Wine Making Articles write an article

In my previous article I wrote about the very basic beginning of making wine, that is what type of wine do you want to make. Once you have decided if your first wine will be made from fruit or vegetables or specifically grapes (vinifera), then you need to make sure you have the proper equipment to successfully complete and enjoy your first batch. In this article I will outline the equipment and delve into what to do with that equipment in future articles.
You will need at a minimum the following items;

6-quart pot or larger

various kitchen utensils like stirring and measuring spoons

5 gallon plastic bucket with lid

fermentation lock

funnel

siphon hose

glass carboy

siphon hose

If you have ever cooked in a kitchen your half way stocked with the needed equipment to make wine. Winemaking is not as sophisticated as you think and that is why it's been around for thousands of years and why many a kitchens in the prohibition era where the “wineries” for family and friends.
If you make wine with fruit or grapes you will need to prepare the product in a 6-quart or larger pot. The size of pot will depend on how much wine you intend to make. The more wine the more base product needed. Let's say you find a recipe from this popular website and want to make it in your kitchen/winery. http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/blackras.asp Jack Keller recommends 3 to 4 pounds of fresh blackberries. In my hometown of Seattle you can find that much in almost any square block that has some vacant land, it's the picking 3 to 4 pounds that is the real work. But I digress.
A 6-quart pot should accommodate 3 to 4 pounds of fresh fruit. Most fruit and vegetable wines will require you to boil the product with some amount of sugar and water, hence the need for the cooking pot. Once the product is “cooked” you will need to pour the product into a bucket for the fermentation process to begin.
Most buckets used for fermentation are called “primary fermenter” and are food-grade plastic buckets that are available for free or very...

I've been making wine for over ten years now and when I mention this fact inevitably I am asked, "How do I begin?" As simple as the question is posed, the answer differs depending on your interest, time commitment and oh yes, money.
If you want to make wine you basically have three options.

You can make wine from fruit or vegetables.

You can make wine from grapes (vinifera).

You can make wine from kits.

I would like to explore these three options in this first article and then work on the basic details in future articles.
To make wine from fruit or vegetables is as easy as obtaining said fruit or vegetables from your backyard, a generous neighbor, a farmer's market or a food store. If it's January and you crave a blueberry wine, simply go to a food store buy a few bags of blueberries and your practically in business! Fruit/Vegetable winemaking is probably the easiest making of wine to get into it. You can start small, get ingredients that are practically free and learn the process. The downside is quite frankly fruit/vegetable winemaking isn't vinifera winemaking. The taste of the finished product varies and sometimes lacks the wonderful nuances of wine made from grapes. Fruit/Vegetable winemaking is meant for those who want to taste a wine within a month and drink it all within a year. These types of wine, due to their lack of tannic acids (we'll get to that later) tend to age poorly. So if you want to try winemaking on a limited basis, this type of wine might be for you. Beware, one...

How many times have you enjoyed a particular wine one day, and then didn't the next?  Well, besides bottle variation which happens infrequently, being in the right mood--or wrong--to drink wine happens more often than you realize. 
Picture yourself on a picnic blanket with someone special,...

eHow has a nice introductory article on stomping your own fruit for wine making.  
At a high level, the steps are:
 

Fruit Prep (de-stem and wash)
...

Some studies have come out recently about how you can detect personality from clues in... wait for it... how you hold your glass.
It's all about communication.
Here's the jist of the studies:
Believe it or not, your glass of wine can reveal more about you than just whether you prefer red or white. How you hold your glass (or bottle) could signal some interesting clues to your personality. There are eight personality types that are commonly detected in this exchange of communication:
The FlirtIf you hold your glass daintily, with your fingers splayed, folks might label you a flirt. This type may also position the glass near their chest or may make eye contact by looking over the rim of the glass.The Brow BeaterTypically a male, this aggressive type firmly grasps large glasses or bottles, and may gesture with them in a...

    There are a few interesting little tricks that you acquire from any job that you work.  I worked in a restaurant for 4 years and learned a neat way of presenting, opening and pouring a bottle of wine.  Perhaps you might be able to impress a date or get a job with these mad skillz.Presenting:    Before even opening the wine, be sure to present it to the guest that has ordered it.  This is very important.  You want to make sure there was no mix up in the order or that they've not changed their mind since they first sent away for the wine.  Present the bottle across your forearm, with the bottom of the bottle cupped in your fingers and the top of the bottle resting by your inner elbow with the label facing the guest.  I like to place a napkin my arm and the bottle, makes for a nice presentation!  This is a MUST if you are serving a chilled wine. You don't want your body warming up the wine! ...

It's a mystery, and it's terrifying. Which wine should you order with dinner? What should you serve to your guests? Is this cabernet merlot a horrible clash with my olive tapenade?The world of wine, for most of us, is filled with more questions than answers. You'll never have all the answers, but a few simple (and I do mean simple - this is an article about the genuine basics) guidelines below should at least take the terror out of pairing wine.1) Wine and Temperature: In general, a red wine should be served at room temperature, while whites, sparklers and roses should be chilled to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Tip: For the optimal temperature, pop it in the fridge for about an hour prior to serving. If it gets too cold, you'll actually lose a lot of the flavor. Many reds are at their best after being allowed to "breathe"; that is, let them stand open (in the bottle, in glasses or in a decanter) for 10 to 30 minutes before drinking.2) Wine and Cheese: The common rule is that red wines go best with hard or aggressively flavored cheeses (like...