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Making Sterilization Liquid (Not included in the kit)
Add 2 tablespoons of Sodium Metabisulphate to two litres of water.
Stir water.
To sterilize an item just spray lightly.
Primary Fermentation
Sterilize Bucket
Sterilize lid
Fill an air lock half way with sterilized water
Put A pack into bucket (Bentonite)
Put juice into bucket
If the wine is a concentrate or Vintner's Reserve quality level add filtered water until the liquid is at the level of the middle ring on the bucket
Stir wine vigorously with sterilized spoon.
Put any flavor packets into a cheesecloth sack. (Raisins, Oak)
Place cheesecloth sack in bucket with wine
Take a Hydrometer reading and record the reading. (Click Here for Instructions)
Sprinkle yeast on top of wine
Put lid on bucket
Put airlock in the hole in the bucket lid
Wait 7 Days
Secondary Fermentation
Sterilize the Carboy
Siphon wine into the Carboy using a sterilized siphon
Top up with filtered water to the top bump on the carboy. Stir vigorously
Put air lock in place and put back on shelf
Wait 21 Days
Degas (Stabilization)
Take a Hydrometer reading and record the reading. (Click Here for Instructions) Fermentation is complete if the reading is .995 or less. Do not proceed if fermentation is not complete. You may need to leave the wine for an additional week or call us for advice if the reading is higher than .995 on the scale.
Sterilize the Carboy
Put one pack of B and one pack of C into the sterilized carboy
Siphon the wine into the carboy using a sterilized siphon
Top up with filtered water to the top bump on the carboy
Stir vigorously
Put air lock in carboy
Wait 7 days
Remove Sediment
Sterilize a Carboy
Siphon the wine into the carboy using a sterilized siphon
Add the Siligel packet and stir. Wait 10 minutes then add the Liquigel packet and stir. (These help make your wine clear)
If you are making a white wine add the Krystalblok packet and stir it in. (Optional Step. Krystalblok prevents the formation of tartaric crystals in your wine. *See our wine articles section for information on tartaric crystals)
Top up with filtered water to just above the top bump on the carboy. DO NOT ADD WATER TO PORT!
Wait 24 hours
You are done! Bottle your wine as usual! (Remember to sterilize the inside of your bottles)
Common Wine Additives
Bright Cleaner (Pink Stuff)
Bright cleaner should be used to deep clean. Soak your wine making equipment in bright cleaner mixed with water (1 tablespoon per gallon.) and it will remove most wine stains and residue. Make sure to rinse all items well before use.
Potassium Metabisulphite
Potassium metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, in which it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and it acts as a potent antioxidant, protecting both the color and delicate flavors of wine.
The typical dosage is 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulfite per six-gallon bucket of must (yielding roughly 75 ppm of SO2) prior to fermentation; then 1/2 tsp per six-gallon bucket (150 ppm of SO2) at bottling. Most commercial wineries do not add more than 30ppm at bottling.
Pectic Enzyme
The pectin naturally present in fruit is nice for making jelly but not for making wine. It can create a harmless, but less than aesthetic haze (Also called protein haze). Pectic enzyme eats the pectin, helping the wine to clear as it ferments
Bentonite
Bentonite is a gray, clay granule that is used in wines as a clarifier. It also helps to reduce the occurrence of certain off-flavors, as well as reduce the wine's ability to oxidize.
Citric Acid
Most, if not all of the citric acid naturally present in the grapes is consumed by bacteria during fermentation. The absence of citric acid would bring the fermentation process to a grinding halt, this almost never happens though.
Citric acid plays a major role in a winemakers influence on acidity. Many winemakers use citric acid to acidify wines that are too basic and as a flavor additive. This process has is benefits and drawbacks. Adding citric acid will give the wine "freshness" otherwise not present and will effectively make a wine more acidic.
Tartaric Acid
Tartaric acid may be most immediately recognizable to wine drinkers as the source of "wine diamonds", the small potassium bitartrate crystals that sometimes form spontaneously on the cork. These "tartrates" are harmless, despite sometimes being mistaken for broken glass, and are prevented in many wines through cold stabilization. The tartrates that remain on the inside of aging barrels were at one time a major industrial source of potassium bitartrate.
However, tartaric acid plays an important role chemically, lowering the pH of fermenting "must" to a level where many undesirable spoilage bacteria cannot live, and acting as a preservative after fermentation. In the mouth, tartaric acid provides some of the tartness in the wine, although citric and malic acids also play a role.
Yeast Energizer
An extraordinary nutrient, energizer is useful when making mashes of high alcoholic content (over 14%) and to restart fermentation when the secondary fermentation seems "stuck." Yeast energizer contains many ingredients not found in normal nutrient, such as Riboflavin and Thiamine. The energizer is best used by dissolving 1/2 tsp. in 1/2 to 1 cup of the must or wine before adding. If the fermentation is truly "stuck" and not simply run out, the energizer may be dissolved in 1/4 cup must or wine and 1/2 cup warm (75 degrees F.) water and a pinch of fresh wine yeast added and allowed to bloom under cover over a 12-hour period. An additional 1/4 cup of wine or yeast is then added and the yeast given another 12 hours to multiply before the enriched solution is added to the fermentation bottle.
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast Nutrient can be used to achieve a higher alcohol content, or restart a stalled fermentation.
Oak Chips
Adding oak chips to your wine during primary fermentation will add an oaky flavor that is traditionally obtained through aging wine in oak barrels. We suggest one or two large handfuls per 23L of wine made for the proper effect. The oak chips should be removed when the wine is racked after one week. A good tip is to put them in a cheesecloth bag so that they can easily be removed.
Potassium Sorbate
Also known as "Sorbistat K" and affectionately as "wine stabilizer," potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine racked the final time after clearing, 1/2 tsp. added to 1 gallon of wine will render any surviving yeast incapable of multiplying. Yeast living at that moment can continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation. It should always be used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite (1/4 teaspoon per 5 gallons of wine or 1 crushed and dissolved Campden tablet per gallon) and the wine will not be stabilized without it. It is primarily used with sweet wines and sparkling wines, but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining. Also see Sodium Benzoate and Wine Stabilizer.
Sodium Metabisulphite
Sodium Metabisulphite is used as a disinfectant, antioxidant and preservative agent.
Wine Conditioner
Wine Conditioner is added after the wine is completed to sweeten it if so desired.