After picking the grapes, how long does it take to make wine?
After you pick the grapes, you will need to crush them. The time it takes to accomplish this will of course depend on how many grapes you have. Same goes for the rest of the process that will be done that day (i.e. mix in pectic enzyme and dissolved campden tablet). The fruit mixture is covered and left for 24 hours. (1 day) Then you need to make and add in the water/sugar/citrus juice mixture and let sit until it’s room temperature. Then it’s added to a bucket and combined with yeast and yeast nutrient. Let’s say 4-5 hours for argument’s sake. Then it’s left for 6 days. If the foam is forming on top on the 7th day, it is strained. The strained mixture is left to ferment for several months (anywhere between 3-12 months). So there you go, after picking the grapes, it takes 6-12 months, plus 7 days.
The amount of time it takes to make wine will vary depending on the winemaker and the type of wine.
Generally, after the grapes have been picked, they are pressed to produce juice in a matter of hours or days. Next is fermentation, which can take anywhere between three and ten days. The final phase is aging– and this is where most wines will vary. Some wines do not need to be aged at all, while others can take years. Many people believe that the older a wine is, the better the quality, but that is not necessarily true. While some wines will mature and get better as it gets older, most wines are drunk "young," within a few years.
