How to Make Barbaresco Wine

A fragrant and stout-tasting red wine, barbaresco pairs well with grilled meats and vegetable dishes. It is made from nebbiolo grapes, which are a rich red tone and grown throughout Italy. Making it at home isn't difficult, but it requires patience as it needs time to age to its fullest potential. Serving your own homemade barbaresco wine adds to some of your most memorable occasions such as weddings, anniversaries and birthdays.

Things You'll Need

• 2 lbs. nebbiolo grapes
• Large muslin pouch
• Potato masher
• 2 qt. glass mixing bowl
• 1 gallon wide-mouth jug
• 3 tbsp. winemaker's yeast
• 6 cups white sugar
• Balloons
• 1 gallon wooden wine jug with cork
• Small mallet

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Instructions

• 1

  Add the grapes, without stems, to the muslin pouch. Tie the muslin pouch closed with a rubber band or chef's string. Place the pouch of grapes into the glass bowl and smash the pouch firmly with the potato masher. This expresses the "must" from the grapes, which in turn lends to the potency of the wine recipe.

• 2

  Stuff the pouch of grapes into the wide-mouthed gallon jug. Pour any juice leftover in the bowl into the jug as well.

• 3

  Add the sugar and winemaker's yeast to the jug. Fill the jug 3/4 full with cool, clean water. Secure the cap and shake it vigorously to thoroughly disperse all of the ingredients.

• 4

  Replace the jug's cap with a balloon by stretching the opening of the balloon over the mouth of the jug. Place the jug in a dark, dry place for six weeks. Check the balloon every three days. If the balloon fills up with gas it will inflate and must be "burped." To do this, stretch the balloon away from the jug's opening to let the gas out. This is a result of fermentation and is essential in making homemade wine.

• 5

  Pour the wine into the wooden wine jug after six weeks has passed. Remove the sack of grapes from the bottom of the jug and place it into a glass bowl. Mash them again with the potato masher to express more liquid. Pick up the pouch of grapes and wring it out to further expel the liquid from it. Discard the grapes and pouch and pour the resulting liquid in the bowl into the wooden wine jug with the rest of the wine.

• 6

  Stuff the cork into the wooden wine jug, which is found in craft and culinary supply stores. Tap it into place firmly using a small rubber mallet.

• 7

  Place the wooden jug full of barbaresco wine somewhere dark, dry and cool such as a basement or cellar. Leave it there for at least a year, as this is how long barbaresco wine takes to age to the proper flavor and aroma.