Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Bottled blueberry wine. Magnificent!
Creating Your Own Recipes
Most wine topics are full of recipes. I'm sure they are useful,
but I think it is more useful to understand how they are
created so you can make your own recipes based upon what
you have available. One of the reasons I went into so much
detail in the chapter on the science of making wine is so
you'd have all the tools you need to be self-sufficient.
When making a new wine for the first time, it is best to make
it in a one-gallon batch. Overall, larger batches tend to come
out better because they are less susceptible to temperature
fluctuations, but I've made plenty of excellent wines in
one-gallon batches, and the smaller amount may be less
intimidating to a beginner.
In addition, even the cheapest wine ingredients are expensive
at the scale of a five-gallon batch, so making a one-gallon
batch is also best for experimental recipes. Reserve the larger
five-gallon batches for tested recipes you know you'll be
making for long-term storage or gifts. Some wine makers
never make batches larger than a gallon, and they are quite
happy with their results.
