wine 101: step 8

It is a rainy Veterans' Day here in Illinois and since I didn't have to work, I made the most of it - I sat around and watched movies and read books all day. Once you've finished up step 8 of my winemaking process, you'll have plenty of time to sit around too.

STEP 8: Set it aside and wait.
You've gotten everything together for your wine, prepped it, boiled it, strained it, and mixed it all up. The last active thing you need to do is put a piece of cloth (an old t-shirt works great) over the opening of your vessel and secure it with rubberbands. This keeps out the dust and the fruit flies while allowing the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast to escape.

Now set your vessel in an out of the way and preferably stable-temperature place, and wait. Average time for the first fermentation to take place is one month. That is based on an average temperature of 80 degrees. The cooler it is, the more likely it will take longer to ferment.