Inspect Your Grapes and Adjust the Juice

Wine can be made from grapes, fruits or berries. Winemaking experts can't stress enough to inspect your grapes before you begin making your own wine. Make sure the grapes are ripe by testing the way a good handful squishes in your hand. The grapes you use for your wine making also must be clean, sound and relatively free of insects and other vineyard debris. Discard any grapes that look rotten or otherwise suspicious. Also, it's very important that all the stems are removed, since they will make your wine bitter. Once you've cleaned your grapes, adjusting the juice, or "must," of your wine is critical. Luckily, it's also easy. Acid content is measured with a simple titration kit; you can buy one at a supply shop. The ideal acid level is 6 to 7 grams per liter for dry reds and 6.5 to 7.5 grams per liter for dry whites.