A beginner's guide to making your own wine

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By Kristen Munson
Special to the Los Gatos Weekender
Article Launched: 10/12/2007 12:09:14 AM PDT

Any vintner will tell you great grapes make great wine, but you don't have to own a vineyard to make high-end varietals. You don't even need fresh grapes, just some basic equipment, a little yeast and some space in your garage.
"Making wine is something anyone can do," says Rick Golobic, a home winemaker and owner of Fermentation Solutions in Campbell. "We have people who make wine from just about anything. If it has sugar in it, it can be fermented."

From tomatoes and watermelon to prickly pear cactus and strawberries, Golobic has seen it all. And he's noticed that more and more people are getting into the practice.

Many of the European families who settled in the area passed on their winemaking skills to their descendants. But in recent years, as Silicon Valley has developed, tech-savvy wine enthusiasts are joining the ranks of home winemakers.

Golobic encourages beginners to use an at-home wine kit to help them understand the process. A basic wine kit is available at Fermentation Solutions for $115 and includes all the necessary equipment, minus the grapes. However, one can purchase juice concentrates or choose from a list of growers who will sell grapes to the home winemaker.

Individuals can legally make up to 100 gallons a year; a household, 200 gallons. In other words, a lot of wine.

Golobic, a former engineer, has made wine for the past 30 years in the Santa Cruz Mountains where he lives. Over the years he has witnessed an upswing in home winemakers in the area, with more and more people planting vineyards for landscaping purposes and using the fruit for wine.
"We're also seeing lots of younger people who are getting into wine," Golobic says, adding that many form co-ops with friends to share the cost and experience. "It tends to be a family endeavor in many cases."

Contrary to the politics of the tech world, there are no trade secrets in winemaking and conversation is more than welcome.

"There's a tremendous sense of community," Golobic says. "You can go to the most exclusive winery and talk to the winemaker, and they will talk wine with you. This is something that brings people together."

But home winemaking is also a challenging and economical way to produce fine wine.

"It's something you can continually improve. It's creative," Golobic says. "Winemaking is about choices."

With myriad decisions, including the type of yeast, barrel and length of fermentation, winemakers can easily tailor a wine to suit their personal tastes.

"By having control of the process, you get exactly what you like," Golobic says.

And quality isn't sacrificed just because you're making it at home. Everything available to the commercial vintner is available to the home winemaker.

"You just do it on a different scale," Golobic says. "You're not worried about margins. You can make a boutique, handcrafted product."


STEPS TO MAKING WINE AT HOME

• Pick up your grapes from your selected grower.

• Put them through a crusher, where the stems will be separated and skins broken.

• Pour 1 gram of yeast per gallon into the "must," a term used to describe the crushed grapes.

• Let the mixture ferment for about seven to 10 days. During the fermentation process, carbon dioxide is formed and pushes the skins to the top, creating a hard cap that must be punched down twice a day.

• Press the remaining juice out of the skins and separate the clear liquid from the sediment on the bottom of the container, a process known as racking. At that point you have the beginning of wine.

• Pour the wine into barrels to age. You can use either oak or stainless steel or glass, depending on your preference and budget. Add oak chips if you do not choose wooden barrels.

• Let red wine age for one to two years. During this stage you must top off barrels, as wine does evaporate through the wood. Topping off is not necessary with glass and stainless steel barrels.

• Bottle your wine and either let it age even more, or open and enjoy.