Brewing Wine 酿造葡萄酒

You can make wine with any fruit.  Companies that make wine usually squeeze 挤-压缩all the juice 果汁 from the fruit and then let it ferment 发酵 for a couple of weeks.  When fermentation has finished the sediment 沉淀 falls to the bottom and the clear wine is siphoned 虹吸 into bottles.

Fruit like grapes 葡萄 contain  a chemical 化学  called tannin 鞣.  The skin 皮肤  of a grape also contains yeast 酵母 which makes it ferment.  The yeast turns the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol.

Of course, if you make wine at home, you would need a LOT of fruit to squeeze and get the juice to make wine ..  so people use water and sugar with the fruit.  Often you need to add tannin to start the fermentation process. Tea contains tannin – so all you have to do is put a cup of tea in with the fruit.  Then add some yeast.

 The fruit -接骨木- elderberries have been put into a bucket 桶.  The elderberries were squashed/squeezed into a ‘pulp ‘ – then water, sugar, tannin (tea) and yeast were added.

The elderberry wine was left to ferment for about 7-10 days. Then it was carefully poured into a big glass jar 玻璃瓶 called a ‘demi-john’.  The sediment was left in the bottom of the bucket.

 Carefully pouring the wine from the bucket into a demi-john.  A funnel 漏斗 was used to avoid spilling it and making a mess.

 When the wine had been poured into the glass demi-john an ‘airlock’ (also called a fermentation lock) was fitted (put) into the top.

 The air-lock keeps air from getting into the jar.  The wine will still gently ferment for another seven days.  If air comes into contact with wine, the wine oxidises 氧化 and is so bitter and sour 苦-酸that you cannot drink it.  It has a ‘vinegary’ taste – it tastes like vinegar 醋

That’s how some companies make vinegar – from fruit such as apples.  They allow air to oxidise the apple juice so it becomes ‘rancid’ and ‘bitter’ … to make apple vinegar.

In the west, if somebody offers you some wine they mean grape wine 葡萄酒. Alcoholic drink like whisky, vodka, brandy 威士忌酒 伏特加酒 白兰地and bai jiu are not called ‘wine’ in the west.  They are known by their name – whisky, brandy .. or called ‘spirits’烈酒.   Spirits are distilled 蒸馏 – not fermented or brewed 发酵 酿造 like beer and wine.

Beer is about 5% ‘proof’.  That means 5% of the beer is alcohol. Grape (or fruit) wine is about 12-15% ‘proof’.  Spirits such as bai jiu and brandy are usaull 40% proof.  That’s why – the higher the alcohol content of a drink, the smaller the glass you drink from …