If non-California grapes are used, test and make the proper correction for sugar content. Then correct the total acidity by adding sugar solution as described earlier. In using non-California grapes, it is desirable, but not necessary at this point, to add a dose of meta. A yeast starter is advisable.
As fermentation begins, the solid matter of the grapes will rise to form a “cap”. Push this down and mix with the juice twice a day during fermentation, always replacing the cover.
When fermentation begins to subside and the juice has lost most of its sweetness, it is time to separate the turbid, yeasty and rough-tasting new wine from the solid matter. For this purpose a press is necessary, preferably a small basket press though substitutes can be devised.
Be ready with clean storage containers for the new wine, several plastic buckets, and a plastic funnel. The best storage containers for home winemaking are 5-gallon glass bottles or small fiberglass tanks.
Beware of small casks and barrels for several reasons. They are usually leaky. They are sources of infection and off-odors that spoil more homemade wine than any other one thing. And there is frequently not enough new wine to fill and keep them full. Wine containers must be kept full; otherwise the wine quickly spoils. Using glass containers, you can see what you are doing.
With the equipment assembled, simply bail the mixture of juice and solid matter into the press basket. The press basket serves as a drain, most of the new wine gushing into the waiting buckets and being poured from them into the containers. When the mass has yielded all its “free run”, press the remainder for what it still contains.
Fill the containers full, right into the neck. Since fermentation will continue for awhile longer, use a stopper with a fermentation “bubbler” which lets the gas out but does not let air in. When the bubbler stops bubbling and there are no further signs of fermentation, replace it with a rubber stopper or a cork wrapped in waxed paper.
Fermentation bubbler fitted to jar. Left, water is poured in to level shown. Right, position of water immediately before a gas bubble passes through.
Store the wine for several weeks at a temperature of around 60° F. Suspended matter in the wine will begin to settle, and at this temperature certain desirable reactions continue to take place in the wine itself.