element of cedar wood in the bouquet of Cabernet Sauvignon that has been aged in either American or French oak.  Can also be present in Cabernet blends that are aged in the same way.

Cellared by - Means the wine was not produced at the winery where it was bottled.

Cépage - A variety of grape. 

Chablis - Excellent dry, full-flavored, white wine made from Chardonnay grapes in the region of the same name in northern Burgundy.

Chai - A French term for an aboveground structure used for wine storage and aging, that is popular in Bordeaux.

Chambourcin (Sham-boor-saN) - A pleasing red French-American hybrid wine grape, widely used for in the Eastern USA in the production of table wines.

Champagne - Sparkling wine made in the region of the same name, just 70 some miles northeast of Paris, using a traditional process in which the wines are bottle fermented, and made only from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes.

Chancellor - A French hybrid grape used to produce hearty red wines mostly in the Canada and the Eastern USA.

Chaptalization - The process of adding sugar to the fermenting wine to raise the final alcohol level.  A process that can give wine a candied nose. Because the sugar is converted to alcohol, it does not add sweetness to the finished wine, but is forbidden in some regions.

Character - A wine's distinctive personality that stem from a combination of a region's wine-making traditions, soils, and grape varieties.

Charbono - An Italian style red grape used mostly in California to produce robust, richly flavored red wines.

Chardonnay - One of the world's most well known and noble white grape varieties that produces possibly the most popular medium to full-bodied white wines.  Varies widely in style from crisp lemon-lime-mineral flavors of classic Chablis to rich, oaky, buttery wines. Also apple and green apple aromas are classic although tropical fruit and pineapple often show up especially in US and Australian Chardonnays, and when aged in oak barrels aromas of vanilla, spice and definite tropical fruit flavors can be present.

Charmat - The process of mass producing, generally inexpensive, sparkling wines in large stainless steel tanks, and then bottling under pressure.

Chasselas - White wine grape variety most common in dry Swiss white wines.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape - A favored, complex, dry red wine produced in the Rhone region of Southern France, made from a blend of up to 13 specific grape varieties, and boasts a history reaching back to the 14th century sojourn of the Catholic Popes in nearby Avignon.

Chelois (Shel-wah) - A French hybrid grape that makes a light and fruity red wine, used somewhat in the Eastern US.

Chenin Blanc - A versatile, noble, French white wine grape used to make the famous dry, slightly sweet whites of the Loire Valley. Can be found in California and other regions too, and is somewhat variable, although pleasant honey overtones along with cantaloupe and honeydew melon flavors and light muskiness are common.

Chewy - Rich, full-bodied wines with unusual thickness of texture or tannins that one almost "chews" before swallowing.

Chianti - The fruity, classic, dry red wine from Tuscany, made from Sangiovese and other grape varieties in North Central Italy.  Chianti Classico is made from grapes grown in the central part of the region and is considered more desirable - to be labeled Chianti Classico, both the vineyards and the winery must be within the delimited region.

Cigar Box - Another descriptive for a cedary nose or aroma, classically pertaining to Médoc Cabernet Sauvignon. Spanish cedarwood is traditionally used in making cigar boxes.

Cinsaut (or Cinsault) (SaN-so) - a dark red French wine grape, most common in Languedoc.

Citric/Citrusy - The smell of lemon, grapefruit or lime in the bouquet and as an aftertaste, most common in white wines made from grapes grown in cooler regions of California, Canada and some other regions.

Claret - An old British term for red Bordeaux.

Clean - Fresh, with no discernible defects; refers to aroma, appearance and flavor.  Not necessarily indicative of quality.

Clone - A group of vines derived by propagation from a single mother vine, or source. Clones are selected for the unique qualities of the grapes and wines they yield, such as flavor, productivity and adaptability to growing conditions.

Clos - An old term often used in French wine names that means a walled vineyard. Used by some California producers.

Closed - Young, undeveloped wines that do not readily reveal their character, that are shy in aroma or flavor, are said to be closed. Can be expected to develop with age.

Cloudy - Opposite of clear or brilliant. Characteristic of old wines with sediment, but it can be a warning signal of protein instability, yeast spoilage or re-fermentation in the bottle in younger wines.  Sometimes also results from sediment being stirred up during transportation.

Cloying - Refers to ultra-sweet or sugary wines that lack the balance provided by acid, alcohol, bitterness or intense flavor.  Can sit heavily on the palate not unlike honey.

Coarse -  Usually refers to harsh or clumsy flavor and texture, sometimes in particular, excessive tannin or oak.  Also used to describe harsh bubbles in sparkling wines.

Cold Stabilization - A clarification process in which a wine's temperature is lowered to 32° F, causing the tartrate crystals and other insoluble solids to precipitate.

Collioure - A dry red wine produced in Bayuls in southwestern France.

Complete - Refers to a mature wine that provides good follow-through on the palate, a satisfying mouth-feel and firm aftertaste.

Complex - Wines that possess the elusive qualities where many layers of flavor seem to unfurl and change over time in the glass. A balance that combines all flavor and taste components in perfect harmony. A complex wine is a combination of richness, depth, flavor intensity, focus, balance, harmony and finesse.

Concord - A native American grape - vitis labrusca - used in making traditional country style red wines with the aroma of grape jelly and a flavor that tasters sometimes refer to as foxy.

Constantia - A legendary sweet wine produced in South Africa, and said to have been a favorite of Napoleon.

Cooked - A term sometimes used to describe wines that are overripe or wines of very hot growing regions.

Cork -traditional bottle stopper produced from the bark of cork trees are the best way to seal wine bottles.

Corbieres - A Languedoc region where desirable red wines are made based on Syrah, Carignane and other varietals.

Corked - Describes a bottle of wine that is "off" due to air spoilage, a tainted cork or improper cellaring.

Cornas - Wine region in northern Rhone that produces a fine, ageworthy wine from Syrah.

Cortese - White wine grape grown in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy, that produces a light-bodied, crisp, well balanced wine. Best known for the wine called Gavi.

Cosecha - Spanish word for 'vintage'.

Cote Rotie - Superb, age-worthy red wine produced in the northern Rhone which is primarily Syrah based and named for the 'roasted slopes' on which the vineyards grow.

Coteaux du Languedoc - Appellation in Southern France and a popular, fine dry red wine produced  with various blends, combinations or individually using Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and others.

Cotes-du-Rhone - General term for Rhone Valley appellation and the red or white wines produced there.

Creamy - The almost 'silk like' texture - taste component - some wines have in the mouth. Can refer to the texture of champagne, or the vanillin smell that new oak imparts to wine.  Creamy is in contrast to crisp.

Crianza - Spanish term for "aged in oak".

Crisp - A fresh, almost green apple like, brisk character, usually with lively acidity, and usually referring to white wines.

Cru Classe - French legalese meaning 'classed growth', referring to a vineyard historically identified as being of exceptional quality.

Cuvee - The blend of different grapes that make up a specific wine.  A French term for 'vat'

Are we having fun yet?

Just email me with any questions or if you are in the area, stop in and say hello.   Please remember to ……

“Tread the Earth Lightly”… and in the meantime… may your day be filled with…

Peace, Light and Love,

Arlene W. Correll