• Step 2 - Put the crushed grapes, now called "must" in a large wide mouth container, such as a food grade 10-15 gallon plastic pail. The pail may be loosely covered with a top or just a cloth to keep the bugs out.

• Step 3 - Check and adjust the sugar level. This is done with a hydrometer and a sugar conversion chart. The sugar in the grapes will ferment into alcohol and the conversion chart will show you how much sugar (if any) to add. Fill your hydrometer with juice and read the "specific gravity" where top level of the juice is floating the hydrometer. For an example if the specific gravity was 1.074 (or 18 degrees balling) the must will ferment out to 9.9% alcohol. Read across on the chart and if you want a 11% wine you will add 2.5 oz/gallon sugar (or honey). This is a typical sugar level - our 80lb batch of wine will need (5 gallons x 2.5 oz/gallon) about 12-13 oz of sugar. Mix the sugar in reall good and re-check the gravity.
  (If you do not have a hydrometer, just add about 1lb of sugar and you will be pretty close.)

• Step 4 - Add camben tablets (sulfite). Camben tablets will help keep your wine from browning and turning into vinegar. Crush 5 to 10 tablets and mix them into the must. Some people prefer not to use sulfites and this step is optional.
  I have never made a batch of wine without protecting it with sulfites.

• Step 5 - Wait about 24 hours and add a packet of wine yeast. I like to use a cultured wine yeast such as Montrachet (a general purpose yeast) or Pastuer Red - but you can experiment. Just sprinkle the package over the must and stir it in just a little bit. The reason for waiting the 24hrs is to let the sulfites reduce some of the wild yeasts and let the cultured yeast take over. I you do not use sulfites you can add the yeast on day 1.

• Some winemakers do not like to add anything - sugar - sulfites- or yeast - The wine will still ferment ok, but you take a chance of low alcohol, browning, oxidation and vinegar creation.

• Step 6 - Let the red wine ferment on the skins. Push the floating mass of grapes (called the "cap") down once a day to expose all the grapes to the liquid. If you have removed most of the stems you can let it ferment a week or two. If you did not remove the stems, only let it ferment 2 or 3 days. Long contact with the stems will add too much tannin and make the wine bitter. Keep the container loosely covered to keep out the fruit flies.
  
  
• Step 7 - After the fermentation is mostly completed (a few weeks) it is time to press the must and put it into carboys. The must can be put into a press or you can use a large cheescloth type bag to separate the juice from the pulp. Do not fill your carboys (I prefer glass) to the top - leave a few inches of head room. The wine may still be fermentin and overflow the container. After the fermentation stops you can fill the wine to the top. Put air locks on and let the new wine settle for a few months.

• Step 8 - 2 to 3 months later you can rack the wine. Take a siphon hose and siphon the clear wine from the original carboy to a new one, leaving the "lees" the dead yeast and debris on the bottom in the old carboy.
  
  
• Step 9 - About 3 months later the wine will be ready to bottle.

  ---

To make 5+ gallons of sweet fruity red wine:

Things to keep in mind:

• You can mix and match any of the fruitier grapes to make some very unique wines.

• Sometimes the fruitier grape are better picked slightly under-ripe - the labrusca flavor will not be as strong.

• For making concord wine many people like to dilute the juice about 20 to 50% with water. You will have to adjust the sugar level with your hydrometer and sugar additions. A quick start would be: 1.5 bushels of concord (60lb) + 1 gallon water + 5 lbs sugar.

• If you want a sweeter - high alcohol wine, the easiest way to do it is to start off with more sugar and keep adding it in small amounts throughout the fermentation. Eventually the alcohol will kill the yeast and leave some residual sugar. If you add too much at once the wine may be too sweet. At any time during the fermentation, taste the wine - if it is dry add sugar until it is sweet again. Repeat this until it does not ferment anymore.

• Another way to make a sweet wine is to ferment the wine dry, sometimes using a yeast such as Cote des Blancs that does not like high alcohol. After the wine is stable, I sweeten it to taste, add 1 to 1.25 grams/gallon Potassium Sorbate, 2 cambden tablets per gallon and rack it. If it does not re-ferment I bottle it after a few months.

• A third way to make a sweet wine is to sweeten the wine and then filter out the yeast cells with a wine filter and it will not re-ferment. A wine filter can be a usefull tool.

• You can mix and match any of the grape varieties to make some very unique wines.

• Sometimes the fruitier grapes are better picked slightly underripe (such as Cayuga, Canadice, Niagara, etc.) - the flavor will not be as strong.

• If you want a sweeter - high alcohol wine, the easiest way to do it is to start off with more sugar and keep adding it in small amounts throughout the fermentation. Eventually the alcohol will kill the yeast and leave some residual sugar. If you add too much at once the wine may be too sweet. At any time during the fermentation, taste the wine - if it is dry add sugar until it is sweet again. Repeat this until it does not ferment anymore.

• Another way to make a sweet wine is to ferment the wine dry, sometimes using a yeast such as Cote des Blancs that does not like high alcohol. After the wine is stable, I sweeten it to taste, add 1 to 1.25 grams/gallon Potassium Sorbate, 2 cambden tablets per gallon and rack it. If it does not re-ferment I bottle it after a few months.

• A third way to make a sweet wine is to sweeten the wine and then filter out the yeast cells with a wine filter and it will not re-ferment. A wine filter can be a usefull tool.

  ---

Baco noir (pronounced BA-koh NWAHR; Baco noir is also called Baco 1) is a hybrid red wine grape variety produced from a cross of Vitis vinfera var. (Folle Blanche, a French wine grape) and an unknown variety of Vitis riparia (an indigenous North American grape species). Baco noir was first created by French wine hybridizer Maurice Baco (hence the name of the grape).

At one time Baco noir was commonly grown in France, but by European Union regulation, the commercial use of hybrid grape varieties is restricted. In 1951 the variety was brought to the cooler viticulture regions of the United States, such as New York, Michigan, Mississippi,

Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. In New York there are an estimated 240 hectares of Baco noir currently grown. In 1955 the variety was brought to Canada, where the "George" clonal variety is commonly used. Within Canada, Baco Noir is far more commonly grown in Ontario than in British Columbia.

Baco Noir was the victim of a vine-pull program in Canada in the early 1980s, which means that there are few older plots of this varietal left in Canada. Despite this Baco Noir (single varietal or in blends) remains a commonly produced wine in many Canadian wineries; notable current examples of finely made Canadian Baco Noir include Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery's and Lakeview Cellars' "Baco Noir Reserve". Baco noir produces a medium body, deeply tinted, acidic red wine which is fruit forward and often carries aromas of black fruits and caramel. Ageing potential is 5-8 years on average for good examples of this wine.

• Step 2 - Put the crushed grapes, now called "must" in a large wide mouth container, such as a food grade 10-15 gallon plastic pail. The pail may be loosely covered with a top or just a cloth to keep the bugs out.

• Step 3 - Check and adjust the sugar level. This is done with a hydrometer and a sugar conversion chart. The sugar in the grapes will ferment into alcohol and the conversion chart will show you how much sugar (if any) to add. Fill your hydrometer with juice and read the "specific gravity" where top level of the juice is floating the hydrometer. For an example if the specific gravity was 1.074 (or 18 degrees balling) the must will ferment out to 9.9% alcohol. Read across on the chart and if you want a 11% wine you will add 2.5 oz/gallon sugar (or honey). This is a typical sugar level - our 80lb batch of wine will need (5 gallons x 2.5 oz/gallon) about 12-13 oz of sugar. Mix the sugar in reall good and re-check the gravity.
  (If you do not have a hydrometer, just add about 1lb of sugar and you will be pretty close.)

• Step 4 - Add camben tablets (sulfite). Camben tablets will help keep your wine from browning and turning into vinegar. Crush 5 to 10 tablets and mix them into the must. Some people prefer not to use sulfites and this step is optional.
  I have never made a batch of wine without protecting it with sulfites.

• Step 5 - Wait about 24 hours and add a packet of wine yeast. I like to use a cultured wine yeast such as Montrachet (a general purpose yeast) or Pastuer Red - but you can experiment. Just sprinkle the package over the must and stir it in just a little bit. The reason for waiting the 24hrs is to let the sulfites reduce some of the wild yeasts and let the cultured yeast take over. I you do not use sulfites you can add the yeast on day 1.

• Some winemakers do not like to add anything - sugar - sulfites- or yeast - The wine will still ferment ok, but you take a chance of low alcohol, browning, oxidation and vinegar creation.

• Step 6 - Let the red wine ferment on the skins. Push the floating mass of grapes (called the "cap") down once a day to expose all the grapes to the liquid. If you have removed most of the stems you can let it ferment a week or two. If you did not remove the stems, only let it ferment 2 or 3 days. Long contact with the stems will add too much tannin and make the wine bitter. Keep the container loosely covered to keep out the fruit flies.
  
  
• Step 7 - After the fermentation is mostly completed (a few weeks) it is time to press the must and put it into carboys. The must can be put into a press or you can use a large cheescloth type bag to separate the juice from the pulp. Do not fill your carboys (I prefer glass) to the top - leave a few inches of head room. The wine may still be fermentin and overflow the container. After the fermentation stops you can fill the wine to the top. Put air locks on and let the new wine settle for a few months.

• Step 8 - 2 to 3 months later you can rack the wine. Take a siphon hose and siphon the clear wine from the original carboy to a new one, leaving the "lees" the dead yeast and debris on the bottom in the old carboy.
  
  
• Step 9 - About 3 months later the wine will be ready to bottle.

  ---

To make 5+ gallons of sweet fruity red wine:

Things to keep in mind:

• You can mix and match any of the fruitier grapes to make some very unique wines.

• Sometimes the fruitier grape are better picked slightly under-ripe - the labrusca flavor will not be as strong.

• For making concord wine many people like to dilute the juice about 20 to 50% with water. You will have to adjust the sugar level with your hydrometer and sugar additions. A quick start would be: 1.5 bushels of concord (60lb) + 1 gallon water + 5 lbs sugar.

• If you want a sweeter - high alcohol wine, the easiest way to do it is to start off with more sugar and keep adding it in small amounts throughout the fermentation. Eventually the alcohol will kill the yeast and leave some residual sugar. If you add too much at once the wine may be too sweet. At any time during the fermentation, taste the wine - if it is dry add sugar until it is sweet again. Repeat this until it does not ferment anymore.

• Another way to make a sweet wine is to ferment the wine dry, sometimes using a yeast such as Cote des Blancs that does not like high alcohol. After the wine is stable, I sweeten it to taste, add 1 to 1.25 grams/gallon Potassium Sorbate, 2 cambden tablets per gallon and rack it. If it does not re-ferment I bottle it after a few months.

• A third way to make a sweet wine is to sweeten the wine and then filter out the yeast cells with a wine filter and it will not re-ferment. A wine filter can be a usefull tool.