How to start making your own wine

If you are asking how to start making wine and selling it in large quantities, you probably already own a south-facing vineyard somewhere in a sunny part of the world. 

But can you still make your own wine if you don’t have a vineyard and winery? What are your options if you want to try making some wine just to enjoy at home? 

For a fun look at home wine making, keep reading our handy guide…

Make your own wine in 8 steps

1. Firstly, get hold of a home brewing kit suitable for making small quantities of wine, beer or cider. These are not expensive and will include items such a ‘primary brewing vessel’ (also known as a bucket!), yeast, hydrometer (to measure the density of a liquid), airlock plus siphoning tubes and taps

2. Perhaps the most important step of all – clean and sterilise all the equipment prior to use. Bacteria also love fermenting liquids and will ruin the taste…

3. Next, wash and prepare your fruit or flowers for flavouring, by removing stems and chopping or crushing. Not all wine has to be made from grapes – and recipes are available for everything from foraged flowers, to home grown fruit.
   
   However, if you do want to brew your favourite tipple, then dried ‘wine kits’ of many different grape varieties are also available for purchase

4. Add water, yeast and sugar according to your chosen recipe and leave to ferment at room temperature for 5-10 days initially

5. Strain the fermenting liquid into a ‘secondary brewing vessel’ – yep, another sterilised bucket or a demijohn (a special glass jar for brewing)

6. Leave the mixture to ferment for at least a further 5-10 days – and much longer if possible.
   
   The fermenting liquid must be kept at a temperature between 18 and 29 Celsius, otherwise the yeast may die off. Bubbles of gas should be visible, and the sediment will settle at the bottom of the vessel to leave a clear liquid

7. After fermentation, syphon the wine (also known as ‘racking off’) and filter, before bottling into sterilised bottles

8. The final step in making your own wine at home is to store the bottles for at least 6 months and up to 2 years before drinking, depending on the type of wine

Sounds simple enough. Is it really that easy to make your own wine?

While the process of making your own wine is actually pretty simple and inexpensive, the main requirements are time, effort and patience. 

The longer the mix is left to ferment, the better it is likely to taste – so several weeks, if not months, of fermentation. Then the finished wine needs to be stored for months and ideally years before drinking.

Also beware bottling wine that has not finished fermenting or been fully degassed – this blogger has been woken in the middle of the night by bottles of homemade vino exploding!

Finding the right balance is the key

Note there are many hidden variables beyond your control which will affect the flavour and taste of every batch of wine you make. Everything from the weather and ambient temperature, the amount of sugar and other additional ingredients and flavour enhancers can all make a big difference.

Wine experiences and gift ideas

If you are looking for more inspiration, or want to learn more about making wine, why not book an Into The Blue wine experience? From wine tastings and courses, to British vineyard tours, lunches and tastings.

Or if you don’t fancy the challenge, the long wait and uncertain results, just order one of our Wine Selections for home delivery and enjoy drinking your wine straight away (all assuming you are aged 18 or older, of course!).