Home Wine Making Notes (2020 – 2022)

Overview

Here are some notes on wine I made at home using some rudimentary wine making techniques.  I made two varieties from each vintage, 2020, 2021 and 2022.  The 2020 vintage included a Vermentino and a Valpolicella.  In 2021, I made a couple of wines from Chilean juice, a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  In 2022, I stuck with Chilean juice, and made a Sauvignon Blanc and a Merlot.

Fermentation was done in Plastic Buckets and aging was done in Glass Carboys.  I used a basic Hydrometer to measure the Specific Gravity of the wine during the fermentation process.  Specific Gravity was used as the primary indicator to what type of wine I wanted to make, sweet, medium or dry.   With the 2020 and 2021 vintages, I used chemical additives to stabilize the wine (i.e., to terminate the fermentation), and to clarify the wine (i.e., to reduce the “cloudiness”).  With the 2022 vintage, I wanted to experiment with making wine without introducing any chemical additives.  I achieved this by frequently racking the wine after initial fermentation to remove the dead yeast in a progressive manner.  Similarly, clarification was achieved by letting the wine sit in Carboys for an extended period of time and then racking to exclude the sediments at the bottom of the carboy.  This process was repeated several times to get he optimal clarity.

General Method/Technique

Wine Logs

Bottled and Ready to Drink