Ordinarily, sixteen to twenty pounds of grapes are needed to make one gallon of wine, and water is not usually added. If it is, sugar will also have to be added. The whole bunches, complete with stalks, are fer­mented in the crushed state for a time; the juice is then wrung out (crushed if a press is available), and the juice then fermented to completion.

If, for the sake of economy, water has to be added, sugar must also be added because we shall have reduced the sugar content by diluting the must.

Sixteen or even twenty pounds of grapes do not guarantee one gallon of wine; if the summer has been dry there will be less juice and more sugar. If the summer has been a wet one, there will be more juice and less sugar. It is here that the hydrometer comes in handy (see p. 158).

Much can be done by adding a quart of water to the lump of crushed pulp (this point will be covered in the recipes); if this is done we shall have to add a pound of sugar, or perhaps a little more.

The yeast on your grapes might be quite suitable for turning them into good wines, but the risk that there might be undesirable strains present must not be over­looked. It is far better to partially sterilize the must with one Campden tablet per gallon - one should be enough - and then to introduce an already prepared yeast starter.

Since the color comes from the skins the process for a red wine will be as follows. Put sixteen to twenty pounds of grapes into a suitable vessel and crush them well - make sure all the individual fruits are crushed. Now crush and dissolve one Campden tablet and stir this into the must. Then add the already prepared yeast starter. Port or burgundy yeast is recommended, but the experienced reader may use the yeast of his choice. Yeast nutrient is not needed.

Allow fermentation to go on for seven days. During this time keep the must covered as already directed and, about once a day, push the 'cap' of grape skins under the surface and cover again at once.

After seven days the must should be pressed, but it is unlikely that my readers will have such a thing as a wine press. Straining and wringing out the pulp will be more in their line, and for this a strong coarse cloth is best so that every drop of juice can be wrung out without risk of the cloth bursting.

When all the juice has been wrung out, the lump of grape skins may be mixed with a quart of water; this is mixed well together and then wrung out as dry as possible.

One pound of sugar is dissolved in this thinner grape juice and this is then added to the bulk. If fermentation stops at this stage, do not worry; it will soon get going again.

The whole is now put into a stone jar or carboy, the fermentation lock fitted - or the jar covered as already advised - and fermentation allowed to go on till it is finished.

If you wish, you may leave the strained juice in the tub for twenty-four hours before putting it into the jar. If you do this you must use a funnel and pour gently so as to leave the heavy deposit that may have formed at the bottom of the tub.

When fermentation has ceased the wine should be siphoned off the lees into another jar. If one gallon only was made there will be a little less now. The best plan would be to fill a half-gallon jar and to put the rest into bottles. The wine may not be clear at this stage, but this does not matter. Seal the bottles and jar and store them on their sides in the coolest spot you have in the house. At the end of three months the wine should be crystal clear, and may be siphoned off into new bottles.

Standing them upright will disturb the lees lying along the sides of the bottles, but if they are left stand­ing upright overnight the lees will have settled so that the wine may be siphoned off into freshly sterilized bottles, sealed with freshly boiled corks and put away on their sides again, where they should remain for another six months. A tiny amount of deposit may form during this time; if this happens, rebottle before using.

The method just described, and the amount of grapes mentioned, will make a very excellent wine; but the identical process with the exact amount of fruit will not necessarily produce an identical wine the following year. It may not vary greatly from year to year; if it does, the wise vintner will blend a few bottles of one year's wine with a few bottles of another year to get the wine type he is especially keen on.

To make a white wine from black grapes the juice only is fermented. The procedure is the same as for red wine except that the water is mixed with the grape pulp; the sugar is then dissolved in the thinner grape juice squeezed out of this and is added to the bulk before the yeast itself is added. Nutrient is not needed here, but one Campden tablet should be dissolved and added before the yeast is put in.

Fermentation is allowed to go on for seven to ten days; at this stage the must is put into a jar. Since no solids are present, there will be no need for straining, but it is a good plan to transfer the wine to the jar carefully so that not too much heavy deposit enters. At this stage it is wise to add a large teaspoonful of freshly made, fairly strong tea to make up for the tannin that would have been put into the wine if the skins had been fermented. Lack of tannin often makes white wines rather slower than others to clear. After this, continue as for red wines.

If an abundance of grapes is not available the reader will find the following recipes helpful besides being well worth following. Some of the water should be saved and the sugar dissolved in this and added at the time the wine is put into a jar.

Recipe For a Red Wine-i

9 lb. black grapes • 2 lb. raisins • 3 pints water

1 lb. sugar • port or burgundy yeast

Campden tablet

Use Method 2. Ferment the crushed grapes together with the chopped raisins for seven days. Then strain and wring out dry and transfer to a jar. Add the rest of the sugar and water in the form of a syrup.

Recipe For a Red Wine-2

8 lb. black grapes • 3-5 lb. dried prunes

4 pints water • 1 lb. sugar port or burgundy yeast • Campden tablet

Use Method 2 and follow directions for Recipe 1.

Recipe For a Red Wine-3

8 lb. black grapes • 1½ lb. raisins • 1½ lb. prunes

1 lb. sugar • 3 pints water • port yeast

Campden tablet

Use Method 2 and follow the directions given for Recipe 1.

Readers are urged to make up their own recipes using the above as a guide and substituting dates for raisins.

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