How We Make Wine Together...
No, you don't have to stomp any grapes!!!

1. You determine what wine you'd like to make. This is done either by tasting some wine at the winery, or by choosing wines you have had in the past that you enjoyed.

2. All the equipment we will be using is taken to the wine making area of the store. This includes the wine type you have chosen, and the primary fermenter. The fermenter is sanitized and treated with a sulfite solution and then rinsed with water.

3. We then check the wine batch to be sure everything is there. We also print out a label which will accompany your wine throughout its journey. We will record specific measurements and information on this label to be sure we have done everything that needs to be done to make some great wine. We will also record the specific gravity (s.g.).

4. The must (grape juice and/or grape concentrate) is placed in a 7.9 gal. primary fermenter. Depending on the type of juice being used, an amount of water is added to bring the total amount of liquid up to approximately 6 US gallons. The must is then mixed thoroughly with the water to allow the specific gravity to be accurately measured with a hydrometer. This reading is recorded on the label mentioned above. 

5. The next step is to mix the yeast with warm water to make a solution. This is then allowed to cool to the temperature of the must and mixed with the must to begin the fermentation process. At this point the mixture is considered to be wine.

6. The primary fermenter is then sealed with an air tight cover and an air lock is installed to keep out the outside air and allow the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is produced by the fermentation to escape. This is done to retard oxidation and avoid contamination by any bacteria which could ruin the wine before we get the alcohol content we desire.

7. The sealed fermenter is now placed in our fermenting room, which is kept at approximately 70 degrees F. to allow for the production of yeast. This will continue until the air is gone in the fermenter and the conversion of sugar to alcohol begins.

8. We will take s.g. readings every 7 days. When the readings are right, we will begin the "racking" which is merely moving the wine from one container to another. This needs to be done to get the wine into a new container that will not allow the passage of air into the wine and prevent oxidation of the wine. We also want to remove the lees or sediment that forms at the bottom of the primary fermenter. The lees if left in too long, can create hydrogen sulfide and damage the wine.  At this time, oak chips and the first fining and/or wine clearing agents will be added to enhance the flavor of the wine. Bentonite is also added at this time to remove the spent yeast and proteins by creating a new lees at the bottom of the secondary fermenter. We again seal and add an airlock to the secondary fermenter and wait another period of time, usually 20 days from the start of the wine.

9. When the s.g. reaches 0.995 or less, we will rack it again to another serialized carboy. We then stabilize it to prevent any further production of yeast. Another clearing agent is added to attract the components and bring the ionic charges to near neutral. We mix the wine with a power mixer for 3 minutes, then allow it to stand for 15 minutes, then mix it again for 3 minutes to remove CO2 from the wine. After this mixing, another additive is added to again remove negatively charged ions from the wine.

10. 7 days later the wine is racked again into a sterilized carboy for the final time. This is when esterfication takes place. Once this is complete, the esters will react with other chemicals in the wine to produce a by-product that has been shown to be of great benefit to our circulatory system. They cause the platelets in our blood stream to not be able to stick to the walls of our arteries.

11. At approximately 45 days from when we started, (or less for some of our kits) we are ready to filter and bottle our wine!

12. We have all of the state of the art equipment to sterilize bottles, filter the wine, fill your bottles, cork your bottles, and label your wine right here at the winery! You can take your wine home and drink it or, as we recommend, allow it to age a little more in the bottles for some of the best tasting wine you've ever had...... After all YOU made it! 


We Guarantee You'll Love the Wine You Make or We'll Take It Back & Let You Make Another Batch! 

An Ohio Bonded Winery & Personal Wine Making Establishment 

Call us today at (330) 602-6040 today! 

email:silvermoonwinery@verizon.net