Making WINE from HOME GROWN Organic GRAPES | First Steps

Homemade wine is one of my favorite drinks. This was a pretty good year for organic grapes in my vineyard. We didn't get a late frost and we had dry weather early in the season, which goes a long way toward ensuring there will be a good crop. That means I have enough grapes to make a significant amount of wine this season. In this video, I take you through the harvest, the fermentation, and the pressing of the grapes.

Local alcohol is something that isn't necessarily on the radar in the local foods movement. Alcohol production normally requires huge expenditures of fossil fuel and water and beer, wine, and spirits and the ingredients that go into them are transported across the world to give you the drink you buy at your local pub. I make my own wine from organic grapes I grow on my land using minimal fossil fuel and water in the process. There is no transportation cost or footprint, and though it might not compare to many of the wines from California and France, it's far more sustainable, and--I'm still learning. You can follow the process in future videos as we keep tabs on this vintage.

[heavymetalvines]

I gotta be honest, you've definitely helped inspire me to try my own. While I am taking a different approach, I have enjoyed your tutorials. Thanks for the help!

[sharynhughes]

Hi, Dan. Was here now back to see Instructions for Grape growing and Wine..ThankU!!!

[markspc]

Wow no one could make wine from this video; there were so many essential steps left out !

[soraueno]

Hi!! I really want to learn how to make a homemade wine. So, thanks for this wonderful clip!

[silversurf]

Nice vid and long may your right hand hold a glass of your own wine. 😋 I'm in the UK, really well into my 70's, been making wine and all things alcohol since when I was 15 from all sorts of fruits and grapes, sadly haven't the space to grow my own grapes.

I got started at 15 when I worked as a Saturday lad on a fruit and veg stall, end of the day, anything that wouldn't last till Monday we could take home free. One Saturday there was a big box of mixed loose grapes, all those that had fallen off the bunches, so off I went, no idea how to make wine ( no Google then ) but did what the first wine makers must have done, stuck them in my mums washing up bowl, squashed them with her rolling pin and stuck the lot in an old ( but cleaned ) battery acid carboy from the local garage, stuffed a lump of cotton wool in the top then forgot about it for many, many weeks.

Noticed it was clearing so acquired some demijohns and some bungs from a local chemist, pinched my mums cooking muslins and filtered it. Whacked the bungs in, stuck them in the cellar, forgotten about for around 2 years.

One day, down there building a motorbike engine and a circlip went flying, digging through all the shelves to find the circlip and four dusty cobwebbed demijohns full of a clear honey coloured liquid stared back at me.

Now comes the primitive hunter gatherer moment, is it drinkable or is it poison, a beer drinker at that age I thought a quick sniff would let me know, the aroma as I prised out a bung with a screwdriver was amazing, so next the taste test, it was out of this world and I'm still here 😉, though after 50+ years of trying I haven't been able to repeat it. 😥

So to all out there who want to make their own wine, have a go, just like cooking, you will make something fabulous and never be able to replicate it, make a complete disaster, or a repeatable result, whatever the outcome, be proud that you did it yourself. Drink the drinkable stuff, and the wine vinegar can still be used.

At the moment, I'm sat with my second glass of my own red wine, I have one or two each evening, not because I like it, but for two reasons, 1, medicinal purposes, it's supposed to be good for your heart and 2, I just like it.😎

I'll just mention thanks to a great neighbour, Italian Tony, now deceased who taught me how to make wine like Papa used to make, just grapes.. nothing simpler than that....no chemicals, no instruments.

[JazzMeUinFLUSA]

I have potted concord grapevines loaded with fruits but I don't know how to make a wine. Thank you for sharial this tutorial.

[sharynhughes]

I'm going to buy 3x grapes so i will get one for wine, thanx. WOW

[TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Awesome video and nice backyard vineyard! Did you check the pH of the Norton and Chambourcin? The pinky red color looks like they were pretty acidic to make into a dry wine. Maybe could use a little more hang time or some potassium bicarbonate to nudge up the pH.

[dwightmann]

Cool Bud I never met any that made their own wine before love this video you rock

[ToddSloanIAAN]

Got to get to 8:23 the good part of your labors. So cheers. Very well made!

[hwbarnes]

I love the Norton wines, thanks for the video.

[adrfin]

I like your video....I am also a small scale wine grower and wine maker....all the best from Galicia in Northern Spain!!

[rubygray]

Good work! I love to see what you are doing there.

[fatguy]

This is my goal once I get a backyard to grow things

[neilboggs]

Dis dudes BAD 2 DA BONE, BRO! Grows grapes, makes wine AND FISHES😊😄👍🇺🇸

[Joecms]

I’m afraid I am going in head first. I have about 60 acres and I enjoy growing. Grapes are my next venture. Thanks

[christopherthumm]

The best wine from my grapes and blackberrys come from freezing them for a few days 😎👍

[TheLandrover]

great video I have couple of vines. plus productive fig tree .I make my wine the Italian way, any way great video.. tony from uk.

[MrPhatties]

It looked pretty bright post-pressing and there was still a lot of fermentation happening. I'd leave the must ferment longer before pressing and doing secondary ferment.

[determined]

Great Video! Subscribed and have my alerts on 🙏🏾