Fruits of their labor: For winemakers, the result is worth the effort
For most people, getting wine for dinner involves a quick trip to the grocery store. For those with a more discerning palate, it may mean a trip to a wine shop.
But there are others who prefer to make their own wine at home.
And for them, the Louisiana Winemakers Guild, Acadiana Chapter, is here to help them learn about the finer points of winemaking.
"We give (members) a chance to understand what happens to wine in the process of becoming wine and how to improve the quality of their wine," said Gib DeLisle, who founded the group in 2006 and has won numerous winemaking awards in regional competitions. His strawberry pomegranate wine recently took the first place and best of show awards at the San Antonio Wine Guild Competition, as well as two second and two third place awards.
For DeLisle, part of the attraction of winemaking is the challenge. And there are other reasons.
"The types of wine I make, you can't buy in stores," he said. "I also like to blend wines. I blend a strawberry wine with a cabernet sauvignon or blueberry with zinfandel. It makes a claret-type wine that I think is very delightful."
Back-porch winemakers can produce wine through low-tech methods; those who want a high-quality prodcut rely on high-tech equipment.
But the first step to assure a good result is a basic one.
"Start with good quality fruit," DeLisle said. "If you don't have good fruit, you don't have good wine."
The fruit should be ripe to provide the maximum amount of sugar to the process. Supplemental sugar is also often added to aid in the fermentation and to improve wine quality.
For those who don't want to ferment their own fruit, there are other options.
"If you want a Montepulciano, whicch is an Italian wine, you can buy that specific juice that comes from Italy," said Kevin Shearin, a guild member and a manager at Marcello's Wine Shop, which hosts the Winemakers Guild meetings. "Or, if you want a French Bordeaux, you can buy the juice that was produced there - you can get all the varieties that are produced in California, Australia, South Africa, Chile or Argentina."
Those juices can be purchased at a wine shop, he said.
Another essential ingredient is yeast - but not the kind that's available at the supermarket for making bread.
It is possible to make wine with the yeast already present in the mixture, but winemaking experts advise against it.
But specialized yeasts make a better product.
"You never know what you have in naturally-occuring yeasts, there's such a wide variety of them," DeLisle said. "You don't want some of those yeasts in your wine."
An antiseptic is used to eliminate the wild yeasts, then a cultured wine yeast purchased from a wine shop or other supplier is added.
"The inital fermentation takes place in what's called the primary fermenter," DeLisle said. "When the specific gravity of the liquid reaches a certain value, it's transferred into the secondary."
The pH level of the liquid, which is called "must," is monitored to make sure the acidity is at the reight level. A device called a hydrometer measures the specific gravity of the must.
"A hydrometer is like a calculator to a CPA. The hydrometer tells you where you are in the fermentation," DeLisle said.
A low specific gravity means the sugar has been liquified and the alcohol level has increased. A level of 12- to 14 percent is ideal for wine, DeLisle said.
And then, there is the time that goes into it.
"The alcohol can create itself within eight to 10 days," DeLisle said. "Sometimes, it takes from 30 to 60 days for wine to develop itself. I look at a year to 18 months, although most people drink it much earlier than that."
DeLisle's philosophy on winemaking is to monitor and control the process, then to let it develop at its own pace before uncorking it.
"There's more to winemaking than pouring sugar on a bunch of fruit and waiting until it stops bubbling and put it in a glass. We try to make a wine that you would serve at Thanksgiving dinner or your daughter's wedding," DeLisle said.