The Home Brew Site

I’ve made quite a few wines now from various kits. So far none gone bad, but from the same type of kit sometime they turn out really good sometimes they turn out just ok. Now you can make some really nice wines from even the most basic kit. I’ve had some nice results from a ‘Basic Red’ wine kit, I think they are made by brewmakers. There are a couple of things I’ve found though that make it that bit better.

Firstly cleaniness is key, I wash everything that will come in contact with the wine in washing up liquid. I then rinse everything throughly and sterlise with ‘sodium metabisulfite’. They usually recommend 1 teasp per gallon, I like to really kill the bugs and use 2 teasps per gallon; warm water helps the sodium metabisulfite dissolve into the water this solution is then used to sterilise everything. When sterlising the demi john(carboy if you live in the states), you don’t need to fill it , I usually fill in 1/4 full with the sterilising solution, then slosh it around until all of the inside surfaces are wetted. Makes sure all you utensils are wetted in the sterlising fluid.

I like to wipe the outside of the demijohn and the kitchen surfaces with the sterilising solution just to make sure. Leave for about 10 mins and rinse everything in clean cold water 3 times. The water need to be clean drinking, water not water that has been sat in a water tank. If tap water is not clean enough to drink then you may need to boil it first.

If you are making a gallon of wine, I pour the grape juice into the demijohn (using a sterilised funnel) I then at about 2 pints of hot water( from the kettle, not the hot tap). If your kit requires sugar, then add this now, the hot water helps dissolve the sugar.

Fill the demijohn to just below the shoulder say 1/2 inch, with cold water. A good tip, if you are making Red Wine fill the demijohn to about 3inches below the shoulder, during the first couple of days red wine is very active and usually tries to climb out of the airlock. Then after the vigourous fermentation has reduced add the remaining cold water.

The temperature of the water should be around 25C when you add the yeast. Add the wine nutrient and the yeast, sprinkle this on top of the liquid. Jam in the bung with the airlock in it and fill the airlock 1/3 full of clean water.

Stand the wine in a warm place for about 5-10 days. The fermentation should start within about 2-6 hours of adding the yeast. When the bubbling in the airlock has reduced to less that one bubble a minute the wine has brewed out. You now need to add the remaining sachets provided with the kit. These should be steriliser, this kills off the remaining yeast and prevents the your wine corks popping later, it also perserves the wine giving it a longer shelf life.

You may of may not have any flavours, if you do add these now.

A lot of kits have a pack of finings, these help clear the wine in the demijohn and reduce the amount of sludge at the bottom of the bottles. When you add the finings you must shake the demijohn regularly over the next 24 hours, this helps expell the carbon dioxide making the wine clear quicker. Some kits have a two part finings, there is usually one part you add first, wait a while then add the second, giving it a good shaking throughout.

Bang the airlock back in and leave the demijohn to clear. This may take a couple of weeks to fully clear.

When bottling clean the bottles and the siphon tube in the same way as the demijohn. Be very careful not to disturb the sediment in the bottom of the demijohn, that you have waited 2 weeks to sink to the bottom.

DO NOT put your mouth over the end of the siphon tube, you will introduce bateria that will ruin your wine, instead rinse your hand in the sterilising solution, wrap you hand around the end of the tube so your mouth doesn’t contact the tube. When you suck you then need to be quick on closing the tap and stop the flow of wine before it reaches the end of the tube, as long as it passes the half way point the siphon will continue when you open the tap. Carefully siphon the wine into the bottles. I touch the inside of the bottle with the end of the siphon tube to avoid splashing the wine, this avoids oxidising the wine.

Then bang in your sterlised corks and store your wine. Give the wine a month of so and enjoy a glass. The longer you can leave the wine the better it will be.

Top Tips

• Temperature has a big effect on the flavour, the temp depends on the type of yeast, try to keep it constant and as close to the recommended temp as possible. A thermostatically controlled heater will help with this, a good homebrew shop will stock a suitable heater.
• Replace the sugar with glucose, weight for weight. This will give a cleaner flavour than normal cane sugar.
• Don’t be impatient when bottling, the more yeast you can leave in the demi john the better, allowing more time for the wine to clear will mean it stores better and you won’t have to juggle when pour the wine from the bottle.
• Be super clean with everything. The cleaner the better, sterilise everything, even rinse your hands in the solution.
• Use a hydrometer to measure the viscosity of the wine before you add the yeast. This will give a good idea of the finished strength of the wine. You can adjust the strength of the finished wine by adding more or less sugar at the start. I actually find sometimes adding a little less sugar at the beginning produces a smoother, cleaner taste and still produces a wine of 10-11% ABV. Start by adding half the sugar the take a reading and work up from there, until you reach the desire strength.

Once you get used to the winemaking process you’ll find it a quick job to put a wine kit on.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 4th, 2006 at 11:27 pm and is filed under Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.