So you want to learn about wine and how you can make it in the comfort of your own home? Let us start this wine 101 by taking a quick history lesson. Wine making began thousands of years ago in the northern zagros mountains of Iran. Then it quickly spread though out the region and got picked up by the country we know today as Cyprus and from their it spread faster then fire around the entire region of Europe and quickly became a major part of the western civilization we know today. Even the ancient Egyptians loved wine and packed it inside coffins of their elites so they can have a little drink in the after life.

Did you know that if you have grapes sitting in your house right now, you can crush them and make it into wine? That is because grapes and almost all fruits have a natural insertion of yeast in them. Yeast is bacteria that when combined with the compound sugar, it creates carbon di oxide and ethanol. Ethanol is just another word for alcohol that you and I drink with our friends and family and sometimes by ourselves. So why do we still buy our alcohol when all we have to do is stomp or Pigeage as the French would call it, on some grapes? The reason being is you can never be sure about the amount of yeast contained in these natural grapes and honestly,its never enough. This is where cultured yeast or man made yeast comes in. Their are may types of yeasts available today and by taking a stroll to your local wine making shop, you can truly find out a lot.

So the main thing when it comes to making wine or the creation of wine is the process of fermentation. Fermentation is the process of yeast multiplying with the sugar in grapes at a rapid rate and creating ethanol and co2. Did you know that for every gram of sugar that is converted by yeast, about half a gram of alcohol is produced. So to reach a six percent alcohol concentration in your batch, their must be at least 12 percent of sugar present.

If you are now curios about wine, today their are thousands of wine making kits that you can try right out of the box. Home wine making is not just a hobby, but also a sport. In fact, their are hundreds of wine making competitions all over the United States alone. Although home wine making hasn’t become an household thing in North America yet, the continent is still most popular for this type of activity. The more people learn about how easy it is to make wine the faster it grows. The second biggest place for making wine is Europe and with more and more people learning about this peaceful hobby, the more accessible it becomes for all. Wine just like anything else on the planet, the more you learn about it, the easier it comes to you. First step is reading about it, next step is try it our for yourself – trust me, you’ll love it. wine tours from portland oregon