How to Make White Wine at Home

This guide explains how to make white wine at home, with simple steps from crushing the grapes through to bottling.

White epitomises purity, and white wine fits into the same category. It is a beautiful-tasting wine that is fermented without any kind of skin contact: white, pristine and pure. The colour varies, however, from straw-yellow to yellow-gold or yellow-green depending on the method of preparation. Alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes results in this elixir.

Making wine might sound like a cumbersome process, especially when there are inexpensive bottles available on the market. But making your own wine has its perks. It is pure, and every ingredient that goes into your wine is under your control. You can make as much wine as you need and want. It is a wonderful gift too. Most importantly, the process is a lot of fun and can be a great opportunity to bring your loved ones together.

Here is a simple guide to help you make professional white wine in the comfort of your own home. Read on to find out more:

Day 1: Preparing and crushing the grapes

Step 1: Prepare your work area

Clean and sterilise all equipment that may come into contact with the grapes or juice. Make sure that all the sterilising solution has drained out of the containers before using them.

Step 2: Crush the grapes into the wine press

• Destemming is not necessary for good results.
• Crush directly into the press, or crush into a bucket and tip the bucket into the press.
• Collect the juice in a food-grade container. Dissolve the pack “Day 1 No. 1” in a glass of water. When dissolved, add it to the juice and mix well. “Day 1 No. 1” is Potassium Metabisulphite, and it is used to kill wild yeast, bacteria and so on.

• Take out a sample of the juice and test it with a pH meter. The pH should be 3.1 to 3.4.
• If the pH is higher than 3.4, add Tartaric Acid, using the following as an approximate guide:

• pH 4.0: approx. 3 g/L
• pH 3.8: approx. 2 g/L
• pH 3.6: approx. 1 g/L
• pH 3.5: approx. ½ g/L

• Add the acid in stages and retest the pH after each addition, as every juice responds differently. Dissolve the tartaric acid in some cooled-down, boiled water. When dissolved, add it to the must and stir well.

Test the juice with a hydrometer

• The ideal reading for making good wine is 12 to 13.5 Baumé. If the must presents different readings, then grape concentrate/dextrose or water should be added.
• For every Baumé degree less than 12, add one litre of grape concentrate/dextrose (per 5 boxes of grapes).
• For every Baumé degree more than 13, add ¾ litre of cold boiled water per box of grapes. Take out a glassful of juice and mix “Day 1 No. 2” in. Enzymes help to improve the juice yield and to separate the skins from the pulp. Add the mixed enzymes to the rest of the juice and stir well.
• Cover the must to keep it free from dust and insects. After using “Day 1 No. 1” you must wait 12-24 hours before adding the Day 2 packs. For better results, the juice should be refrigerated.

Day 2: Starting the ferment

Step 3: Transfer the juice into your fermentation container

• Make sure that you leave the sediments behind.
• The fermentation container needs to be only 2/3 full.
• Put the rest of the clean juice into another sterilised container and keep it cold.
• You will use this on day 5 or 6.

Step 4: Add the yeast

• Rehydrate the yeast and pour it into the must.
• Do not mix.
• Fit an airlock onto the container/barrel/tank.

Day 3: Feeding the fermentation

Step 5: Fermentation

• Dissolve ¼ of the pack “Day 2 No. 1” (yeast nutrient) in water.
• Add it to the must and mix well.
• Plunge the must from the bottom to the top to help fermentation and aeration.

Day 4 onwards: Boosting and topping up

• Dissolve the rest of the pack “Day 2 No. 1” (yeast nutrient) in water, add it to the must and mix well. This will work as a yeast booster.
• By now the must should be fermenting visibly, with bubbles coming through the airlock.
• As the bubbling slows down, top up the container with the juice that was stored in the refrigerator.
• The aim is to fill the container(s) as much as possible, leaving space for bubbling, so that when the fermentation is over the container is full.
• Keep the wine warm. The ideal temperature range is 18-20°C.

Step 6: Completion of fermentation

Fermentation is complete when all these tests are true:

• No more bubbles come through the airlock.
• The hydrometer reading is well below 0 Baumé (-1.4 to -1.9 Baumé).
• The wine no longer tastes sweet.

If the wine gets too cold, you will need to warm it up to 18-20°C to make sure sugar fermentation is complete. Test the wine with a pH meter: ideally it should be 3.2 – 3.4. If it is higher, ask us before adding any more tartaric acid.

Step 7: Bentonite treatment

When you are certain that the wine has finished fermenting, prepare the bentonite in water, following the instructions on the packet.

• Add the prepared bentonite to the wine and mix strongly. The correct procedure for using bentonite is to do a fining trial to determine the minimum quantity necessary to keep the wine from going cloudy in the bottle.
• Wait about 2 weeks before proceeding to the next step.
• Do not disturb the wine during this two-week period, so as not to interfere with the clarification process.
• It is best to refrigerate the wine to 5°C during this period to prevent crystals from forming in the wine after bottling.

Step 8: Racking (changing or cleaning the wine)

• Prepare PMS (Potassium Metabisulphite, in powder or tablet form) according to the directions and add it to the clean, empty container (barrel, demijohn or stainless-steel tank) you are planning to put your wine into.
• Take the wine out of the fermentation container and pour it into the above-mentioned container, over the PMS.
• Make sure to leave all the sediments in the fermentation container. Make sure that the container is full of wine (if using a wooden barrel, check every week and top up if necessary).

Step 9: Maturing the wine

• White wine needs little maturing. If it was clear at Step 8 (racking), then it will be ready for drinking/bottling in 3 to 4 weeks.
• If the wine does not come clear in this 3 to 4-week period after racking, more bentonite may be needed.
• Bring us a sample of wine for further advice if this happens.
• Before you bottle the wine, we strongly recommend testing the sulphur amount in your wine to check that the levels are enough for storage and bottling. (This test is done in the lab and requires 5/7 working days for the results to be sent to you.)

Step 10: Bottling

Bottle the wine when it is considered ready to drink. We recommend that you get the wine analysed before bottling, to make sure that there is enough free sulphur dioxide (metabisulphite). The required levels will avoid spoilage and improve the characteristics of the wine.

• Using insufficient preservative (PMS) is the most common cause of wine deteriorating in the bottle.

Step 11: Enjoy your wine!