The Homebuilt Winery: 43 Projects for Building and Using Winemaking Equipment

by Steve Hughes

Overview

Build your own winery! Learn how to set up a home winery and construct all the basic equipment for just a fraction of what commercially manufactured products would cost. Leading you through the entire winemaking process, Steve Hughes includes building plans and step-by-step instructions for making more than 30 essential winemaking tools. From fashioning presses and pumps to the best way to fill and cork bottles, The Homebuilt Winery covers everything you need to know to affordably enjoy delicious, high-quality homemade wine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603429900
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	07/03/2012
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	742,081
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Steve Hughes is a home winemaker who also has more than 40 years of experience as a building designer and contractor. He regularly contributes articles on building winemaking equipment to WineMaker magazine.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Daniel Pambianchi
Introduction

Chapter One: The Home Winery, An Overview

Chapter Two: Grape & Fruit Processing
Crusher
Manual Destemmer
Foldable, Rollable Wine Press
Punch-Down Tool
Fermentation Cooler
Fermentation Chamber

Chapter Three: Moving Wine
Winery Dolly
Racking Canes & Hoses
Siphon Pump
Vacuum Pumping Setup
Wine Hoist
Barrel Dolly

Chapter Four: Container Management
Barrel Room
Diamond Wine Bottle Rack
Silicone Bungs

Chapter Five: The Home Wine Laboratory
Hydrometer
Lab Support Stand
Malic Acid Test
Chromatography Chamber
Free SO2 Testing Setup
Gram Scale

Chapter Six: Sparkling Wine (Methode Champenoise)
Riddling Rack
Disgorging Freezer
Disgorging Key
Disgorging Receptacle

Chapter Seven: Filtering, Bottling & Labeling
Bottle Tree
Wine Filter
Rinser-Sparger
Four-Spout Bottle Filler
Label Alignment Jig

Chapter Eight: Your Wine Cellar
Drawing Cellar Plans
Ladder Racking Jig
Ladder Racking
Curved Corner Racking
Waterfall Racking
End Cap Shelves
Diamond Bins

Chapter Nine: Building the Backyard Vineyard
Cutting Propagation Bed
Vineyard Trellis

Chapter Ten: Barrel Fun
The "Winedirondack" Chair
Decorative Barrel Stand
Winery Stool
Making Your Own Toasted Oak

Index

Editorial Reviews

This isn’t so much about technique, formula, or protocol, but about building—literally—a winery in your home, right down to installing drywall and finishing a floor for the chosen area, which can be the garage, basement, or an empty-nest bedroom. Hughes, a building designer, contractor, and winemaker, starts with equipment lists so beginners can make up to 30 gallons per year, including everything from the eight-gallon fermenter to felt-tip marker. A one-to-five–bottle scale signals the degree of difficulty for each project. The reader is hand-held from backyard grape growing to glass tipping, so this might be suitable for beginning winemakers but not beginning woodworkers. Some knowledge of the latter craft and its tools are pretty much a prerequisite for those considering home vinting the Hughes way, which is also the frugal way. Additional steps, with plenty of diagrams, show how to make white wines into sparkling ones, how to build your own wine rack, and even how to construct the “winedirondack’’ chair for sipping the fermented fruits of one’s labors. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Steve Hughes' recently released reference guidebook, The Homebuilt Winery, is all you need to get on your grape-fermenting way”

“If you’re an armchair winemaker or actually thinking of starting a winery at home, this is a must-have for your library. Fun to read through and dream of what could be, but also incredibly practical as it can make those dreams a reality.”

From the Publisher

If you’re an armchair winemaker or actually thinking of starting a winery at home, this is a must-have for your library. Fun to read through and dream of what could be, but also incredibly practical as it can make those dreams a reality.”

50 States of Wine

Steve Hughes' recently released reference guidebook, The Homebuilt Winery, is all you need to get on your grape-fermenting way”

LA Weekly

Wine making at home can be an expensive pursuit; equipment and supplies can cost hundreds of dollars. Hughes, a winemaker and contractor, attempts to assist home winemakers in building their own equipment and storage. After a general introduction to the hobby, the varied projects cover, e.g., fruit processing and storage. Although Hughes includes lengthy lists of materials, he omits information on tools needed to do the projects. Illustrations are minimal, lack good measurements, and do not show construction details. VERDICT This specialized book is for advanced hobbyists. Purchase only where there is demand.

Library Journal