Wine Kit Made Easy

Process takes approximately 30 days to complete and you Must be 21 years or older

Today we are going to make homemade wine. The kit we are using is Master Vintner small batch wine starter kit. The wine kit does come with instructions that I recommend going over before starting. The wine kit instructions tend to be very hard to understand. This instruction set will make it much easier to understand the wine making process. Ready to make delicious wine? You can share with friends and family or keep all to yourself.

Step 1: Materials & Equipment

Fermenting Equipment

1.) Master Vintner wine recipe kit

2.) Primary Fermentor

3.) 1 Gallon Secondary Fermentor

4.) Rubber Stopper for Primary Fermenter

5.) Drilled cap for Secondary Fermentor

6.) Airlocks (x2)

7.) Plastic Mash Paddle for stirring

Testing Equipment

8.) Thermometer (not included)

9.) Hydrometer

10.) Test jar

11.) 3-Piece Thief

Siphoning Equipment

12.) Mini Auto-Siphon

13.) 3 Feet of Tubing for siphoning

Bottling Equipment

14.) Bottle Filler

15.) Plastic Plunger (corker)

16.) Corks

you will need 5 wine bottles they are not included

Sanitizing Equipment

17.) Oxygen wash

18.) Sodium Metabisulfite

19.) Micro fiber cleaning cloth

*If your order the Master Vintner small batch wine starter kit it should include the items listed above or you can purchase them separately. The recipe kit will include Wine Juice , Potassium Sorbate, Chitosan , Potassium Metabisulphite , and Kieselsol.

Step 2: Before You Begin

* Clean all your equipment before you begin this will prevent 99% of wine spoilage issues.

* You will need to make sure your primary fermentor is marked at 1 gallon. If it is not indicated fill up primary fermentor with 1 gallon of water and make a mark.

* The Starting Temperature of the wine is important. If the yeast is added to a kit that it too cold or hot it will not ferment properly or will take a long time. You want to ensure the temperature of the wine juice is between 72 F and 77 F before starting. In order to accomplish this easily, store the wine for 24 hours at room temperature.

* Specific gravity: This is the term used to determine the alcohol content of your wine. The measurements you get from the specific gravity of the wine from pre-fermentation to post-fermentation will give you an idea of your wine alcohol content (and more importantly if your wine has even fermented). The hydrometer is the tool you use to measure this.

Step 3: Primary Fermentation- Add the Juice and Stir

Take your wine juice and pull the cap through the hole already made in the box. This is not a necessity but makes it easier to pour and doesn’t make as big of a mess.

Carefully pour the juice into the primary fermentor.

Add more juice

Fill up the juice bag half way and shake lightly to get remaining juice out of the bag and add to the fermentor.

*If your wine kit contains oak powered, elderberries or elder flowers, tear open the package(s) and sprinkle them into the primary fermentor now. Stir them in thoroughly.

If your fermenter is not at the one-gallon mark, top off primary fermentor with lukewarm water.

Stir vigorously for 30 seconds. You want to make sure it’s mixed very well.

Step 4: Primary Fermentation- Test Specific Gravity & Temperature

You are going to need your wine their and test jar first.

Stick your wine thief into you wine and plug the hole on top with your finger to pull wine out. Put the wine into your test jar and fill up half way.

Carefully drop your hydrometer into your wine sample, and gently give it a spin to remove bubble sticking to the meter.

The hydrometer will float in the wine, and where it settles at is your measurement. You want your starting specific gravity to be between 1.080 – 1.095. If it’s not in that range add a tiny bit of water to dilute juice and retake measurement. Write-down the measurement.

Now it’s time to check the temperature. The wine must be between 72 F and 77 F. If it’s not in that range, cover the fermentor and move it into a warm environment for one to two hours until it is. Your wine will not ferment properly if it’s too hot or too cold.

Step 5: Primary Fermentation- Add the Yeast

Open the package of yeast and sprinkle contents onto the surface of the juice. Do NOT stir.

*If you are using a different wine kit make sure you read what it says about yeast carefully.

Step 6: Primary Fermentation - Assemble Airlock & Storing

Assemble airlock

Take the rubber stopper and put in through the hole on your primary fermentors lid. You want it to be nice and tight, and not easily moved.

Now take your airlock and fill up half way with water. There is usually a mark indicating the half way point.

Put the airlock through the rubber stopper on the top of the lid, as shown in the image above.

Gently screw lid onto fermentor being careful not to shake up the yeast.

Store wine to ferment

Place fermentor in an area with a temperature of 72 F - 77 F

Leave to ferment for 7 days.

* I recommend doing another reading of your specific gravity at 5 days to make sure your wine is fermenting. After 5 days you should see bubbles/ foam and here a crackling noise when you open the lid. If you don’t see and hear this, it means something is wrong and you will more likely have to start

Step 7: Secondary Fermentation

Day 8

Remove the lid from primary fermentor . Take your specific reading now. Your target is 1.010 or less.

Place your secondary fermentor below the primary fermentor and siphon the wine into it. ( As shown in pictures above ) Pump the siphon until liquid freely passes through.

Leave the thickest sediment behind, but transfer all the liquid.

Attach the airlock and screw top to your secondary fermentor. Remember to fill your airlock halfway up with water.

Leave to ferment for 12 days

Step 8: Degassing- Transfer Wine

Day 20

All fermentation should be complete at this stage. You can check your specific gravity to make sure your wine is on track. Your specific gravity should be at or below 0.995. You may need to allow extra time for fermentation to finish especially if your wine making area is cooler than 72 F.

Remove the top and airlock from your secondary fermentor. Take and record specific gravity now.

Place your primary fermentor below the secondary and siphon the wine into it. (Same as step 8)

Step 9: Degassing- Add Potassium Metabisulphite & Kieselsol

Day 20

Open your packet of Potassium Metabisulphite and sprinkle it on the wine. Stir to mix thoroughly.

Stir the wine vigorously for a minimum of 60 seconds. This helps drives off CO2 gas.

Now open your packet of Kieselsol and pour contents into wine. Stir vigorously again for at least 60 seconds.

Replace the lid and airlock on the primary fermentor

Over the next two days, stir the wine 3-4 times per day for a minimum of 1 minute. This will drive off remaining CO2 gases.

Step 10: Stabilizing and Clearing- Add Potassium Sorbate & Chitosan

Day 22

Open potassium sorbate and sprinkle onto ¼ cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve completely and then add it to wine. Stir thoroughly to mix well.

Take chitosan and shake the package. Pour contents into wine and stir thoroughly.

Top up your fermentor to the 1-gallon mark and stir to mix the water in.

Put your lid and airlock back onto your fermentor. Making sure airlock is filled halfway with water.

Leave wine to clear for six days.

Step 11: Bottling

Day 28

Remove lid from fermentor and take a specific gravity reading. If it is not 0.995 or less , leave for a few more days to clear.

Siphon your wine into your secondary fermentor.( Same as in step 8 & 9)

*Take only clear wine and leave all sediment behind. This helps filter the wine.

Take your bottle filler and attach it to the end of the siphoning tube. Stick the bottle tip into the bottle and begin transferring your wine. Leave 1 inch (about two fingers) of space between the bottom of the cork and the top of the wine.

To cork your bottle, stick the cork into the corker as shown in image above. Put it over the wine bottle and push down hard with the top of the corker.

Stand bottle upright for 3 days before turning them on their side for ageing. Store bottles in a dark place with a stable cool temperature.

Mission accomplished. You can now enjoy your wine. Sip Sip.