Craft winemaking is easy with a complete wine ingredient kit. The kit includes the grape juice concentrate, yeast, stabilizers, and clarifying ingredients needed to make approximately 23 litres, or 30 bottles, of wine.
Winemaking equipment is sold separately.
What Is Included in the Wine Kit?
Your wine ingredient kit includes:
- Grape juice concentrate
- Wine yeast
- Bentonite
- Potassium sulphite
- Potassium sorbate
- Kieselsol
- Chitosan
Some wine kits may also include oak, flavouring, or sweetening ingredients.
Always follow the instructions included with your specific kit.
Equipment You Need
Before starting, you will need:
- Primary fermenter
- 23 L carboy
- Lid
- Rubber stopper
- Airlock
- Hydrometer
- Long stirring spoon
- Siphon and tubing
- Cleaner and sanitizer
- Wine bottles or wine bags
- Corks and corker
All equipment, bottles, corks, and cleaning products are sold separately.
Before You Start
Clean and sanitize all equipment that will touch the wine.
Keep the fermentation area between 20°C and 25°C, or 68°F and 77°F.
Your primary fermenter must be large enough to hold 23 L of liquid with extra room for foam.
Day 1: Start Fermentation
- Pour 3 L or 12 cups of warm water into the primary fermenter.
- Stir in Pak A: Bentonite.
- Add the grape juice concentrate.
- Rinse the juice bag with water and add the rinse water.
- Add drinking water up to the 23 L mark.
- Stir well.
- Check the specific gravity using a hydrometer.
- Sprinkle the wine yeast on top.
- Do not stir the yeast.
- Cover with a loose-fitting lid or a lid with an airlock.
Fermentation will begin naturally.
Day 14: Stabilize and Degas
Use your hydrometer to check the specific gravity.
The reading must be below the target listed in your instructions. If it is too high, wait another 48 hours and test again.
Once ready:
- Siphon the wine into a clean, sanitized carboy.
- Leave the sediment behind.
- Add Pak B: Potassium Sulphite.
- Add Pak C: Potassium Sorbate.
- Stir strongly for 5 to 10 minutes to remove trapped gas.
- Seal the carboy with the stopper and airlock.
Day 15: Clear the Wine
- Stir in Pak D: Kieselsol.
- Wait one hour.
- Stir in Pak E: Chitosan.
- Replace the stopper and airlock.
- Leave the wine undisturbed so it can clear.
Week 4 or Week 6: Rack the Wine
For light, medium, and medium-heavy wine kits, rack the wine around Day 26 to Day 28.
For heavy-bodied wine kits, rack the wine around Day 40 to Day 42.
Only rack wine when it is crystal clear.
If the wine is cloudy, wait a few more days.
Siphon the clear wine into another sanitized carboy, leaving the sediment behind. Seal it and let it rest for at least two days.
Filtering is optional. Never filter cloudy wine.
Bottling the Wine
Bottle only when the wine is:
- Fully fermented
- Crystal clear
- Properly degassed
- Free from sediment
Clean and sanitize all bottles or wine bags before filling.
Carefully siphon the wine into the bottles. Avoid splashing.
Seal the bottles with corks using a wine corker.
Store the finished wine in a cool, dark place.
What Is Specific Gravity?
Specific gravity measures the amount of sugar in the wine.
A hydrometer helps you know:
- When fermentation starts
- When fermentation is complete
- When the wine is ready to stabilize
Always follow the hydrometer instructions and the specific gravity chart included with your wine kit.
Beginner Winemaking Tips
- Read all instructions before starting.
- Clean and sanitize everything.
- Keep the wine between 20°C and 25°C.
- Measure water carefully.
- Use a hydrometer.
- Do not bottle cloudy wine.
- Leave sediment behind when siphoning.
- Do not rush the process.
- Keep equipment covered and clean.
- Allow bottled wine time to improve.
Craft winemaking is simple when you use clean equipment, follow each step, and give the wine enough time to ferment and clear.