Have you ever tried to make your own wines? It's much easier than you would expect. The hardest part is waiting for it to "set" long enough to drink.

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Before we get started, lets look at a few definitions:

Click to find my recipes. In these recipes, you will find the basic "how to's" in making wine.

Below you will find some necessary items to make wine.

• Bucket for must.
• Siphoning hose
• Secondary fermentation bottle (curboy)
• Airlocks
• Filters
• Bottles
• Corks
• Curboy brush (not necessary, but makes cleaning easier)
• Bottle brush

You will first need to collect the fruit, herb, or vegetable (is rice one of these??) you are planning to make the wine from. Wash and extract the juice. Different recipes require that you start the fermentation process with the fruit crushed. Check the recipe you are using to be sure. Make sure all your items are clean and as close to sterilized as you care to make them. It prevents the wine from turning into vinegar or otherwise going bad. Add the fruit and chemicals you wish to use to sugar and yeast ( yeast is best dissolved in water before adding) in the bucket you have chosen for the "must". Stir and let sit for 2 weeks, stirring twice a day. Before you stir though, skim off any foam that forms on top. If you do not wish to use the yeast nutrient, acids, clarifiers, and other chemicals, you just wait and stir until the "must" stops making foam. Next "rack" (siphon) the wine, being careful not to include any of the solids on the bottom into the jar you are using for a "curboy". Add an air lock (or if doing this all natural, I used balloons stretched across the top of the bottle with a pin hole in them. But be careful, they can explode!) and let sit for another 2 weeks. Rack again and wait another 2 weeks to a month. The more times, you do this, the better the wine will be. Just be careful when racking not to siphon up any of the sludge from the bottom of the bottles. Each time you siphon, if you are using campden tablets, add 1 crushed tablet for each gallon of wine. This helps to clarify it. When the wine is nice and clear, siphon it into bottles and cork or seal closed. The best flavor is had if you can wait 6 months for the wine to set, but it is drinkable at the time of bottling. Enjoy carefully as this wine is much stronger than the ones you by in a store.

© All the pictures, directions, and recipes are originals belonging to Rita D'Elia.