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Winemaking at
Firescreek Wines
Many people would love to know the
process of making fruit wines and maybe even try their hand at making
some at home. Two essential pieces of equipment are the airlock and the
hydrometer. The airlock keeps the wine safe from infection and the
hydrometer to measure the correct amount of sugar to add to enable an
efficient conversion.
Very simply, wines are produced as
follows:
(1)
(2) (3)
(4) (5)
(6)
(7)
Fruit + Water + Sugar <----------Yeast
Added ---------> Fruit + Water + Ethyl
Alcohol + CO2
<----------------MUST----------->
(Fermentation)
<-------------------------WINE-------------------------->
It can be seen from the above equation
that (1) and (2) and (4) and (5) are identical and are present in one
way or the other both before and after fermentation. The key to the
fermentation process, is the conversion of sugar by the yeast to ethyl
alcohol and carbon dioxide. CO2 is a colourless gas and
escapes during the winemaking process via the airlock. When
we have combined (1) (2) and (3) in a balanced manner with the necessary
additives for the yeast to have a stable environment to grow, the
fermentation process when complete will produce wine.
The forgoing is an over simplification
and many other minor chemical reactions take place during fermentation
and continuously throughout maturation, even though we are not aware of
the changes that are occurring. The changes that occur during both these
stages vary from must to must and many are crucial to creating a superb
wine.
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