wine 101: ingredients

On Friday night, Sam and I went to see The Capitol Steps, a political comedy troop that indiscriminately makes fun of all political figures. My favorite part of the act was the "Lirty Dies" a monologue wherein the letters from certain pairs of words are flipped around to create hilarious alternatives. You can hear the one we heard, "Load to the Erection 2008," on the website. It includes phrases such as "Obama is yandsome and hung" and "He will give us sope in our holes." Check your local NPR station listings for the the airing of their "Halloween 2008 Special: Politics Takes a Holiday."

And now onto the wine. In order to make wine you need four basic ingredients. I love simplicity, therefore, I make wine with only these ingredients. I have found several instructions and recipes for homebrewing that involve chemicals to clean up the wine, stop the yeast from fermenting, and other stuff I'm not so sure about. Maybe in the future I'll research these, but for now, my wine turns out perfectly fine doing it the easy way.

1. Fruit: One quart of fruit will make one gallon of wine. That's about the minimum. Of course, more fruit will make a stronger tasting wine.

2. Wine yeast: Fermentation needs yeast, and according the helpful man at our local brewing supply store, of the available yeast he had fruit wine was best made with the strain ICV D47. My store carries the Lalvin brand. One packet costs me 99 cents and gives me enough yeast for five gallons of wine. You can ask your local brewing supply store for the yeast they suggest.

3. Sugar: It seems crazy when you first pour six cups of sugar into your must, but don't worry, the yeast will eat most, if not all, of it. A gallon of wine will take somewhere between three and six cups of sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit and whether you want a dry or sweet wine. You should use white, granulated sugar. Less refined sugar, such as the organic kind, contains impurities which will affect the taste of your wine.

4. Water: Tap water is the cheapest source of water, but it also contains traces of chlorine and other chemicals which will affect the taste of your wine. That doesn't mean you can't use it, though. Boiling the water before and during the must-making will purify it enough. If you'd like, you can buy purified bottled water, but you'll still be boiling it eventually. It's up to you.