In this picture guide, we will demonstrate how to make wine from a Kit.
Required Materials:
A food grade pail of at least 7.5 gal with a gasketed air-tight lid
6 gal glass carboy (water jug) [later]
airlock and rubber bung
Long handle spoon
Sanitizer & Cleaner
Wine bottles and corks
Optional:
Hydrometer
Vinometer
Thermometer
Labels for bottles
*NOTE* In this demonstration we use a glass carboy for the initial (primary) fermentation. That is so we can *show* you what is going on. A bucket is recommended for the primary.
A "Kit" wine is a box that contains juice, chemicals you will need, additives like oak chips, and yeast. You provide cleaning and sanitizing chemicals and the equipment. The juice has been produced in a factory using very hi-tech equipment to gently concentrate grape juice. Highly skilled wine-craftsmen ensure that the finished juice is properly balanced for sugar, acid balance, and any other technical aspects you would otherwise be required to do if you had grown the grapes yourself.
The Kit will look something like this:
It is usually fairly heavy around 30 - 50 lbs.
Open up your kit carefully, taking care not to cut anything inside:
When you open it up you will find a big bag of juice and several smaller packages:
Remove the smaller packages and leave the bag of juice behind for now:
Inventory your items. There will be a sheet to check off from. Typically you will have Yeast, Bentonite, Pottasuim Metabisulphate, and Sorbate. You may also have oak chips and additional fruit.
At this point clean and sanitize *everything* that will *touch* the wine.
To clean means to remove visible grime. B-Brite is good for that [note: never use household cleaners. They can leave unpleasant flavors]
Follow the directions and make sure you triple rinse.
Scrub well,
Follow up with a sanitizer. A sanitizer reduces the level of natural bacteria and yeast to a point that the wine will not be harmed. *Sterilizing* is to kill everything. This is not usually possible without very fancy lab gear. Good sanitizers are C-Brite, Iodophor, and Star San. Follow the directions.
Here, we are pouring in a small quantity of Star San solution and coating the insides of the carboy before draining.
Sloshing around to reach all surfaces with sanitizer:
and drain:
Now we are ready to make the wine! We spent a lot of time on sanitation because it is important!
Making the Wine:
Always Follow the Directions! But a note on two things: (1) We do not believe that it is absolutely necessary to take hydrometer readings - because the factory does such a good job making sure that everything will be right. If you hit your volume levels, your readings will be dead on every time. (2) We also believe that it is far better to go *long* on times. If it says go 10 - 14 days, go 14 days.
For this kit we first add two quarts of warm water to the fermenter. Regular tap water is fine:
This stuff is Bentonite, a form of clay that helps remove undesirable proteins that may cloud our wine. Stir in well:
It's kind of murky when dissolved:
Check off each items *after* you complete it:
Here comes the fun part, pouring the juice into the fermenter. If I was using a fermenting bucket, it would be easy - here I have to use a funnel and an extra set of hands. The bag is awkward and heavy. Sometimes it easier to leave it in the box and use the box handles:
Just pour the juice in. Try not to miss!
Empty, and I missed a little. No worries!
Rinse the bag with warm water to get the last bit of juice out:
Pour rinse into fermenter:
Here is what we have so far. We have juice plus some water and some initial chemical additive(s):
If you have oak chips, add them now:
Into the fermenter they go:
Top off to just a hair above 6 gallons with *unheated water* (to allow for sediment removal later):
At this point, if there is a fruit pack or elderberries, etc, you would add them.
Add yeast directly to the wine. No need to "proof" or stir in. The yeast will find the wine, no worries:
Yeast on top...
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Attach your airlock and add enough water to cover the bottom of the "bubbler". Tap water is just fine.
Set your wine where it will be undisturbed for 14 days and out of sunlight or fluorescent bulbs. A empty spot on a counter works fine.
And there! We're done for now! In the next 14 days, the yeast will grow, consume sugars, produce CO2 gas, alcohol, and flavors.