What is a Wine Kit?

You might have seen it online, or have friends that make their own wine, and now you can too. Everyone knows that good grapes make for world-class wine. However, wine kits have improved dramatically over the years, and are available national wide at any time of the year. You can make wine at home, or go to a wine retailer (like us) who has all the latest machines to make your wine perfectly.

Many kits are all-inclusive, meaning they contain all the additives you’ll need, pre-measured. The recipes are very easy to follow and results are predictable. Wine Kits make it perfect for a beginner winemaker to begin learning about fermentation and wine making.

Buying the Kit:

Winexpert Wine Kits

Since the market for wine kits grew, there is a kit for every type of wine you may want. There are four main types: Pure juice, fully concentrated, partially concentrated and combination of juice and concentrate. The wine making process is similar for all types. The only difference being that the pure-juice kit requires no additional water. Price of kits varies on the purity of the product, pure juice kits being most expensive.

Making the Batch:

Open the can, pail or bladder pack in your kit. Taste the contents – they should be clean, sweet and fruity. Pour the contents into a primary fermenter and add the first group of ingredients (water, sugar if required, any wine acids, grape tannins and nutrients). First-time winemakers make sure you follow the recipe carefully. You may now want to take a specific gravity reading, even though the recipe will usually provide it. It’s just nice to know that you’re on track, especially this early in.

Monitoring:

Fermentation temperatures can be a personal choice. Usually, red wines are kept at 80° F to start off, to foster colonization of yeast cells before they begin the fermentation process. Once fermentation has begun, it is fairly common to bring that fermenting red into an environment between 70° F and 80° F. Whites should begin between 72° F and 75° F and then be brought down to 68° F to finish fermenting. Note: Don’t go below 68° F or you’ll risk a “stuck” fermentation.

Racking the Wine:

Racking the wine is done 3-4 times during the creation of your wine to draw the wine off the sediments into a fresh, sanitized carboy. After all the racking, try to find a cool, dark area to allow your wines to recover.

Fining and Filtering:

Fining is a process that aids in the settling of particulate matter in a finished wine. Not all wine kits call for fining, as they are formulated to proffer predictable results. Plus, some ingredients already help to clarify the wine – tannins and oak chips, mainly.

Bottling:

Sanitize your bottles to ensure your wine will not be contaminated. Bottling is easy, with a large selection of bottle styles and sizes to choose from. Tip: For each five-gallon batch, you will need the equivalent of 26 standard, 750 ml bottles.